A boat from Myanmar with over 100 illegal migrants has been detained in Sri Lankan waters.
The boat was reportedly heading to a foreign county when it drifted into Sri Lankan waters.
The boat was detected in the northern waters by local fishermen.
The fishermen had alerted the Sri Lanka Navy who rushed to the area and detained the boat.
An element of uncertainty still shrouds the prospects of local council elections next year, though paradoxical enough, legal requirements strongly weigh in favour of its conduct.
The Election Commission would have hoped that a final ruling on the matter would come from the Supreme Court, the country’s highest judicial institution. This was based on two petitions filed by opposition political groups seeking an order on the Election Commission to issue a declaration to conduct local elections before March 20. Petitioners in one application were Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara, and Prof. G.L. Peiris, who now heads the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) faction Nidhas Janatha Sabhawa. The other is from Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera, Lakshman Kiriella (SJB), Abraham Sumanthiran (Tamil National Alliance), and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, who heads another faction of the SLPP. Among those cited as respondents are Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Election Commission Chairman Nimal G. Punchihewa. The SC took up the matter last Friday and put off till January 18 the hearing of the petitions.
This is amidst a deadline of December last week set by the Election Commission for an official announcement on the date of the local council elections. Instead of waiting for an SC determination, there is no barrier now for the Commission to go ahead.
There are two key aspects that make the impending local government elections significant. It would be the first litmus test for President Ranil Wickremesinghe-led SLPP government. Its popularity hit a new low after ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s mismanagement spawned an unprecedented economic crisis. The ripples caused by it are still being felt with the people being burdened by mounting living costs and thrust into a multitude of other difficulties. Two: It would also be a test of strength for the SLPP which has splintered into at least three different groups so far. A desperate move is being made now to resurrect the party for a future presidential election.
First to the challenge before President Wickremesinghe. He declared earlier that the government plans to set up Jana Sabhas or People’s Councils. Two prime movers of this project are former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, now head of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ), and Victor Ivan, a onetime Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) activist and later Editor of the Ravaya newspaper. They were invited to address the Cabinet of Ministers at a regular weekly meeting on the merits of these new bodies which were meant to replace local councils. Legislation to set up the proposed new councils was to be modelled taking into consideration the Sabhas existent in India. Since then, however, the move has not gained much traction.
Later, President Wickremesinghe saw to the appointment of a Delimitation Commission headed by former Election Commission Chief Mahinda Deshapriya. The appointment was to prune down the number of wards in local councils and halve the number of members from some 8,000. Though the move was originally believed to delay the conduct of local polls, the task of the Commission is now over and will not conflict with it, Deshapriya told the Sunday Times. More on his comments in later paragraphs.
In this backdrop, SLPP parliamentarian Premnath C. Dolawatte, who has been strongly supportive of President Wickremesinghe’s actions, proposed the introduction of a youth quota of representation. This was like the present 25 percent quota that is allotted for women representation. Such a move would have meant new legislation being introduced in Parliament. This gave rise to speculation that the move, if pursued, would also further delay the local polls. This, however, did not become a reality.
President Wickremesinghe is said to be not in favour of early local council elections. This is based on his view that the ongoing economic crisis would have to be overcome before such a task is undertaken. He is said to fear there would be deep divisions that could be caused within the ruling party by early local polls. This is whilst some senior SLPP members say that President Wickremesinghe’s thrust would be to embark on an aggressive economic recovery programme and seek a mandate at a presidential election. “He has hinted at this on occasions,” one of them said.
Of course, such a move hinges on the all-important task of having the International Monetary Fund (IMF) release the Extended Fund Facility of US $ 2.9 billion over a period of 48 months. The past many months and weeks have seen government officials and politicians waxing eloquent on instalments from the EFF being available by December. They have now put off their forecast to January next year and will continue their guessing game thereafter too. However, the fact remains that the matter could be delayed till the first quarter of next year, according to well-informed sources.
Despite the existence of two schools of thought over the local elections, it is highly unlikely the SLPP leaders will make the issue a confrontational one with President Wickremesinghe. Besides the absence of a robust leader in their ranks, the President’s assertiveness and tough positions on some issues have been the main cause. As a UNPer who is closely watching the scene observes, “he (the President) has not been giving in every time there is a demand. He has so far struck what seems a balance. Don’t forget he holds the key on many issues.”
