BY Sarath Dharmasena and Shyam Nuwan Ganewatte Chairman of the presidential commission of inquiry probing alleged bonds scams Justice K.T.Chitrasiri yesterday said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe would be summoned as a witness if necessary. Justice Chitrasiri said that already a list of questions had been sent to the Prime Minister, who had been requested to …
By Himal Kotelawala The Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the controversial bond issuance concluded its hearings yesterday, noting that additional hearings may be held if needed, and witnesses including Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called in the event further testimony is required. Making a statement at the conclusion of yesterday’s proceedings, Chairman of the Commission Justice …
By Vishwamithra 1984 “A hallucination is a fact, not an error; what is erroneous is a judgment based upon it.” ~Bertrand Russell Pradesheeya Sabhas became a devolved subject under the Provincial Councils in the Local Government system of Sri Lanka. This mechanism of local government was introduced in 1987 through the 13th Amendment to the …
By Harim Peiris An election the opposition has been clamouring for, the local government elections are finally expected to be conducted on or around the 20thof January 2018. Preceding those elections was what some sections of the media described as a purge of SLFP dissidents from the all-important post of organizer of an electorate. JO …
By Amali Mallawaarachchi It was revealed yesterday before the Treasury Bond Commission that former Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal, while holding office, had several of his close relatives appointed to top posts in banks coming under the purview of the Central Bank. This information transpired after a member of the Monetary Board …
The Attorney General’s Department this morning informed the Presidential Commission investigating the Treasury bond issue that Annika Wijesuriya – who testified against former Minister Ravi Karunanayake – has left the country after receiving death threats. Annika Wijesuriya, on July 23, testified that Arjun Aloysius had paid a monthly lease of Rs. 4.1 million on behalf …
(Excerpts From the “Sunday Politics” Column in the “Sunday Observer” of October 15th 2017) Gowers Corporate Services, the controversial legal and consultancy firm linked to parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, is making headlines again with Ornella Iresha Silva, a Director of the Company and a former Private Secretary to Rajapaksa, being arrested by Police at the Airport, …
(Excerpts From the “Sunday Politics” Column in the “Sunday Observer” of October 15th 2017) Namal Rajapaksa’s next ordeal this week was the Police investigation into a protest the Joint Opposition held in Hambantota against the government’s plans to develop the Mattala International Airport with the help of India. A day before the protest, ASP SanathAmarasinghe …
Former Sri Lanka president and Kurunegala district MP Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the government to abandon what he described as ‘the destructive proposal’ for a new constitution and to implement the Govt’s “original constitutional pledges”. In a statement issued on Monday October 16th 2017, the ex-president said ” My request to the government is that they …
By Chandani Kirinde The deployment of a staggering number of 798 armed STF personnel to conduct a search of two wards of the Welikada Prisons in November 2012, in violation of all laid down procedure to be followed when Prison premises are searched, led to the riot there which resulted in the death of 27 …
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan and T. Pratheepan President Maithripala Sirisena took his security detail by surprise after he threw caution to the wind and abruptly alighted from his official vehicle to confront a group of protesters in Jaffna yesterday. The President was in Jaffna to inaugurate the National Tamil Language Day celebrations at the Jaffna …
By Prof Rajiva Wijesinha Mission Impossible-Geneva is an inspiring account of developments at the Human Rights Council in Geneva when Dayan Jayatilleka was our Permanent Representative there. It is written by his wife Sanja, which provides for fascinating insights about the manner in which he planned how to overcome the threats from Western nations that …
By Neve Gordon I recently met Penny Green to discuss the situation in Myanmar and Aung San Suu Kyi’s role in the perpetration of the horrific crimes carried out against the Rohingya. A professor of law and globalization and the founding director of the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) at Queen Mary University of London, …
