චන්ද්‍රිකා හා රනිල් ගැන වැඩිදුරටත්
Ivan is glad his articles on Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga have stirred debate. One reader told him why Wickremesinghe protected her: she published the Batalanda Commission report without a chapter concerning him, and videos of abuses ordered from the President’s House are said to exist.
රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ සහ එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය
Ranil Wickremesinghe’s handling of the revolt against his leadership is remarkable: twice before he saw off rebellions by handing out sweets. Ivan explains how party leaders reap hundreds of millions in black money at elections, and applies Mick Moore’s analysis to both Wickremesinghe and his challengers.
ලැජ්ජා නැතිකමේ දේශපාලනය
Even after Mahinda Rajapaksa’s election, Chandrika Kumaratunga will not give up the party leadership, and Ranil Wickremesinghe clings to his despite telling friends he would quit. Ivan recounts what a CID officer told him in confidence during the terror that followed the 1999 election, and ends by wishing that she not be jailed and made to suffer for what was done in her eleven years of rule.
විශ්‍රාම යන හැම ජනාධිපතිවරයෙක් ම පරික්ෂාවට ලක්විය යුතු ය
Ravaya explains its decision to go to court against the special privileges planned for former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and on other matters. Because presidential immunity prevents scrutiny in office, it argues, retiring presidents must be examined; it recalls its long pursuit of her assets declarations, her children’s foreign education and the President’s Fund.
කැත කුණු තවරාගත් සුදු නෙළුම
Ivan recalls a private celebration at Temple Trees after the 1994 election, and Chandrika Kumaratunga’s repeated public claims of personal purity, including that she never stole a cent, and sets them against the record. He argues that had Ranil Wickremesinghe treated her as he treated Anuruddha Ratwatte, things might have turned out differently.
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.
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.
මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝනය
The campaign is calmer than before, but the state media’s behaviour has not changed and the Elections Commissioner has not dealt with it. Sections follow on ‘the 2005 conspiracy’, Mangala Samaraweera’s democracy, including Ports Authority money spent on his mother’s official residence, Soma Thera and the doctor branded a traitor for finding his death natural, and an assassination plot.
මගී ප්‍රවාහන සේවා අර්බුදය හා ජනාධිපතිවරණය
Transport is where the public suffers most every day, yet it is the least discussed issue of the campaign, while politicians ride in luxury vehicles at public expense. Ivan examines the conduct of private bus crews and its causes, and proposes measures including restricting container and lorry traffic in Colombo to night hours.
පොරොන්දු දේශපාලනය, දූෂණය, මැතිවරණ නීති හා ජනාධිපතිවරණය
The candidates compete in promises such as a Rs 4,000 Samurdhi payment while the country rots in corruption. The editorial gives two examples, including a large fraud reported by the Auditor General months ago and never investigated, and says a country that cannot even hold a free and fair presidential election is politically uncivilised.