Author: TELO Admin

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it has serious concerns over two bills under consideration in the Sri Lankan Parliament – the revised Anti-Terrorism Bill and the Online Safety Bill – which give the authorities a range of expansive powers and can impose restrictions on human rights, not in line with international human rights law.

Spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said the Anti-Terrorism Bill is intended to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which has long been of concern to the UN human rights mechanisms.

“While some positive revisions have been made in the draft, including the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, there are still major concerns about the scope and discriminatory effects of many provisions in the revised draft. Restrictions to the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are very likely to fail to meet requirements of necessity and proportionality,” she said, according to briefing notes circulated to the press.

“The Bill still includes an overly broad definition of terrorism and grants wide powers to the police – and to the military – to stop, question and search, and to arrest and detain people, with inadequate judicial oversight. Other issues remain over the imposition of curfews, restriction orders and the designation of prohibited places, all of which raise concerns about the scope of powers granted to the executive without sufficient checks and balances. With respect to the Online Safety Bill, we believe it will severely regulate and restrict online communication, including by the public, and will give authorities unfettered discretion to label and restrict expressions they disagree with as “false statements”.

Many sections of the Bill contain vaguely defined terms and definitions of offences which leave significant room for arbitrary and subjective interpretation, and could potentially criminalize nearly all forms of legitimate expression, creating an environment that has a chilling effect on freedom of expression. The UN Human Rights Office urges the Government to undertake further meaningful consultation with civil society and UN independent experts and to make substantial revisions of the draft laws in order to bring them into full compliance with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations,” she said.

The National Catholic Committee (NCC) has presented a five-point proposal to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, spelling out how it expects the concerns relating to the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage to be addressed.

The proposal includes the suspension of Senior DIGs, Nilantha Jayawardena, former head of State Intelligence Service (SIS) and Deshabandu Tennkoon named by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry which inquired into the Easter Sunday massacre.

The NCC has proposed an impartial, just, transparent and broad-based investigation in the wake of Channel 4 disclosures to probe the matters that transpired before different commissions and a committee but have remained uninvestigated.

The letter containing the five-point proposal dated 09 Oct. 2023 and addressed to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been signed by Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Bishop of Colombo, Bishop Harold Anthony Perera, Bishop of Kurunegala and the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Valence Mendis, Bishop of Kandy/Apostolic Administrator, Chilaw, Bishop Raymond Wickramasinghe, Bishop of Galle and other senior priests.

Alleging that Public Security Minister Tiran Alles’s recent declaration that 99 percent of Easter Sunday investigation had been concluded was meant to deceive the public and suppress the truth, the NCC has said that (2) the proposed investigation should be directed by an independent international investigation team (3) officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) who conducted the original investigation into the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) bombing campaign should be brought back into the fresh inquiry (4) Senior intelligence officers should be suspended temporarily to allow a truly independent investigation along with Senior DIGs, Jayawardena and Tennakoon and (5) the recommendations made by the PCoI should be implemented without further delay.

Top spokesperson for the Catholic Church Rev. Father Cyril Gamini Fernando told The Island that the issues at hand couldn’t be addressed unless the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government accepted their proposals.

Rev. Fernando has said President Wickremesinghe, appearing on a television programme in Germany recently ruled out an international investigation. But the Church couldn’t refrain from making representations on behalf of the victims and their families. The priest has stressed that the government should realise that the deceased included 45 foreigners and the concerns of their families, too, should be addressed.

Responding to another query, Rev. Fernando said that they had appealed to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, too, but there had been no response from him.

In their letter to President Wickremesinghe, the NCC has said successive governments shielded Senior DIG Jayawardena named by PCoI and the Supreme Court in respect of a fundamental rights petition. Pointing out that instead of taking immediate disciplinary action as directed by the apex court, the government had initiated yet another inquiry, the NCC has asked President Wickremesinghe whether the government disregarded the SC directive thereby committing contempt of court

Mannar in north-western Sri Lanka and Madurai in southern India have been identified as the connecting points of the proposed electricity transmission line between the two countries, a source familiar with the process said.

The detailed report has almost been finalized to be considered by the working group headed by the power secretaries of the two countries.

The grid connectivity has been an idea mooted as far back as 2003, but tangible work has been done only now. The project is envisaged in the joint statement issued after the conclusion of the visit of President Ranil Wickremesinghe in recent times.

According to the source, the total distance of the proposed power line will be 280-300 kilometres unless the identified connecting points are not altered later. The Sri Lankan side has kept both undersea cables and overhead lines optional in the execution of the project.

According to the initial estimate, it is likely to cost more than US $ 400 million.

