Swan Song of the Fourth Estate?
The ballads and chants still peal across the windswept Galle Face Green as the protests continue and Gota Go Gama (GGG) flamboyantly, angrily, uproariously flourishes on what was once the marine esplanade…
Year: 2022
Calling for a System Change from Polarisation to Pluralism
Way ahead of the presidential election of 2019 Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had given enough indication that he was incapacitated, incompetent and illegitimate to establish a democratic government that would safeguard the interests of…
Galle Face Green 2022
This is the green that has seen one world end and another begin many times over many years: a kickstart show in the thirties, sunrise warplanes rebuffed at Easter, bare heads…
Governance in Sri Lanka: We Must Not Miss This Opportunity
The situation in the country is one of dynamism as well as stalemate. Dynamism on account of the determination, creativity and resilience of the Gotagogama demonstrators, the extension of their efforts to…
21st Amendment: A Way Out of Sri Lanka’s Multiple Crises?
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has attracted global attention and national fury. The irresponsible decisions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa – cutting taxes, banning fertiliser and continuing with non-essential infrastructure projects financed by debt…
Resurrecting the People, Challenging Ethnos and De-Ethicizing Buddhism
The people as demos contra ethnos (that is devoid of sectarian ethno-religious identity) have spoken and continue to speak against the depredations visited upon them by this insidious regime of kleptocrats and…
Nine Out of Ten Sri Lankans Think Rajapaksas Should Leave Politics
The findings of the Centre of Policy Alternatives’ survey of the Confidence in Democratic Governance Index (Wave 2) conducted by Social Indicator (SI) send an unequivocal message to the government that the…
Protecting the Rights of the Disadvantaged When Talking to the IMF
Had the decision been thought out and strategic like that of Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia during the Asian financial crisis, I would have backed the Sri Lanka government’s lack of interest in going…
Economic Crisis Fuels Intense Dislike for Politicians, Especially President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
The unprecedented national crisis has led to a collapse in the public liking of all politicians. At the Institute for Health Policy (IHP), we have been tracking favourability of several institutions and…
Life After Death of the Rajapaksa Conglomerate
No, they have not been eradicated as yet. But they will; if not this month or even this year then, sadly, in time. The end Mahinda will stop his pathetic posturing and…
Dawn at Galle Face: Which Tomorrow?
“Beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see?” Do you hear the people sing (Les Misérables) “I’m 89 years old,” the grandmotherly protestor holding a hand-drawn placard says. “For…
Reforming and Re-starting Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s economy has collapsed due to years of mismanagement. Now heading for a political showdown, the country is officially bankrupt, unable to service the debt-ridden economy. This has been further exacerbated…
A Brief Response to the Current National Crisis – A Way Forward
Sri Lanka is at a crossroad, facing multiple crises, as well as the present impasse of an unwanted Executive with all powers and an inadequate Legislature with little powers. The call of…
Taking the Fight Against Ecocide to the Galle Face Protest
The last two years have witnessed the unparalleled destruction of Sri Lanka’s environment, with more than 1,000 cases of environmental degradation being reported throughout the country. The plundering of natural resources by…
No More Loans Without Accountability
Newscutter I am writing from Jaffna, rather disappointed and disenchanted with the IMF and the Government of India for trying to bail out our horrid government as detailed by the Hindustan Times.…
