What’s in the 19th Amendment For Me?
The true value and effectiveness of the 19th Amendment for improving governance in Sri Lanka has been a matter of debate for some time now. Political representatives and political parties have expressed…
Politics and Governance
Stopping the Landslide
Basil Rajapaksa (Daily FT – 29.7.2020) Basil Rajapaksa is the Rajapaksa family’s thinking man. Unlike his brothers and nephews, he doesn’t shoot his mouth off. His remarks should be taken seriously, because,…
Authoritarianism is No Remedy to the Country’s Wounded Democracy
Photo courtesy Verite Research Finally, the date of the Parliamentary elections has been announced. There is hardly any doubt about which party would win the election. The only doubt is which ideology…
The Spectre of an Authoritarian Regime Based on a Putschist Model
Photo by AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, via Living in challenging times can be a blessing if changes during that time move one’s country towards a fair and progressive era. Otherwise its society will…
F*** You, Mr. President
Photo by Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images, taken off Middle East Institute In what must surely count as one of the most hilarious, unintentionally ironic and terrifying proclamations ever uttered by a…
Sri Lanka: 10 Political mistakes that shouldn’t have been committed during the pandemic
President Rajapaksa dissolved the Parliament on 2nd March 2020– six months before the due date, amidst the growing danger of COVID-19 pandemic. By this time, the uncertainty relating to the possibility of…
DEAD OR TRANQUILISED? THE RECALL OF DISSOLVED PARLIAMENTS
Photo courtesy The COVID-19 crisis took hold in Sri Lanka at a time when Parliament stood dissolved ahead of a general election. The gravity of the public health emergency, and what it…
May 18: A thousand lamps to remember a dark past and inspire a better future
The Catholic Church in the tiny village of Iranapalei in the Mullaitheevu district was lit up with 1000 lamps yesterday, 18th May. The thousand lamps were to remember the tens of thousands,…
Keenie Meenie: A ‘deniable’ arm of Whitehall?
Book Review – Phil Miller, Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who got away with War Crimes, (Pluto Press, 2020) Eleven years ago, in May 2009, the Sri Lankan security forces decisively defeated…
The fight against Covid-19 should not weaken the rule of law
Photo courtesy The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant shutdown of social and community life has meant that the political debate and dialogue in Sri Lanka, has moved from more traditional forms of…
Scapegoating the Muslims: From Aluthgama to Post-Easter Sunday to COVID-19
Photo via To date in Sri Lanka 9 persons are said to have died of Covid-19 and out of these 4 are Muslims. At least 02 of these victims’ families believe their…
Election against Democracy
Photo by Tharaka Basnayaka/NurPhoto via Getty Images from It is a modern morality tale about the dangers of misusing the military, of militarising civilian tasks, of expecting generals to handle pandemics. By…
Why understanding the constitution and elections law matters
Photo credit AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena via The postponement of the General Elections 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic has led to different viewpoints being expressed on the legal position. The focus…
A constitutional solution to the impending constitutional crisis
Photo by AP via ABC News The threefold crisis that our country faces— public health, the constitutional, and political—is exacerbating day by day. In the latest development, a number of soldiers of the…
Parliamentary Elections 2020: A Point of View
Photo credit AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena via The coronavirus pandemic has impacted the lives of people in Sri Lanka and across the globe. The President and the Minister of Health have given leadership…