In marked contrast, the SLPP, particularly its prime mover and strategist, Basil Rajapaksa, though wielding less clout now, wants the conduct of the local polls. He is now busy formulating the party’s propaganda campaign and lining up candidates. With the prospect of a defeat in many areas, he believes his party has a distinct advantage over would-be rivals. The United National Party (UNP), though it picked some candidates, is not likely to return a substantial number of winners. Hence, the SLPP’s challenge, is to be ahead of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power.
A government parliamentarian declared last week that the SLPP would contest the local polls together with 15 other parties. According to the Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), Prof. Ranjith Bandarara, this would include a broad coalition with the UNP. The remarks were made on December 14 when he spoke to the media from the Kandy District Secretary’s Office. The MP’s claims were flatly denied by the General Secretaries of both the SLPP and the UNP. It is ironic that the professor himself should make such an erroneous remark on a matter that is not within his purview. It also reflects badly on his COPE leadership where his predecessor Prof. Charitha Herath avoided such controversial remarks. Here is what they said:
SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawaam: “We have not had any discussion with the UNP regarding contesting the local council election together with them. Lots of people are asking me about this after media reports made claims to that effect. Of course, we are willing to join with anyone to create a better future for the country. That comment does not mean that we are contesting the election together with the UNP or any other party.” Though Kariyawasam made no comment on it, SLPP strategist Basil Rajapaksa has initiated a dialogue with one breakaway group of the SLPP that is led by a onetime left leader. The idea is to settle differences and get together.
UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara said: “We have not officially held any discussions about contesting local elections with the SLPP. What we say is that we will work with any party to develop the country. The President, the party Chairman and the General Secretary have not declared officially anywhere that we would contest the local election with the SLPP. We will always keep the people informed when there is any change. No such change has come about, and those reports are wrong.”
The work to downsize the number of wards in local councils and prune down the composition of members has been completed. “Please do not identify us as a Delimitation Commission. Our real designation should be Amalgamation Commission,” its Chairman, Mahinda Deshapriya told the Sunday Times. He said that some 8,800 seats in all local councils would have to be pruned down to a little more than 4,000. This was one of the mandates given to the Commission after a decision on the matter had been made by the Cabinet of Ministers.
Deshapriya said: “We had to retain the 60:40 ratio. That way, the reduced number would come to 5092. We must leave out 2400 slots. This is now being finalized. As far as I know, nothing will happen to impending local elections. It can only be delayed by Parliament or the Courts. We proposed to conclude our work by February 28. Thus, there are prospects for local elections in May or June. We will sell ice cream including sugar-free ones. Therefore, our services will have to be seen as sweet and not intended to delay or stymie anything.”
The demand to conduct early local polls formed one of four resolutions at the annual sessions of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balavegaya on December 11. It said the people’s sovereignty would be challenged by not holding elections on time. The elections to the local councils should be held before March 20, 2023. Since the People’s Mandate obtained by the Podujana Peramuna from the Presidential Election and the Parliamentary General Election is not in force now, the President and the parties of the Podujana Peramuna to consolidate their power in the executive and legislature are preparing for a repressive regime that suppresses the basic rights of the people of the country, suppressing the mass struggles, suppressing the media. This conference suggests that we should immediately work together with all the progressive democratic forces to force the government to hold the local government elections on time, against all kinds of state repression.”
Formally re-elected leader, Sajith Premadasa calling for the conduct of local elections, declared, “At this moment groups that say that “Unuth ekai, Munuth ekai” (both government and the opposition are the same), are engaged in a big conspiracy to destroy the SJB. At this moment where cowardly regressive forces are engaging in conspiracies against the SJB, I would like to tell one thing — as the son of Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sajith Premadasa would not allow anyone to lay a hand on the party. That is a pledge I would make.”
