Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, a former military spokesman and decorated combat officer, assumed duties on the 1^st of August 2013 as the 20^th commander of the Sri Lanka Army. No former commander ever assumed duties under more inauspicious circumstances for barely had the ceremonial takeover of command concluded than straightaway came reports that the Sri Lanka Army had clashed with unarmed protesters in Weliveriya in the Gampaha District, with scores injured and several dead.   Read the rest of this entry »

The Rajapakse Administration is gearing up to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) later this year, in November. Last weekend’s news papers carried an interesting comment attributed to President Rajapakse that his government must be cautious that it does not face a repeat of history of a previous SLFP government, under Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike, which also very successfully hosted a significant international conference,   the Non Aligned Movements’ (NAM) heads of government summit in 1976 but thereafter comprehensively lost the general elections, shortly thereafter in 1977. From which political wilderness, the SLFP did not come back for seventeen long years, until under former President Chandrika Kumaratunga the SLFP led People’s Alliance, in 1994 defeated the UNP. A state of affairs, which except for a brief and rather unsuccessful co-habitation experience for two years in 2002 and 2003, continues nineteen years hence, of which the past seven years has been under President Rajapakse. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, Rajavarothiam Sambanthan, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance pulled a political rabbit out of a proverbial hat, when long running rumors were confirmed that eminent jurist and articulate good governance advocate, retired Supreme Court Justice C.V.Wigneswaren was to be the TNA’s nominee for Chief Minister of the Northern Province.

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That the Rajapakse regime is in a mighty hurry to dismember and roll back the clock on the limited devolution of power accorded in Sri Lanka under the 13^th amendment is borne out by the fact that the Cabinet of Ministers two weeks ago approved as an urgent bill, a constitutional amendment which would eliminate the ability of two or more provinces to amalgamate (merge to use the popular terminology) and work together for the public good. However, within a week the government had paused in its rush to destroy devolution and decided to not proceed with what it had deemed was urgent in the national interest. How and why it paused in its rush to destroy devolution deserves an analysis. Read the rest of this entry »

Both the ruling Rajapakse Administration and the opposition United National Party are busy with their own versions of constitutional reform. The UNP with making constitutional reform proposals for dialogue and discussion, while the Government, was busy using its two third majority to rush through yet another constitutional amendment, this one reducing even further the very limited and truncated devolution of political power existing under the current 13^th amendment to the Constitution. Read the rest of this entry »