TIGER IN LION’S CLOTHING!
The moment the TNA announced its support for the opposition presidential candidate, General Sarath Fonseka, the ruling party and the forces that back President Mahinda Rajapakse have begun to smell an international…
Year: 2010
Voting for Fonseka for all the wrong reasons?
The Presidential election of 2010 has brought out some of the most glaring delusions and dilemmas which shape the political stance of the Opposition, and which confront the voter, in particular. The…
A message from a first-time voter
In 2005, I didn’t vote. Being 21, I was eligible to vote, but I didn’t – and if you asked me why, I would ashamedly admit I simply didn’t care. I was…
FROM BATTLE AGAINST TERRORISM TO BATTLE FOR THE SPOILS OF WAR
1. Introduction The thirty-year battle against terrorism has turned into a vicious battle for the spoils-of-war in recent times. This post war phenomenon does not augur well for the people of Sri…
Clocktower Cutouts and Pelmadulla Propaganda: A photo narrative from the regions
[Editors note: Higher resolution versions of the photos used in this story are available from the gallery at the bottom of this story.] ‘Colombo isn’t the country’, many election pundits say. It…
DO WE NEED A CHANGE?
At a time when so many urgent tasks are pending – not least that of rebuilding the war-ravaged areas of the country and resettling lakhs of IDPs in proper homes with proper…
Citizens held hostage in the name of ‘Nationalism’
Desperation for my Paradise Isle had turned to appreciation this time around when the plane landed in Katunayake. I quietly celebrated that sense of relief and relaxation that spreads through my whole…
Breaking the Piper’s charm
Political commentators seem to have run out of superlatives when attempting to describe the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapakse. Academics have joined the fray, falling over themselves to award him honorary degrees…
Visualising Mahinda Chintanaya 2010: The President’s election manifesto
. Whatever one calls this document, the emphasis very clearly is on the future of Sri Lanka, as envisioned by the incumbent. As with Sarath Fonseka’s manifesto, to avoid allegations of the…
The Fonseka Effect?
Cartoon by Dharshana Karunathilake, published in, 3 Jan 2010. Translation: General Fonseka (on left): “I promise to give you….” President Rajapaksa, interrupting: “Whatever he promises, I promise to give you all those!”…
Reflections on the Underlying Issues that Determine the Outcome of the Election: Who has got the Edge?
The Presidential election battle is gathering momentum with incredible speed. Defections and pledges of support to Sarath Fonseka (SF) have injected some nervousness for the Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) campaign. Â The challenge could…
From Politics of Fear to Politics of Hope
Thomas Hobbes John Piper I admit to being a political junkie. I get my news from multiple papers, news sites and web blogs. I react to reports on our nation’s politics with…
We can believe in NO candidate in 2010. What’s new though, right?
The big day is fast approaching, and every water-cooler, tea/cigarette break, meeting intermission is a hive of discussion on the latest thoughts on the election. But the whole run up to the…
Standing the world on its head!
I can’t understand this, so will someone explain it –please. It is being reported in the local press and local electronic media that the Rajapakses have gained popularity among Sinhala voters in…
Reflections on Human Rights (Part I): The Promises of Universalism and Tyrannies of Relativism?
[Authors note: I invite the readers of my article to suggest creative and strategic ways to reconcile the universal and culturally relative rights in Sri Lankan context.] “” — G. K. Chesterton…