Continue reading ‘Aung San Suu Kyi and the Annihilation of Myanmar’s Rohingya’ »
At last week’s weekly ministerial meeting, Megapolis and Western Province Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka dropped a bombshell that triggered a lengthy discussion. It came after Highways Minister Lakshman Kiriella sought approval “to pay the cost of environmental and social due diligence to be carried out by the lending agency from the local funds allocated” …
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagoda Atte Gnanasara Thera said he didn’t intend to insult the judiciary with the remarks made inside the Homagama Magistrate’s Court in January 2016. Gnanasara Thera made this remarks as a defense witness regarding the contempt of court case filed against him. “I had no …
Sri Lanka is mulling alternatives to scaling back military business, amid warnings that”milibiz” not only stifles private entrepreneurs but that it has been a slippery slope to authoritarianism in other countries. Sri Lanka’s military runs an airline, restaurants, and even a whale watching ship, following the expansion of armed forces into civilian space during the …
A team from Taiwan’s Criminal Investigations Bureau arrived in Colombo this week as part of a probe into an international multi-million US dollar hacking scam of a Taipei-based bank where two businessmen with foreign passports have been taken into custody in Colombo. Litro Gas Chairman Shahlila Moonesinghe, a British passport holder of Sri Lankan descent, …
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is prepared to offer clarifications to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Central Bank Bond auctions, his office said yesterday. The Premier is ready at any time should the commissioners require him to respond in view of references to him during the public proceedings, the office said in a brief statement. …
By Chrishanthi Christopher The Local Authority Elections Amendment Act (LAEAA) passed in Parliament in August, requires 25% of women representation in the 335 Councils at the forthcoming elections in January 2018. The Parties said they are frantically searching for the right women candidates to represent their Parties. Under the LAEAA, it is mandatory that Nomination …
By Chris Kamalendran The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) yesterday boycotted a state festival presided over by President Maithripala Sirisena in Jaffna in protest over the failure to resolve an going issue over Tamil prisoners in custody. The boycott came after Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan wrote to President Sirisena on Thursday seeking the release of prisoners …
By Nihal Seneviratne, former Secretary General of Parliament The Provincial Councils (Amend) Act No. 17 of 2017 was passed in Parliament on Sept. 20 and certified by the Speaker on Sept. 22. There has arisen a great deal of controversy and debate regarding the passage of the Bill and its enactment. The Bill was presented …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene Juvenal’s beautifully scornful castigation of the people being diverted by ‘bread and circuses’ (panem et circenses), has a specific application in the present day. That cynical tactic served the Roman emperors well in turning the attention of bored plebians away from pressing national issues and civic duties. Catching the gleeful imagination …
By Namini Wijedasa in Jaffna Off the road from Jaffna to Karainagar, in the sleepy village of Moolai, stands a distinctive cream-coloured edifice that the World Health Organisation says is the first non-profit co-operative hospital in all of Southeast Asia. In its heyday, the Co-operative Hospital Moolai was bustling. Today, it is far quieter. With …
by C.A.Chandraprema In the past few days, the government has been conveying the impression to the public that they are going through the final motions necessary to hold the local government elections. Amendments to the local government laws were passed by Parliament recently and the Chairman of the Elections Commission was heard saying that all …
By Norman Palihawadane, Kushan Subasinghe and Ajith Alahakoon As purging of dissident SLFP leaders from the party is in full swing, incumbent and former Presidents of the party have expressed divergent opinions on the future of the SLFP. President Maithripala Sirisena, on Thursday, called on his new electoral organisers to reorganise and prepare the party …
By Goolbai Gunasekara If ever there was an emotion shared by everyone in this country it is that of an energy- sapping hopelessness. Every citizen eventually realizes that despite strikes, despite vociferous public protests, despite angry articles by journalists, despite a literacy rate that is among the highest in the world, despite a beautiful and …
