By D.B.S.Jeyaraj The political spectacle “Ekwa Idiriyata”(Forward Together) that unfolded on October 10th at Galle face green has elevated the morale of the green party to ecstatic heights. A mammoth crowd – estimated by some of being in the range of six digits – gathered on the shores of the Indian ocean to see, hear …
Continue reading ‘Rivalry and Rapprochement Between Ranil and Sajith: What Did Happen?’ »
By C. A. Chandraprema Yahapalana activists Gamini Viyangoda and Prof. Chandraguptha Thenuwara filed an application with the Court of Appeal, seeking a writ of Certiorari to annul Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s dual citizenship certificate and an interim order preventing him from acting on the basis that he is a citizen of Sri Lanka. Their argument was that …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake As the polls campaign gets under way there is a growing similarity between the two lead players in what they offer to the people, and what they don’t. The Green and Purple offers have strong links to one’s family. Sajith keeps reminding us of what his father did or promised – like …
The Movement to Unite Motherland (MUM) issuing a statement says it “joins with an outstanding academic and political visionary to take forward the system changes it promotes, through his candidature at the Presidential Election 2019. “Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, who has three earned Degrees from the University of Oxford will combine his vision for change with …
(Text of Press Release Carrying Statement Issued by the Minister of Finance,Mangala Samaraweera, MP) At a Press Conference on 15 October 2019, Presidential Candidate of the SLPP, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, dismissed Sri Lanka’s commitments to our citizens on human rights, rule of law, and processes for truth-seeking, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence including Resolution 30/1. …
By T.K. Rohit Amid pouring rain, an ATR 72-600 aircraft of Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, completed its maiden international flight and touched down at the Jaffna International Airport, marking an important moment in Sri Lanka’s Tamil-majority Northern Province. The flight carried Ashwani Lohani, Air India chairman and managing director; C.S. Subbiah, …
President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe came together yesterday to mark the historic opening of the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) for regional commercial operations. The opening of the airport was marked by a special flight from Chennai landing at JIA with a delegation of Indian dignitaries. The first flight into JIA was an …
By N. Lohathayalan The Palaly Airport was opened on 359 acres of land by the British Armed Forces, with the first flight to India being made on 10 December 1947. As of today, it will function as the Jaffna International Airport. The ceremonial opening of the airport today brings joy not only to the people …
By Chandani Kirinde The Election Commission (EC) has written to the Secretary to the President as well as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence seeking clarification on how a photograph of Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva was used in election campaign propaganda for one of the candidates contesting the Presidential Election. The EC’s …
By Capt Elmo Jayawardena Today (Oct 17), Sri Lanka is scheduled to re-open the Palaly Airport as its third international aerodrome (It will be renamed the Jaffna International Airport). There will be many who will applaud and give praise for the refurbishment and upgrading of the new airport and there will be others who will …
By Himal Kotelawala In his first-ever press conference, amid increasingly awkward allegations of evading the media, presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa fielded questions today on his vision for the country as well as his performance and track record as Defence Ministry Secretary. Flanked by his former president brother Mahinda Rajapaksa and leaders of the alliance led …
By Chandani Kirinde SLPP presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa said yesterday that he did not recognise the UNHRC resolution co-sponsored by the Sri Lanka Government on ‘Promoting Reconciliation, Accoun-tability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ as a legal document and reiterated his public undertaking to release soldiers held in remand custody. Addressing his maiden press conference …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Legendary Hindi film actor Amitabh Bachchan will be the latest recipient of India’s celebrated Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year. The annual award honours a distinguished person in the field of cinema for his or her “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema” each year. India’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting …
