Ranil enjoys a cult-like devotion from a small but noisy group of fanatical supporters. With their backing, he has turned the formerly grand, patriotic UNP into a one-man circus. The transition from D.S. Senanayake (image from article here) to Ranil (stills from video here). From his childhood Ranil has been told that he was born to rule. Through his various ...
Officially, Sri Lanka got its Independence in 1948. However, it was not until 1956 that the masses were truly freed. In the years from 1948-1956, the “British Raj” style of government continued in Sri Lanka. The ruling politicians were all of the kalu-suddha variety. Minorities ruled the country because they were the ones with the education and training, and contacts, ...
Dear Editor, In the modern era, Sri Lanka has had a connection with Japan since 1952, best embodied in the close relations between Japan and Sri Lanka’s former president J.R. Jayawardene, who gave the famous speech at the San Francisco Conference in 1951. Our ancient historical ties go back even further in time. Over the last few months, a Sri ...
The coup plotters who mobilized in 2014 to remove Mahinda Rajapaksa from power through the spread of baseless allegations, stirring up of communalism and racism throughout the country, and a well-orchestrated campaign of #FakeNews, are in a complete state of denial about the earthquake that happened on February 10th 2018. They are coming up with all kinds of contrived mathematics, ...
As the dust was settling after the political earthquake on February 10th 2018, and even during the campaign, what was most conspicuous by its absence were the NGO-media. In the run up to the 2015 presidential election which saw incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa toppled by an internal coup, and later in the 2015 general election which followed it, this NGO-media force ...
The path ahead for Sirisena and Ranil reveals no good options for them. Here are my projections. Continue with the pre-February 10th arrangement: the UPFA MPs currently on the government benches could carry on, ignoring the fact that the party they represent no longer exists. With the general election campaign starting just 1 year from now, and the certainty of ...
This local election was first and foremost a battle for the heart of the Sinhala patriotic movement. It was a battle for the soul, the true essence, of the SLFP — or more accurately, the party which was once known as the SLFP. It was never really about whether the UNP would get the most votes or not (which happily, ...
The events of the past 3 years have been nothing short of shocking. We have seen a massive crime wave, corruption from unelected ministers, the biggest bank robbery in the history of any nation – orchestrated by the goons and henchmen of the prime minister and the ruling party, a soaring cost of living, key strategic infrastructure sold off, the ...
Mahinda Rajapaksa has many positive characteristics which helped him rise to power. However, as I have written before, he succumbed to his negative characteristics while he was in power. His pride, stubbornness and misplaced faith in his ability to judge other people were what brought about his downfall. Most importantly, he became unable to distinguish between friends and enemies. In ...
The recent silence from Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Joint Opposition grouping regarding present disasters going on in the country is very disturbing. Dengue, garbage, economic collapse, and student strikes are doing untold damage. Uprisings and haarthals in the north and east are weakening the state. And more importantly the emergency of the upcoming fake “war crimes” witch-hunt that the Sirisena-Ranil ...
I have written earlier about the events surrounding the Joint Opposition’s hugely successful Kirulapone rally on May Day 2016. This article will focus on the political landscape after the huge upset dealt to the Pamabaya by the success of the Joint Opposition. Kirulapone proved beyond a doubt the staying power of Mahinda Rajapaksa as a central figure in Sri Lankan ...
The huge crowd at Kirulapone for the Joint Opposition May Day rally was easily the biggest gathering on the day. Even more significant was that the tremendous JointOp crowd gathered despite the Pambaya pulling out all the stops to try and derail the rally. The JointOp was victorious against various regime threats, intimidation, sackings of Mahinda loyalist party organizers, police ...
Mahinda Rajapaksa was an unexpected leader for Sri Lanka. Once he became president, he showed a resolve and determination which no one had seen before. He led the nation to the world’s first ever victory over Tamil terrorism, and then embarked on an unprecedented development drive which saw the completion of long-overdue infrastructure projects and quadrupling of the GDP per ...
So it turns out that people voted not for a new politics but for the same old politics — as long as it was carried out by new faces. Most of the faces now at the top of Sri Lanka’s political pyramid aren’t really new at all though. They are in fact the faces of characters we have known for ...
As the self-appointed “yahapalanaya” movement rejoices at Sambandan’s selection as Leader of the Opposition, we cannot forget that we’ve been here once before — with disastrous consequences. What happened in parliament on September 3, 2015 was a complete disgrace — though it was legally and procedurally correct. The TNA is the largest party outside of the government, and therefore must ...
A new page has been added to the blog: Democracy for Dummies. The aim is to be a reference guide about the Sri Lankan system of government, and democracy in general. It is a work in progress, but please do check it out and feel free to suggest any additions! Click here to see it, or use the link in the menu at the top of the page.
Mahinda was rescued from certain doom by a motley crew of brave souls who rallied around him in his moment of need. And they won, against all the obstacles. Now Mahinda has betrayed Wimal, Udaya, Dinesh, Vasu, D.E.W. Gunasekara, Rajiva, Tissa Vitharana, G.L. Pieris, Dayan Jayatilake, Sarath Silva, Tissa Attanayake and everyone else who helped him. The murmurings coming from Colombo ...
The results of August 18 can be described simply as a victory of lies, slander, and dirty tricks: evil won over the forces of good. A full, detailed analysis will be made shortly. Until then, let’s see how the dust settles.
Looking objectively, not a single valid, factual, logical reason exists which would permit a sane person to vote against Mahinda. And underlying every illogical attack on Mahinda is thinly veiled anti-Sinhala, anti-Buddhist bigotry. This blatant, shameless racism against the Sinhalese race, the Sinhalese-Buddhist nation and civilization, is what causes the vile, militant, base, and crude anti-Mahinda sentiment among the NGO-cabal, ...