By Lucien Rajakarunanayake From its outset, the Treasury Bond Scam was seen as a massive fraud carried on public funds or people’s assets managed by the Central Bank. As the probe on the Bond Scams that took place shortly after the election of the present government in 2015, what the public saw was the crooked …
India is in advanced talks with Sri Lanka to operate an airport on the southern tip of the island, where China has invested heavily as part of its Belt and Road initiative, a Minister said. Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala said the country had been looking for alternative investors in the Hambantota area, where China …
Defence State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene yesterday, reiterated that the remanded LTTE suspects, who had allegedly committed serious crimes,will not be freed without a judicial process despite the hartal campaigns in the North. The State Minister observed that the hartal campaign in the North is politically motivated and a group seeking political mileage is behind it. …
Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister Faizer Mustapha said yesterday that there should be a system to ensure that only one member from one family can contest at the forthcoming and Provincial Council Local Government elections. Under the present system, most of the candidates are from political families. This deprives so many others in the …
Sri Lanka’s state-run insurance giant has sacked its Joint Managing Director T. M. R. Bangsa Jayah, the brother-in-law of former finance minister Ravi Karunanayake, officials said today. Bangsa Jayah, an appointee of Karunanayake, refused to step down to allow the ministry of State Enterprise Development carry out a restructuring of Sri Lanka Insurance (SLC) forcing …
By Himal Kotelawala Two senior Cabinet Ministers yesterday told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the controversial bond issuance that at a meeting held on 26 February 2015, a fund requirement of Rs. 18 billion had been discussed for stalled road development work initiated by the previous administration. Ministers Kabir Hashim and Malik Samarawickrama, testifying …
By Ajantha Kumara Agalakada Ps Kumara Welgama and Mahindananda Aluthgamage had been removed from their Posts of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Organisers for Matugama and Nawalapitiya respectively, informed sources said. Meanwhile, former president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga had been appointed as the SLFP organiser for Attanagalla by President Maithripala Sirisena at a meeting held with …
(Text of an Editorial Appearing in “The Island ” of October 13th 2017 Under the heading “Eloquent silence”) Today is Friday the 13th. Not all of us are troubled by triskaidekaphobia, but its association with Satan reminds us of the proverbial man who sold his soul to the devil. The day is of significance to …
By Darshana Sanjeewa Tangalle Division ASP Thushara Daluwatta, who allegedly assaulted a youth during a protest held in Hambantota last week, was transferred to the Matara Division by the National Police Commission (NPC) today . Commission Secretary Ariyadasa Cooray said the decision was taken during the commission meeting held today.
Tamil National Leader and Leader of the Opposition Rajavarothayam Sampanthan has in a letter written to President Maithripala Sirisena urged the immediate release of Tamil prisoners being detained under the prevention of terrorism act(PTA), The full text of the letter is reproduced below- 12th October 2017 His Excellency President Maithripala Sirisena President of the Democratic …
By C. A. Chandraprema Dr. Jayampathy Wickremaratne has been trying to allay anxieties of concerned citizens about the new constitution that he is involved in drafting. He claims that there will be a special constitutional provision against secession. What he is referring to is the following provision in the recently released interim report of the …
Continue reading ‘Maithripala-Ranil Govt Deceives People Through Constitutional Trickery’ »
Sri Lanka’s opposition legislator Namal Rajapaksa turned to the United Nations Human Rights Council soon after he was arrested along with two other members of parliament over their recent anti-India protest. Rajapaksa, a leading member of the Joint Opposition which is highly critical of the UN Rights Council, complained to the world body as well …
In order not to alienate India, the Sri Lankan government is taking stern action against those who tried to storm the Indian Consulate in Hambantota last Friday in protest against the government’s bid to go for a Joint Venture (JV) with India to run the non-functioning Mattala International Airport. Twenty-eight persons were arrested during the …
