HRCSL tells Acting IGP, act within the Law

Cover Story

Apr 29, 2020

Kshama Ranawana

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) is calling on the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. C D Wickremaratne to be cognizant of permissible laws of the country, in this case the Constitution and Sri Lanka’s international obligations in the human rights sphere, when making arrests even during times of emergencies. In a letter dated April 25, 2020 addressed to the Acting IGP, the letter raises concern about the spate of recent arrests in connection with statements made on social media with regard ...Continued

Easter Sunday Bombings – A Year Later

Cover Story

Apr 20, 2020

Kshama Ranawana

Church bells will toll across the country today, April 21st at 8.40 a.m. to mark the first anniversary of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts that killed 259 people and injured scores of others. The Head of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has also requested all other religious places to join in the ringing of bells.  This is to be followed by 2 minutes silence at 8.45 a.m. and lighting a candle or lamp in all homes in remembrance of all victims ...Continued

CCPSL recommends a staggered exit strategy

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Apr 16, 2020

Kshama Ranawana

The College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka is recommending a staggered exit strategy that must be decided by an expert panel made up of ‘health and non-health authorities with vigilant monitoring of area specific caseloads.’ Bearing in mind that a prolonged lockdown could result in crippling the country’s economy, the College points out, that a premature relaxation of the restrictions in any area, could affect the spread of the corona virus in other parts of the country.  ‘If Sri Lanka can maintain the low ...Continued

Socio-economic impact of COVID-19

Cover Story

Mar 22, 2020

Vishvanath

Death has been dubbed ‘the great leveller’. This sobriquet fits, in that the Grim Reaper does not discriminate against anyone. Coronavirus may also be considered a great leveller of sorts, for it infects all humans indiscriminately and instils fear in rulers and plebs alike. Prince Albert II of Monaco has been afflicted with coronavirus. Queen Elizabeth has rushed to her Windsor Castle for self-isolation on account of the COVID-19 spread in Britain. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s wife, Sophie, has tested positive for coronavirus, which ...Continued

When a Virus Floors Franchise

Cover Story

Mar 20, 2020

Vishvanath

What was being speculated, in political circles, for two weeks or so, has come to pass. The general election, scheduled for 25 April, 2020, has been put off indefinitely, on account of the spread of COVID-19, and the attendant problems. It is a supreme irony that the SLPP, which used to flay the UNP-led yahapalana government for postponing local government and Provincial Council elections, has had to put of a general election, albeit under different circumstances. It was the UNP-led Opposition that asked for the ...Continued

End of the road for MP monks?

Cover Story

Mar 8, 2020

Vishvanath

Parliament stands dissolved and the next general election has been scheduled for 25 April. The process of accepting nominations will commence soon. Political heavyweights and lesser ones are girding up their loins for the contest, which is do or die for them. The SLPP is upbeat. It has set for itself an ambitious target—obtaining a two-thirds majority, which, however, is well-nigh impossible to achieve under the Proportional Representation (PR) system.  Since 1989, when parliamentary polls were held under the PR system for the first time, ...Continued

A freak called Lara

Cover Story

Feb 21, 2020

Spectator

Cricket’s finest ambassadors, West Indies, are in town and tickets for the five match limited overs series are selling like hot cakes. Sri Lanka and West Indies have engaged in some of the fiercest rivalries the game has seen over the years. Sri Lanka’s first ever international game, in fact, was against the mighty Clive Lloyd’s side in the inaugural World Cup in 1975. Anura Tennekoon’s side was blown away for just 86 runs as the opposition’s fast bowling was fierce. Hundreds of supporters traveled ...Continued

Racial Abuse Hurts Cancer Philanthropy

Cover Story

Feb 7, 2020

Dr. Prasanna Cooray

MSH Mohamed is an iconic figure in cancer philanthropy in Sri Lanka. He, together with his Fight Cancer Team, toiled with great determination and dedication to fulfill the sole ambition of his late son, Humaid, who succumbed to cancer three years ago. His last wish was to equip the Apeksha Cancer Hospital Maharagama with a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner. Mohamed’s story As any other cancer story, Mohamed’s one too is filled with grief and despair. But his sheer dedication turned it into one of ...Continued

Body politic with a weak skeletal structure

Cover Story

Jan 25, 2020

Vishvanath

A political party system is the skeletal structure of the body politic and its health is a prerequisite for the wellbeing of democracy. It helps hold a polity in place, enables democratic governance and countervails fissiparous tendencies resulting from group dynamics and other such factors therein. Concerns have been expressed in some quarters about the weakening of the political parties in this country. The deterioration of political parties is fraught with the danger of predisposing a country to anarchy. Smaller political parties in this country ...Continued

The Phone-Gate And Media Feeding Frenzy

Cover Story

Jan 10, 2020

Vishvanath

This country is never short of issues that grab headlines. It was thought, in the run-up to the defeat of the LTTE on 19 May, 2009, that the media would be scraping the bottom of the barrel, in a bid to fill space and airtime, after the conclusion of the war, which had ensured a steady supply of news for nearly three decades. But issues have since cropped up at an amazing rate, so much so that the media find it difficult to keep pace ...Continued

India Erupts

Cover Story

Dec 27, 2019

Vishvanath

It looks as though the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act had done to India what Hanuman did to Lanka, in Ramayana. It has set India on fire, so to speak. Mass protests have engulfed many parts of that country and already left 20 dead. Hundreds, if not thousands, have been arrested. The Modi government is determined to go ahead with the implementation of the new law come what may. Amidst protests, the Indian Cabinet has recently approved financial allocations for a nationwide census and a ...Continued

How alleged bid to kill Prez was revealed

Cover Story

Dec 13, 2019

Hemantha Perera and Vishvanath

A plot to harm President Gotabaya Rajapaksa or someone close to him has recently been bared, and a suspect arrested. The CID is conducting a high level investigation into the alleged plot and some more arrests are likely, according to the police. The police did not take foreign intelligence warnings of the Easter Sunday attacks seriously until disaster struck, snuffing out more than 250 lives, in churches and hotels. IGP Pujith Jayasundera and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando are currently languishing in remand prison for ...Continued