“This is according to the latest prices which we took into account. It might change later depending on fluctuations. The cost will be higher if undersea cables are used,” he said.

The Government of India has committed to providing additional funds for the speedy completion of nine development projects in Sri Lanka in a bid to help uplift the lives of Sri Lankan citizens.

According to the President’s Media Division (PMD), the commitment was made during a meeting between the visiting Indian Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar and President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday (Oct 11).

Accordingly, the projects for which additional funds are to be provided are currently supported by the Government of India, while the relevant agreement for this initiative was signed yesterday.

These projects include the modernization of 27 schools in the Northern Province, housing initiatives in Mannar and Anuradhapura, improvements to the Hatton Thondaman Vocational Training Centre and Pussellawa Saraswati Central College, the construction of a multi-ethnic trilingual school in Polonnaruwa, the establishment of 2889 rainwater harvesting projects in the Jaffna area, the promotion of vegetable cultivation in the Dambulla area and the construction of greenhouse facilities with a capacity of 5000 metric tons for fruit preservation. Additionally, a new surgical unit for the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital will be promptly built as part of these efforts.

During the discussion between the two state officials, extensive discussions were also held to further strengthen Indo-Sri Lankan relations, resulting in the signing of three new bilateral agreements aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

The inauguration of the third phase of the housing project, supported by Indian loan assistance, was also conducted during the meeting. While an initial allocation of Rs. 1.026 million had been allocated per unit for the fourth phase, it was necessary to revise the budget to Rs. 2.8 million per unit due to increased housing unit costs.

An agreement concerning a joint project involving the Indian National Dairy Development Board, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation of India (Amul), and the Cargills Group of Sri Lanka was also signed with the aim of elevating Sri Lanka’s local dairy industry. This agreement emerged as a result of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s official visit to India and the allocation of funding for the modernization of Sri Lanka’s livestock sector.

The primary objective of this new project is to increase milk production by 53% within the first five years and achieve self-sufficiency in milk production for Sri Lanka within 15 years. As part of this endeavour, it is anticipated that approximately 200,000 local farmers will be empowered through the provision of facilities such as high-quality medicines, animal nutrition and technical support.

Furthermore, this initiative encompasses digitalization of the livestock sector, investments in new technologies to enhance the quality of milk-related by-products and ensuring access to milk-related products at affordable prices.

In addition to this significant agreement, a special commemorative logo was unveiled to celebrate the 75 years of Indo-Sri Lankan relations.

Present at the signing ceremony were the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay, Union Secretaries of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Puneeth Agrawal and J. P. Singh, Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Dr Satyanjal Pandey and Indian Ministry of External Affairs Deputy Secretary Raghu Puri.

From the Sri Lankan side, notable attendees included Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabri PC, Minister Jeevan Thondaman, State Minister Tenuka Widanagamage, Member of Parliament M. Rameswaran, Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Staff to the President Sagala Ratnayaka, Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aruni Wijewardena, Director of Presidential International Affairs Dinuk Colombage and other dignitaries.

A land mark political development has emerged this week. Based on reports that few weeks ago President Ranil Wickremesinghe (RW) and National Organiser of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Basil Rajapaksa (Basil) discussed the future political agenda, a new situation has emerged. News analysts and some politicians have revealed that a plan is set to abolish the Executive Presidency, and as a result, allow the life of the current parliament to the end of August 2025- the full 5 years it was elected for.

This video has interesting public speeches. Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) of National People’s Power (NPP) revealing a RW plan to abolish the Presidency before the scheduled next Presidential Election in October 2024. The same clip shows a speech by Mahindananda Aluthgamage – SLPP announcing that the next parliamentary election will be in two years.

Let us look at the technicalities. Next Presidential election has to be held before 17 October 2024, and nominations to be called latest in August 2024. Likely Presidential Candidates RW (supported by Pohottuwa and possibly Namal Rajapaksa to be PM), Sajith (SJB) and AKD (NPP), and possibly Dulles Alahapperuma (Freedom People’s Congress- Nidahasa Janatha Sabha). The current public anger against the Rajapaksas and the resignation of Gotabaya and Mahinda during the Aragalaya, places the SLPP at a distinct disadvantage in any coming elections. RW on the other hand and the UNP could not win a single seat at the last election, albeit the one seat allocated free. RW – SLPP Presidential alliance will have a major Challenge. AKD and NPP had a significant public following on their anti- corruption stand and demand for a “revolutionary” political change away from the historical “family” driven politics and overcoming the county bankruptcy. Recent RW tactic to not hold the local elections (saying no funds available) is due to the fear of the AKD-NPP public support. Sajith (SJB) chances also difficult to assess. In a 3 horse or 4 horse race, it is highly likely AKD- NPP has a good chance to win. If a non- RW-SLPP candidate wins, the winner will definitely dissolve the Parliament currently dominated by the SLPP.