Ministers Kabir Hashim and Malik Samarawickrama, testifying before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the bond scams, yesterday said that to make payments to the contractors engaged in road development projects and to continue with the ongoing projects the government had needed funds to the tune of Rs.15 billion. A meeting had been held at …
By Himal Kotelawala Two senior Cabinet Ministers yesterday told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the controversial bond issuance that at a meeting held on 26 February 2015, a fund requirement of Rs. 18 billion had been discussed for stalled road development work initiated by the previous administration. Ministers Kabir Hashim and Malik Samarawickrama, testifying …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Machiavelli said that the enterprise entailing the deadliest risk in politics is to try to institute a new order, and to be a new ruler while doing so (“a new prince in a new principality”). To be a relatively new government trying to introduce a new political system in a polarized, poly-ethnic …
Continue reading ‘Solution is a Unitary State With Power Devolved To Autonomous Provinces.’ »
By Lakmal Sooriyagoda A case filed against Hambantota district Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa and five others for their alleged involvement in laundering money amounting to Rs.30 million through Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited was yesterday fixed for trial by the Colombo High Court. Iresha Silva, one of the directors of Gowers Corporate Services, was present in …
By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta Former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendra, testifying before the presidential commission of inquiry probing alleged bond scams, yesterday, said he could not speak for Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He said so when Senior Additional Solicitor General (SASG) Dappula de Livera, PC asked him some questions, based on a statement the Prime …
MPs Namal Rajapaksa, DV Chanaka, Prasanna Ranaweera and three provincial councillors were arrested by Hambantota police late last evening over the Joint Opposition protest at Hambantota last Friday. They were taken into custody when they had arrived at the Hambantoa Police station to make their statements.
By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta and Sarath Dharmasena The presidential commission of inquiry probing the treasury bond scams has summoned Public Enterprises Development Minister Kabir Hashim and Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama to give evidence before it today. Minister Samarawickrama is the UNP Chairman, Hashim the party’s General Secretary.
– Sri Lanka’s police arrested Namal Rajapaksa and two of his legislator colleagues Tuesday for their role in leading a violent anti-India demonstration last week. Police said in a statement that Rajapaksa was taken into custody after he gave a statement to the Hambantota police over his role in Friday’s demonstration that was broke up …
By Himal Kotelawala Proceedings at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the controversial bond issuance heated up yesterday as former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran was cross-examined aggressively by the Attorney General’s Department. Mahendran denied any knowledge of meetings said to have been called by former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake where the latter had allegedly …
By Yoshitha Perera Former Secretary to MP Namal Rajapaksa, Ornella Iresha Silva was released on bail by High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe today. Ms. Silva, who arrived in Sri Lanka this morning from Abu Dhabi, was arrested at the Airport following a court order.
By Deepa Adikari MP Namal Rajapaksa’s former secretary Ornella Iresha Silva was arrested this morning at the Colombo International Airport, Katunayake following a court order. She arrived at the BIA at 05.07 this morning from Abu Dhabi
Sri Lanka’s police Tuesday arrested a key business partner of Namal Rajapaksa who is facing several charges relating to money laundering through several companies set up when his father was president. Ornella Iresha Silva, a director of companies established by Rajapaksa, was wanted since August last year in connection with money laundering allegations, but she …
Authorities in Abu Dhabi are to extradite Hambantota MP Namal Rajapaksa’s former secretary Iresha Silva from the country. The expulsion comes on a request made by the INTERPOL, through the Sri Lanka Police.