by D.B.S.Jeyaraj Sixty years ago on September 25th 1959 Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (SWRDB) the prime minister of Sri Lanka known as Ceylon then was shot and seriously wounded by a Buddhist monk named Ven.Talduwe Somarama Thero. Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike succumbed to his injuries the following day.The fourth Prime minister of Independent Ceylon/Sri …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Sri Lanka’s floating voters, struggling to find their feet in the unpromising pandemonium of November’s Presidential elections, can only flinch from ‘Pohottuwa’ Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s promise at his inaugural campaign rally following nominations in Anuradhapura on Wednesday, that he would free all ‘war heroes’ held in custody on ‘bogus charges’ …
By Don Manu No political party worth its salt, especially a major political force such as the SLFP, which dominated Lanka’s political stage for over sixty years, can afford to remain without fielding a candidate of its own or supporting a common one at any presidential election. In the last dying days of his presidency, …
By Gamini Weerakoon Election time is when the Morality Theatre moves on to the political stage and begins its performance. Since nomination day, candidates with their supporters and TV crews have been besieging sacred places of worship, temples with political orientation, kovils, churches and receiving the blessings of chief incumbents. Nationalist-religious sentiments have not been …
By Prof. Savitri Goonesekere In October 2018 President Maithripala Sirisena replaced Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Mr Mahinda Rajapakse, purporting to exercise his Presidential powers. He later dissolved Parliament. Political party leaders and citizens challenged these Presidential decisions in the courts of law. A Full Bench of the Supreme Court, presided by Chief Justice HNJ …
BY MANESHKA BORHAM AND ANURANGI SINGH A pledge made by SLPP Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa at his maiden rally in Anuradhapura last week, that he would acquit and release ‘war heroes’ being held on ‘baseless’ charges on the morning of November 17, has left victim families reeling from shock and fear that already painfully slow …
BY PRANAVESH SIVAKUMAR Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s (SLPP) Presidential aspirant, kicking off his first campaign for his maiden bid for the top job, used the stage to outline, an array of development activities, and agriculture was given the spotlight. “Anuradhapura is a centre point of irrigation and agriculture of the country. We had …
BY PRANAVESH SIVAKUMAR The New Democratic Front’s (NDF) Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa kick starting his inaugural rally themed ‘Forward together’, left the sea of supporters by the sea to decide, as to what calibre of candidate they were wishing for. Premadasa in his opening remarks, tendered an unreserved apology for referring to his mouth as …
By Norman Palihawadane SLPP won all 17 divisions of the Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha at yesterday’s election. The SLPP obtained 23,372 votes while the UPFA and UNP received 5,273 and 10,113 respectively. The JVP polled only 2,435 votes. Accordinlgy, the SLPP will have 17 seats out of 29. The UPFA and UNP will have three and …
By Emmanuel Santa Maria Chin Seven suspects, including two state lawmakers from Melaka and Negri Sembilan, were arrested by Bukit Aman(Royal Malaysia Police Headquarters) counterterrorism operatives today for their alleged involvement in promoting, supporting and sourcing funds meant for the now-defunct terror group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter-terrorism Division …
By Dharma Sri Abeyratne and Lahiru Fernando The Galle Face green was a sea of heads with people from all corners of the country converging to Colombo yesterday to affirm their support to the Presidential candidate of United National Party (UNP) led New Democratic Front (NDF), Sajith Premadasa. The inaugural rally of Premadasa’s presidential election …
By Dharma Sri Abeyratne and Lahiru Fernando Rivals of the United National Party-led New Democratic Front are against its presidential candidate, Minister Sajith Premadasa, as he is working to eliminate nepotism and family-based politics from the country, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday. “His father, late Executive President Ranasinghe Premadasa also strived to eradicate family …
By Dharma Sri Abeyratne and Lahiru Fernando UNP parliamentarian, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka yesterday pledged to fulfil to the letter the duty he would be assigned as the Defence Minister of the country. He was responding to the announcement by NDF presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa that he would appoint the Field Marshal as Defence Minister …
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday focused on sweeping promises and populist policies that emphasised writing off farmers’ debts, ensuring stable prices, establishing a pension scheme for farmers and continuing the fertiliser subsidy, while speaking at his inaugural rally held in Anuradhapura. Addressing hundreds of supporters, Rajapaksa thanked the Sri Lanka …