On the other hand, if the Presidency is abolished through a 2/3 Parliamentary vote and a public referendum, there will be no Presidency after October 2024. Hence the current parliament would run the full 5 year term ending on 20 August 2025. Current SLPP aligned MPs are fully aware that if RW/SLPP aligned Presidential candidate is defeated in October 2024, the new President will definitely dissolve parliament. If the Presidency is abolished these SLPP aligned MPs will hold the Parliamentary power till August 2025. On the one hand, without a President, SLPP allied parliament will handle the budget and pass voter friendly projects to please the electorate, and hope for a revival of SLPP political chances. Current SLPP Linked MPs are fully aware that if an election is held next October, their chances of re-election as MPs are pretty slim. Additionally, they also know that Sri Lankan voters have a very short memory and given a chance to entice them with roads, jobs, gifts, Samurdhi etc., SLPP political future can be secured. A further factor is, if an AKD-NPP candidate wins, they may start an immediate anti-corruption drive and some current MPs may end up in jail. These are all the reasons to abolish the Presidency and keep their Parliament power till August 2025.

If the covert RW/Basil plan to abolish the Presidency through 2/3 and a referendum goes ahead, it will be difficult for opposition politicians AKD/NPP, Sajith/SJB, SLFP or even Wimal Weerawansa and Tamil and Muslim parties to oppose the move, as almost all have in the past campaigned for the abolition of the Presidential system. AKD/ NPP in the video quoted above responds supportive of the abolition of the Presidential system, but add that they will only support if the abolition referendum is also linked to the dissolution of the parliament at the same time. This is wishful thinking on AKD part. The Parliamentary proposal for the abolition of the Presidency will be drafted and passed by SLPP allied MPs. They would never add the AKD proposed clause to dissolve the Parliament as well. If the referendum to abolish the Presidency comes to vote even the public tired of the current Presidential system would vote to pass it. AKD/NPP, Sajith/ SJB, SLFP and other parties would find it difficult to publicly oppose the referendum. So there is a pretty good chance the abolition referendum will be passed, Presidency abolished in October 2023 and the current Parliament to run the country till August 2025 with the SLPP having a very comfortable majority.

JR Jayewardena (JRJ) was referred to as the cunning fox. He used the massive parliamentary majority to extend parliament by six years in the face of a potential election loss.

There was a political dark side of JRJ political coup through the referendum. He enjoyed power beyond the initial public mandate and used the power to ban the JVP. Rohana Wijeweera that came to mainstream politics after the failed 1971 JVP uprising had to go into hiding. They again took up arms in the late 1980s and terror to fight the regime, as there were no options for a banned party to contest elections. The current AKD/ NPP have chosen a fully democratic path. They were again cheated by RW who blocked the April 23 planned local government election which AKD/NPP were expected to win. Now if through the abolition of the Presidency and allowing the current parliament to go the full term till August 2025, the move would block/delay AKD/NPP plans to come to power.

RW on the other hand can even claim he is a full democrat and was against the Presidential system for some time. He can state though many former Presidents came to power with a promise to abolish the Presidency, after getting power they ignored the pledge, and only he would abolish it. RW can justify his past action to block the April 23 local Government election on grounds of saving costs (no funds to hold the election), more after the abolition of the Presidency. He can claim he saved billions for the future Sri Lankans from totally abolishing Presidential Elections.

A further twist on the Gimmicks side was presented by Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe. He has submitted a Cabinet resolution seeking approval to introduce a new system to elect members to Parliament under a mixed system. According to the resolution, the electorates will return 160 members to the House whereas another 65 seats will be reserved under proportional representation. Such a resolution if passed and implemented through the referendum, it would require the “de-limitation” Commission to come up with the boundaries for the new 160 seats. We have seen the local Government elections getting postponed due to the de-limitation committee delay and parliamentary consensus in defining the new electoral boundaries, which would be accepted by all parties. That could take ages and the current parliament life can be “indefinitely” extended until agreement is reached.

The final word. From the two cunning foxes (RW & BASIL) who would have the last laugh is an open question. RW agreement to abolish the Presidency must be on condition that after Presidency is abolished, SLPP would make RW the Prime Minister till August 2025. What guarantees would RW get on that! How well SLPP would keep such a promise? With SLPP and Namal political ambitions, surely they would discard Ranil to history and appoint Namal as the new Prime Minister.