Is the 21st Amendment yet another political ruse, a mere cosmetic exercise where Parliament will go through the motions of trying to enact the amendment and then, through mounting legal challenges and procrastinating, try to buy time till the...
Betrayal has been part and parcel of Sri Lankan politics for decades now and politicians crossing over for a mere Cabinet portfolio has become more of a norm than the exception and this should not elicit surprise. Even so,...
Wickremesinghe is still not one of ‘them’. He will not be able to dictate terms to the Rajapaksas or alter their plan of action. This was evident in Parliament on Tuesday. Wickremesinghe proposed that the election of a Deputy...
By KASSAPA
The drama went according to script, at least initially. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s final speech at Temple Trees betrayed the fact that he didn’t wish to resign honourably. If he did, all he had to do was to send in...
• The consistent theme that emerges from Galle Face is the demand for a new political order that needs to evolve. No one is certain as yet how that will happen.
• Once seen as the champion of the Sinhala...
What is interesting is that the once invincible unity among the Rajapaksa brothers appears to have been shattered. Gotabaya Rajapaksa will not hear of resigning, nor will Mahinda. Even more alarmingly, each appears to be willing to sacrifice the...
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa speaking in Parliament, offered to repeal the 20th Amendment to the Constitution and re-introduce the 19th Amendment with necessary modifications.
The same Rajapaksa brought in the 18th Amendment to replace the 17th Amendment, which aimed...
This rebellion is different: it is not politically motivated; it is devoid of racist undertones and it calls for a change of systems instead of a mere change of the party in power. It also has the backing of...
Now the government has changed tactics. Its attack dogs, Rohitha Abeygunawardena and Johnston Fernando, silent for some time, are barking again. The strategy is to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), work out an initial short term relief...
• It is true that the Sri Lankan economy fared better under Wickremesinghe’s stewardship, particularly when Mangala Samaraweera was Finance Minister. Welfare measures were carefully targeted. There was a plan to resurrect the economy with a few well thought...
Whether we like it or not, Sri Lanka has been a democratic dynasty.
Most of our leaders have come from the same families, with a few notable exceptions. Dudley Senanayake followed D.S. Senanayake. Sirima Bandaranaike followed S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. Chandrika Kumaratunga...
The SLPP coalition is now in disarray, and the SLFP is readying itself for a situation where it may have to go it alone at future elections. SLFP leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena is busy reinventing himself as...