By Aruna Bogahawatte The SLFP yesterday announced that it had decided to support SLPP Presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the 2019 Presidential election. SLFP General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekera told a press conference at the party headquarters in Colombo that President Maithripala Sirisena had made a decision to step down from the SLFP chairmanship temporarily …
By Saman Indrajith Neeraavi Pillaiyar Temple at Chemmalai in the Mulaitivu District was a site of controversy as the Sinhalese in the area tried to take over a Saivite temple, said TNA leader R Sampanthan in parliament, yesterday. Making a special statement Sampanthan said that the Buddhist temple Gurukande Viharaya had been forcibly constructed between …
By P.K.Balachandran The November 16, 2019 Sri Lankan Presidential election will go down in history for several firsts. For the first time in the history of post-independence Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), a party of greats like Prime Ministers SWRD Bandaranaike and Sirima Bandaranaike, and Presidents like Chandrika Kumaratunga and Maithripala Sirisena, …
By P.K.Balachandran After severe hiccups on both sides of the political divide, the principal candidates in the Sri Lankan Presidential election (to be held on November 16 ) have now begun their campaigns in right earnest. The hiccups were political in the case of the candidate of the ruling United National Party (UNP), Sajith Premadasa, …
By Chandani Kirinde Thirty-five of the 41 presidential aspirants, who had paid their deposits, handed in their nomination papers at the Election Commission yesterday, officially kicking off the six-week-long election campaign. Nominations were accepted between 9.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. last morning at the Election Commission office in Rajagiriya amidst tight security. All the nomination …
By Yohan Perera Issues, if there are any, pertaining to UNP leadership could be amicably resolved in the same way which the question with regard to the presidential candidate was solved after the presidential election, Non-Cabinet Minister Ajith P. Perera said today. Minister Perera made this remark in response to a question raised by the …
by Maneshka Borham Acting IGP C.D Wickramatne has reportedly directed officials to provide security to civil society activists, Gamini Viyangoda and Chandragupta Thenuwara as well as their lawyers if requested. The duo has come under attack, especially, on social media following their decision to file a writ petition challenging the citizenship of Presidential hopeful Gotabaya …
By C. A.Chandraprema Sri Lanka has had presidential elections in 1982, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2010, and 2015 but never one like the present election. With just two working days to go to the close of nominations, a former local government head from Galle petitioned the Supreme Court seeking an order calling off the election. …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene As leading lights of the United National Party (UNP) hastily scrambled to disassociate themselves from the petition challenging the legality of the dual citizenship certificate issued to Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) presidential hopeful Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, summarily rejected by the Court of Appeal this Friday, a curious contradiction arose from the …
By Arjuna Ranawana Professor Chandragupta Thenuwara is facing death threats from various persons backing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the renowned artist told RepublicNext. Thenuwara, a long-time social and political activist was one of two petitioners who mounted a legal challenge to Gotabaya’s right to contest the election as doubts have …
By Maneshka Borham The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has decided to raise their concerns with President Maithripala Sirisena on the recent confirmation of rank granted by the Sri Lanka Navy to Commodore D.K.P Dassanayake. The former Navy Spokesman, Dassanayake is one of the main suspects connected to the infamous Navy abductions case where 11 …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake As the presidential election campaign moves to combat readiness among candidates and political parties, one must be pardoned for drawing the recent deaths of seven elephants in the Palugaswewa Forest Reserve into the political plot. With Sajith Premadasa choosing the Swan symbol for his candidacy, does it mean the end of the …
In an unanimous decision a three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed the writ application filed challenging the validity of presidential aspirant Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Sri Lankan citizenship. “Formal notices of this application should not be issued to the respondents, and the application should therefore be dismissed,” President of the Court of Appeal Justice …
By Shehan Chamika Silva The three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal comprising Justices Yasantha Kodagoda (President/CA), Arjuna Obeysekara and Mahinda Samayawardena today unanimously decided to dismiss the writ petition filed against former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s citizenship status after hearing all parties over almost four days of continued court proceedings at the Court of …
