By Raj Gonsalkorale Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country’s last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Following are some posts that are being circulated depicting what are labelled as Fake Posts and Original Posts. Looking at these, it does appear there is a deliberate campaign to discredit the government by interested parties who are resorting to unprofessional, unethical anti-national tactics. This needs to be investigated as a matter […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The UN deputy human rights chief and the independent expert on Myanmar have called for targeted sanctions against the leaders of what they both described as the coup that took place in the country last week, as the Human Rights Council met in special session on Friday to discuss the ongoing crisis […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Hitler rose to power through the Nazi Party, an organization he forged after returning as a wounded veteran from the annihilating trench warfare of World War I. He and other patriotic Germans were outraged and humiliated by the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which the Allies compelled the new German […]

Raj Gonsalkorale Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Meghan and Harry pulls in 17.1 million viewers on CBS. Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, speak with Oprah Winfrey for a two-hour telecast on CBS Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and Meghan the Duchess of Sussex are troubled individuals. One cannot but feel for them in their hour of reflection, tinged […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken today encouraged the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to support the resolution on Sri Lanka stating that the ‘lack of accountability for past atrocities in Sri Lanka – Daily Mirror Sri Lanka’ The US Secretary of State seems to give an indication as to what […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you – Matthew 7:1,2 The entire world needs to respect human rights. That should be a just and natural phenomenon that all human beings […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The Latin phrase Quo Vadis denotes an episode from the life of Saint Peter, as told in the New Testament Apocrypha and the ‘Golden Legend’. Peter fled from Rome during the persecution of Christians under the emperor Nero; as he was travelling along the Appian Way he met Christ in a vision. […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but is he peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise. Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind, so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame – Buddha It appears that labelling oneself […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The words of Abraham Lincoln to honour the soldiers that sacrificed their lives in order that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” were spoken at Gettysburg, but these words apply as well to the countless soldiers that died for the cause of democracy in […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale ….and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron –H L Mencken 1920 It is 97 years since H L Mencken’s comment was reportedly published in the Baltimore Evening Sun on the 26th of July 1920. Who was this person? As per the Wikipedia Henry […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The year 2020 ended with the COVID pandemic raging unabated, not just in Sri Lanka but throughout the world and bringing down the world as we all knew it. Economies of countries from the superrich to the very poor have all crumbled and health services are bursting at the seams. Education has […]

Raj Gonsalkorale True Islam is derived from the Quran and not from the traditions or cultures of Muslim people -www.quran–islam.org Burial of Muslims who have died of COVID has become a huge political issue. Science and religion seem to have been overtaken by raw politics. All this while the pandemic is raging in the country […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale There is speculation that caveats, the one thing that protects genuine private land owners from fraudsters who manage to sell their land with bogus land titles, and protects genuine third parties from exploitation by land owners, is under threat and that legislation is being drawn to change land registration laws that permit […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale In July of 64 A.D., a great fire ravaged Rome for six days, destroying 70 percent of the city and leaving half its population homeless. According to a well-known expression, Rome’s emperor at the time, the decadent and unpopular Nero, fiddled while Rome burned.” The expression has a double meaning: Not only did […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale At the outset, it needs to be stated emphatically that the argument for a comprehensive land management policy is not to deter or prevent the economic wellbeing of people who are engaged in agriculture or to prevent or deter greater private sector participation in agricultural projects in the country. In fact, the […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Dear Minister Many eminent lawyers and even more concerned citizens have written on the need for a comprehensive land policy for the country. The writer articulated this in an article published in the Daily FT (Sri Lanka desperately needs a strategic, transparent and comprehensive State land management policy-http://www.ft.lk/columns/Sri-Lanka-desperately-needs-a-strategic-transparent-and-comprehensive-State-land-management-policy/4-709028). The writer even sent […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Those whom the Gods wish to destroy they first make them mad Donald Trump has taken the USA down an abyss of despair and duplicity. Domestic divisions and international disorder dominated the Trump era. Many questioned the sanity of Trump’s approach to governance, nationally and internationally. Now, more than 80 million voters […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale In respect to the considerable research done on the quotation noted above, Roger Pearse, in his blog (https://www.roger-pearse.com/weblog/2015/10/31/is-those-whom-the-gods-wish-to-destroy-they-first-make-mad-a-classical-quotation/comment-page-1/), says I learn that in fact it is a note on Sophocles Antigone, l.620, by a scholiast.  The idea itself is present in Homer, Odyssey, IX, 492-3. In the tragedy Antigone, of Sophocles, in verses 620-623, it said something similar: […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Bim Saviya, the MCC Agreement and now a directive on residual” land has muddied the waters in relation to State Land policy and management Land management in Sri Lanka appears to be all over the place. Several ministries and government departments appear to be responsible for State land management including for forests […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The Registrar General of Land Registration Mr N C Withanage stated in March 2019 that almost 40 – 50% of the land deeds in Sri Lanka are likely to be forged documents. He also said that it has been proven that over 1/5th of the birth certificates, marriage certificates and death certificates […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The test of the success of this title registration system (Bim Saviya) has to be judged by what has been achieved since the time the Act was introduced in 1998. Implementation began in 2007. Information available to date says so far only 0.72 million blocks have been registered in the Bim Saviya […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale With positive cases exceeding 7000, and a national daily high of 865 and cases being reported in many parts of the country, what is striking is the sound of silence from health officials. While it is understandable to have one spokesperson, many other countries have generally had a non-health person as the […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Nought from the Greeks towards me hath sped well. So now I find that ancient proverb true, Foes’ gifts are no gifts: profit bring they none – Sophocles (496 – 406 BC), Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth is a proverb about not questioning the value of a gift. The proverb refers […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale In the tea industry, the tea taster reigns supreme. Yet strangely enough tea tasting begins with the plucker. This is because the taster’s judgment depends on how the leaves have been plucked. There are two forms of plucking: fine and coarse. The former is essential to a good cup of tea, and […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale 55 largest SOEs delivered net Return on Assets (ROA) of only 0.64% in 2017. The combined losses among the loss-making entities reached Rs.87bn in 2017 compared to Rs.42bn in 2016. Some are in deep trouble. The Petroleum Corporation carries a negative equity. Sheer incompetence and corruption have pushed Sri Lankan Airlines close […]