Author: TELO Admin

Responding to rapid changes in the economic landscape of Sri Lanka, the Government of India has increased the financial allocation for various grant projects being implemented across the island.

Accordingly, financial allocation has been increased by upto 50% for nine ongoing projects which are currently being executed under the India-Sri Lanka High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) framework.

The overall financial commitment for these nine projects currently stands close to LKR 3 billion, after the increase. These projects cut across sectors ranging from education and health to agriculture, among others, the Indian High Commission in Colombo revealed.

The Government of India has completed more than 60 grant projects under the HICDP framework, covering all the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, while 20 other projects are under different stages of implementation.

The HICDP framework was signed between the two countries in 2005 and subsequently renewed thrice, for a period of five years each time.

India’s overall development cooperation partnership portfolio in Sri Lanka is currently around USD 5 billion, of which USD 600 million is grant.

Demand-driven and people-centric projects carried out by the Indian Government span across areas such as infrastructure development, housing, livelihood assistance etc.

As such, the 1990 Emergency Ambulance Service, Railway Track rehabilitation, Integrated Water Plants, Indian Housing Project and Jaffna Cultural Center are among

Since Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malclom Ranjith had slammed the government authorities to name the group which supported the Easter Sunday bombers, Minister of Public security Tiran Allas invited him and the Church to go through the investigations and outline any shortcomings.

“We have already informed the Church authorities to go through the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks. The Church is welcome to show any shortcomings with regard to the investigations which are almost completed. The Church should cooperate with us and should go through the investigations and show us if there are any shortcomings,” he said.

“Let us finish this ongoing confrontation over the Easter Sunday attacks,” he added.

Cardinal Ranjith who was speaking during a service at the Katuwapitiya Church said the present government had failed to reveal the truth on the Easter Sunday attacks.

“The present government has not kept its promise to reveal the truth on the Easter Sunday attacks. Neither the President nor the Attorney General or any Member of Parliament had done their duty. No member of Parliament had called for an impartial investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks,” the Cardinal said.

“We want the government to name the group which had supported the Easter Sunday bombers,” he added.

During his visit to Kandy, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has emphasized the government’s resolute dedication to protecting religious shrines and historical sites.

According to the President’s Media Division (PMD), the Head of State has announced the establishment of committees, headed by religious leaders from their respective provinces, aimed at addressing religious matters in the North and East.

On Tuesday (Aug. 29), Wickremesinghe visited Kandy and called on the chief prelates of the Malwatta and Asgiriya chapters.

He first visited the Malwatta Maha Viharaya to meet with Most Ven. Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thera, engaging in a brief yet impactful conversation. He also paid a visit to the Anunayaka of the Malwatta Chapter, Most Ven. Dimbulkumbure Sri Vimaladhamma Thera, engaging in a concise and meaningful discussion.

Subsequently, Wickremesinghe proceeded to the Asgiriya Maha Viharaya, where he received blessings from the Asgiriya Maha Nayake Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera.

The Catholic Church stated that it is not ready to discuss the related investigations with any party representing the Government until the recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI), which investigated the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019, are implemented.

Public Security Minister Tiran Alles on Monday (28) raised concerns about the extent of the desire of the Catholic community, including the Church, to uncover the truth behind the terror attacks, claiming that they had not responded favourably to his invitation for them (the Church) to get together with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and analyse the progress of investigations.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (29), Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) National Director of Communications Father Jude Chrishantha Fernando charged that Alles is merely making statements to the media, but not doing what needs to be done. “We saw him saying that certain parties are only holding media briefings about this, and not interested in uncovering the truth, but what we see is that he is doing the same thing. The CoI has recommended that criminal charges be filed against several individuals, including former President and incumbent Opposition Parliamentarian Maithripala Sirisena and the former State Intelligence Service Director and incumbent Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Nilantha Jayawardena. The Government has not implemented any of those recommendations. What Alles should first do is to consult the relevant parties and make necessary interventions to implement them.”

In response to the Minister’s remarks on the fact that the Church had not responded to his invitation even after he took steps to hand over the complete CoI report to them, Fernando said that they are thankful to Alles for having done so, but that there is no point in receiving the report if what it recommends is not implemented.

