Indecency glorified
The land swap, the constitutional frauds, the things presidents do that no civilised country would tolerate. Victor Ivan catalogues indecency raised to the level of ordinary practice.
Sri Lanka: Another cause for failure
Dharmapala and Marx, the Soulbury Constitution broken before the ink was dry, and the citizenship of the plantation workers. Victor Ivan traces the decline to the choices made at the moment of independence.
Finding a way to free the nation
Written at a politician’s request, this is Victor Ivan’s programme in five numbered parts — nation building, the judiciary, the system of governance, empowering the public, and the country’s place between India and China.
Redeeming the country
With the military unable to turn the wheels either, Victor Ivan calls for a common platform across the parties — and, failing that, for the Opposition to build one itself.
The right thing to do
A president with no political education, an opposition Victor Ivan calls stupid, and a civil service filling up with soldiers. The column ends with a programme of reforms to be completed before any further election.
Recreating the State
Answering the response to ‘End of an era’, Victor Ivan sets out the changes themselves — an itemised programme for rebuilding the state, from investigating the presidents to regulating the broadcasters.
Anarchy, dictatorship and the Constitution
Everyone is watching the 20th Amendment; Victor Ivan is watching the whirlwind behind it, which he expects to destroy both the remaining democracy and the dictatorial ambitions at once.
Loveable 19th and fearsome 20th
Everyone is defending the 19th Amendment against the 20th. Victor Ivan argues the country was already in the dark under the 19th, and that those who cannot see that will not understand what the 20th does.
Parliamentary Polls and the two centres of power
Two centres of power inside one ruling family, an election held under the shadow of a second COVID wave, and a Supreme Court that let MPs cross the floor without losing their seats.
Setting governance on a firm footing
What the three branches of the state are supposed to do, and what Sri Lanka’s actually do. Victor Ivan’s answer is to hand the constitution to the people, with citizens’ initiatives and referendums built into it.