Another event of political significance was the conference of party leaders held last Tuesday to discuss issues relating to the formulation of a national ethnic reconciliation programme. It has become increasingly clear that a programme will not be able to be finalised in time for February 4, next year, when Sri Lanka marks the 75th anniversary of independence. Last Tuesday’s meeting saw contributions being made by several stakeholders. Some of the significant aspects are reflected in a statement issued by the Presidential Media Division. Here are edited highlights which give one an idea about the vast landscape participants covered and the objectives of those who expressed those views:
“President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasised that all political parties should come to a common agreement to provide a solution to the ethnic problem by the upcoming 75th Independence Celebration. President Ranil Wickremesinghe revealed this while attending the All-Party Conference held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (13) afternoon.
“The President convened this conference with the aim of finding a solution to the ethnic problem through national reconciliation.
“The President addressing the all-party conference, said, “We must all come together to solve the problem in this country. Whether it is called an ethnic problem or something else is not important. We want to provide solutions to these problems. All the political parties came together to find a solution to this and reach an agreement in parliament. Today this party leaders’ meeting was called for that purpose.
“The northern parliamentarians have raised the national issue of the country today. This question can be discussed in two parts. The first is the process of compensation for the missing and investigations. There are many problems that need to be solved regarding the Prevention of Terrorism Act, as well as land. The second is the arrangement required to do legal work related to power devolution. In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Justice are jointly implementing a special programme. Accordingly, we hope to provide a report on the missing persons and political prisoners. After that, we can talk about devolution.
“The report of the committee headed by Supreme Court Justice Nawaz will be printed in a week. The report includes several proposals. We are also considering the suggestions of the previous reports.
“The discussions at the Human Rights Commission held in Geneva and the international discussions about Sri Lanka are mainly carried out under two factors. We have taken into consideration the reports of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission, the Udulagama Commission, and the Paranagama Commission.
“All those reports indicated that solutions could be provided for the incidents that happened in the country, but these solutions could not be provided under the mechanism of a foreign country. Accordingly, we had promised to provide solutions to this under a local mechanism, but it has not been implemented.” According to the President, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed the Nawaz Commission. What was done by that commission was to prepare the necessary programme to provide solutions for this by incorporating the suggestions of the previous commissions. Accordingly, we have a responsibility to implement this mechanism.
“Even the security forces have expressed their interest in implementing this mechanism. The security forces say that some units have been branded differently. A situation has arisen where some divisions cannot even go to UN operations. They expect to prove their innocence, and if something suspicious has happened, they expect the law to be enforced. However, we have not been able to follow such a procedure until now. We think that these can be solved through a local mechanism. You can get solutions for this through the Truth Commission. We have discussed this with South Africa as well.
“It is very good for the North and South to solve this problem. We present a cabinet paper for this. A former ambassador has been appointed as the director general of this committee. This is expected to bring many good proposals by uniting all the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims living abroad. We hope to provide facilities for that as the government.
“The Ministry of Justice is entrusted with the task of reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Even now, the Office of the Missing Persons is maintained under the Ministry of Justice. We hope to complete all the files here by December 31 of next year. An amount of Rs.100,000 was offered for each missing person as compensation. We are currently considering the property compensation.
There were nearly 11,000 people who lost their birth certificates and identity cards due to the war in the north. We worked to reorganise them. Several mediation programmes in the Northern Province were conducted under the Ministry of Justice. We believe that when these issues are resolved, Sri Lankans abroad will be encouraged to invest in Sri Lanka. The truth-seeking commission is currently underway. The South African government is supporting us in this regard.
“President Ranil Wickremesinghe: “Several issues have been raised about the land in the North. The advisor, the secretary of the Ministry of Lands, and the Chief of Defence Staff, together with the representatives of the people in those areas hope to find a solution to these issues. Currently, there has been progress made. As the discussions progress, ideas can be obtained. That is why this conference was called to seek the views of all the parties. I suggest that we agree on a solution to this issue.”
MP C.V. Vigneswaran: “Looking at this problem from the Tamil people’s perspective, we have three issues. The lands, the missing persons and the presence of so many troops in these areas. People have problems regarding the acquisition of land to various departments. It should be looked into. That is the first thing that needs to be done. This is the first thing and the most immediate thing that needs to be done, as far as our people are concerned.
