Politics of the Samurdhi
On the eve of a general election the government has cut the price of flour by three rupees, raised pensions by 300 and public service salaries by 600. More significant politically is the increase in the Samurdhi allowance — and the machine that distributes it.
රෝහණ කුමාර ඝාතනය ෂෝ වික්රමසිංහ
Ivan describes a meeting he, Lasantha Wickrematunge, Varuna Karunatilake and Ravaya’s Chapa Bandara had with CID director Bandula ‘Shaw’ Wickramasinghe over the Rohana Kumara murder. The talk ended when they showed that suspect Thara Ajith was arrested at the home of Presidential Security Division man Beddagane Sanjeewa. Ivan argues the confessions of Thara Ajith and Moratuwa Saman are designed to shield the government before the election.
ගජ මිතුරු ධනවාදය ඒකාධිකාර මතවාදයකට
The editorial objects to Harry Jayawardena using banks and companies he controls to buy a controlling stake in Sampath Bank, against banking ethics and with the Central Bank silent. It describes him as a close Bandaranaike family friend and PA campaign financier shielded from customs cases, appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and seeking monopolies in arrack, tea and banking, and calls for anti-monopoly enforcement.
අවසානයක් නොදුටු ඝාතන සංස්කෘතිය
Ivan details the political crime network behind the killings of Satana editor Rohana Kumara and Kumar Ponnambalam: gunman ‘Moratuwa Saman’, associates sheltered by a cabinet minister’s residence and an Urban Development Authority flat, and links to Beddagane Sanjeewa of the Presidential Security Division. He describes police interference, the reversal by investigator Shaw Wickramasinghe, a failed first attempt on Rohana Kumara, and the car and pistol used, concluding that small-scale state-backed killing continues.
පොන්නම්බලම් ඝාතනයේ ඇත්ත යටපත් වීමට ඉඩ නොතැබිය යුතුය
The editorial recalls that Ravaya named the criminal ‘Moratuwa Saman’, arrested on 6 April, as Kumar Ponnambalam’s killer and linked a reserve police constable holding the victim’s phone. Senior police officer Bandula Wickramasinghe first blamed the LTTE and now says the constable ordered the killing, apparently to close the case. It demands that police identify the political hand behind the murder and the Rohana Kumara killing.
Truth of all truths!
With the French Ambassador entering the argument about the President’s educational qualifications, the debate has gone beyond Sri Lanka. An explanation from someone in that position ought to be impartial, Ivan writes, and hers is not.
අභිමත බලය කොයිබටද?
Ivan questions the appointment of businessman Harry Jayawardena, a close Bandaranaike family friend and 1994 campaign financier, to the Securities and Exchange Commission while facing customs fraud cases against Stassen Exports and inquiries over Hatton National Bank dealings. He also criticises the choice of Rienzie Arsecularatne as Director General of the Bribery Commission despite past controversies, and warns that such use of presidential discretion, with opposition silence, is ruining the country.
What signals do appointments give the country?
Harry Jayawardena, a billionaire businessman, a close friend of the Bandaranaike family and the man reported to have met the chief expenses of the presidential campaign, has been appointed to the Securities and Exchange Commission. What, Ivan asks, does an appointment like that tell the country about itself?
Why president’s office sent an angry reply to me
There is no disgrace for an elephant who breaks his tusks on a diamond rock. Reading the reply the President’s office sent to his answer to her January interview, Ivan writes, he felt they were living in an abuddassa age, in which the diamond rock pursues the elephant in anger and hatred.
A new age of terror
The government called the harassment of the singers Rukantha Gunatilaka and Chandralekha Perera a robbery, and the levelling of Anoja Weerasinghe’s house at Moneragala a personal grudge. Set those explanations beside each other, Ivan argues, and a pattern appears that the country has seen before.