Last week a story on the front page of a daily English newspaper caught my eye. Not for its content but for the sheer absurdity of such a story having made headlines on the front page of a newspaper. This was the story: Manioc stolen from Horogolla. The article went on to say that some [...]
Has everybody forgotten who Sarath Fonseka really is? Clearly the bankrupt United National Party has. It is this same party and its current leader Ranil Wickremasinghe who accused Sarath Fonseka of the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge. Today, Wickremasinghe and the UNP are flirting once more with Fonseka hopeful that his colourful track record will help [...]
How fair is it by the voters when an MP who gets elected from one party crosses over to another party? How then can people have faith in the entire system of elections and a thriving democracy? What has happened where politicians of today so blithely will forego this principle? This article focuses on the [...]
Last week a petition signed by some 153 members of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) pushed for the BASL to stop a government motion from appointing a Parliamentary Select Committee to probe the conduct of Sarath N. Silva during his tenure as Chief Justice. The lawyers who signed the petition asked for the [...]
Genuine peace is better than the absence of fighting Peace however imperfect is always better than slaughter. Two and a half years since the war ended I recall the words of Desmond Tutu and Lakhdar Brahimi when they commented on the Sri Lankan situation post war, “Genuine peace is more than the absence of fighting.” [...]
Sri Lankans across the board, renowned for their friendly smiles and easy ways are too afraid to speak A Norwegian journalist Correspondent for Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation sat across from me in my office last Tuesday. Norwegian Broadcasting is state owned and the largest media organization in Norway, BUT with absolutely no interference in editorial content. [...]
Frederica Jansz So now Pitchai Jesudasan from Nuwara Eliya is dead. The sole remaining suspect in the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge. Jesudasan is not the first and will most certainly not be the last man to die “suddenly” while in remand custody. This man was only 40 years old. He hailed from a poor family in [...]
I do not mourn for Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra: I mourn for this country that is ours Frederica Jansz Can anybody tell me why Duminda Silva is not shackled to his bed? After all, here we have a man who by numerous eyewitness and published accounts first slapped and then shot Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. Even if [...]
Frederica Jansz In a democracy a strong and active opposition is a MUST for good governance. Civil society can never play that role effectively. The tragedy for the country is that the opposition is failing miserably in their duty and thus the government is given a free pass out of jail to carry on with no respect for democratic norms. Once thought to be the only party that [...]
Frederica Jansz For the first time in its history the UNP which won the Colombo Municipality even in 1956 when the rest of the country voted the UNP out, is today facing the distinct possibility of loosing Colombo. This is not only because the leaders have almost destroyed the Grand Old Party but also because of the fact that [...]
Recent Comments