Independence 75: Many unhappy returns?

Independence 75: Many unhappy returns? (By Tisaranee Gunasekara –   Daily FT)  Call it a no brainer. Whatever Queen Viharamahadevi, the legendary mother of King Dutugemunu, wore, it wouldn’t have been a Kandyan sari (osariya). So why dress up her statue in that garb, jewellery included? Not just any statue, but the one by the Ruwanweli Seya, her son’s most famous construct, and the place Gotabaya Rajapaksa chose to take his presidential oaths in 2019. When the story broke over the social media, the director general of the Archaeology Department took…

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Assist SL in securing IMF bailout, push for 13A

Assist SL in securing IMF bailout, push for 13A (Ceylon Today 2-02-2023) Leader of Tamil Progressive Party (TPA), MP Mano Ganesan and many other Tamil speaking political party leaders such as Rauff Hakeem, M.A. Sumanthiran, D. Sithadthan, Gajan Ponnambalam and Rishad Bathiudeen, who held talks with visiting US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said they had a unanimous stand that President Ranil Wickremesinghe should demonstrate his credibility by matching his words with deeds and urged the US to assist Sri Lanka to secure the IMF bailout. MP Ganesan elaborated…

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NPP for implementation of 13A, says Harini

NPP for implementation of 13A, says Harini By Saman Indrajith (The Island 2nd Feb 2023) The JVP-led NPP says that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution should be implemented fully as it has already been presented as a solution to the national question. NPP MP Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, told The Island yesterday that however, there was a debate within her party whether the full implementation of the 13th Amendment would help solve the national problem. She said that her party had no faith in the promises, and initiatives by President Ranil Wickremesinghe as…

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Prof. G.L. Peiris challenged the government to conduct PC polls before meaningless announcements

Prof. G.L. Peiris challenged the government to conduct PC polls before meaningless announcements Prof. G.L. Peiris, MP, yesterday (30), said that the prorogation of Parliament was primarily meant to disrupt three finance watchdog committees. Addressing the media at the Nawala Office of Nidahasa Janatha Sabhawa, the former External Affairs Minister explained how the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government exploited Constitutional provisions to its advantage. Declaring that nothing could be achieved by prorogating Parliament – a second time in seven months – Prof. Peiris alleged that the government was planning to replace Samagi Jana Balawegaya MPs,…

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Implementing 13A: Some thoughts

Implementing 13A: Some thoughts The 13A requires the Government to establish a National Land Commission, which would be responsible for the formulation of a national policy, concerning the use of State land. This Commission will include representatives of all Provincial Councils. The Commission will have a Technical Secretariat, representing all the relevant disciplines required to evaluate the physical as well as the socio-economic factors that are relevant to natural resources management. National policy, on land, use will be based on technical aspects, but not political or communal aspects. by Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne,…

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Protests against 13A used to arouse communal feelings – SJB

  Protests against the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution are being used to arouse communal feelings among people ahead of an election, says the main Opposition SJB. Addressing the media on Saturday, at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Colombo, Chief Opposition Whip, SJB Kandy District MP Lakshman Kiriella, said: “This country has witnessed many instances in the past. This time, too, the same old slogan of the country being divided is heard again. “The 13th Amendment is part of the Constitution. All parties have contested elections under…

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JVP projects a new image to business community in Colombo.

JVP projects a new image to business community in Colombo. Key remarks made by JVP Leader anura Kumara Dissanayake: NPP’s Galadari meeting (24th January 2023) The NPP had a crowded meeting at Hotel Galadari in what seemed an exercise to project a new image to the business community. The leading partner in the NPP, the JVP, could no longer be considered a poor party. Its coffers have grown to match any other political party in the country. NPP parliamentarian Harini Amerasuriya explained that the NPP is a coalition of 28…

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President tells all parties go for 13A or abolish it

President tells all parties go for 13A or abolish it Says he is bound to implement the existing law of the country Insists not ready to divide the country and will never betray the Sinhalese nation In an effort to settle the ethnic conflict, President Ranil Wickremesinghe insisted on working towards a consensus-based solution to enact the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. “We can’t remain in a middle position. We should either implement the 13th Amendment or abolish it,” he said at the All-Party Conference held at the Presidential Secretariat…

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India Curbed social fallout by acting fast, ties entered new…

India curbed social fallout by acting fast, ties entered new .. (Times of India 27-01-2023) NEW DELHI: Lauding India’s financing assurances to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), backing Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring efforts, Lankan high commissioner Milinda Moragoda said the social fallout of the economic crisis in the strategically located island nation would have been worse if India had not acted swiftly and that India’s support will minimise any trust deficit between the two countries. Speaking to TOI, Moragoda said no other country would have helped Sri Lanka the way India…

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Shameless coalitions ahead of LG polls

Shameless coalitions ahead of LG polls The economic crisis and the resultant political upheaval that brought down the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime have created ridiculous political alignments.  In fact, the major part of the “credit” for the creation of those alignments should go to Gotabaya’s younger brother and his Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa. The alignments have now grown into political alliances with the approach of the local government elections that have now been scheduled to be held on March 9. Of these coalitions, the one between President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s party, the United…

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