Chandrika’s discourse
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga calls it . The least important segments of the interview deal with the SLFP. Her remarks are revelatory though. She states that she “can’t be bothered fighting…
Year: 2012
School closed early today
Original photo from Ilankai Tamil Sangam School closed early today. Amma was looking very jumpy when she came to pick me up, but she wouldn’t tell me why. When we went to…
Jayasena and Rajakulendran: Heroes of a Lesser God
Wars are terrible things. They kill people, destroy their property and livelihoods. They also destroy people’s souls. Horrendous atrocities are committed against the defenceless, often in the name of the highest ideals,…
Lance Corporal
I’m tired. It’s midnight. I’m propped up Against the mud Like a cannon gun, To fight The battles you Criticise From behind Your trenches Of ink. My blood. Your right. That’s not…
LLRC roadmap: An ‘action plan’ to suit the US, not us!
Photo credit: Daily FT The government announced (26 July, 2012) it has drawn up a comprehensive “National Action Plan to Implement the Recommendations of the LLRC” and has released same to the…
Interview with Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga: Governance and politics today, future plans and prospects
On 25th July, met with former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in Colombo to get her views on Sri Lanka’s present state of governance, plus a range of other issues, including – as is…
Whither Sri Lanka’s media?
Image courtesy Now Public Having been through the grind in the field of Sri Lanka’s mainstream print journalism for nearly two decades, what I feel is a growing sense of frustration. Whatever…
Never Again: Remembering ’83
First broadcast on aired on the MTV, Shakthi and Sirasa terrestrial TV channels in Sri Lanka from 23rd to 30th July 2008, featured 22 videos in Tamil, Sinhala and English on the…
The Rebel Who Peddled Dreams: On Nimal Lakshapathiarachchi (1954–2012)
Nimal Lakshapathiarachchi, who suddenly died on July 19 aged 57, is being described in tributes as a ‘veteran broadcaster’ and a pioneering figure in private radio and TV broadcasting. He certainly was…
Sad Passing of a Creative Genius: Nimal Lakshapatiarachchi
Nimal Lakshapatiarachchi was an icon. I first met him with my partners Viren Perera and Pradip Jayewardene when we established our solar energy company in 1987. Nimal has to be credited for…
Negating that which negates us: In support of democratic dialogue
Photo courtesy Hundreds are embarking on a perilous journey across the seas just so they can leave the country. Asylum seekers, refugees: words relegated to the times of combat and conflict, have…
Deconstructing development in Sri Lanka: In conversation with Priyanthi Fernando
Priyanthi Fernando is the Executive Director, Centre for Poverty Analysis, an independent, Sri Lankan think-tank promoting a better understanding of poverty related development issue based in Colombo. We begin our conversation about…
The National Soil Question: Part 2
Read Part 1 here. The effect of clearing the forests and allowing erosion of the soil, especially on the mountain areas became obvious to scientists who visited this country. Dr. Strange, an…
SRI LANKA & TAMIL SELF-DETERMINATION
The announcement that elections to the Northern Provincial Council will be held in September 2013 has raised eyebrows in some quarters and generated criticism in certain others. As one who unfashionably –…
The National Soil Question: Part 1
There are some very disturbing trends in the management of the land of this nation, that cries out for action, but who will hear the cry? We are ever ready to talk…