Interview with Prof. Kumar David
Prof. Kumar David, an electrical engineer by training, regular columnist in traditional print media and a frequent commentator on , talks about what’s left of leftist politics in Sri Lanka, the end…
Constitutional Reform
The ‘Sinhala-Nationalist’s Burden’
Mr. Gomin Dayasiri’s article, titled ‘Tamil Grievances – Untouched & Unattended’ (, 16 February 2010) reveals the Sinhala nationalist perspective concerning the kind of solution necessary for the resolution of the ethnic…
VALEDICTORY FOR A SEASON
The Sri Lankan crisis continues, sourced in and stemming from two major flaws/factors: (i) There is no comprehension that “justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done” and…
Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second term: Opportunities and challenges for constitutional reform
I interviewed recently Rohan Edrisinha, who lectures at the Law Faculty, University of Colombo. Along with a number of other issues related to prospects of meaningful constitutional reform in Sri Lanka during…
Abolition or reform of Executive Presidency in Sri Lanka?
A pre-presidential election conversation I had with well-known lawyer and activist Javed Yusuf touched upon a number of issues vital to Sri Lanka over the course of 2010 and well-beyond. Javed Yusuf…
President’s second term: Two options before the Supreme Court
There is, at present, much excitement over the question of when re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s second (and new) term begins. Various news reports concerning the matter have been published in the print…
The long wait for a President…
“How can we inspire ourselves to greatness, when nothing else will do…?” asks Nelson Mandela from Francois Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks rugby team. This leading question comes from the movie…
TNA’s Failure to Seize the Moment: Who Will Fill the Vacuum?
The TNA’s ability to negotiate a comprehensive devolution package for the Tamil community with either Mahinda Rajapaksa or Sarath Fonseka is becoming more and more distant as the Presidential election draws nearer….
DAYAN JAYATILLEKA’S CRITIQUE OF TAMIL NATIONALISM: A COMMENT
[Editors note: This article responds to Dayan Jayatilleka’s article.] I have read with considerable interest Dr. Dayan Jayatilleke’s recent critiques of the post-war strategic and normative dynamics of Tamil nationalism in terms…
The 2010 Elections: Finishing the War on Terror & Beginning the Battle for Democracy
The 26th of November 2009 went by without Vellupillai Prabhakaran making his annual Mahaveera Speech. We can effectively say that he and the LTTE died on the beaches of the Nandikandal Lagoon…
A response to Dayan Jayatilleka’s “Mindless emotionalism and absence of thinking in Tamil politicsâ€
I have been following Mr. Jayatilleka’s articles both on . While I do agree with some of his ideas such as a multi-ethnic Sri Lanka where citizenship is not defined by ethnicity,…
THE RAJAPAKSE REGIME: BRICKBATS, PLAUDITS
[Editors note: This article complements , also by the same author.] This is a disjointed exercise that does not claim comprehensiveness. That is impossible in a short essay, the more so because…
Tamil politics in Sri Lanka: Time to stop being suicidal
“ It was Prof Robert Pape who put it on the record: the Tamil Tigers fielded many more suicide bombers than any Middle Eastern or “jihadist” group. Suicide within the Tamil nationalist…
Dealing with law and order as an issue of the Presidential elections
A crucial issue for any type of stability and for good governance in Sri Lanka is the restoration of law and order. Litanies of complaints have been made by politicians and almost…
Taking note of the Lisbon Treaty
Czechoslovakian President Vaclav Klaus signed the 2007 EU Lisbon Treaty on the 3rd of November thereby making the Treaty effective as of the 1st of December 2009. The Czech Republic was the…
