Blog Archives

Impeachment of CJ – An unconstitutional witch-hunt

Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake with husband Pradeep Kariyawasam and son Shaveen meeting President Rajapakse during better and cordial times

The Rajapaksha Regime, through its parliamentarians, handed over an impeachment motion to the Speaker, the elder brother of the President Rajapaksha against the first woman Chief Justice of the country.
It appears that the Government of Sri Lanka is in a mighty hurry to “get rid of the Chief Justice”
so that a major obstacle for […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on November 3, 2012 at 9:36 am

Surrendering airwaves & liberty to nepotism

Talk about lucrative: NFL rights fees are going up for networks that put words in fans' ears.

A Governance Analysis of Frequency Allocation & TV Rights in Present Sri Lanka
Frequency Allocation- A Grand Corruption?
Understanding the state capture by Kleptocrats does not require a dedicated study; it is easily recognizable. For the benefit of keen
students of governance, let me begin this article with the definition of Kleptocracy: “A form of political and government […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on June 13, 2012 at 9:46 pm

Discovering the White Van in a Troubled Democracy

An analysis of ongoing “abduction blueprint” in Sri Lanka
In a country that has achieved so much in literacy, education and social development, is it not indeed unfortunate that “White Van” has frightened the entire nation? Appearance of a white van assures a disappearance of some one. If you Google or do any other internet search […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on April 26, 2012 at 2:02 am

Can Sri Lanka’s government implement the LLRC recommendations?

President Rajapakse reads the LLRC report

Can the LLRC recommendations be implemented? This is the question of the day. This is raised nationally and internationally and answers contrast for different reasons. In this article, I endeavor to briefly answer this question from a governance perspective, keeping in mind the present socio-political realities in Sri Lanka.
Bloody ethnic conflict
The President appointed the Commission […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on February 7, 2012 at 5:37 am

Corrupt public expenditure in Sri Lanka: Waste misgovernment and extravagance

Lessons from China or Tunisia?
Just few months ago, in response to a public outcry for more accountability and transparency in the use of public funds, the State Council, which is the Cabinet in the Chinese government, directed 98 public institutions including
ministries to make public their budgets and expenditure on official receptions, official overseas visits and […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on January 4, 2012 at 10:53 am

Exposing the sham: Sri Lanka guilty of deception in lifting of Emergency

President Rajapakse: "One can argue that those who advise the Executive to violate legal principles are also guilty of these breaches of national and international norms and without such authority the Executive probably would not go that far"

Much has been said about the recent decision of the Government to end the Emergency in Sri Lanka. Some welcomed the move and
others are yet to make any pronouncements. This short essay is an attempt to examine the implications of the decision of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) together with the nature and effect […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on September 16, 2011 at 10:25 pm

Modern Dictatorships through the Mirror: Time for us to be conscious

In legal and political literature, the term ‘dictatorship’ includes authoritarianism and is synonymous with traditional terms such as absolutism, absolute governments, despotism and tyranny. In political and constitutional legal theory, a dictatorship is a political regime under which the power of government is not limited by any law. Perhaps the main feature in all types […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on August 29, 2011 at 3:04 pm

Hitting boundaries: Sanga’s speech from a governance perspective

The former Cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara in his great Sir Colin Cowdrey speech at Lord’s, spoke of a shared fanatical
fashion and collective joy and ambition of the Sri Lankans, when they found something in common in the form of cricket. He spoke of the diversity of our society and how cricket brought together a divided […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on July 14, 2011 at 1:08 am

Killing & State intervention at a funeral - new forms of suppressing liberty

Criminalising dissent
The killing of Roshen Chanaka Ratnasekara, a 22-year-old factory worker in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Katunayaka, during a demonstration last week, sends a chilling signal to the rest of Sri Lanka on how peaceful protesters would be dealt with. Those familiar with police accountability will accept that police cannot carry […]

By JC Weliamuna | Published on June 10, 2011 at 12:29 am