චොකා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය
Under the People’s Alliance ‘Choka Malli’, chairman of the Nivitigala Pradeshiya Sabha and now an MP, ruled Ratnapura as ‘Chandi Malli’ ruled Hambantota. With power changed, two of his followers have disappeared and their dismembered bodies been found. The editorial warns that revenge by past victims must not be allowed, since punishment outside the law ends the rule of law, and that no new ‘Choka’ system should take root.
නරින්ට කුකුළන් බාරදිම
Tourism Minister Gamini Lokuge has said the management agreement for SriLankan Airlines should be reviewed. The editorial notes that since management passed to Emirates there are no direct flights to Germany or Italy, key tourist markets, and that Sri Lanka cannot change this despite majority ownership. Handing the airline to a regional competitor was like giving Lake House to a rival newspaper, and those who criticised the deal in opposition must now correct it.
ජනාධිපතිනියගේ දෙබිඩි පිළිවෙත
The editorial argues that the President’s opposition to the government’s negotiations with the LTTE defies the majority who elected the UNF on a promise of peace talks. It holds that the 2001 result also cancelled her 1999 mandate, so she should either resign or let the new government govern, and warns that telling the world she backs peace while telling supporters she will resist a sell-out could do the country great harm.
අනුරුද්ධ රත්වත්තෙ අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනීම
The editorial welcomes the arrest of former deputy defence minister Anuruddha Ratwatte on criminal charges as a necessary step, since the powerful commit crimes because they are never punished. It argues that the President’s security division has been used against opponents, that she shares the blame, and that presidential immunity should cover ordinary acts of government, not crimes.
අබා කොස්තා පියනම ඝාතනය කළේත් පොන්නම්බලම් ඝාතකයෝ
A news report that the killing of Fr Aba Costa of St Joseph’s Church, Negombo, is being traced to the gang of Moratuwa Saman, alleged gunman in the Kumar Ponnambalam murder. It notes the confessions of Tinker Sunil, arrested at Kuliyapitiya, Saman’s re-arrest, suspicion that businessman James Anthony ordered the killing because the priest opposed his jackpot machines, and Captain Ranjith’s arrest at the house of Baddegane Sanjeewa.
නව විපක්ෂ නායකයාට සුභ පැතුම්
The editorial welcomes Mahinda Rajapaksa’s appointment as Leader of the Opposition as a first step in freeing the SLFP from one family’s control, noting that Chandrika Kumaratunga conceded it only under pressure from party members. It urges him to modernise the party and to practise an opposition politics that supports what is good, including peace, and opposes only what is harmful.
නුවුවමනා තරම් ඉක්මන්කම සේ ම අධික ප්‍රමාදය ද රටට අයහපත් ය
The editorial notes that the new government has still not appointed chairmen and boards to corporations and statutory bodies, paralysing decisions at state banks and the Insurance Corporation. It urges prompt appointments vetted by a parliamentary committee open to public objections, and full enforcement of the assets and liabilities law, which the previous government ignored even for the President and cabinet.
උතුරේ ජන ජීවිතය සාමාන්‍ය අතට පත් කිරීම
The editorial welcomes the reopening of the Vavuniya–Kilinochchi road and urges a Colombo–Jaffna bus service. It describes costly and scarce flights and sea passages, a decade and a half without electricity, and prices three to five times those in the south, and argues that normalising life in the north would build the climate needed for a peaceful settlement.
සාමය සඳහා දරන උත්සාහයට බාධා නොකළ යුතු ය.
The editorial says Sri Lanka can recover only by ending the war, and urges all parties not to obstruct the new government’s peace effort. It criticises the JVP, itself once outside the democratic mainstream, for opposing the process from the start, arguing that if Sinhala youth could leave armed struggle for democracy, Tamil youth deserve the same chance.
අගවිනිසුරු සම්බන්ධයෙන් අනුගමනය කරන්නට යන පිළිවෙත කුමක් ද?
Referring to that week’s Ravaya lead story on the Chief Justice’s links with the criminal Rohana Kumara, a charge already in the UNP–JVP impeachment motion, the editorial says Sarath N. Silva has disgraced his office. It notes that the new government has done nothing, and urges it to restore judicial independence before any other reform.