කෙළෙහි ගුණ දැක්වීම
Ivan notes that the President was met in London by Ronnie Peiris, who had helped her in exile after Vijaya Kumaratunga’s murder and has since grown rich, and says the UNP’s promised inquiries into such figures have gone quiet. Further sections note that she named Sarath N. Silva as a drafter of her constitution though he sat on the bench reviewing it, praise Anton Balasingham’s endorsement of Neelan Tiruchelvam’s 1996 devolution plan, and ask why no one has sought Tony Fernando’s release.
ඉරාක යුද්ධය
The editorial welcomes a Supreme Court ruling, on a Batticaloa voter’s petition over 55,000 people in an LTTE-held area being prevented from voting, which ordered compensation from the army commander and censured the Elections Commissioner, recalling that the President was allowed to vote from her residence in 1999. It argues that senior officials such as the Elections Commissioner and Attorney General, who served ruling parties and stood by during Tony Fernando’s jailing, have done more harm than politicians.
A UNP-PA Coalition in Place of a JVP-PA Coalition?
This article analyzes the strategic political maneuvering between Sri Lanka’s major parties—the UNP, PA, and JVP—over the formation of coalitions and control of the government. It outlines the internal divisions within the PA regarding whether to form a permanent alliance with the JVP to topple the ruling government, or to feign an alliance to eventually form a national government with the UNP. The piece highlights the President’s reluctance for a snap election and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s counter-strategy: maintaining stability to secure international aid for the peace process with the LTTE, and proposing a national referendum on peace to isolate the JVP and foster a UNP-PA coalition.
ජේවීපි -පීඒ සභාගයක් වෙනුවට යූඑන්පී -පීඒ සභාගයක්
The piece maps the calculations behind the PA–JVP rapprochement: Mangala Samaraweera and Anura Bandaranaike pushed for a firm alliance to topple the government, Wimal Weerawansa championed it in the JVP, while the President, wary of a snap election and focused on her own political survival, would not commit. Ranil Wickremesinghe held on until the aid conference and internationalised the peace process; a referendum on it could isolate the JVP and lead to a UNP–PA coalition, which could be good or dangerous.
දේශපාලන අස්ථාවරභාවය
Although a sea clash did not wreck the peace talks, uncertainty persists over whether the President, now allying with the JVP, will dissolve Parliament. The editorial argues that an early election is unlikely because the PA lacks a firm base, victory with the JVP could bring a worse war, and the international community backs the peace process. It adds that the government has failed to win respect beyond the peace effort, and that lasting peace requires deep reform of the political system rather than a mere truce.
ස්වාධීන කොමිෂන් හා ජවිපෙ
The editorial reminds the JVP that it claimed the 17th Amendment as its own victory, yet it stays silent while the President undermines the independent commissions by refusing to approve their nominees, in breach of the Constitution. It asks why the JVP, which talks most of an early election, does not use its new friendship with the President to get the Independent Elections Commission set up, and whether it would accept a repeat of the Wayamba poll operation.
සිංහයා, වෘකයා, කැනහිලා හා නිලමැස්සා
Tony Fernando’s jailing and beating shocked the world but not Sri Lanka’s conscience. Ivan notes Param Cumaraswamy’s appeal to the Bar Association, the President’s refusal to pardon Tony, which he ties to her mutual protection pact with Sarath N. Silva, and the Prime Minister’s indifference. He attacks three newspapers backed by the President and Mangala Samaraweera for smearing Tony and Ravaya, recalls their defence of PA-era crimes, and ends with a fable of scavengers to rank their journalists.
සෙන්පතියන් ගොළුවීම
Ivan describes how a petitioner who appeared without a lawyer was jailed for a year for contempt by a bench including two respondents to his petition, just as the Attorney General was drafting a law defining contempt at the Editors’ Guild’s request, and asks why the Guild and most media stayed silent. Short items follow on arbitrary VIP death compensation, a study of LTTE tax revenue, and the JVP’s dilemma over the PA’s 2000 regional-council package.
විය යුත්තේ කුමක්ද?
Opposition to the ceasefire is growing: the JVP wants the LTTE destroyed militarily, and the PA, including Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, joined a protest against Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ‘treacherous pact’. Recalling the JVP’s violent response to the Indo-Lanka Accord, the editorial argues that the memorandum’s flaws should be debated, not used to return to war, that neither side will give up readiness to fight overnight, and that the country needs a policy of untangling the knot.
හදිසි මැතිවරණයක
As the ceasefire agreement with the LTTE nears its first anniversary, the seizure of a boat carrying anti-aircraft weapons shows the LTTE is ready for war, unsettled by talk of a snap dissolution and the President’s pact with the JVP. The editorial warns that an election under cohabitation would be a violent contest, and lists eight points the parties should agree, including electoral reform, restoring the independent commissions, a neutral caretaker government and a five-year national government.