WALL STREET JOURNAL SAYS IMPEACHMENT MAKES SRI LANKANS WONDER A STRONGMAN RULE NIGHTMARE AFTER A 26 YEAR WAR

By Walter Jayawardhana Commenting on the impeachment of Dr. Shirani Bandaranayaka, the Wall Street Journal warned that it gives the United Kingdom and other members of the Commonwealth a small quantity of leverage to require that the President of Sri Lanka uphold the rule of law if he wants to sit among polite company at […]




Iranian ship flees detention in Sri Lanka

(Reuters) – An Iranian-flagged cargo ship has fled Sri Lanka’s waters after weeks of detention by its navy, acting on a court order obtained by Germany’s DVB Bank (DVBG.F), officials and a lawyer acting for the bank said on Thursday. The Sri Lankan navy last week fired warning shots to prevent the MV Amina from […]



The Sinhala Only Policy, Tamil “rights” and the validity of calling Buddhists extremist in Sri Lanka

  By Shenali Waduge To sufficiently address a global and local campaign that has as its clear objective to project Buddhists in Sri Lanka as extremists, chauvinistic and even militant is not easy and impossible given that the gavel has concluded its verdict. Then there is also the notion that the Sinhala Only was the […]



CHANDRA WICKRAMASINGHE COMING TO SRI LANKA TO GATHER FURTHER INFORMATION

By Walter Jayawardhana – Pix by University of Buckingham Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe, Director of the Buckingham Center for Astrobiology in the United kingdom will fly to Sri Lanka for obtaining further information of  the Polonnaruwa Meteorite and meeting some Sri Lankan scientists for discussions over his team’s findings over this weekend. […]





ICJ urges Lanka to reinstate ex-chief justice

AP – By Bharatha Mallawarachchi The International Commission of Jurists has condemned the appointment of Mohan Peiris as Sri Lanka’s chief justice and urged the government to reinstate the former top judge who was fired after a highly criticized impeachment process. […]



Thai Pongal celebrated at Temple Trees

By Janaka Alahapperuma – Pix by: Sudath Silva The National Thai Pongal Festival was held on a very grand scale under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees yesterday on 16 January. The celebration area was decorated with flowers and other colourful traditional decorative items and Kolam […]



HINDU SAYS RAJAPAKSA HAS PLACED HIS INTEREST OVER THAT OF THE COUNTRY

By Walter Jayawardhana India’s influential newspaper the Hindu said in a hard hitting editorial that the Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa has placed his and and his regime’s interest over that of the country and its institutions when the Sri Lankan Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayaka was impeached and replaced. […]



Fonseka ready to join hands with Dr. Bandaranayake

“I was forced to take to politics due to wrong decisions of the government. Former CJ Shirani Banadaranayake has also faced the same fate. I am ready to join hands with her to fight to protect democracy for the sake of the people and the country,” Democratic National Alliance leader Sarath Fonseka said, speaking to […]



FOLLOWING CJ IMPEACHMENT CANADA IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO BOYCOTT LANKA’S SUMMIT SAYS GLOBE AND MAIL

By Walter Jayawardhana Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper said that Canada appeared to be one step closer to boycotting this year’s Commonwealth leaders’ summit Monday as Prime Minister Stephen Harper bluntly called on the Sri Lankan government to reinstate the country’s fired Chief Justice, Shirani Bandaranayaka. […]



UNITED STATE WARNS THE IMPEACHMENT OF CJ UNDERMINES LANKA’S ABILITY TO GET INVESTMENTS

By Walter Jayawardhana Expressing that there are serious questions about the health and future of Sri Lanka’s democracy over the impeachment of Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayaka the United States warned that any action that undermines an independent judiciary would impact on Sri Lanka’s ability to attract foreign investment. […]




CJ impeachment: UPFA too seriously wounded, won’t survive – JVP

JVP heavyweight Lal Kantha yesterday asserted that President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government had suffered serious injuries, though it emerged victorious in its battle against Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. Therefore, he, too, would not survive the crisis caused by the impeachment of Dr. Bandaranayake, Lal Kantha said. […]