Month: October 2020

EC Chairman denies allegations By Shamindra Ferdinando Election Commission (EC) Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya has denied accusations that controversial SJB National List lawmaker Diana Gamage is a dual citizen, and therefore not eligible to be a member of parliament. Responding to a spate of allegations, the EC Chairman has said that both the Registrar of Persons and the Immigration and Emigration Department… Continue reading "Now, SJB lawmaker accused of being a UK citizen"

SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva says in adjournment debate in Parliament on ‘International Agreements’ that mixed messaging has left people confused with the economic development model Govt. envisages Says country should have clear and unified vision to achieve in terms of socio-economic development Says international agreements today is not cast in terms of comparative advantage of mutual benefit, but… Continue reading "Don’t build a wall around Sri Lanka; build bridges to connect us with the world"

The United States wants the people of Sri Lanka to be successful and sustained in development, but China has a very different vision, says US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo. He mentioned this speaking at the joint press conference held with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dinesh Gunawardena, today (28). Pompeo says that the US seeks to strengthen our… Continue reading "US wants SL to be successful, sustained, but China has a different vision – Pompeo"

By Udeni Saman Kumara  With the Government having passed the 20th Amendment to the Constitution with a two-thirds majority, the Opposition has been defeated again. As the main Opposition what have you got to say about this? A: It has to be said at the outset that it was not the Opposition that was defeated but the people. With the… Continue reading "Those who voted for 20A betrayed the people – Bakeer Markar"

Sri Lanka’s voters do have short memories. Just turn the pages of time in the history of local politics and we will see how former heads of state Sirimavo Bandaranaike and JR Jayewardene abused power with the intention of becoming ever so powerful. Mrs Bandaranaike who came to power with a 2/3 rd majority extended her reign from five to… Continue reading "There’s something fishy when voting for free"

“I have four Arabu-Tamil books — Noor Nama (an account of Prophet Muhammad’s life), Simt-us-Sibyan,Mubarak Maalai (poems of the life of our Prophet) and Penn Puththi Maalai (advice for Muslim women). Though nobody wants to learn Arabu-Tamil anymore, I still read these books as they are part of our heritage. We need to preserve our traditions” (View of a Muslim lady) As Meelad un Nabi, the commemoration of the birth… Continue reading "The Decline Of ‘Arabu-Tamil’ Language: A Great Loss To The Sri Lankan Muslim Heritage!"

By Buddhika Samaraweera The National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) had maintained eight safe houses in the Eastern Province, in which a large quantity of explosives was stored, to carry out a second wave of attacks in August 2019. This was revealed on 27 October when an Officer attached to the CID testified before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the bombings… Continue reading "CID Officer tells Easter Attacks PCoI: NTJ maintained eight safe houses in East"

LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s government bonds fell heavily on Wednesday as the United States ratcheted up pressure on the country’s government over its ties with China. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was visiting Sri Lanka as part of a four-nation Asian tour, said the Chinese Communist Party was operating as a “predator” in the country… Continue reading "UPDATE 1-Sri Lanka’s bonds hammered as U.S. dubs China “predator”"

Pompeo labels Chinese Communist Party a predator, says US stands for a democratic, peaceful, prosperous and fully sovereign Sri Lanka Says bad deals, violations of sovereignty and lawlessness on land and sea, show CCP is a predator In contrast, says US comes as friend and partner Asserts strong, sovereign Sri Lanka is a powerful and strategic partner for US   Says American… Continue reading "Plaudits and pre-warning from Pompeo"

The Government of Sri Lanka says that it has been made aware of the Open Judgement by the Proscribed Organizations Appeals Commission (POAC) of the United Kingdom on delisting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a proscribed terrorist organization. The government also said that it will appeal against the judgement of the independent tribunal in the UK which… Continue reading "Sri Lanka to appeal against move to lift UK’s ban on LTTE"