The argument that the President of the Republic holds plenary executive power was “emphatically rejected” by a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in its judgment on the illegal dissolution of Parliament in November 2018, said Counsel for the Third Respondent Home Affairs Minister Wajira Abeywardena President’s Counsel Chanaka De Silva, as hearings on the …
By P.K.Balachandran Since the entire complexion of the November 16 Sri Lankan Presidential election will change if the Court of Appeal upholds the plea that the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is not a Sri Lankan citizen, Sri Lankans across the political divide are waiting with bated breath for the verdict which is …
By Zacky Jabbar A Special Convention of the UNP held at the Sugathadasa Stadium yesterday, unanimously endorsed Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa as the United National Front’s (UNF) Presidential candidate and confirmed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the UNP leader. After the Convention accepted Wickremesinghe’s proposal to endorse the UNP Working Committee ( WC ) decision …
Lawyers for SLPP presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday insisted that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the repository of all executive power before a Cabinet of Ministers was appointed, and was therefore legally empowered to sign his brother’s dual citizenship certificate on 21 November 2005, the legality of which is being challenged in the Court of Appeal. …
By Nuwan Senarathna The United National Party (UNP) yesterday passed a slew of resolutions at their annual convention, including a commitment to take forward the constitutional reform process which began in 2015, including the abolition of the Executive Presidency, but in concurrence with the Prime Minister and other stakeholders. During the convention, held at the …
Security was beefed up around the Superior Courts Complex as the high stakes litigation challenging the validity of SLPP presidential hopeful Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Sri Lankan citizenship was taken up before a special three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal yesterday. Appearing as Counsel for civil society activists Gamini Viyangoda and Prof. Chandraguptha Thenuwara, who filed …
By Chandani Kirinde Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunga has vested the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) with the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAA) ahead of the commencement of regional commercial operations in mid-October. The runway and the runway strip of JIA and the whole portion of the airport land located northwards abutting …
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday said they were confident of facing legal challenges directed at their presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and said they have faith in the Judiciary to deliver a just decision. A three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal (CA) yesterday commenced hearings on the Writ challenging Rajapaksa’s Sri Lankan citizenship. …
By P.K.Balachandran Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a front-runner in the Sri Lankan Presidential election to be held on November 16, is facing a serious issue over his Sri Lankan citizenship, days before the date for filing of nominations. Nominations are to be filed on October 6 and the case against him, filed in the Court of Appeal …
By Shehan Chamika Silva Appearing for the Attorney General, Senior Deputy Solicitor General Nerin Pulle today told that the former president, who had signed the dual citizenship certificate of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2005, actually had the power to do so as the relevant minister, because he had continued to exercise being the head of the …
By Shehan Chamika Silva Romesh de Silva PC appearing for Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the writ petition today brought up a preliminary objection over the maintainability of the writ application on several grounds. He said the petition cannot seek the relief sought in the petition as they do not have the locus standi (right to bring …
By Susitha Fernando Former Solicitor General (SG) and Chairman of the Sri Lanka National Authority for the Protection of Witnesses and Victims, Suhada Gamlath reiterated that he spoke the truth and said telling the truth had been construed as politics. He was responding to Justice Minister Thalatha Athukorala, who said he has talked politics while …
By Yohan Perera Chairman of the National Authority for Protection of Witnesses and Victims, Suhada Gamlath has said he would submit his resignation shortly but action is being taken by the Presidential Secretariat to remove him if he fails to do so by today, Justice and Law Reforms Minister Thalatha Athukorala said today. She told …
Senior journalist Bandula Jayasekera, diagnosed with Myelodyplastic Syndrome, a type of blood cancer in July this year appeals for assistance to undergo a lifesaving medical procedure in Singapore. Here Bandula himself explains his plight: “Doctors say the cure is a bone marrow transplant in Singapore because the transplant for this blood cancer (MDS) is considered …
