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ව්යවස්ථා සභාව, උයන්ගොඩ හා විග්නේෂ්වරම්
Victor Ivan
Ravaya
The Jathika Hela Urumaya objects to Jayadeva Uyangoda's nomination to the Constitutional Council because he once served a twelve-year sentence, and the prime minister to C.V. Wigneswaran's. Ivan answers that the 1977 government repealed the law Uyangoda was sentenced under and gazetted that it should not follow him, that Gandhi,
With 99.5 per cent of LTTE territory taken and the remainder unwilling to surrender, Ivan proposes that the government turn the question around: invite the world bodies and powers now speaking for the trapped civilians to put forward a programme for freeing them, subject to the government's own scrutiny, with
Replying to a Peradeniya medical student who objected to his earlier column, Ivan asks why selling medical services is acceptable if selling medical education is not, and sets World Health Organization figures for doctors, nurses and pharmacists per ten thousand people against those of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Korea and Europe.
Answering Ravaya readers angry at his support for the war, Ivan points to Gandhi raising an ambulance corps in the Boer War and blessing the Allies against Hitler, and argues that the Second World War was won not by non-violence but by a greater counter-violence. He applies the same reasoning
The article examines the downfall of Lalith Kotelawala and the Golden Key Credit Company, questioning whether his philanthropic public image was a deliberate cover for an unregulated, fraudulent financial enterprise. It draws direct parallels between his deposit-taking methods and those of notorious scammers like Sakvithi Ranasinghe and Danduwam Mudalali. The
Alongside ending the war and answering Tamil grievances, Ivan argues, the country must attend to the global downturn reaching it: strengthen reserves, cut the imports it can do without, encourage bicycles, and teach English to the tradesmen and nurses already trained but shut out of the Western labour market for
Ivan reads the revolt against Ranil Wickremesinghe at Sirikotha as an illustration of the political system's absurdity: a party with no constitutional means of removing its own leader, in which the leader holds the same absolute power over the party that the president holds over the country. He imagines Ranil's
Following the government's declaration of a year dedicated to Information Technology and English, this article critiques the poor state of digitalization in Sri Lanka's public sector. Pointing to outdated practices in Parliament, Customs, and the CID, the author advocates for robust e-governance to curb corruption and increase efficiency. Furthermore, it
Written as the military defeat of the LTTE became inevitable, this article shifts focus to the monumental task of post-war reconciliation. The author argues that true victory requires healing the psychological wounds of the Tamil people, acknowledging past mistakes by the Sinhalese, and addressing legitimate minority grievances. Drawing a powerful
A comprehensive historical analysis reflecting on the defeat of the LTTE and the 25-year armed struggle. Tracing the political history from the colonial Colebrooke-Cameron reforms to the post-independence Sinhala Only Act and university standardization policies, the author examines the root causes of the conflict. The piece argues that while discriminatory
Ivan argues that the absence of any law on party and election funding is the main source of corruption in Sri Lanka. He compares the spending limits and disclosure rules of the United States, France and India with Sri Lanka's single, unenforced assets law, and describes how candidates repay their
Written during the critical final phase of the civil war in February 2009, this article analyzes the LTTE's strategy of using civilians as a human shield to force a political settlement. The author addresses the outrage from the global Tamil diaspora, pointing out the LTTE's own history of violence against
An analysis of the Sri Lankan political landscape following the 2009 provincial council elections. The article discusses how Mahinda Rajapaksa solidified his power, rendering opposition leaders like Ranil Wickremesinghe politically impotent and crippling the UNP and JVP. The author urges the President not to misuse this massive mandate like J.R.
This article examines the controversy surrounding the government's decision to allow the establishment of a private medical college by Dr. Neville Fernando. Countering the protests of student unions, the author argues that breaking the state monopoly on higher education is a progressive necessity. The piece highlights the severe shortage of
Written during the final phase of the civil war, this article reflects on the imminent collapse of the LTTE and the resulting leadership vacuum within the Tamil community. The author argues that Sinhalese leaders now bear the responsibility to treat the Tamil people with compassion and justice. It serves as
A philosophical and historical reflection by the author on their controversial support for the state's harsh military suppression of both the JVP insurrection and the LTTE. Drawing comparisons to the non-violent civil rights movements of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, the author argues that when armed rebellions become
Sri Lanka's throat was caught in two nooses, Ivan writes — terrorism and the political system — and the first is nearly loosed. He explains his own shift: he doubted the account that armed struggle followed the failure of non-violent politics, doubted the Tamil homeland claim, and was moved decisively
Reading the Co-Chairs' call on the LTTE to lay down its arms, Ivan notes that the European Union, Japan, the United States and Norway — the parties most opposed to the war — now accept that the LTTE has been militarily defeated and say nothing of political talks with it,
Sri Lanka is close to winning one of the two decisive questions before it. Where every previous approach had failed and the country was stuck with no end in sight, Rajapaksa made a reckless attempt, staking his own survival and the country's on fighting the LTTE to a military defeat,
The war's quick end is now in sight, and the largest remaining problem is how to free the civilians trapped on a small strip of land. The government has declared a no-fire zone, but the LTTE, using those people as a shield, is unlikely to let them cross into it.
