රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ: විවේචනාත්මක විශ්ලේෂණයක්
Prompted by a friend’s emotional call on the morning after the defeat, Ivan recalls what he once told Ranil Wickremesinghe to his face. Sections examine his deep but unfulfilled vision, the acting Elections Commissioner, forged ballot papers in an earlier election, his lack of courage, and the party system.
සාමය නොසලකා යුද්ධයට අත වැනීම
The country has a new President, but the search for a peaceful settlement has stalled. Rajapaksa’s win was a win of the Sinhala majority in which minorities had no share; by electing forces that would not grant the Tamils even the tsunami mechanism, the south has signalled that it will not settle the conflict by sharing power.
ඉතින් මැතිනියනි ඔබට ආයුබෝවන්
The worst story about Chandrika Kumaratunga’s honesty came from Le Monde’s Delhi correspondent, puzzled by the degrees listed in her official biography after 1994. Ivan then recalls the impeachment plan of 1991, in which all three main actors lived in dream worlds, and how the exposure of the Suriyakanda mass graves brought the rising Kumaratunga great fame.
මහින්දගේ ජයග්රහණය
Mahinda Rajapaksa won a close contest, helped by Prabhakaran’s boycott, ending the political careers of both Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga. For the first time the SLFP passes to a leader outside the Bandaranaike family; sections assess Wickremesinghe, Kumaratunga, the JVP and Prabhakaran, and predict that on the ethnic question Rajapaksa will end up on their path.
නව ජනාධිපතිවරයා
Written before the final results were declared, the editorial congratulates Mahinda Rajapaksa on a win by fewer than 200,000 votes, reminds him that a president chosen by the majority community must serve a multi-ethnic country, and asks that the loser be treated with dignity.
රාජ්ය නායකයා තේරිමේ තරගය
The winner may steer the country not for six years but for twelve. After nearly 58 years of independence the country is fractured and bloodied; the editorial calls for democratising the parties’ feudal ways and for each of the executive, legislature, judiciary and media to do its duty.
ජනාධිපතිවරණය, මැතිවරණ කොමසාරීස්වරයා හා වත්කම් බැරකම් නීතිය
The Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law of 1975, amended in 1988, is the only strong law for scrutinising the wealth of politicians and officials, yet until 1999 it was applied almost only to officials. Ivan recounts how, as Ravaya’s editor, he asked the Elections Commissioner for the declarations filed by Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickremesinghe with their 1999 nominations.
ඉතින් මැතිනියනි ඔබට ආයුබෝවන්
Ivan explains that he decided after the 1999 election to write a book on his experience of Chandrika Kumaratunga before she lost power, and that some critics credit him with helping to create the conditions for her rise. He begins with stories that cast doubt on her honesty, including one told at a pearl jewellery fair and one from Le Monde’s Delhi correspondent.
අධිකරණයේ විනිසුරුවරුන්ට ආචාර ධර්ම පද්ධතියක්
The Bar Association has appointed a former Chief Justice and two retired Supreme Court judges to draft a code of ethics for judges. The editorial welcomes it, but says the judiciary’s indecency flows from the Chief Justice himself, and that the law must be enforced against him if the trend is to be reversed.
ජනාධිපතිවරණය ගැන සමාලෝචනයක්
Ranil Wickremesinghe faces only Mahinda Rajapaksa, but Rajapaksa faces Wickremesinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga as well. His candidacy excites anti-UNP forces, though his pacts with the JVP and Hela Urumaya and the Bandaranaikes’ hostility cost him; two incalculable factors remain, Prabhakaran and Karuna.