රටේ රැජිණ ජනාධිපතිනියයි
A satirical piece on the gift of two acres of prime land at Rajagiriya to the President’s Australian physiotherapist, likening her to a feudal queen who rewards retainers from the royal domain, along with luxury houses for loyal officials and President’s Fund grants to relatives. A second item mocks the CID’s deferential questioning of Anuruddha Ratwatte over the Udathalawinna massacre and its passing of the matter to the Attorney General.
රැකි රක්ෂා සඳහා ජාතික ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් අවශ්‍ය යි
The cabinet has reportedly reversed, at the President’s intervention, its decision to cancel all state recruitment made between the dissolution of Parliament and the election. The piece argues that a caretaker government has no right to make such appointments, that correcting them is not revenge, and that in a country with high unemployment jobs must go on merit under a fair national recruitment policy, with a law banning hiring once an election is called.
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.
ආනමඩුවට තලගොයි පාලනය අවසන් වී කබරගොයි පාලනයක් ලැබීම
Ivan describes how in Anamaduwa the violent rule of PA strongman D.M. Dassanayake, known as ‘Thalagoya’, has been replaced after the election by that of the UNP’s Ranga Bandara, a former policeman, with nine killings, 250 injured and over 150 houses burned, while the police and the Prime Minister look away. A second section welcomes a Supreme Court ruling ordering IGP Lucky Kodituwakku and others to pay compensation personally over biased police promotions.
රාවය කර්තෘගෙන් අගවිනිසුරුට එරෙහිව කථානායකට පැමිණිල්ලක්
A formal complaint to Speaker Joseph Michael Perera asking Parliament to investigate Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva’s association with Rohana Kumara, a fraudster and suspect in the Peradeniya gardens murder of Ranjith Bandara Wijekoon. It details Kumara’s record, his role at the judges’ training institute, minute-by-minute phone records linking him to the gunman and to the Chief Justice’s residence, the property dispute behind the killing, forged fundamental rights petitions, and exhibits.
කුමාර් පොන්නම්බලම් ඝාතනය
An investigative dossier on the January 2000 killing of Kumar Ponnambalam. It sets out a timeline linking the killing to the President’s televised attack on critics, and reports Mrs Ponnambalam’s accusation against the government and CID chief Bandula Wickremasinghe’s secret report naming Mahen Ratwatte as instigator. It reproduces the President’s two condolence letters (one wrongly dated), suspect Sugath Ranasinghe’s affidavit clearing Mahen Ratwatte, a lawyer’s letter for Ratwatte, and a transcript of Ranasinghe’s taped phone confession.
ජනාධිපති ලේකම්ට පිළිතුරක්
An open letter to Kusumsiri Balapatabendi answering his statement that private media were running a campaign linking the President and her security division to murders. Ivan lists attacks on Lasantha Wickrematunge and himself, the President’s own claim to have stopped a plot to kill two editors, S.B. Dissanayake’s account of her plan to bomb Ravaya and the Sunday Leader, and evidence linking presidential security men to the killings of Rohana Kumara and Kumar Ponnambalam and the assault on Rookantha and Chandraleka, and offers to join an impartial inquiry.
යුද හමුදාව නින්දාවට පත් කිරීම
Ivan argues that Anuruddha Ratwatte used army commandos in the election, including the Madawala and Polgolla polling-station attacks and the Udathalawinna massacre, and faults army commander Lionel Balagalle for permitting it. He then examines the Athurugiriya safe-house affair, questioning why an intelligence unit working in Batticaloa kept thermobaric weapons in Colombo, the irregular rent and uniform contracts, and Charitha Ratwatte’s earlier complaint of a plot to kill Ranil Wickremesinghe.
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.
ජේ ආර් ප්‍රේමදාස හා චන්ද්‍රිකා ආශ්‍රයෙන් රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ
Ivan compares the new Prime Minister with three presidents. J.R. Jayewardene thought big and was democratic with his cabinet though authoritarian towards the country; Premadasa was the reverse; Chandrika Kumaratunga had no national goal and was autocratic towards both. He credits Ranil Wickremesinghe’s restraint on the ethnic issue and his rapid lifting of northern restrictions, likened to John Major in Northern Ireland, but faults his hoarding of ministries and his ambivalence on the Chief Justice and holdover officials.