Wijith DeChickera

| editor-at-large of LMD | op-eds in Daily FT | journalist | theatre fan | aviation/railway aficionado | scifi/fantasy |

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

As politics as we know it is now about to end, I thought of subscribing to the 'learn-a-word-a-day' school of thought.

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

CURFEW (n.): early 14c. 'curfeu'; evening signal, ringing of bell at fixed hour as signal to extinguish fires & lights, fr. Anglo-Fr 'coeverfu' (late 13c.), from Old Fr 'cuevrefeu', lit. 'cover fire' (Mod Fr 'couvre-feu'), from 'cuevre', imperative of 'covrir' to cover' #Curlot20

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

https://t.co/RQB86nKUSC
A sublime season between two full moons (Vesak and Poson) sees Sri Lankan hospitality at its best and internal tourism at its peak. Is #SriLankaTourism missing a capital opportunity to meaningfully and sustainably monetize mindfulness in a respectful way?

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

A week after #Vesak/#Wesak, the potential of this sublime #festival to embrace all of us in #SriLanka still lingers in the monsoonal wind. It is a moveable feast indeed: a panoply of light & sound & pilgrim travel around a #magnanimous and #serene island.

https://t.co/xF16MyhFTv

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Twitter is dead (X marks the spot). Prove me wrong.

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

May 9 must invite studied reflection not sentimental nostalgia. If the people’s struggle of four years ago is to mean anything more than a mere pause in the long decline of the republic Sri Lanka must move beyond the seductive theatre of permanent protest. https://t.co/d6eqsogf6T

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

https://t.co/B6EWkLnMsr

Pass this throughthree filters:

- is it true?
- is it fair?
- is it the need of the hour to say this now?

Then let me know...

#NPPGovt #SriLankanPolitics #CivicsAndGovernance

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Is it too late to start saying this now, in the hope of and desire for a course-change? Or too early, on the grounds of grace, generosity of spirit and charity to those who would still (for all their ostensible incompetence) contend against corruption?

https://t.co/T8fQlnzKsO

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Seven years & several probes & presidential commissions of inquiry & special parliamentary committees later, a fuller justice is yet to be served. Is Sri Lanka to rely on its resilience alone, again, or will promises made re Black Easter 2019 be kept?

https://t.co/N4w1ZLio4n

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

For too long we have let ethnicity define us, identity politics divide us, chauvinists destroy us. Time then (and it is now) to redefine national identity, redeem what good there is (and there is some) in identity politics, and privilege civic nationalism https://t.co/BsNl2XDGNK

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

https://t.co/DHXMQCYbi2

After 50+ years, humankind flew by the Earth's only natural satellite, in Artemis II/Orion. Five decades after @NASA's Apollo program wound up, our planet is still at war in desert places. And perhaps more than ever desperately needs a celestial vision.

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Anyone - amateurs included - can ask and answer, "How long? End when?" Intuiting (and hoping): "Sooner than later..." - since one sign of a slowdown is an #escalation ahead of #MissionAccomplished narratives.

#IranWar #israeli_American_war 'decimation'

https://t.co/SMv3Wca5Es

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

As all roads lead to the #BigMatch at @sscsportsclub, I trip down memory lane, flipping through the pages of pieces I'd penned on #MarchMadness over the years:
https://t.co/MkFyLe3Szw
https://t.co/yjbUuCziMD
https://t.co/zVVuOYqben
https://t.co/f8KLmtC1oj
https://t.co/PlsVAzjmgz

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

One frigate is happenstance. Two is coincidence. But if a third is rescued in the sea of #SriLanka by #SriLankaNavy, whether #territorialwaters or #ExclusiveEconomicZone won't matter; it may be seen by some as #enemyaction in the #IranWar #USIranConflict
https://t.co/KgmnqY4BE4

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

The fuel queue madness abated. But more panic #stockpiling might raise its head if the #USIranWar heats up. The issue is not how much gas there is. But if #SriLanka is ready to grow up and get real about being a polity that is ready to trust Govt. again

https://t.co/VgF2KSdlwM

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Recently we've used #GenerativeAI to create fun free caricatures ourselves. This despite warnings about sharing sensitive #biometrics with #AI. Is there hope tho: a closer reading of books or rewatching movies dealing with the subject can help allay fears? https://t.co/wdZHPWkOUU

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

A fun trend today is #generativeaiart churning out cartoons & caricatures to take #socialmedia by storm. Is there a more dangerous side to uploading one's image to an #artificialintelligence #chatbot platform though since your #biometrics can now be used/shared sans your consent?

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Why was there no fly-over on 4th Feb 2026, as in the past, in #SriLanka? What role does #defence continue to play in a #Democracy during peace time? How shall we best interpret the signals in the Independence Day speech of the #president @anuradisanayake?

https://t.co/uvIRvahzRX

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Whom is the PSTA meant to protect: the state or citizens? The draft PSTA published for public scrutiny could unleash another draconian law that fetters our democracy in practice later, if it is allowed to pass muster without our stringent critique now.
https://t.co/ChyJeSdObM

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Today, 17 years after the murder of @thesundayleader editor Lasantha Wickrematunge, there is no actionable case... only botched forensics, evidentiary gaps & apathy by even successive 'promising' governments. Is it time to arraign the usual suspects again? https://t.co/wRH3lakKLm

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

A few days after the 161st anniversary of Sri Lanka Railway, I try here to lay down a fresh track of thinking as our storm-wracked nation begins rebuilding SLR:
https://t.co/p0kA51gspw

After #cycloneditwah
Rebuilding Sri Lanka

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

If only such humanity, kindness and care lasts beyond the disaster, we’d be unbeatable. As well as beyond halfway towards developing a lasting non-ethnic national identity.

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

From private individuals contributing their mite to coordinated efforts across communal lines, Sri Lanka has once again offered a watching world a master class in community concern.

#CycloneDitwah #SriLanka #SriLankaFlood

https://t.co/2jNnmHyzPF

[Wijith DeChickera @WijDeC]

Add the heroic valour of the nation’s valiant security, police and emergency rescue and relief forces and we islanders are in a league of our own.