Corruption

“Have you learned nothing from history?” – Freud (The Future of an Illusion) This day, 27 years ago, Sri Lanka was burning. During Black July, Sinhala mobs murdered not just Tamil men, women and children; they also killed prospects of peace and stability. They torched not just Tamil property, but also to prospects of economic […]

Ahisma Wickrematunge has filed a complaint against Senior Superintendent of Police W.Thilakaratna for attempting to aid Udayanga Weerathunga to escape arrest, at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption (CIABOC). The complaint has been filed on 21 Feb 2020. In her complaint, she says that 0n 07 February 2018 acting under case number […]

Image: Kapila Chandrasena & Nishantha Wickramasinghe. The Board of Inquiry on Sri Lankan Airlines. The Board of Inquiry was appointed on 16th February 2015 . Its members were J.C.Weliamina, Chair Person (President’s Counsel and social activist), U.H. Palihakkara (Chartered Accountant, former Chairman of Finance Commission), BAW Aberywardana (f Accountant, an expert in procurement and public […]

An insightful writer I follow had written that the corruption revealed in the Airbus case, technically described as a deferred prosecution agreement, is intrinsic to capitalism or to the market system. The implication is that it may not be intrinsic to not-capitalism, usually described as socialism. But all one has to do is to read […]

EN – Airbus aviation group had offered a 16 million US dollar bribe to the wife an employee of Sri Lanka’s state airline for a large aircraft order, and at least two million dollars were paid to a ‘straw company’ set up in Brunei, court records show. The aircraft manufacturer had “failed to prevent persons […]

Image: SSP Shani Abeysekara. Former Director of the CID, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shani Abeysekara has lodged a complaint today (28) claiming that he had received death threats from someone over the phone. SSP Shani Abeysekara was suspended a few weeks ago for allegedly having a conversation with MP Ranjan Ramanayake over a court […]

This National Policy Framework (NPF) of the government constitutes of 10 key policies aimed at achieving the fourfold outcome of a productive citizenry, a contented family, a disciplined and just society and a prosperous nation. There is no mention of strengthening democratic governance, reconciliation  or human rights in the 10 point programme. Bring to justice […]

“The tragic paradox of the electoral route to authoritarianism is that democracy’s assassins use the very institutions of democracy – gradually, subtly, and even legally – to kill it.” -Stephen Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (How Democracies Die) “As if our democracy was nothing but a short-lived dream,” says Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa in The Edge of […]

Image: UNP Prime Minister (Ranil Wickremesinghe) and his inner coterie had not robbed the Central Bank of Sri Lanka … As Sri Lanka’s Presidential election counts down to a tense culmination in two weeks, let us have the comfort of imagining in a parallel and more hopeful universe, that following the crushing defeat of the Rajapaksas […]

  NPP candidate launches manifesto titled ‘Hope of a Nation’ Strengthening democracy and rule of law, ensuring corruption free administration prioritised Public security and national peace also on top of agenda Pledges to downsize Cabinet to 25 and cut retirement perks for politicians National Peoples’ Power (NPP) presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday unveiled his […]

The JVP candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake, supported by the National People’s Power (NPP), undoubtedly is well ahead of all other candidates in terms of ideas, principles and policies presented before the people at this election. Those are not just election promises or bogus gestures like what the other two main candidates have competitively put forward. […]

Cartoon by @tmdsbekanayaka “Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance” – Oscar Wilde. Elections are here, time for pacts, pledges and promises – the time-tested Sri Lankan way of savouring democracy. The sooner you get them negotiated and sealed the better. Formation of alliances before a Presidential Election is normal in Sri Lanka. […]

Wimal Fernando. The two major parties, namely the SLPP and the UNF have announced Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Sajith Premadasa respectively as their presidential candidates. The third force JVP has announced Anura Kumara Dissanayake as their candidate. In addition there are several other candidates who either represent various other political parties or come as Independent candidates […]

Image: Gotabhaya Rajapaksa ( Al Jazeera) (REUTERS) In a split decision, a panel of five Supreme Court judges rejected a petition by Rajapaksa, who had asked that a lower court case in which he is accused of embezzling state funds be thrown out, his spokesman said. If Rajapaksa, 70, is found guilty in a trial, […]

 Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) believes the controversy surrounding the proposed USD 3.85 billion oil refinery in Mirijjawila, Hambantota, could have a negative impact on Sri Lanka’s efforts to remove itself from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) ‘Grey List’ of countries vulnerable to money laundering and terrorism financing. The main investor in the project, […]

Speaker of House Karu Jayasuriya today informed Parliament that President Maithripala Sirisena’s statement in Parliament last evening, claiming that the Constitutional Council disregarded seniority when making appointments and dismissed 12 of the President’s recommendations is unsubstantiated. The Speaker making a special statement noted that the Constitutional Council in principle does not use seniority as a […]

The controversial ‘MiG Deal’ remains in the public spotlight as evidence continues to surface of the Rajapaksa Government’s complicity in engineering the dubious 2006 arms deal, and of scandalous attempts to hide the truth of the deal from the public. Sunday Times Defence Correspondent, Iqbal Athas, who first exposed the alleged scam in December 2006, […]

Commission will cover period between Jan. 2015 to Dec. 2018. Retired SC judge will head five member Commission. Probe will cover acts of corruption, fraud, criminal breach of trust, criminal misappropriation of property, cheating and abuse or misuse of power or authority, state resources and privileges. Interim report required within three month & final report […]

Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to the United States Jaliya Wickramasuriya is likely to be offered a proffer agreement by US federal prosecutors this week, to spill the beans on the Government run by his cousin Mahinda Rajapaksa between 2005-2015, in exchange for leniency in money laundering and immigration fraud cases filed against him in Washington […]

Any day is important, and some days are extra- special. However, the events that unfold on that special day would be fermented for over the years. Some years are extra-special too. The year 2019 is one such year. As the presidency enters into its fifth year, this would be the election year. This is also […]

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Presidential Secretariat has not responded to repeated requests from a Commission of Inquiry probing irregularities at state-run SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka for more time to complete its work, its chairman said. Commission Chairman Anil Gunaratne, a retired Supreme Court judge, said that the Presidential Secretariat has not responded to multiple […]

Beyond the distasteful power squabbles that presently make up the sum total of Sri Lankan politics or ‘politricks’ as cynics are wont to say, the three men at the core of the crisis undermining the nation’s constitutional text, (viz; Maithripala Sirisena, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe) need to realise a basic fact. Their currency of […]

November 9, 2018. WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Dina Titus, Co-Chair of the Sri Lanka Caucus; and Rep. David Price, Ranking Member of the House Democracy Partnership today urged Sri Lanka to uphold its commitment to democratic governance and reopen the country’s Parliament. In a letter to President Maithripala […]

What has been set up is a continuation of the black decade that existed before 2015. This collective has been assembled for an ugly power gamble in the country. We call upon the masses to pay attention to build the broadest center to win their rights says the Leader of the JVP Anura Dissanayaka. Mr […]

Image: Minister Field and High Commissioner James Dauris visiting a mine field. Mark Field, Minster of State for Asia, Pacific and Commonwealth Office, UK, Next year Sri Lanka will have enjoyed 10 uninterrupted years free from the misery of armed conflict. Whatever your view on how Sri Lanka has progressed since, that very fact alone is […]

Current leaders of an apparently professional group of which we are members are trying to organize a reunion in honour of a visiting member of the alumni from the UK. That is like an official of the UN Human Rights Council visiting Sri Lanka. Given that I did not hear anything of importance about this […]

Aug 24, 2018/ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s attorney general Friday filed a fresh complaint against former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa over the misappropriation of state funds to build a 90-million rupee memorial for his late parents. The latest complaint was filed with the special High Court which began its work by taking up a case against […]

Image: Sri Lanka MPs like to fight among themselves as well. The political class in Sri Lanka, as in many other countries in the world, is not beloved of those who voted them into office; and they are very well aware of that unpleasant fact. Given that knowledge, it is inconceivable that our Members of […]

This brief guide is prepared by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) to raise awareness on salient points in relation to the Judicature (Amendment) Act No 9 of 2018 enacted in May 2018. As the guide indicates, if fully implemented, the present legislation can address delays with justice with specific cases in Sri Lanka. While […]

The Democratic Unionist party MP Ian Paisley is facing suspension from the House of Commons for 30 sitting days of parliament after failing to declare holidays worth £50,000 paid for by the Sri Lankan government and becoming a paid advocate of the Sri Lankan government. His suspension, which is likely to be approved by MPs, will have […]