By Ranga Jayasuriya Last week, the United National Party Working Committee nominated Sajith Premadasa as the presidential candidate of the Grand Old Party, and effectively, of the UNP led alliance. Mr Premadasa’s candidature may not impress those who wanted a more forthright choice with a degree of policy substance. But, alas, there was no such …
By Shyamon Jayasinghe It is sad to announce! I hope I am wrong. But I see the end of the Grand Old Party. The Sajith faction wouldn’t stop at getting nomination to a position that is only a shade of what it had been after 19A. The presidential executive is, today, a monster that has …
By S.S. Selvanayagam A three-judge bench of the Court of Appeal (CA) will commence hearings on a writ challenging the Sri Lankan citizenship of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa running for president, just three days ahead of the nominations deadline for the 16 November poll. A Divisional Bench of the Court of Appeal headed by …
By Chitra Weerarathne and A.J.A. Abeynayake The Court of Appeal yesterday directed Public Administration Minister Vajira Abeywardena, ministry Secretary Gamini Seneviratne, Controller Immigration and Emigration and Commissioner General of Registration of Persons to furnish information/documents pertaining to the issuance of a passport and National Identity Card (NIC) to Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2019. The Court of …
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday reiterated that he had obtain dual citizenship in 2005, soon after Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected President, but he had renounced his US citizenship in April this year. Speaking at an event held in Colombo, Rajapaksa said he had followed the relevant procedure and …
Sri Lanka’s main opposition presidential candidate Gotabhaya Rajapaksa faced a fresh legal challenge Monday as the Court of Appeal entertained a petition questioning his citizenship and the legality of his identity documents. A formal hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, just five days before nominations for the November 16 polls close. Two civil society activists, Gamini …
by D.B.S.Jeyaraj “The Prime Minister is Dead” was the striking headline in extra – large, bold letters of a special edition published by the now defunct “Times of Ceylon” on the morning of Saturday, September 26th 1959. Though I was only a little kid at that time and sixty years have passed since, I still …
By Meera Srinivasan . The recent passing away of a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka and his subsequent cremation in the northern district of Mullaitivu has brought to the fore an old concern — the power wielded by the Buddhist clergy and the impunity shielding them. It wasn’t the monk’s cremation that was the problem, …
by C.A.Chandraprema By fielding Sajith Premadasa as its presidential candidate, the UNP has put its best foot forward. As a political party, it would not have been feasible to ignore the demonstrations that the Sajith camp put up to prove the fact that he was by far the preferred candidate of the UNP rank and …
Continue reading ‘The Pluses and Minuses of a Sajith Premadasa Presidential Candidacy’ »
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Two manifestly glorious ironies occurred this week. A former President cautioned against a return to what he termed ‘the Premadasa era’ and a former Chief Justice lamented that, during the ‘yahapalanaya’ years, the independence of the Sri Lankan judiciary had been lost. Strange logic and stranger contradictions These claims may have …
By P.K.Balachandran On Thursday, after a month-long bitter inner-party struggle, Sajith Premadasa was nominated as the ruling United National Party’s candidate for the November 16 Sri Lankan Presidential election. The entrenched faction led by party Leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had to bite the dust eventually, and grant Deputy Leader and Housing Minister Sajith …
By Lahiru Pothmulla Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa today said Minister Sajith Premadasa was not a challenge to them at the presidential election and asked how a person who could not even win the Tissamaharama electorate and Hambantota district, could win the entire country. He expressed these views in response to the questions asked by journalists …
By Chandani Kirinde Unanimously endorsed as the party’s presidential candidate, an upbeat UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday said he was supremely and absolutely confident of winning the upcoming election. “I am supremely and absolutely confident of winning against (SLPP candidate) Gotabaya Rajapaksa, because I know the majority of the people of this country are …
By D.B.S.JEYARAJ The eighth Sri Lankan presidential election is expected to be held on or before December 7th this year. Though dates have not been announced yet, many names are being bandied about as potential candidates. Among such names is Hambantota district parliamentarian and cabinet Minister of Housing and Construction and Cultural Affairs Sajith Premadasa …
