Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirsena by sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on October 26 this year has not only precipitated the country into a political crisis, this is likely to lead to an economic disarray. Ousted finance minister Mangala Samaraweera not only reminded of the …
In 2015, when Sri Lanka received relatively rare mention in discussions of world politics, then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa suffered a shock election loss. At the time, I outlined lessons that rising powers like China could learn when developing insights into smaller countries like Sri Lanka, including …
Sri Lanka’s political crisis took another turn yesterday when all the MPs backing Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse walked out of parliament after the Speaker refused to allocate them a majority on a key committee that could trigger the cutting off of funds to his government. …
China and India are both keeping a close eye on the political situation in Sri Lanka. The island nation plunged into a constitutional crisis with two men claiming to be the lawful prime minister. Sri Lanka owes more than $50bn to foreign lenders, which is …
Sri Lanka’s deposed prime minister secured control of a key committee in parliament Friday, dealing a blow to the country’s president in the latest twist in a month-long political crisis. Sri Lanka has been politically paralysed since October 26 when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Ranil …
Two men each claim to be the prime minister. Lawmakers are exchanging blows in Parliament. A former finance minister says the country is on the brink of an “economic anarchy.” Welcome to Sri Lanka, where the political crisis is getting worse by the week. The …
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday it had delayed discussions on Sri Lanka’s next loan tranche due to the country’s political crisis. The IMF has disbursed over $1 billion out of a $1.5 billion three-year extended fund facility (EFF) loan it agreed in …
Sri Lanka’s persistent political crisis “without a government or a Prime Minister” could embolden anti-social elements to take law into their own hands, Leader of Opposition R. Sampanthan has warned. “In such a situation, the country’s minorities, especially Tamils, may become the victims,” he said. …
It is generally said that there are no genuine “Sri Lankan” Brahmins in the island today, and that those Brahmins who officiate as priests in Hindu kovils (temples) are of Indian origin with close ties with Tamil Nadu. Dr. Gananath Obeysekere, a Princeton University social …
Over the past few weeks, Sri Lanka has faced a moral and political crisis that threatens to undermine hope for democracy. On Oct. 26, Maithripala Sirisena, the president of Sri Lanka, appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa, the polarizing former president who ran Sri Lanka from 2005 to …