As political uncertainty continues in Sri Lanka after President Maithripala Sirisena sacked the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 plunging the country into a constitutional crisis, Sri Lankans hold divergent views and positions on the manner in which their leaders have behaved. The takes of ordinary Sri Lankans—Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims—vary from scathing remarks to total support for some of the principal political actors, including Sirisena and Rajapaksa who was ‘appointed’ as PM in place of Wickremesinghe.
Sri Lankan political parties representing minority communities like the North-Eastern Tamils, Indian Origin Tamils and Muslims, appear to have lost faith in the Presidential system, with a directly elected President wielding enormous executive powers.
They also vehemently oppose President Maithripala Sirisena’s proposal to tweak the 19 th.Constitutional Amendment to enhance his powers in the guise of removing some procedural anomalies in the legislation.
Quite a number of Chinese ceramics were found, providing significant evidence of trade links between Sri Lanka and China.
The excavated artefacts in Kayts, Jaffna, are mainly Chinese ceramics, accompanied by a few local and Southeast or South Asian pottery. The Chinese ware can be dated to the second half of the 11th century and early 12th century, during the rule of the Northern Song dynasty in China, Chinese archaeologist Chen Jie told Kelum Bandara of Daily Mirror..
Even as the people of Sri Lanka are waiting with bated breath for the Supreme Court’s ruling on the dissolution of parliament and the functioning of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister, European nations, which have close economic relations with the island, are reportedly very concerned about the status of the country’s economy, and what might happen to it if the political and constitutional impasse spills over into 2019, writes P.K.Balachandran in DailyFT
United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday sterday stressed the need to establish a new Parliament to scrap the Executive Presidency through a referendum. Wickremesinghe made these proposals at a seminar organised by the Professionals for Democracy held at the Galle Face Hotel last morning.
With all political efforts to clear the month-long political and constitutional logjam having failed, Sri Lankans are waiting with bated breath to hear the Supreme Court’s rulings on the divisive issues involved. The destiny of the 21 million citizens of Sri Lankan is now in the hands of seven judges of the apex court. Their ruling, expected any time after December 6, will determine whether Sri Lanka will have a stable government or it will slide into anarchy.
Given the deep seated conflict between President Maithripala Sirisena and ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the stalemate over who should be Prime Minister is not likely to end anytime soon. After the Court of Appeal on Monday stayed the functioning of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister and his colleagues as ministers, Rajapaksa and his ministers had stopped attending office.
Colombo, Dec 4 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lanka’s ousted Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Tuesday said that his political alliance would agree to hold a Parliamentary Election only after a legitimate government is established and all political parties in Parliament agree. Speaking to reporters from capital Colombo, Wickremesinghe said that he and his alliance, the United […]
Indian agriculture is in dire straits. The terms of trade with the other sectors of the economy have been worsening over the years. State investment in agriculture has also been declining compared to investment in industry and other sectors. Formal credit has been yielding place to the more expensive private sector credit. All this has led to a widespread and unsustainable indebtedness and an alarming increase in farmer suicide, writes P.k.Balachandran in Daily Mirror
The Sri Lankan Court of Appeal on Monday passed an interim order preventing Mahinda Rajapaksa and his 49-member purported Council of Ministers from functioning till the Quo Warranto petition filed by 122 Members of Parliament is adjudicated. Later, Rajapaksa issued a statement saying that he will appeal to the Supreme Court against the stay on the grounds that constitutional issues of this sort can be heard only by the Supreme Court.In another development on the same day, President Sirisena told supporters of sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in parliament that he will never appoint him as Prime Minister, signaling the continuation of the political deadlock.