Ending months of speculation, heated debates and emotionally charged proclamations, the United National Party formally named Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa its candidate for the upcoming presidential election a short while ago. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe proposed Premadasa’s name at the Working Committee meeting held at party headquarters Sirikotha at 3.00pm today, which was endorsed by …
By Meera Srinivasan United National Party (UNP) deputy leader and Cabinet Minister Sajith Premadasa will run for President, Sri Lanka’s ruling party announced on Thursday, ending weeks of uncertainty and apparent infighting over candidacy. Mr. Premadasa, 52, is the son of late President Ranasinghe Premadasa. In the November 16 election, he will face Gotabaya Rajapaksa, …
UNP Deputy Leader and Housing and Construction Minister Sajith Premadasa yesterday insisted that he would not yield to any condition on his political journey and that no force would be able to block his path this time. He made this observation with reference to news paper reports appearing on Tuesday which said that his name …
The UN peacekeeping department has decided to ban the deployment of non-essential Sri Lankan army troops in UN peacekeeping missions citing the appointment of new Army Commander who is alleged to have committed war crimes, a UN spokesperson has told the Foreign Policy News. It said Lt. General Shavendra Silva’s appointment as the chief of …
By P.K.Balachandran The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Ven.Galagoda Aththe Gnansara Thero held a Sri Lankan court in contempt for the second time when on Tuesday, he defied a magistrate’s order not to cremate the body of a Buddhist monk within the disputed precincts of a Hindu kovil in the northern district …
By Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera There was general agreement among the seniors of the United National Party (UNP) to nominate Minister Sajith Premadasa as the presidential candidate but on certain conditions to be stipulated in writing, Daily Mirror learns. The UNP seniors backing both Party Leader Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mr.Premadasa met on …
By T.Virushan S. Thavaseelan and Sivam Packyanathan Over 2,000 protestors yesterday demonstrated in Mullaitivu against an alleged attack on two lawyers in relation to the controversy surrounding the cremation of the remains of Mullaitivu Gurukanda Purana Raja Maha Vihara Chief Incumbent, Ven.Colomba Medhalankarakitti Thera. The demonstrators demanded legal action against the performance of last rites …
A Government Minister has accused the Bodu Bala Sena led by the Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero of attempting to build a sub-national Sinhala Buddhist state. Minister of National Integration, Official Languages, Social Progress and Hindu Religious Affairs Mano Ganesan said that while the Government is building a Sri Lankan state encompassing Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, …
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, yesterday, accused President Maithripala Sirisena of misleading the public with regard to former Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe. Issuing a statement, the Prime Minister said that he could not fathom why the President was raising false allegations against him after a …
By T. Farook Thajudeen Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the American and Sri Lankan citizenship of former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and report its progress to court upon conclusion of the investigation. The magistrate also laid by the brief without fixing a date for inquiry. The magistrate …
By Kelum Bandara Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, after a discussion with a team of his party seniors, decided last night to call for a meeting of the working committee on Thursday and conduct a secret ballot to select the presidential candidate, Daily Mirror learns.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Presidential Candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa and 7 others have been discharged and released from the Avant-Garde floating armoury case. This is as per the order of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court after receiving the Court of Appeal judgment on the case. A copy of the acquittal order from the Appeals court …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj Ever since the name of Gotabaya Rajapaksa began to be bandied about as a potential candidate at the Sri Lankan presidential elections, doubts have been raised as to whether the former defence ministry secretary could win at the hustings. This skepticism has intensified in recent times after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa formally announced …
By D.B.S.Jeyaraj There is political excitement in the air in anticipation of Presidential elections before the end of the year. Even though no dates have been specified there is much speculation about prospective candidates and their prospects. Among those being spoken of as a potential presidential election contender is Hambantota District Parliamentarian and Cabinet Minister …