The Colombo High Court has issued a warrant through Interpol for the arrest of Batapola Arachchige Oranella Iresha Silva for her alleged involvement in laundering money amounting to Rs.30 million through Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited allegedly owned by Hambantota district Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa. High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe had made this order taking into …
The head of the state-owned Litro gas company, Shalila Moonesinghe, is among two people arrested in connection with millions of rupees wired to a state bank, believed to be from a computer hacking and robbery of a Taiwan bank, officials said Monday. Moonesinghe, who is also the leader of the New Democratic Front under whose …
By S.S.Selvanayagam Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva today told the Supreme Court that the Attorney General was guilty of misleading Parliament through his opinion on the amendments introduced to the Provincial Councils Amendment Bill during the committee stage of its passage. Making submissions as a citizen of the country in support of his fundamental …
By Saman Indrajith The government yesterday presented to Parliament its estimated expenditure for the next year in which the expenses of the President’s office has been increased by more than 50 percent. The expenditure of the Prime Minister is expected to increase by 29%. The appropriation bill presented to Parliament by Acting Finance Minister Eran …
By Chitra Weerarathne Former Chief Justice, Sarath Nanda Silva, yesterday, appeared in person to obtain leave to proceed with the fundamental rights violation petition he had filed, citing the Attorney General, as the first respondent. The petitioner has informed the Supreme Court, that amendments were added to the Provincial Councils Election (Amendment) Act, at the …
By Janaki Chandrararatna Sri Lanka is at the crossroads once again. This time it is with the introduction of a new constitution. Constitution making is no easy task and that is the reason that countries generally adopt the amendment process to make changes to a constitution. Since Sri Lanka is like no other country in …
By Sanja De Silva Jayatilleka The Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence is due to visit Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka, on rather a long visit, from 10th to 23rd October 2017. Almost two whole weeks. According to the Office of the …
By Gagani Weerakoon Former President Rajapaksa who is on a 10-day private visit to Japan, this time has not even been offered a protocol officer upon his arrival at the Airport. When his Private Secretary Uditha Lokubandara inquired from Ambassador Dhammika Ganganath as to why such shabby treatment was given to the former President, the …
By Norman Palihawadane and Saman Indrajith The Human Rights Commission has launched an inquiry into a senior police officer assaulting a journalist taken into custody while he was covering the protest at Hambantota on Friday. Media spokesperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Saliya Peiris said they had launched an investigation into the …
By Gagani Weerakoon Following repeated assurance by President Maithripala Sirisena, the perspective of Mahanayake Theras’- at least, that of Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter- on the proposed constitutional reforms seems to have changed drastically. This was evident, when Leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and Joint Opposition Dinesh Gunawardena – who his colleagues identify …
( Text of Editorial Appearing in “The Island” of October 9th 2017 Under the Heading ” When democracy gets slapped around”) No sooner had the yahapalana government given the apex court a thundering slap across the face by circumventing a judicial ruling to ratify the Provincial Council Election (Amendment) Bill than the guardians of the …
By Gagani Weerakoon With impending Local Government Elections, all major parties have started selecting candidates and if there was any political leader that stunned the entire country with his campaign, that is non-other than Basil Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa was extensively blamed and criticized for the embarrassing defeat of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the presidential elections …
By Dileepa N. Jayasekera Hambantota District UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa yesterday alleged that police personnel had unleashed what he called terror against protest staged by the Joint Opposition at Hambantota on Friday also taken into custody even some patients waiting in the queues at hospitals. “Police not only tear gassed and used water cannon to …
By S.S. Selvanayagam A parliamentarian of the Tamil National Alliance has filed an intervenient petition against the fundamental rights petition filed by former Chief Justice challenging the enactment of the Provincial Council Elections Amendment Bill. TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran PC is crying foul at former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva’s fundamental rights petition saying that …
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardena Sneaky strategies adopted by the Government to smuggle hasty amendments to the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Act at the committee stage so as to transform that Amendment into an entirely strange creature altogether must be condemned, strongly and categorically. A nightmare becomes real Such wily tricks on the part of those …
