The dilemma of independence
More than five decades have passed since independence, and the fifty-fourth anniversary has to be marked with sadness rather than pleasure. What the country has done with its freedom, measured against the neighbours who started level with it, is the subject.
It’s tricky path to peace
The new government is moving fast towards an agreement with the LTTE. The country is bankrupt as it has never been and growth has gone negative, and although the fundamental problems are various they are all tied into one another.
Peace and president: New Govt.’s tight-rope walk
The Prime Minister and his retinue have crossed the river full of man-eating crocodiles and reached land. They may think the walk to the oasis is easier than the crossing was. Land looks safe and is full of pits and mirages, and sometimes crossing it is harder than crossing water.
JSC: More questions than answers
The Judicial Services Commission has answered the criticism in an International Bar Association report on the state of the Sri Lankan judiciary. Its answer, Ivan writes, raises more questions than it settles — and he was the complainant in one of the inquiries it describes.
It’s time for cleaning up
Given how far the country has fallen, getting back to normal is not easy. People must understand that recovery will be gradual, and the government must at the same time give them a sense of hope. This is Ivan’s list of what the new government should clean up first.
President may face impeachment
During the campaign the President boasted of her wide powers, and after the United National Front won she did not pick a fight with the winner by flourishing them. She has handed over internal administration and remains chief executive, commander-in-chief, and the holder of a private army of thousands.
Will the president be checkmated?
Using and misusing state resources to the utmost, a desperate PA played even its last trump card, the Tiger card, and the people disregarded all of it and defeated the government with the power of their innocent vote. What the President can still do, and what should be done to her office, is the question.
Rise and fall: what the numbers say
Two tables: the share of the vote won by parties that took power from an incumbent at a parliamentary election, and the share won by incumbents who were returned. From those rates the column projects the result of the election a week away.
Powerless presidency and power of parliament
Under the 1978 constitution one party can hold the presidency while another commands parliament. That happened briefly between August and December 1994, and it is about to happen again — and this time the President will be at the greater disadvantage.
Dirty politics undermine sovereignty of people
The rule of law is essential to the survival of a democratic political system, and when the rule of law is broken the system is damaged with it. What follows is a list of the specific breakages, with figures.