The fallout from last week’s hurried move to abolish the executive presidency continued to reverberate through Government ranks as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday rejected the claim by President Maithripala Sirisena that it was the UNP leader who wanted an urgent Cabinet meeting convened for the purpose. “The President telephoned me at 8.16 a.m. on …
By W.A. Wijewardena Recently, a former CEO of a leading private company expressed his personal view to me of the type of the ruler whom Sri Lanka should have today. Driven by conviction, he said that Sri Lanka at the present juncture needed a dictator to rule the country. He presented his reasons for this …
By P.K.Balachandran Whatever the issue may be, a politician’s or a political party’s stand on it is determined by immediate political interests and not ideology, principles or long-standing commitments. Cold calculation marks choices ahead of the November 16 Sri Lankan Presidential election. This has come out clearly in the stand taken by Lankan political leaders …
By Dr.Rajan Hoole ( Text of Speech delivered by DR. Rajan Hoole at Trimmer Hall, Jaffna, on 21st September 2019 to mark the 30th anniversary of Dr.Rajini Thiranagama’s assassination) Ever since Rajani was killed, on 21st September 1989, many around the world have seen her as a heroic figure that stood for human values, not …
Continue reading ‘Thirty Years After: Rajini Rajasingham Thiranagama’s Lasting Impact.’ »
by Sanjana Hattotuwa What binds a community together? Initially one might assume it is to do with having the same language, external enemies or economic interests. However, something generally precedes all that: common ideas that are passed down from generation to generation and that shape the development of the community. These ideas lend a distinctiveness …
By Aanya Wipulasena Most of it happened behind closed doors. The public knew only what was shown on television and what they read in the newspapers, and one caught a glimpse (perhaps) of the true story, depending on which television channel one watched, or which newspaper one read. Now, six years later, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, …
With reference to the Daily Mirror news story on the appearance of the invalidated national identity card number of Gotabhaya Rajapksa in the electoral registers of 2017, 2018 and 2019, Mr. Rajapaksa said that although he filled the form with the new ID number and the Department of Registration of Persons had informed the Elections …
By Anurangi Singh Attorney General Dappula De Livera will refer the matter of a leaked telephone conversation allegedly between the chairman of the controversial private security firm Avant Garde and the former Director General of the Bribery Commission, to the Public Service Commission (PSC) tomorrow, his office told Sunday Observer. The move comes as the …
By Anurangi Singh A day after the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna made a deposit on behalf of its presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Elections Commission, fresh controversy has erupted over the former defence secretary being registered to vote since 2017 under a NIC number that has been defunct since October 2016. The revelations followed …
TNA parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said yesterday that the emergency Cabinet meeting summoned on Thursday to discuss the abolition of the executive presidency was done with the agreement of both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. “The primary promise of the 2015 Presidential Election campaign was the abolition of the executive presidency, and this …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake SLFP’s Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera will have to give up on his calls for the SLPP and the Gotabaya Rajapaksa team to have a common symbol if contesting the polls in an alliance between the two parties. President Maithripala Sirisena has now sent the symbol of Gotabaya and the SLPP into celestial heights …
By Himal Kotelawala United National Party (UNP) seniors backing Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa in the race to the executive presidency defended their decision yesterday to oppose the 11th hour move to abolish it. Speaking to the media in Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s official residence in Colombo this afternoon, Ministers Thalatha Atukorale, Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Ravindra …
By Chandani Kirinde A Cabinet meeting was hurriedly summoned last afternoon to obtain approval to rush the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which seeks to abolish the Executive Presidency, through Parliament, but was stopped on its tracks after a group within the United National Party (UNP), as well as three minor parties, opposed the move. …
by Kelum Bandara A last ditch attempt to abolish the executive presidency by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was thwarted in the Cabinet today. Minister Mano Ganeshan said the government has decided at the special cabinet meeting on the abolishment of the Executive Presidency not to discuss the matter at the moment. …
