By Ranga Jayasuriya Those who have followed this column might know that I have regularly expressed strong reservations about Gotabaya Rajapaksa during his previous stint as the secretary of defence and later his reincarnation as the president. Those concerns would be vindicated when the Sri Lankan judiciary is unshackled from routine political meddling and inherent bias toward the powers that be. Nonetheless, after the other Rajapaksas resigned and their dynastic project crumbled, I, for one, had rather been inclined to put up with Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s continuation in office for the…
Read MoreDay: 22 June 2022
Supreme Court Rules that Majority of Clauses in 21st Constitutional Amendment Bill Tabled by Samagi Jana Balawegaya Would Require to be Passed by Two-thirds Majority in Parlianent and Approved by the People at a Referendum
The Supreme Court has determined that a majority of the clauses in the 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill which was tabled by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) are inconsistent with the Constitution and would require to be passed by a two-third majority in Parliament and be approved by the people at a referendum. The Bill was presented to Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill by SJB MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara and five petitions were filed challenging its constitutionality. Continue reading ‘Supreme Court Rules that Majority of Clauses in 21st…
Read MoreSri Lanka On The Cusp Of Implosion! White Vans Have Become ‘Black Marias’
By Vishwamithra – “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” ~ Plato President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s birthday is being celebrated by the ordinary men and women in the country as a ‘Black Monday’ Ever-lengthening queues for petrol and diesel tell a frighteningly realistic story; cooking gas is fast becoming a yesteryear’s luxury; hospitals are closing for want of drugs and surgical equipment gone inoperable due to lack of electricity and other amenities; schools have become ghost-buildings for no children can travel…
Read MoreWimal says US Ambassador had intervened in Aragalaya
Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa today revealed that a move to remove Galle Face protesters by police trucks sometime ago had to be withdrawn due to the intervention of the US Ambassador. He told Parliament that the US Ambassador had told a certain minister that if the Galle Face protesters were removed, it would negatively affect IMF discussions. “One day, during the early days of the Galle Face protest, a heavy fleet of police trucks had arrived at the Galle Face protesting site. When I inquired, I got to know that they had…
Read MoreUN warns Sri Lanka could face ‘full-blown humanitarian emergency’
The United Nations warned Friday that cash-strapped Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic crisis could develop into a dire humanitarian crisis, with millions already in need of aid. “We are concerned that this could develop into a full-blown humanitarian emergency, and we are taking action to address that concern,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters. The UN and its partners are appealing for $47 million to address the immediate needs of the 1.7 million of the most vulnerable people and those most affected by the crisis, he…
Read MoreUK monitoring SL situation, ready to support
United Kingdom on Monday said it is monitoring the developments in Sri Lanka and ready to support to come out of its crisis. “We continue to monitor the situation closely and will encourage a peaceful, democratic and inclusive approach to help support Sri Lanka through its economic and political challenges,” MP Vicky Ford told the UK Parliament yesterday. She was responding to a query on UK’s development aid by UK Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon. He asked the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether…
Read MoreTrying to take the world for a ride
Foreign Minister GL Peiris must surely find his right hand terribly sore. Turn over the pages of local newspapers and even some news sites and there he is shaking hands with numerous foreign politicians and diplomats that he must need a good rub down at the end of the day. More recently he was seen greeting the new Australian deputy prime minister in Singapore where Foreign Minister Peiris had turned up to attend (possibly) the Shangri-la Dialogue which I suppose is still sponsored by the London-based International Institute of Strategic…
Read MoreSaboteurs Hijack ‘GotaGoGama’?
Domestic and external forces working together to further destabilise the country wracked by three corrupt Rajapaksa regimes including the current, have hijacked ‘GotaGoGama’, Galle Face by trying to block a visiting IMF US dollar bailout mission opposite the Finance Ministry yesterday. The current cause of Sri Lanka’s misery is the lack of dollars to import essentials originating in the two terms that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MP) was in power, from 17 November 2005 to 8 January 2015. Meanwhile, yesterday, a group of protesters tried to block the entrance of…
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