Rajapaksha rule

Image: For the first time since 2016, there will be no Tamil national anthem at the 72nd Independence Day celebrations in Sri Lanka(AFP). (Press Trust of India/Colombo) The then Sri Lankan government in 2015 started including the Tamil national anthem as a means of achieving reconciliation with the Tamil minority community. For the first time […]

The Government is to strip the civic rights of those responsible for falsely implicating or involving others in murders or related investigations. Their conduct will be probed by a Special Presidential Commission to be appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Its tasks will cover those serving state investigative agencies such as the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), […]

Image: The Sword of Damocles. With the presidential election campaign now well underway, it appears that the contest is between the two main candidates, Sajith Premadasa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In the absence of scientific polling in Sri Lanka, no credible voter sentiment analysis is available. Therefore we are all compelled to rely on speculation. Outside the […]

Image: A protester during the Oct 2018 constitutional coup. In democracies, elections usually are significant political turning points. In democratic theory, an election marks two key opportunities to the people as well as the rulers. For the people, it marks the periodic occasion to elect their rulers and grant them authority to rule over them for […]

Aanya Wipulasena. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s claim that the star rugby player was killed driving at 175km per hour has irked the murdered sportsman’s family after his administration presided over a murder cover-up for three years. Sunday Observer can reveal new details this week, about the last few hours of Wasim Thajudeen’s life and how telephone analysis […]

Geneva, March 21 (newsin.asia): The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC): on Thursday through consensus passed a resolution giving the government of Sri Lanka two more years to implement the resolution 30/1 of 2015, ie: until March 2021. After the resolution was adopted the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana, said that the passing of the […]

The press in Sri Lanka, especially the Sinhala press has been avidly following the progress of the proposed alliance between the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) quite closely. The center piece of this attraction has been the choice of its presidential candidate, seemingly a choice between incumbent President […]

At the very moment the political conspiracy was committed with the mediation of President Maithripala Sirisena, the JVP resolved that the political conspiracy would be defeated and all moves that would be taken to consolidate democracy in the country. When Parliament met on 14th November the JVP presented a no-confidence motion against the illegal, unconstitutional […]

3RD DECEMBER 2018. Lawyers for Democracy Response to Mahinda Rajapakse’s Misleading Statement made in the wake of the Supreme Court case. Lawyers for Democracy expresses its serious concern on the attempt by Mahinda Rajapakse, MP for Kurunegala District, to mislead the country by issuing an unusual statement on the matter of the dissolution of Parliament, […]

The proto-fascist rouge-regime is floundering trying to consolidate itself. Kumar David. Much ink has flowed discussing recent events and much moral judgement offered; another such piece is redundant. My focus today is on the next stage. By way of preface I first put down a few facts on paper. Love him or hate him, Ranil […]

Image: Ven Dambara Amila. ©s.deshapriya. S.S. Selvanayagam. Nayake Thero Ven Dambara Amila attached to the Nalanda University College has filed a Fundamental Rights petition in the Supreme Court in relation to the acts of the President on the purported removal of Ranil Wickremesinghe from the office of the prime minister and the purported appointment of […]

Image: Sri Lanka police shielding speaker Karu Jayasuriya from the attack of Rajapaksa loyalists MPs, 16th Noc 2018. ( Photo AP) Warns public confidence in parliamentarians at an all-time low;Insists world is watching, damage to Sri Lanka’s democratic reputation on the line . A deeply moved MP Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday lamented over what he termed […]

Image: Radhika Coomaraswamy. (ada derana) For the most part of the last few weeks we have been in a suspended state of disbelief. Yes, the 2015 government had not lived up to its expectations, some people were plotting for the next election to teach them a lesson, and then lightning struck. The Prime Minister was […]

As the core of Sri Lanka’s Democratic Socialist Republic implodes in multiple critical ways today, it cannot be said that we were not forewarned. For not only President Maithripala Sirisena but also each and every one of us must abide by a fundamental truth underlying the legal order. The Constitution cannot be selectively applied because […]

