SPLIT ASUNDER: FOUR NATIONS IN SRI LANKA
[Editors note: Scholars and serious readers are encouraged to download the Adobe PDF version of this article that includes all annotations and references in the original.] Sri Lanka today is a fractured…
Constitutional Reform
Where is the democracy in the UNP?
R.M.B. Senanayake The attempt to muzzle Dayasiri Jayasekera MP by the UNP leadership is another manifestation of the anti-democratic character of the UNP. Some, who crossed over from the UNP earlier, alleged…
SRI LANKA: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
The year 2007 in Sri Lanka began with little hope for a revival of the peace process, and therefore also for constitutional reform, and it ends with similar prospects on either of…
FEDERALISM AND THE UNP
Much has been said and written about the UNP’s supposed abandonment of federalism during the past week. Much of it completely misses the point. Whatever are the politics and motivations behind the…
One step forward, two steps back
Pradeep Peiris, Anupama M. Ranawana October 2007-10-03 Ranil Wickremasinghe has been labelled as the United National Party’s most unsuccessful leader to date. Whether you agree with this statement or not, it is…
Federalism or Nationalism? Fears and Promises
Many states, especially in the developing world are torn between entrenched mononationalism and the need to keep with the changing world. It is precisely because the ultimate aim of all human efforts…
When the architects demur
“My party will act on principles and on behalf of the masses until it emerges victorious” – Ranil Wickremasinghe to media persons at Katunayake International Airport upon his return from a tour…
The heroine of democracy and the monks revolution
My article is in solidarity with the on-going peoples uprising in Myanmar (Burma), led by the Buddhist clergy. In their hundreds of thousands, they have marched across the country and in the…
Seeking a Solution: 13th Amendment + or 2000 +
The United National Party has changed its policy on ethno-political question and stated that it would withdraw from a federal type solution to a unitary solution that would be based on the…
Are We Going to Make the Same Mistake After 35 Years?
The discussions at the All-Party Representative Committee (APRC) have taken a significant turn in the last two three weeks and its indefatigable chairman, Minister Tissa Vitharana, appears to have given in to…
The Chief Justice and Intelligence
Copyright: The Economist Recently our Chief Justice averred that one does not need intelligence to get into Parliament. I fully agree. But I have a further point to make to the Chief…
A Donkey doing a Dog’s work: The Grade 1 entrance fiasco and the Chief Justice
This author is gobsmacked by the recent edict by the Chief Justice on school admissions to Grade 1. It is an affront on equality and human dignity. What is more, as a…
The Indo-Lanka Accord – Some reflections 20 years hence
ඉන්දු ලංක෠ගිවිසුම (1987 ජූලි- 2007 ජූලි): අවස්ථà·à·€à¶šà·Šà¶¯? බලහà¶à·Šà¶šà·à¶»à¶ºà¶šà·Š ද? “ඉන්දු ලංක෠ගිවිසුමෙහි දසවන සංවà¶à·Šà·ƒà¶»à¶º අවස්ථà·à·€ පෙන්නුම් කරන්නේ එහි අරමුණ වු ජනවà·à¶»à·Šà¶œà·’ක ගà·à¶§à·…ුවට දේà·à¶´à·à¶½à¶± විසඳුමක් සොය෠ගà·à¶±à·“මෙහි ල෠à·à·“â€à·Šâ€à¶» ලංකà·à·€ ඇදහිය නොහà·à¶šà·’…
BEYOND FEDERALISM?: LIBERALISM’S CHALLENGES IN SRI LANKA
This columnist has been associated for the past several years with that much-maligned minority that can be broadly labelled ‘liberal federalists’ on the question of peace and constitutional reform in Sri Lanka….
Suggestion to the Select Committee on Electoral Reform
by R.M.B. Senanayake The Select Committee on Electoral Reform headed by Minister Dinesh Gunawardene has submitted a very good report making recommendations which will clean up our electoral politics by removing structures…