An independent tribunal in the UK has ordered the British Home Office to lift the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The LTTE was proscribed in the UK in 2001. In 2019, the Tran-snational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) officially requested the British Home Office to lift the ban, claiming that the proscription of the LTTE was misperceived… Continue reading "Tribunal orders UK Govt. to lift ban on LTTE"

Several members of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) voted in favour of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution while the SJB had officially decided to oppose the legislation. The eight opposition MP’s who voted along with the Govt for the 20th amendment are Samagiya Jana Balavegaya (SJB) National List MP Diana Gamage, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress MP’s Nazeer… Continue reading "20A: Muslim MPs vote in favour"

When the 17th Amendment and the 19th Amendment was passed, why was it that almost the whole House approved it, he questioned. “Why did it happen? It didn’t happen for any other amendment, but those two.”  Because those had the total approval of our people that this country must remain a democratic country, he said. “That messy as it is,… Continue reading "Sumanthiran urges MPs not to go in ‘reverse gear’ in direction of autocracy"

By Gagani Weerakoon and Methmalie Dissanayake Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Imthiaz Bakeer Markar yesterday (21) said in Parliament that he is of the opinion that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is also against the 20th Amendment to the Constitution Bill, which takes away all his powers and makes the Premier’s post a nominal one. Participating in the debate on the… Continue reading "20A could mean death of democracy"

ECONOMYNEXT- Leader of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Rauff Hakeem is urging the members of his party not to vote in favour of the 20th amendment, especially in those who are representing the eastern province hoping that would be politically pragmatic given the development needs of the area. Speaking in the parliament earlier today, he said that SLMC has met… Continue reading "MPs will support 20A, Hakeem urges them to oppose it"

ECONOMYNEXT – Many Sri Lankans who fled violence and persecution in the country and have become citizens of other countries must be given the opportunity to return and serve their motherland, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Member of Parliament Sagala Kariyawasam said. Joining the debate on the 20th Amendment to the Constitution Kariyawasam said that many Sri Lankans fled the country… Continue reading "Dual citizens who want to serve the Motherland must be given the chance – Kariyawasam"

Back to the 13th. The 13th Amendment is about provincial councils, at least in the operationalization of it. Provincial council elections have not been held in years. No one seems to mind, not even the die-hard devolutionists, not even the democracy-or-death types who wake up whenever their political darlings are in trouble. So, one can ask, ‘what’s the issue then;… Continue reading "The forgotten 13th"

ECONOMYNEXT – The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will reject any constitution that does not have wide national consensus including that of the Tamil people, TNA leader R Sambanthan said. The MP made this remark in a speech declaring the TNA’s and the Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK)’s decision to vote against the 20th amendment to the constitution. In the second… Continue reading "TNA will reject any constitution that doesn’t have wide national consensus: Sampanthan"

Srisena did not feel the need to appoint an Acting Minister of Defence when he went abroad on 16 April 2019, especially since it was the Sinhala and Hindu New Year season. Sirisena responded by saying that while in some cases Acting Ministers are appointed, often however, they are not. Also, a member of the Commission again queried him as… Continue reading "Sirisena tells Easter Attacks PCoI: I did not appoint an Acting President or Defence Minister"

Sirisena also said Jayasundara had sent a letter to the National Police Commission in this regard and in it had stated that “it was in accordance with the instructions received at the NSC.” Sirisena had subsequently blamed Jayasundara for this. He further said Jayasundara was not invited to the meetings of the NSC for that reason. Meanwhile, when the Commission… Continue reading "IP Nishantha’s probes backed by LTTE sympathisers"

Yoshitha Rajapaksa has been appointed as the new Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Prime Minister’s Office said Yoshitha assumed duties in the new post yesterday. Meanwhile, Chargé d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy, Hu Wei, congratulated Yoshitha for assuming office as new Chief of Staff to PM. “Bilateral friendship and follow-ups of recent high-level visit were discussed,” the… Continue reading "PM’s son is new Chief of Staff to PM – Family Business started."

