Month: August 2020

By Lionel Bopage – Dr. Lionel Bopage Sri Lanka is already deeply enmeshed with a crony economic system. As a consequence, businesses thrive not by managing risks, but by returns accumulated through nexus between the business and political classes. This is often achieved by state intervention rather than competition. The state exercises monopolist control over resources and money, that is made mostly… Continue reading "Some nationalistic MPs in the south demand repealing the 13th Amendment in the hope of totally abolishing provincial councils."

By Lucien Rajakarunanayake The 19th Amendment to the Constitution is the desire and goal of Pohottuva politics today. It is now more important that the economic crisis faced by the country and people, especially in the Covid19 situation. The strongest voice against 19A today is that of the highly learned Professor Gamini Lakshman Peiris, the GL swinger in governing politics… Continue reading "The strongest voice against 19A today is that of the highly learned Professor Gamini Lakshman Peiris whose leaps to and from political parties and policies is a display of political manoeuvre with hardly any matching."

By Kishali Pinto Jayawardena (Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena is a civil liberties advocate, a columnist for The Sunday Times, Colombo and served on a Bar Council nominated committee in 2011 which drafted a Contempt of Court Act for Sri Lanka) The recent judgement by the Indian Supreme Court which held prominent advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court will have a… Continue reading "Recent judgement by the Indian Supreme Court which held prominent advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt of court will have grave resonance in countries like Sri Lanka which have a history of stifling dissent through the device of contempt."

Parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam today hit back after being advised to be cautious on the statements he makes in Parliament. Former Army Commander and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Sarath Fonseka had earlier made reference to Ponnambalam in a speech he made in Parliament. Fonseka advised Ponnambalam to be cautious and warned Parliamentarian C.V Wigneswaran saying he will face the same… Continue reading "Ponnambalam hits back after being advised to be cautious"

Army captain Dinesh Chandimal conceded that he opted to declare the innings when he had a chance to go onto score the highest First Class score by a Sri Lankan in a bid to win his team’s Premier League match against Saracens. The former Sri Lanka captain shifted to Army this season having spent more than a decade with NCC.… Continue reading "Declaration was to try and win the game – Chandimal"

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The “Mathiya Seyal Kuzhu” (central working committee) of the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) also known as the Federal Party will be meeting today (Aug 29) in Vavuniya. The committee is generally referred to as “Mathiya Kuzhu”(Central committee). The Central Working committee is the key representative body of the ITAK. It comprises representatives elected by each district as… Continue reading "Internal strife within ITAK takes disturbing turn"

Were the United National Party (UNP) and its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe really rejected by the people at the August 5 parliamentary election to the extent that the party was wiped out from all districts it contested?    Had the two factions of the party led by Mr. Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa faced the election together, would not the UNP managed… Continue reading "The UNP: Dead or Alive?"

Article 9 of Sri Lanka’s Constitution states: “The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana.” The promise to establish a government that upholds the values of the Buddhist Sinhala majority was central to President Gotabaya’s party platform in the presidential and parliamentary elections. Following his party’s win… Continue reading "What Will Be the Fate of Religious Minorities in Sri Lanka?"

By C.V. Wigneswaran – Justice C.V. Wigneswaran MP I met a very senior respected Sinhala Politician a day or two ago. He made a pertinent observation. He said my speeches were not vituperative nor abusive. He advised “Never lose sight of the need to be objective”. I truly value his advice. I hate none. But I love Truth. I have come to… Continue reading "Never Lose Sight Of The Need To Be Objective"

A District Development Committee (DDC) Co-Chair wrote to the District Secretary this week instructing him not to implement any ministerial development programmes or authorised projects without his approval in the district. Parliamentarian Angajan Ramanathan, who was appointed as Jaffna DDC Co-Chair last week by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa during the Cabinet swearing in ceremony, wrote to the Jaffna District Secretary on… Continue reading "No development projects should be carried out without MY approval, says MP Angajan"

The National Joint Committee (NJC) has urged the Government to scrap the provincial council system and do away with the existing proportional representation system of elections. The NJC, while expressing confidence that the Government would fulfil its pledge to remove numerous provisions introduced to the Constitution through many amendments, expressed concern about a reported statement made by Justice Minister Ali… Continue reading "Provincial councils to be scraped?"

