Lt. General Daya Ratnayake speaks about the challenges of a post-conflict Army Commander Some years ago, a young Army officer was scheduled to address some professionals among whom were senior academics. He detected restlessness. There was chattering in the rows. He began thus: ‘Dhammena heenang pashabbhi samaanang’, there is no difference between a human being lacking discipline and other ...
‘Battle of the Kings’ is the annual inter-school chess championship organized by the Royal College Chess Club. It will be held for the 18thsuccessive year at Royal College on January 24-26, 2014 It is not a battle of kings, contrary to the claim embedded in the name of the tournament. It’s a battle of knights and bishops, pawns and rooks. ...
[These are days of 'animal sacrifice' (e.g. Munneswaram Temple). Creatures eat creatures. For some eating dead meat is an article of faith, for some it is a cardinal sin. This is something I wrote some time ago. Thought it is worth a repeat.]There’s an email that is forwarded to me every now and then. It comes with different subject-lines ...
Victory speeches are long. Statements from the defeated camp are also long. They usually consist of a lot of homilies, chest-beating and finger-pointing. It’s quite alright and even necessary to thank those who helped. A bit of chest-beating is allowed; so too the articulation of reasons for defeat. Troop morale has to be maintained, after all. But there are things ...
Malaka Silva, son of the Minister of Public Relations and Public Affairs, Mervin Silva, did not attack, hit or injure Major Chandana Pradeep at the JAIC-Hilton, Colombo, along with his friend Rehan and a bunch of others, some of whom were (not) armed. Since there was no assault, it was not captured on CCTV. Malaka Silva is therefore the ...
Shyamon Jayasinghe, in an article published in the Colombo Telegraph (‘The political tug-o-war in Sri Lanka is cockeyed and absurd: only Ranil talks of economic goals’) dwells on the ‘dooshanaya-discourse’ or the ‘discussion on corruption.’ Shyamon makes an interesting observation:“One never observes any printed or online media that tries to balance the imbalance and put things in perspective. They ...
Pic courtesy www.nation.lkIf it is rumored that former president Chandrika Kumaratunga was instrumental in getting Maithripal Sirisena to take on Mahinda Rajapaksa, the lady’s thinly disguised treatment of the candidate as though he was a serf in her ancestral estate almost turns it into fact. If that were the case then Maithripala should be grateful. For now. After all, he’s ...
‘Buddhist Questioning Bodu Bala Sena’ Those who participated or wanted to participate in the candle-light vigil organized by a set of people calling themselves ‘Buddhists Questioning Bodu Bala Sena’, those who witnessed what happed or part of what happened, those who saw images and footage, and others who generally comment on issues such as religious tolerance, democracy, human rights ...
Taken from www.indi.com (see blogpost on the same subject) This is not the first time that the son of Mervin Silva, Minister of Public Relations and Public Affairs, has thrown his weight around. It is not the first time that Malaka Silva has violated the law. It is not the first time he’s played cops-n-robbers with real weapons. It is ...
Dissolved: The Parliament. No tears over a bunch of people who didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory having to come begging to us for votes. Dissolved: The 20th Amendment. This is not only sad but it is a damning indictment of both President Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe. The two demonstrated beyond any shadow of doubt that they were not ...
[Written in consultation with Wasantha Wijewardena, friend, fellow-traveler (at times) and a professional rastiyaadukaaraya, self-proclaimed] ‘John Seeya’ is an elderly resident of Paanama. Some would say he is Paanama. Others would say he is bigger than Paanama, considering his vast knowledge of Paanama, Okanda, Kumana and Ampitiya. He would probably say he is but another resident of a place with ...
Another January 25th is upon us. No big deal. Not the first, not the last. Follows a January 24th and will be followed by a January 26th. In a sense dates are meaningless things, relevant only in part and irrelevant in the larger order of things. We are, however, frail creatures who do not always move on and beyond moment, ...
At some point in your life you would have heard of traveling through time. When you read about a faraway place, enchanted lands, fascinating characters, there’s a part of you that wants to visit, wants to meet these amazing people in the flesh and so on. That’s natural. It’s not about stories only. We learn history and we learn geography. ...
When a man doesn't know which way to turn (or is embarrassed to state where he stands)....Maithripala Sirisena is the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. He is also the Leader of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). He dissolved Parliament. Then he went into hiding.We have seen in the last few months how stalwarts of the United ...
[The media pounced on the name 'Muttiah Muralitharan' for reasons that had only a cursory reference to cricket. Made me recall all that he gave us, year after year after year. Took me back to the final test he ever played. This is something I wrote at the time] It is the fifth ball of over number 54 in the ...
The lady came. She saw. She was honest enough to say that although this is her longest visit to any country as head of UNHRC, she didn’t see much. That’s her problem though and she can’t complain, having sat on an invite for more than two years. She came, she saw, and she released a statement. What has she ...
[In a parallel universe called Humility...]I was in New York the other day, but that was not to address the UN General Assembly. I just took part in a side event on maternal and child health and attended an event hosted by the Canadian American Business Council (CABC). My Foreign Affairs Minister, John Baird spoke at the UN instead of ...
‘Romesh Kaluwitharana ct Sachin Tendulkar, b Wasim Akram.’ Remember this? You probably would if you were an ardent cricket fan. You would, even if you were not, being an Indian and a Pakistani, old enough and interested enough (obviously) in shared subcontinental history. Who in the subcontinent hasn’t heard of Wasim Akram? Who hasn’t heard of Sachin Tendulkar? Both ...
Ex-judge C.V. Wigneswarn is now a politician. These are early days of his political career. Early days are typically made of words. Time will tell us more of ‘deed’ and the distance these have to rhetoric. We are not talking of the campaign rhetoric, which typically tends to gravitate to vote-getting imperatives. It is well known that manifestos are junked ...
