ජනාධිපතිනියගේ ඡීඑස්ඩී දාමරිකකම් ගැන ශ්‍රීලනිප, පොපෙ හා ජවිපෙ කියන්නේ කුමක්ද?
When inquiries into the Presidential Security Division began, SLFP loyalists called them a plot to weaken the President’s security. The editorial notes that investigations now link the PSD to the attacks on the Leader editor, the Rohana Kumara murder and other outrages, with officers saying they acted on the President’s orders, and demands that the SLFP, PA and JVP state their position. If she ordered the crimes she must face the law, by constitutional amendment if necessary.
මාධ්‍ය ගුරුවරුන්ගේ දැක්මේ දුප්පත්කම
Ivan ridicules Dr Ariyaratne Athugala, head of mass communication at Kelaniya University, who told Dinamina that repealing criminal defamation would be a crime and complained that the media dwell on Rookantha, Chandraleka and Anoja Weerasinghe. Ivan notes that international bodies seek repeal, that the law protects only politicians and officials, and that other laws already cover defamation. He also mentions a Colombo University media lecturer who said on state television, after the North-Western poll rigging, that Sri Lanka had too much media.
මැතිවරණ දූෂණවලට ඉඩ නොතැබීම ආණ්ඩුවේ වගකීමක්
Local elections on the 20th in a limited number of councils will test the government’s commitment to free and fair polls. Ivan notes that monitors found malpractice at the previous local elections, blamed on government supporters, and that a promised inquiry committee including a retired Supreme Court judge was never appointed. Organised electoral fraud is always the work of ruling-party supporters with police acquiescence, and controlling it is a duty of government and society.
පීඑස්ඩී අපරාධවලට ජනාධිපතිනිය වගකිවයුතු නැද්ද?
Police inquiries are confirming what Ravaya long reported: that the Presidential Security Division was behind the attacks on the Leader editor and his home, the Rohana Kumara murder, the harassment of singers Rookantha and Chandraleka, the burning of actress Anoja Weerasinghe’s house and body parts sent to Ravi Karunanayake. The editorial argues these crimes had political motives, that the President’s role must be investigated, and that if involved she belongs in prison, not the presidential palace.
ත්‍රස්තවාදය හා මාධ්‍ය
Ivan reports on the UNESCO World Press Freedom Day conference in Manila on terrorism and the media, where Zimbabwean editor Geoffrey Nyarota received the Guillermo Cano prize. He summarises sessions on Abu Sayyaf kidnappings of journalists and on media ‘oxygen’ for terrorism, recounts his own speech as a former insurgent jailed for seven years who argued that terrorism has social roots and was nurtured by great powers, and describes post-September 11 curbs on information in the United States and elsewhere, ending with the conference declaration.
ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනයක් අවශ්‍ය වුවත් එය සිදුකළ යුත්තේ පරිස්සමෙනි
With the UNF in government but President Kumaratunga holding decisive constitutional powers, including dissolving Parliament after a year, Ivan traces the cohabitation crisis to a 1978 constitution designed for one-party control, a flaw N.M. Perera foresaw. The government’s planned amendment to curb her powers needs PA votes for a two-thirds majority, and he warns that buying them could distort constitution-making, urging a broad consensual process for a new constitution instead.
ජීවන බර සැහැල්ලු කිරීමට ඉක්මන් පියවර ගත යුතුයි
Fuel, telephone and electricity prices have risen, with food, bus fares and postal charges following. The editorial says the new UNF government, like its predecessors, blames the previous regime rather than acting, and that while business relief in the first budget is justified, business has been the main driver of price rises. A government must at least cushion the burden, and should not use the peace effort to cover popular discontent.
ප්‍රභාකරන් එන්න යන්නේ මොකාටද?
Ivan rejects the JVP-led reading that Prabhakaran’s press conference shows he still wants Eelam, arguing he had to address the international community, the government and his own followers at once. Facing hostile journalists was itself an achievement, and his regretful tone about past violence contrasted with the JVP’s justifications. Drawing on the JVP’s own history, the ANC and the IRA, he predicts the LTTE’s barracks culture will fade only slowly and that Prabhakaran’s real test will be governing.
සියලු රාජ්‍ය අරමුදල් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ පාලනයට යටත් විය යුතුයි
Former finance minister Ronnie de Mel asked during the budget debate that all state funds, including the President’s Fund, be brought into the Consolidated Fund under Parliament’s control. The editorial calls holding funds outside it illegal and contrary to parliamentary democracy, and criticises the Auditor General’s weak scrutiny of institutions under powerful figures and the Public Accounts Committee’s frequent failure to meet for lack of a quorum.
අපේක්ෂා කළ හැක්කේ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය සහිත සාමයක් නොව,සාමයක් පමණය
Ivan compares the LTTE’s entry into mainstream politics with the JVP’s. The JVP returned quietly, under another name, after military defeat; the Tigers are coming openly as an undefeated force. He expects their rule in any interim North-East administration to be authoritarian and barracks-like, argues that peace itself is the prize for the Sinhala people, that winning democratic freedom is for Tamils themselves, and that the government must guarantee the rights of Muslims and Sinhalese in the region.