TNA Spokesperson MA Sumanthiran MP Says Party Will Go To Courts Against the Presidential Task Force on Archaeology in the Eastern Province if it acts contrary to the provisions of the Antiquities Act and usurps the powers of the Director General of Archaeology (DGA). Posted by Administrator on 27 August 2020, 2:22 am By P. K. Balachandran The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has… Continue reading "TNA Spokesperson MA Sumanthiran MP Says Party Will Go To Courts Against the Presidential Task Force on Archaeology in the Eastern Province"

By C.V. Wigneswaran – Justice C.V. Wigneswaran Someone asked me: What is your take on the results of the Election in the North and East? Have the Tamil Nationalists failed? My response was: Certainly not. Tamil people have reacted to the selfish policy-less behaviour of the TNA. The erstwhile TNA votes have got divided mostly among the three parties – TNA, Cycle… Continue reading "Tamil Nationalism Has Not Failed; It Is In Hibernation!"

Minister Weerasekara is someone ideologically opposed to power devolution or power sharing. He is a strong believer of the unitary character of the Constitution with central control. He is also someone with a hardline approach in this respect.  The handpicking of him to handle the Provincial Council system speaks for itself as a result. Undoubtedly, the government is bracing for… Continue reading "One country, one law as eyes set on 13th A"

There were also references to the need to do away with the 13th Amendment that devolved power to the provinces, or at least abolish the devolved powers over police and land. In contrast, inclusive nationalism is consistent with the politics of compromise. Therefore, it is important that nationalism should be balanced by an emphasis on equality-based pluralism for citizens. Where… Continue reading "Need For Inclusive Nationalism Plus"

By Dr. Nilanga Samarasinghe The speech of the former Supreme Court Judge, former Chief Minister of the Northern Provincial Council, and the new Jaffna District Parliamentarian, CV. Wigneswaran in his first address to the new Parliament has caused more controversy in the country and internationally than the President’s speech at the opening of the Ninth Parliament. His speech aroused suspicion… Continue reading "Answering Wiggy’s Racism with Sinhala Racism not the Solution"

By Gagani Weerakoon Former Minister MilindaMoragoda is tipped to be the next Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India, government sources claimed. Meanwhile, sources close to Moragoda confirmed that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a bid to have close relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will appoint Moragoda with powers of a Cabinet Minister. This will be the first such instance… Continue reading "Moragoda tipped to be next SL envoy to India"

The two-metre physical distancing rule to curb the spread of coronavirus is based on “outdated science,” a group of academics have said. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, there should be “graded recommendations” for different distancing rules in different settings, they argued. Writing in The BMJ, the team of researchers said this would provider greater protection for people in high risk settings and… Continue reading "Two-metre social distancing rule ‘based on outdated science,’ academics say"

The UK based Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is ready to extend cooperation to Ahila Illankai Tamil Congress (AITC) and Tamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani (TMTK) led by Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and C.V. Wigneswaran, respectively. AITC won two seats, including one National List whereas the TMTK secured one. GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran told The Island that the grouping would continue to work with the Tamil… Continue reading "GTF extends cooperation to newcomers, reiterates commitment to partnership with TNA"

SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem called for the revision of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) constitution which he said was drafted hurriedly before the parliamentary election on August 5. He said that this has already been taken up with the SJB leadership.“The constitution of the coalition must be fine-tuned to address the multiplicity of policies and programs of all parties that… Continue reading "HAKEEM calls for revision of SJB constitution"

by Harim Peiris The recent election results reveal interesting changes in Tamil politics in Sri Lanka. The predominant representative of the Tamil people, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which contest elections under its largest constituent party, the Illankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), saw its share of the national vote decline, from 4.6%, in 2015 to 2.8% in 2020. Its parliamentary… Continue reading "The challenges facing Sambanthan and the TNA"