“We thank him for handing it over to us, but what is the use of receiving a report if its content is limited to words? By boasting about his action to hand it over to us, he accepts that the CoI report is something that is important. So, he should first do what it has recommended, and then seek to meet us. We must tell him that the Church is not something that consists of brainless people. We are keeping an eye on everything that happens,” Fernando said.

The final report of the CoI was tabled in Parliament on 8 April 2021, but the witness records were not released reportedly due to legal reasons. In February 2022, all the volumes of the report, including the related witness records, were handed over to the Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. However, several parties, including the Church, had been accusing the Government of not releasing certain sections of the report in an alleged attempt to cover up the truth behind the terror attacks. Against that backdrop, Alles had handed over the complete report to the CBCSL in April this year.

In response to a media query on Monday, Alles said that he was of the view that 99% of the related investigations carried out by the CID are over. “The Catholic Church and certain other individuals keep holding media briefings, claiming that investigations have not been conducted properly. They were lamenting that they had not been given the CoI’s report, and then I took steps to hand it over to them. Both before and after that, I urged the Church to grant us an opportunity to meet them and explain the current status of the investigations, but there has been no response to date,” he said.

Sri Lanka asked China to revise arrival of the ship and the permission to dock may be given after President Wickremesinghe visits China in October.

Confusion prevails in Sri Lanka over granting permission to Chinese Research vessel Shi Yan 6 to conduct ocean survey off the island nation in October after New Delhi raised its serious concerns with the Ranil Wickremesinghe government. The ship is as of now slated to arrive on October 25 and said to conduct joint ocean surveys with Sri Lankan government agency NARA for the next 17 days after docking at Colombo and Hambantota ports.

While newspaper Sri Lanka Mirror reported that its defence ministry had given clearance to the Chinese ship for docking at the two Sri Lankan ports, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson has been quoted in news agencies saying that the request from the Chinese Embassy was being processed and no decision had been taken.

India has officially raised concerns to Sri Lanka for allowing a free run to Chinese survey, surveillance and ballistic missile trackers ships at its Colombo and Hambantota deep sea ports. During President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India in July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the leader to ensure that India’s strategic and security concerns are addressed by the Island nation in the Indian Ocean.

Although there are multiple voices within Colombo on granting permission to the ship, it is understood that President Wickremesinghe will take a decision after he attends the Belt-Road-Initiative summit in Beijing in the second half of October. With Sri Lanka deep in Chinese debt, it is quite evident that Colombo cannot afford to annoy President Xi Jinping with Hambantota port already given on 99 year lease to China by none other than Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister during the infamous Rajapaksa regime.

Sri Lanka is currently being economically propped up by IMF loans and the Paris club of creditor nations as its economy is in doldrums and not expected to recover this decade with high inflation and poor dollar-Sri Lankan rupee exchange rate. It was none other than the Modi government that came to aid Sri Lanka after the 2021 economic and political crisis by offering some USD 4 billion as aid including food, oil and aviation fuel.

As India has made its concerns known after China mapping the Indian Ocean bed for future submarine activity and charting out new sea routes to African coast via south Indian Ocean, it is learnt that Sri Lanka has asked China to revise the schedule of Shi Yan 6 and push back the date of arrival to November 2023.

However, much as Sri Lanka appears to address India’s security concerns vis-à-vis Chinese surveillance vessel, it is quite evident that Xi Jinping regime will have its way with the Island nation as Colombo has piled up huge BRI debt in building white elephant airports and ports by Chinese company using high-interest loans from Chinese EXIM banks.

The Colombo Port City has denied links to a Chinese man who was robbed of his cash and valuables worth over Rs 40 million at a residence in Lake Drive, Borella.

The Colombo Port City Economic Commission said that relying on accurate and verified information on such an incident in question of such an unfortunate criminal event, and any attempt to associate it with the activities within Colombo Port City is entirely unsubstantiated.

The Commission urges the media, the public, and all stakeholders to exercise caution and responsibility when sharing information related to such incidents and spreading unverified information which can lead to unnecessary misrepresentation, that can be detrimental to the reputation and credibility of the Colombo Port City project.

The Colombo Port City Economic Commission is actively collaborating with relevant authorities to address any concerns to ensure the well-being and security of all those associated with Colombo Port City to maintain the highest standards of safety and security.