by C. A. Chandraprema The interim report of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly is now on the table and there seems to be a stand off developing between the UNP and the pro-Sirisena SLFP over its contents. President Sirisena is being furiously assailed in pro-UNP websites like Lanka e News. Simultaneously we see …
Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka 50th Death Anniversary of Che Guevara [This essay was originally published in English and in Spanish translation in Granma, the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, in 2007, on the 40th anniversary of Che Guevara’s death.] The literary imagination of genius is often more intuitive about …
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s legislator son Namal beat a hasty retreat yesterday after leading an anti-India protest outside the Indian Consulate and clashing with police at Hambantota. The young Member of Parliament used a loud hailer to work the crowd to a frenzy as the Joint Opposition rally marched from the Hambantota beach to the …
By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham Two weeks have passed since the presentation of the Interim Report of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly to the parliament of Sri Lanka by Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. As in the case of the release of the reports of the six sub- committees, this report also has created a furor …
By Marianne David In the running for the position of Colombo Mayor, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s Office Rosy Senanayake is confident of victory and armed with comprehensive plans to turn Colombo into a “safe, smart, economically viable, and corruption-free city”. Having announced her candidature recently, Senanayake is now preparing for the …
Continue reading ‘Rosy Senanayake Has “Rosy” plans For City If and When Elected Mayor of Colombo’ »
By Shamindra Ferdinando Joint Opposition (JO) activists protesting against government move to hand over the Mattala airport to an Indian company were attcked by the police yesterday outside the Consulate in Hambantota. Police used water cannon and fired tear gas to disperse crowds gathered outside the Indian mission. Police arrested 26 persons during the crackdown. …
By M.S.M.Ayub Whenever the discourse on Constitution-making came to fore during the past two decades, the bone of contention was the nature of the state with the Tamils wanting a federal mode of governance and the Sinhalese insisting on a unitary state. However, even after more than thirty years since the ethnic problem took a …
By C. A. Chandraprema When looking at the interim report of the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly, the game plan of the yahapalana coalition becomes immediately apparent. For over one and a half years, we have been intermittently receiving various documents from the Steering Committee which made it only too clear what the yahapalana …
By Dr.Dayan Jayatilleka Philosophy, said Kautilya (Chanakya) in the Arthashathra, deals primarily with the right and wrong use of force. At least from that time, it was recognized that there is a right way and a wrong way of doing even what is necessary or unavoidable. This was of course the very premise of the …
Continue reading ‘Rising Tide of Sinhala Fundamentalism Will Play Into The Hands Of The Govt’ »
(Text Of Press Release issued by the Tamil National Alliance Media Office on October 5th 2017) The visiting UK Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Rt. Hon. Mark Field met with the Leader of the Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance Hon.R. Sampanthan today (04.10.2017) at Westminster House in Colombo. Detailing the current …
Sri Lanka’s large state banks have been asked to bid at low rates at volumes given by then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, at two controversial bond auctions alleged to have been rigged, a commission of inquiry had been told. A meeting of state bank officials of National Savings Bank, People’s Bank and Bank of Ceylon …
By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatte and Sarath Dharmasena Chairmen and senior officials of three major state banks––the Bank of Ceylon, the People’s Bank and the National Savings Bank–– testifying before the presidential commission of inquiry probing the bond scams yesterday said that on two occasions in 2016, the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake had instructed them …
By Himal Kotelawala Chairmen, CEOs/General Managers and other senior officials of the three state-owned banks yesterday told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the controversial bond issuance that former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake had on two occasions instructed them to bid at lower-than-market yield rates, assuring them that bids at higher rates would not be …
Sri Lanka’s finance ministry employees went nuts when a mini forutune was offered to them by Chilaw Plantations company in the form of precious coconuts at a near 50 percent discount. Some 1,200 employees at the General Treasury Building in Colombo Fort had the good fortune to double their money buying coconuts at 65 rupees …
Sri Lanka’s minister in charge of law and order has become a victim of a hit-and-run attack on the Southern Expressway, but the police department which is under him has failed to track the offending motorist. Adding insult to injury, the traffic police has given the run around to Minister Sagala Ratnayaka’s personal security officer …
