On Commission and Omission
The first anniversary of the end of the war approaches and we are into a celebratory heroes’ week. Whilst the regime will not fail to remind us ad infinitum of the great…
Constitutional Reform
Who Guards the Guards? – The Need to Move Swiftly on Removing the ER/PTA from the Sri Lankan Constitution
A year after the defeat of the LTTE the Sri Lankan government announced that it will be relaxing some of the Emergency Regulations (ER) that have been in place during the conflict….
BUDGET OR NO BUDGET? IT IS A CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION
There has been speculation this week that the government is planning to present a Vote on Account rather than a full and proper budget. The DNA/JVP has already announced its opposition to…
In conversation with Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu
Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives. I begin this interview with a pointed question, asking Dr. Saravanamuttu to flag anything the government has done well…
A Liberal Dilemma
‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’ was the lead slogan of the French Revolution which has been an inspiration to many movements around the globe. Many political initiatives have claimed to be based on Liberty…
IN MEMORIAM DR. CHANAKA AMARATUNGA
I have been invited to make some comments on the late founder-leader of the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka, Dr. Chanaka Amaratunga, on the occasion of the anniversary of his birth that…
TWO CONCEPTS OF THE CONSTITUTION: AN ESSAY IN MEMORY OF CHANAKA AMARATUNGA
19th April marks the 52nd birthday of the late Chanaka Amaratunga, the former leader of Sri Lanka’s Liberal Party, quondam Vice President of Liberal International, one of our foremost public intellectuals, and…
Remembering Chanaka
The idea of liberalism in Sri Lankan politics is intimately associated with the life and writings of the leader and founder of the Liberal Party, Dr Chanaka Amaratunga. He passionately believed in the…
MAHINDA’S TRIPLE WHAMMY & THE OPPOSITION’S ORGANIC CRISIS
Remember the “Bandaranaike Sri Lanka’s Northern Question (Gramsci spoke of Italy’s ‘Southern Question’) can be amicably resolved. President Mahinda Rajapakse has proved himself a superb politician and a successful wartime leader. Can…
Debating sovereignty in Sri Lanka
A decent enough interval has not lapsed between Dr Nihal Jayawickrama’s first expression of views on sovereignty in the a fortnight ago, and his more reasoned and most recent expression, for the…
Politics of Sinhala Nationalism: Underpinning of the UPFA Victory and Undermining of the Sri Lankan Nationhood
“Politically speaking, tribal nationalism always insists that its own people is surrounded by a world of enemies, one against all, that a fundamental difference exists between this people and all others. It…
Revisiting former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva’s views on the ICCPR
The arrest of General Sarath Fonseka marked the beginning of an unfortunate episode in Sri Lanka’s contemporary political history (or should it be ‘political ’). However much flawed the individual may be…
Strengthening democracy in Sri Lanka: An open invitation to generate fresh ideas
How can we strengthen democracy in Sri Lanka? From blue sky thinking to tried and tested ideas at the grassroots that need to scale up or be better recognised and supported, invites…
Seeing it comin’: Reforming the Sri Lankan State
– ‘Falling & Flyin’, Jeff Bridges in ‘Crazy Heart’ Seeing it comin’: Will the Tamils silently celebrate and the Sinhalese secretly curse the day that Prabhakaran died? With his secessionist fundamentalism and…
Interview with Arvind Kejriwal: No democracy without right to information
Arvind Kejriwal is one of India’s foremost champions of the Right to Information. Awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006, Arvind has won a number of awards for his…