By Sandun A Jayasekera The UNP group of the SLFP would either back UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa if he gets the ticket to contest the Presidential poll or slant towards the JVP as the once great political party has become politically destitute today, SLFP rebel Parliamentarian Dilan Perera said today. He added that the …
United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader and Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa yesterday doubled down on being his party’s presidential candidate, calling for the Working Committee and the Parliamentary Group to meet promptly to take a decision. Speaking at an early morning press conference at Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera’s official residence, Premadasa addressed the media, flanked …
The National Elections Commission has decided to hold the Presidential election on November 16. The Gazette notification declaring the date of the Presidential Election was issued today. Deposits for the Presidential election will be accepted from tomorrow (19) till 12 noon on the 6th of October. Nominations for the election will be called from 9am …
(Text of MEDIA RELEASE issued on September 18th 2019 by former president and Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa under the heading Allegation regarding the disappearance of Rs. two billion in the construction of the Colombo Lotus Tower) Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Colombo Lotus Tower, the President made a statement to the …
By N. Lohathayalan Eluha Thamil demonstrations were called by the Tamil People’s Council of which former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran is the Co-Chairman and essential catalyst. The parades and demonstrations were held over several issues: Sinhalese colonisation of Tamil homelands, the prosecution of war criminals, the release of Tamil political prisoners, an international …
By Manopriya Gunasekara A Fundamental Rights Petition requesting the cancellation of the Extraordinary Gazette notification which brought the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) under the Defence Ministry has been filed in the Supreme Court. Ven. Dambara Amila Thero and Prof. Chandraguptha Thenuwara filed the FR Petition yesterday. According to the Petitioners, the President, under the …
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday indicated his willingness to be the United National Front (UNF) candidate for the upcoming Presidential Election, saying he would run only on the assurance that the Executive Presidency would be abolished within a fixed time frame. “I can consider running for the office of President based on our Party’s pledge since …
By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya As party infighting continues to dominate the political landscape, voters are still left guessing as to the nature of programmes the main contenders in the forthcoming presidential election hope to introduce if they win. This is with only a couple of months to go before the poll. The uncertainty comes against a …
Formally declaring his presidential ambitions to his leader, United National Party (UNP) deputy leader Sajith Premadasa last night wrote to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe requesting a “consensus-building” meeting of the party’s Working Committee and Parliamentary Group. Members of the two groups are expected to reach agreement on the contentious issue of its presidential nomination at …
Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena had bared a scam running into billions of rupees in building a massive tower by Chinese firms, draining funds from Sri Lanka’s cash rich telecom regulator. One apparently non-existent Chinese company had vanished with two billion rupees in the process. The contract to build the tower had been awarded in …
Addressing the opening of the Lotus Tower in Colombo, President Maithripala Sirisena revealed that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government siphoned off Rs. 2 billion in the guise of an ‘advance payment’ for the project. “We came to know that Rs. 2 billion had been paid in 2012 to a Chinese company as an advanced payment. …
By Nirmala Kannangara Speaker Karu Jayasuriya in a candid interview with the Daily Mirror said the country could have saved billions of rupees had the respective Presidents elected since 1994 to date got the presidential system abolished as promised on election platforms.He also criticizes the current presidential system, ‘designed to serve the interests of one …
By Ranga Jayasuriya The UNP’s all lose–no winners cold war over the Presidential candidacy seems to be heading to a saner end. Party heavyweights, including the leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, and constituent parties of the UNF are gradually leaning towards Karu Jayasuriya, the Speaker of the House as the national candidate, who will pledge to abolish …
United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader, Housing and Cultural Affairs Minister Sajith Premadasa says he has formally requested UNP leader and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in writing to announce the party’s Presidential candidate, without further delay. Speaking at a ceremony to vest with the public two Uda Gammana villages in Tissamaharama, yesterday, the Minister said …