By Faizer Shaheid Former Chief Justice, Sarath N. Silva has grown more and more politically inclined over the years, but his take on the Provincial Council Elections (Amendment) Act raises a little more than a few eyebrows. While the enactment itself is largely positive, the manner in which the Bill was passed has definitely shocked …
By Nanda Wickremasinghe While rapidly strengthening its military ties with Sri Lanka, the Trump administration is voicing concerns over Colombo’s “unsustainable debts” with China. These views were outlined last month by Alice Wells, the US acting assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, in a report to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Entitled, “Maintaining US …
By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatte and Sarath Dharmasena Senior Additional Solicitor General Dappula de Livera, PC yesterday told the presidential commission of inquiry probing bond scams that Perpetual Treasuries (Pvt.) Ltd (PTL) had maintained two ‘things-to-do’ files for RK and AM. PC de Livera mentioned this while former Governor of the Central Bank Arjuna Mahendran was …
By Dr. Upatissa Pethiyagoda Discussions on a possible new Constitution seem to be dominated by two important issues. One is the organization of the country as “united or unitary”. The other is regarding the status of Buddhism. The leadership keeps assuring the populace that the current status of pre-eminence of Buddhism will not only be …
By Chitra Weerarathne President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva told the Supreme Court yesterday that Geetha Kumarasinghe had been elected to Parliament on August 17, 2015 and her nominations accepted without protests. There had been no election petition against her. She took the oaths as a Member of Parliament, before the Speaker, sat and voted in …
By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta and Sarath Dharmasena Former Governor of the Central Bank Arjuna Mahendran, testifying before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry probing the bond scams, yesterday, said it was Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who had instructed him to issue Treasury bonds only through public auctions. Mehendran was answering a query raised by Commission member …
The Mount Lavinia magistrate today remanded monk and former member of parliament Akmeemana Dayarathana for leading a violent mob which stormed a refugee centre and caused severe distress to peace-loving Buddhists. Police told the magistrate that the monk’s hate speech and his violent actions that were uploaded live over his own facebook page had upset …
Catalonia’s regional government declared a landslide win for the “yes” side in a disputed referendum on independence from Spain that degenerated into ugly scenes of mayhem on Sunday, with more than 800 people injured as riot police attacked peaceful protesters and unarmed civilians gathered to cast their ballots. Catalonia has “won the right to become …
By Selvanayagam Ravishanth Former minister Basil Rajapaksa stunned journalists in Jaffna Sunday by admitting that security forces commanded by his president brother Mahinda committed “crimes” during and after the Tamil separatist war. Basil told the Jaffna Press Club that troops continued to break the law even after the end of the war in May 2009. …
By Sanja de Silva Jayatilleka The 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council closed just a few days back, on the 29th of September. At that session, there were allegations of genocide, systematic discrimination, rape and torture in custody, extrajudicial killings and militarization leveled at Sri Lanka besides a call by the UN High …
By Darshana Sanjeewa The term of office of newly appointed Navy Commander Vice Admiral Travis Sinniah, who turned 55 on September 26, had only been extended by one month by President Maithripala Sirisena, sources said. Although the President has the power to extend the tenure of the Navy Commander by another year he has only …
Six suspects who were arrested by police in connection with a mob attack on a group of Rohingya refugees who were seeking shelter at a United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) safe house in Mount Lavinia on Tuesday (26), have been remanded until October 9 by the Mount Lavinia Magistrate. The latest suspects arrested …
By Shamindra Ferdinando The government yesterday said the proposed new Constitution wouldn’t have any federal features whatsoever though some interested parties distorted facts in an obvious bid to derail the process. The assurance was given by member of the Steering Committee spearheading the project, UNP National List MP Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, PC, at a special …
by FR J.C. PIERIS The Left, politically speaking, is not merely a philosophy, an ideology or a method of economy. It is an attitude and a belief in all that is best in humanity; in all that will enhance and ennoble the dignity and worth of each and every human being. The Left always stands …
Former Sabaragamuwa Province Chief Minister Maheepala Herath yesterday said that he is against the policy of usurping the powers given to provincial councils. Addressing the last session of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council, Herath said that he likes to be a provincial councillor than a parliamentarian. The tenure of the sixth Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council expired yesterday.