Land Value Indicator sees growth decline from 13.6% in 1H of 2019 to 7.1% y-o-y Decline seen across residential, commercial and industrial categories  Semi-annual percentage changes also show recent declining trend  Virus seen as having impact in medium term  RIU report says tech, telcos and healthcare sectors likely to drive demand  Smaller companies may shift to suburbs, seek rent relief… Continue reading "Colombo’s land value slips on COVID-19"

By Asanga Welikala and Roshan de Silva-Wijeyeratne The election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November 2019 marked the beginning of a new era of a Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist ascendancy in Sri Lanka. The Covid-19 pandemic provided an early opportunity for the government to establish an authoritarian governing style, helped by Parliament standing dissolved, and the Supreme Court’s refusal to subject the… Continue reading "The Past and the Present in the (Re)Constitution of the State"

First and foremost move of the government in making constitutional changes would be to rectify the issues arisen from the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Chairman Professor G.L. Peiris today said. Speaking at a news briefing held at SLPP head office, Minister Professor Peiris said the 19A is a cursed piece of legislation detrimental to… Continue reading "First move is to rectify issues in 19A: SLPP"

It is a well-known fact that the government is going to amend the Constitution since the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) had requested the people to grant them a two-thirds majority power in order to do away with the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. However, leaders of the party did not tell the country, before the Presidential election or the… Continue reading "Pros and cons of repealing 19A"

British Acting High Commissioner Lisa Whanstall paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena today. Advancing the bilateral engagement in the economic, security, health, tourism and cultural areas were the key highlights of the meeting. It was the first official high-profile discussion between the two countries after the appointment of the new Cabinet. State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya was also… Continue reading "British HC (Acting) Meets Foreign Minister And Pledges Enhanced Mutual Cooperation"

By Hannah Ellis-Petersen As a child wandering between the legs of the aunts, uncles and family friends who filled her grandparents’ apartment in Chennai, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a young Kamala Harris grew used to being addressed in Tamil. It was the main language spoken by her grandmother, who had only fragmented English, and over the… Continue reading "“Chiththi”: With One Tamil Word In Her Acceptace Speech, US Democratic Vice-Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris Warms The Hearts of Millions pf Tamils in India and Throughout the World"

By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The recently concluded Sri Lankan parliamentary election resulted in the defeat of several veteran politicians. Among these was well-known Northern Tamil leader Somasundaram”Maavai” Senathirajah who had been representing Jaffna district in Parliament for 20 successive years since 2000. Very often the electoral defeat of a long established political leader causes political convulsions in its wake. In the case… Continue reading "Future Course of Defeated ITAK Leader “Maavai” Senathirajah."

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had appointed the Presidential Task Force in June by exercising the powers vested in him by Article 33 of the Constitution. In a new gazette notice, the President notes that since many of the Archaeological Heritages in the Eastern Province are based on the Buddhist religious background and associated with those places of worship, it has been… Continue reading "Changing East to Buddhism? – Four more monks appointed"

What stands against the absolutism is the constitutionally mandated safeguards against excesses of political leadership. However, in the developing world, most of which are in different phases of transition to liberal democracies, such constitutional safeguards are fragile. That is because the evolution of the institutions of the state has not kept up to the pace of the social and political… Continue reading "Supra majority and making Sri Lanka great- or break"

In his policy statement presented to Parliament on August 20 President Gotabaya Rajapaksa outlined his Government’s plans for the forthcoming year. Among the measures he proposed was the one relating to the removal of the 19th Amendment as a prelude to enacting a new Constitution. The President in his satement to Parliament expressed his intention in the following words: “The… Continue reading "One country, one law – better sense should prevail"

“As representatives of the people, we always respect the aspirations of the majority. It is only then that the sovereignty of the people can be safeguarded.” Here the word, ‘majority’ needs to be clarified. This word has taken an additional political meaning, pre and post, the recent Presidential and Parliamentary elections. The Presidential election campaign was run solely wooing the… Continue reading "Floating in the cloud of majoritarianism will cause to lose empathy with the others."