CHENNAI: Sri Lankan drug trafficker Sunil Ge .. Read more at:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/78678485.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Sri Lankan authorities said he had been detained for links to the perpetrators of the 2019 Easter Bombings, which left more than 250 people dead and injured more than 500 – the Indian Ocean island nation’s worst attack since the end of civil war in 2009. Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said the police had not… Continue reading "Why Sri Lanka jailed a Muslim lawyer without charge for 6 months"

by M. A. Kaleel Karuna Amman alias Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, former Eastern Province LTTE commander, has been appointed the District Coordinator of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa for Ampara and Batticaloa.  Karuna received his appointment yesterday from the Prime Minister at Temple Trees.  Muralitharan contested the last parliamentary election from the Ampara District as a coalition party of SLPP, but was unsuccessful.… Continue reading "Karuna Amman appointed district coordinator of Prime Minister"

Local intelligence agencies had no reason to doubt the intelligence information received in advance from an Indian source about a possible terror attack, former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) Probing the Easter Sunday terror attacks on Tuesday (13). He said a responsible Government like India would not issue such critical alerts in vain, as… Continue reading "‘Indian agencies alerted Sri Lanka three or four times about attack’"

Justice C.V. Wigneswaran is not laying traps to snare GR-MR or the TNA; that’s not the import of my title. I am suggesting is that wily old Wiggy is calculating that these worthies will snare themselves in traps of their own making, and then his line will pay off. His expectation is that the regime will turn explicitly anti-Tamil and his second… Continue reading "Wiggy May Outwit GR-MR & TNA: Tamil Buddhism & Oldness Of Sinhala Lingo Are Beside The Point"

JS Narang’s read-out said, “Prime Minister Modi called on the new Government in Sri Lanka to work towards realising the expectations of Tamils for equality, justice, peace and dignity within a united Sri Lanka by achieving reconciliation.” According to the joint statement, PM Rajapkasa “expressed the confidence that Sri Lanka will work towards realising the expectations of all ethnic groups, including Tamils,… Continue reading "To be or not to be on 13-A, India’s Sri Lanka moment again?"

Former President Maithripala Sirisena exerted continuous pressure on investigating officers, especially CID sleuths when they investigated military officers allegedly involved in wrong doings, former Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka yesterday informed the PCoI probing Easter Sunday attacks.  Ratnayake said that when CID officers made some arrests, the former President had called him and the investigating officers to the Presidential… Continue reading "Sirisena found fault with investigating officers for arresting military officers"

A group of Government MPs have sent a written request to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to have Riyaj Bathiudeen, the brother of All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Leader MP Rishad Bathiudeen, who had allegedly helped National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) Leader Zaharan Hashim  to flee to India in 2018, rearrested and launch a fresh probe into the allegations levelled at him.  Riyaj… Continue reading "Re-arrest Bathiudeen!"

The seven-member Chinese delegation led by Jiechi arrived in Colombo, on Thursday night, for meetings with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa. Having met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the Presidential Secretariat, the Chinese delegation met Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees, where they discussed matters of mutual interest. All major Chinese investment projects were launched during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s… Continue reading "China takes bilateral relations with Lanka to a higher level"

Namal Kumara, who exposed an alleged plan to assassinate former President Maithripala Sirisena and current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2018, had been paid by former President Sirisena’s office, said former IGP Pujith Jayasundara. A Commissioner again questioned him as to whether Sirisena was lying in that manner, to which the witness said that Sirisena used to lie as a habit.… Continue reading "Namal Kumara, who exposed an alleged plan to assassinate former President Maithripala Sirisena and current President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2018, had been paid by former President Sirisena’s office"

It appears that the Government is hell bound towards a goal best known to it with least regard to the concerns expressed not only by rival political groups but deflecting even their ardent supporters and promulgators. To the independent onlookers this confrontational approach has become a worrying factor as to why things could not have been dealt with more harmoniously,… Continue reading "MPs now saddled with the responsibility of carrying the 20A through are the same who supported 19A"