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene In midst of an impossible muddle of governance in Colombo, the handing down of the death sentence to the accused in the Sivaloganathan Vithya rape and murder case by a trial-at-bar in Jaffna this week is one tentative indication that, (to borrow from Longfellow) the mills of justice in Sri Lanka …
(Excerpts from the “Sunday Times” Political Column of October 1st 2017) With local government polls now ahead, President Maithripala Sirisena has embarked on an ambitious project to consolidate his position as leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Last Thursday evening, he took the unusual step of conducting one-on-one meetings with SLFP ministers, parliamentarians …
BY Mirudhula Thambiah “Kutty cried the entire day when my Chellam (darling) went missing. Kutty joined us in our search for her. Kutty was very attached to my daughter and she loved Kutty very much. Kutty was her best friend,” Vithya’s mother Saraswathy wept while recollecting memories of her daughter and her best friend Kutty. …
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan All is not well for the 31 Rohingya boat people, who belong to a Muslim ethnic group in majority-Buddhist Myanmar, after they sought refuge in Sri Lanka in April this year. A group of Sinhala nationalist and extremist Buddhist monks marched to their residence in Mount Lavinia on the morning of …
By Meera Srinivasan “An insult to humanity” — that is how the leftist political party Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna termed the recent Buddhist monk-led attacks on a United Nations safe house sheltering Rohingya refugees in suburban Colombo. The men in robes were calling for the refugees to be deported. The incident not only alarmed the United …
(Text of Editorial Published in the Pakistan Newspaper ” Dawn” of September 30th, 2017) THE juggernaut of hatred in the name of faith is spreading. It is hounding the Rohingya Muslims as they flee Myanmar in various directions to escape ethnic cleansing. Added to the list of excesses committed against them is an attack led …
By Gagani Weerakoon President Maithripala Sirisena who went to Gemunupura Buddhist Centre in Ampara on Friday (29) to present the Akthapathra to newly elected Mahanayake of the Udarata Amarapura Samagri Sangha Sabha,Most Ven.Girambe Mangala Nayaka Thera emphasized that the draft report for the new constitutional proposals in any way does not project a concept of …
By Risidra Mendis They come from as far as the Beira Lake, Bolgoda, Kelani Ganga, Attidiya, Thalawathugoda, Diyatha Uyana and the Diyawanna Oya and are well settled way before their feeding time at the National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala. Seated patiently and close to each other, the visiting Spot Billed Pelicans and the resident pelicans …
By Ananth Palakidnar The schoolgirl Vithya Sivaloganathan murder Trial-at-Bar verdict came in for the praise by the law abiding citizens of the Jaffna Peninsula and the country at large. Seven of the accused were convicted for conspiracy, abduction, rape and murder and were sentenced to death. The verdict and handing down of the death sentence …
by C.A.Chandraprema The ‘sil redi’ judgment against former presidential secretary Lalith Weeratunga and former Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Director General Anusha Pelpita continues to make waves. Indeed the discussion of this judgment is fully justified. This writer cannot think of another judgment at the High Court level which is fraught with such serious implications for the …
Police have arrested a man and woman for taking part in a violent demonstration against Rohingya refugees and are looking for several others, including three Buddhist monks who led the mob and “behaved like animals.” Police said a search was underway for monk Akmeemana Dayaratne and two other monks who orchestrated the mob violence against …
By Dr Palitha Kohona Sri Lanka is a rare case where a brutal terrorist challenge to the state was comprehensively defeated, substantially through its own efforts, despite all the advice, reservations and fears publicly expressed to the contrary. Unfortunately, the elimination of terrorism has won it few plaudits internationally. Instead, the tables have been turned …
By Saman Gunadasa Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena recently addressed the United Nations General Assembly, appealing to the international powers to back his crisis-ridden government, while denouncing those demanding democratic and social rights at home as “extremists.” Sirisena’s and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government, now two-and-a-half years old, faces growing opposition from workers, youth and …
Continue reading ‘Blatant Lies in President Sirisena’s Self – Serving Speech at UN on Sep 19’ »
By A.J.A. Abeynayake Colombo District Judge Sujeewa Nissanka yesterday rejected a petition seeking to reinstate former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as the President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The judge decided to reject the case after the preliminary objections that the petitioners had no legal right to continue with the case. The petition was …