The Crisis and After
The crisis that prevailed in the country over the last two months has been overcome, consequent to the decision of the Supreme Court that was handed down on 13th December. While the…
Politics and Governance
Are We Sri Lankans One People? Where Are Our Leaders?
Politically, it may appear that we are not one people. We have a long history of ethnicity-based politics within a small island with a measure of ethnic diversity unrivalled in countries of…
Crisis as Second Chance?
Time will say nothing but I told you so…” WH Auden (If I Could Tell You) Ravindra Wijegunaratne, Admiral and Chief of Defence Staff, epitomised impunity as he swaggered into Fort Magistrate…
Friday Night ‘Special’
Welcome to Lanka who has lost her good reason, Where people must fight in and out of their season. Each one for themselves and not one for the other, Now whom can…
A Quest For Power: Mahinda, Ranil or Sirisena?
“” (‘The Tempest’) Maithripala Sirisena, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe are invoking the notion of the ’will of the people’ to conceal their selfish interests, and their amoral and deracinated feudal elitism. The current…
Free For All
On November 16, a 3 day long standoff between the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and the United National Front, the Tamil National Alliance and the JVP turned violent. In an unprecedented move,…
Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole: The Election Commission Believes the President Violated the Constitution
All three members of Sri Lanka’s Election Commission (EC) believe that President Maithripala Sirisena violated the constitution when he issued a Proclamation to dissolve Parliament and called for elections, according to Professor…
The Dissolution of Parliament in the Constitution of Sri Lanka
Further exacerbating the constitutional crisis that he precipitated a fortnight ago, President Sirisena issued a proclamation purporting to dissolve Parliament on 9thNovember 2018. Having prorogued Parliament and then lost the gamble to…
On Dissolution of Parliament
Featured image by Raisa Wickrematunge There is speculation that Parliament will be dissolved. Arguments have been made for and against the right of the President to dissolve Parliament at will, at any…
Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero Memorial Lecture by Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda
Recording of the Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thero Memorial Lecture by Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda on 8 November 2018, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The lecture is in Sinhala. 41mins. Video of the lecture, recorded…
Questions of Freedom: Problems in Sri Lanka’s Constitution, Laws and Institutions
Citizens of Sri Lanka should heed this warning to the framers of the US constitution. The Sri Lankan Presidency was, until recently, a fixed executive, not dependent or answerable to parliament and…
The Political Is Personal – An Essay In Despair
“ In his explanation of why he removed Ranil Wickremesinghe from the office of Prime Minister, President Maithripala Sirisena cited policy and personal differences between the two. An analysis of his speech…
Of Constitutions, Cabinets and Coups
This brief article seeks to build on what commentators have already contributed regarding the present constitutional crisis, and to suggest responses to several claims which – perhaps – have not been addressed…
Paradise Lost? Preliminary Notes on a Constitutional Coup
There were three dramatic announcements on the evening of Friday 26th October 2018 from the Presidential Secretariat, which occurred in the following order: (a) the announcement of the withdrawal of the UPFA from…
Money Talks: some facts around the depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee
The Sri Lankan rupee has depreciated against the US dollar on several occasions this year first on June 11 and then on June 20, when its value stood at Rs. 161.17. Reports…