Blog Archives
Unsuppressed thoughts on Media Freedom in Sri Lanka
Media activists are concerned by what they term as a fresh wave of suppression in the form of legislation being introduced to regulate online media. It was to highlight this and a spate of other concerns relating to media freedom, that the Collective of Media organizations organized a protest in Colombo recently. This report brings you highlights from this event as well as views from the Government and academia on the matter.
‘Peace Quest’ Overcome anger by love and evil by good
S. T. Arasu says… Now, the time is ripe for us to realise and be good! Everybody in
our country prefers absolute national unity, peace and harmony, to prevail for all of us to joyfully live without any fear, panic, tension and anxiety! All religions too preach the very same in the interest and betterment of humanity! As my contributions to the needed peace let me quote here the following gems of great sayings that may be very useful in a little way at this juncture to the whole nation in order to solve the ethic conflict and misunderstandings that are indeed still visible:
‘Peace Quest’
“Overcome anger by love and evil by good;
Overcome the miser, by generosity, and the liars by truth!”
Dhammapada (223)
“Genuine peace can only be solved by cultivating the feelings of consensus and fraternity. Hatred and revenge can achieve nothing!”
S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, (Ex-Prime Minister of Sri Lanka)
“The new and terrible dangers, which man has created, can only be controlled by man!”
John F. Kennedy, (Ex-President of USA)
“Democracy’s real test lies in respect for minority opinion!”
Ellery Sedgwick
“The voice of conscience is the voice of God, and it is the final judge of the righteousness of every deed and every thought!”
Mahatma GandhiIndia’s Father of the nation (Bharatha Matha)
“You can fool all the people some of the time,
And some of the people, all the time,
But you cannot fool all the people,all of the time!”
Abraham Lincoln, Ex President of USA and Father of Liberty
“How amazing is the spirit of man, in spite of immeasurable failings, man throughout the ages, has sacrificed life and all he held dear, for an ideal, for truth, for faith for country and honour! That ideal may change, but that capacity for self-sacrifice continues and because of that much may be forgotten to man and it is impossible to lose hope for him!”
“- Great things can be accomplished by great sacrifices only!”
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Ex-first Prime Minister of India (Bharatha Matha)
“Where there is no vision, the people perish!”
A Biblical Proverb
“Let our advance wearying, become advance thinking and planning!”
Sir Winston Churchill, Ex-Prime Minister of England War period!
“Do not be afraid to advance forward
God is with you!”
The Koran
“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!”
“Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached!”
Swami Vivekanandaji
via eMail
Sripathi killed in accident
Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi, former Sri Lankan Port Development Minister and Chief Co-ordinator of Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s (SLFP) Mahajana faction, a splinter group of SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s SLFP, was killed Saturday at 1:40 p.m. when his vehicle met with an accident at Madegama on Anuradhapura Galgamuwa road, Police said.
Mr. Sooriyaarachchi, a former naval officer turned lawyer and a close associate of former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga, has been a key player in challenging Mahinda Rajapaksa regime.
via Topix Sri Lanka
Clive Haswell says Govt. spending must be controlled
“People in virtually every sphere are becoming wealthier and their requirements, as far as banking services go, are now more sophisticated…” – Clive Haswell in LMD.
The CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Clive Haswell recently illustrated to business magazine LMD the banking sector’s rapid expansion in Sri Lanka. Identifying the ever-changing needs of customers, Haswell says that levels of service, rather than the products per se, are heading the list of consumer priorities.
In a wide ranging interview in LMD’s February edition, which is now available at leading supermarkets and bookstores, Haswell stresses that the industry has to keep innovating in order to keep customers satisfied. Client retention, therefore, is now the name of the game in banking.
Haswell also speaks of the local banking sector vis-à-vis international banks. Acknowledging that local banks do face stiff competition from international banks, he adds that since of late, the local banks have become much tougher competition.
Looking into the future, Haswell cautions: “It is wise to manage change at a reasonable pace.” Identifying Sri Lanka as being a country with one of the highest inflation rates in Asia, he emphasises the need for this to be brought under control before any changes in the banking sector can be implemented. He adds: “The biggest challenge for the Government is to get its public spending under control.”
Provided that this is kept under control and interest rates decline, “practical measures can help develop the financial-services market”, he tells LMD.