“A certain cat had made the acquaintance of a mouse and has said so much to her about the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at length the mouse agreed that they should live and keep house together.” – Brothers Grimm (Cat and Mouse in Partnership) Some words are more evocative than others. […]

Image: Civil groups have been protesting the unconstitutional move by President Sirisena since 27th Nov. (Reuters) – Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to dissolve parliament, worsening an already major political crisis, has drawn criticism from Western powers, including the United States and Britain. Sirisena dissolved parliament on Friday night, only five days before it […]

In Sri Lanka, it’s yesterday once more. Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family are back in charge. For those who are very young, or with very short memories, the experience of the last few days will serve as a quick explainer of the past, and a guide to the potential future. Elected MPs have been purchased […]

Image: Karu Jayasuriya, Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, looks on during a party leaders and members meeting at the parliament in Colombo, Sri Lanka .REUTERS/DINUKA LIYANAWATTE/FILE PHOTO. (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s parliamentary speaker has called the president’s sacking of the prime minister to bring a former leader back to power a non-violent coup […]

The National Association of University Academics met the Prime Minister at the Secretariat and forwarded a memorandum with 5 points to be implemented expeditiously. The Secretary of the Association .Prof Channa Jayasumana presented the recommendations and other academics expressed their views followed by him. The Prime Minister stated that he would study these recommendations in […]

Sri Lanka’s journalists have become caught in the centre of the bitter power struggle between the country’s rival prime ministers, an international media watchdog said Wednesday, urging authorities to ensure their safety. Reporters without Borders (RSF) said supporters of former president Mahinda Rajapakse stormed state-owned media institutions shortly after he was controversially named prime minister […]

“The mandate of the 2015 election in which Your Excellency was elected as President pledged to abolish the executive presidency and mitigate the balance of power between the Parliament and the Executive. However, it was shocking to see Your Excellency’s recent act as the Head of State, which has gone against this mandate and the […]

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: State TV station SLRC taken over by pro Rajapaksa gang. State-owned Lake House newspapers Daily News, Dinamina and Silumina Editorials were taken over by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) unions last night, Daily FT learns.A highly-placed source linked to Lake House told Daily FT that page one of today’s Daily News had been changed […]

Image: Alugosuwa with his mentor – File Photo ( Caption from the original article) A staunch supporter of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has published an article which speaks about Presidential aspirant Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s Alugosuwa in Jaffna.  Alugosuwa is  the Sinhala word for Hangman and  colloquial word for killer. K.T. Rajasingham, the author and publisher of the article was  a member of […]

Media Releases | Tue, 18 Sep 2018. On receipt of media reports from Italy that a Sri Lankan with a Diplomatic Passport has been arrested at Malpensa Airport in Milan for allegedly trying to smuggle four youths into Italy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initiated immediate inquiries to ascertain the veracity of this information. Accordingly, the […]

“Without liberty, the understanding would be to no purpose, and without understanding, liberty (if it could be) would signify nothing.” Locke (An Essay Concerning Human Understanding) The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) doesn’t always get it right. In May 2018, it predicted that Nawaz Sharif’s party, PML-N, will win Pakistani elections scheduled for July. That was […]

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in its latest report, has forecasted that the party backed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will win the next Presidential and Parliamentary election. The country report on Sri Lanka, generated as premium content by the London based international research outfit on September 10, forecasts on a wide range of subjects in […]

  Can he, can’t he? That’s the question. The 19th Amendment issue on the possibility of Mahinda Rajapaksa contesting the presidential polls has turned national attention on the man all over again, even to the exclusion of brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the war-victorious Defence Secretary, who was being marketed as the replacement, in-between. Independent of what […]

The relationship between Sri Lanka’s military politics is a topic that gets occasional media attention. However, there is hardly any serious scholarly work on the subject, despite the fact that maintaining a framework of balance in civil-military relations during and after the civil war has surely been a major policy preoccupation among the country’s civilian […]

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 […]