Then secondly, there are legal provisions, which give us certain rights as it is, especially the Provincial Councils. Not having elections about provincial councils in relation to other provinces, is not going to help consequences in those areas, except for the perks the office-bearers will be wanting to have for themselves. But, as far as we are concerned, we need to have the Provincial Councils looking after our interests is very great. The North and East Provincial Council elections should be held as quickly as possible. Already, lots of lands are being taken over and it’s all being done quite against the law actually and there are various cases pending. So, we need to investigate the question of land grabbing and all that.
“Therefore, we need to be clothed with the rights that we already have and those must be accommodated and those must be brought into effect.
“So, the first one was with regard to the ground situations or the problems, second one is with regard to the rights we already have which needs to be put into effect and the third one of course with regard to the Constitution. As rightly pointed out by Your Excellency, that part of it comes third but they have to be simultaneously attended to if we are to keep to the time limit that your excellency has given as 4th of February next year. But it is not impossible because we already have sufficient documents, sufficient commission reports that have gone into various matters and in fact there are various drafts which have been prepared. So we have to only sit down and work out a final outcome in order to see how we could grant rights of those who have been affected by the constitution so far brought in this country.
“Lastly let me point out, as far as northern and eastern Tamils are concerned, we have a history of over 3,000 years and we have a land of our own, we have the language, culture and even probably the land area is different from the rest of the country. We need to be given that right because it was only in 1833 the British has brought this country together administratively and thereafter, it has been granted, during the time of independence on a platter, more or less, to the majority community. Today people of the northern and eastern provinces are under the boot of the army as well as the majority community in the northern and eastern provinces. All these have to be brought to an end and we need to have a constitution which gives us respect, equality, and the desire to go together as one country in the future.
MP Patali Champika Ranawaka: “In the matter of solving the ethnic problem, there is the ability to make decisions as the executive as well as to make decisions according to both parts of the constitution. The necessary solutions to provide a political solution are decided by the executive. But in matters related to environment and archeology, the relevant law should be applied.”
MP Rauf Hakeem: “Mr. President, while welcoming your initiative to call this meeting, we feel that we could address this issue in a very simplified manner, initiatively at least by taking a resolve to implement the 13th amendment in full as an initial stage before affectivities to be done before the 75th independence. We can then work on other constitutional reforms through a structure that can be created by the all-party conference and to involve the civil society if it is possible. Already people like civil society activist Victor Ivan and others have met us with a structure to look at the issue involving some elements of civil society as well. While saying that I will also just add briefly about the grievances of entire Tamil-speaking population in the North and the East. The day-to-day livelihood issues have been impacted heavily by land grabs not by the army alone but through other departments of the state. Particularly, Wildlife, Forest, and the Archaeology Departments.
“There are a variety of issues which simply doesn’t affect only the Muslim community but also the Sinhalese community and some other parts of the island as well. So particularly when you address the issues, these issues have to be brought up and coming back to some other issues pertaining to the Easter Sunday attacks. There have been attempts to confiscate some of the religious institutions and properties to the state. Local communities are letting it happen because of the presence of the Police. We appeal to you to look at a way of resolving it with the local religious leaders in these areas we know that this aberration with the society has been taking place. All of us are willing to work with the state to resolve these issues. To hand back some of the lands, not just the properties owned by Saharan and his group, but there are other places of worship too that are confiscated. Please look at those issues as well.”
Speaking on behalf of the SJB, parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar said that the talks by party leaders, though they took part, were a distraction to put off local council elections. “They can buy time with this prolonged exercise,” he told the Sunday Times.
However, the main interlocutor with President Wickremesinghe, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is serious. It is having two separate meetings with him ahead of the formal talks to discuss core issues, according to Abraham Sumanthiran.
We will be discussing the possibilities of securing the release of political prisoners. Fifteen of them are convicted prisoners and cases against 16 others are those who are detained under PTA,” he said. Another issue which will be discussed, he said, is the land issue where “we are calling on the government to release privately owned land held by the security forces and state agencies.” Also listed is the issue of poaching by Indian fishermen in the Palk Strait as it affects the livelihood of northern fishermen. He added: “However we have our doubts whether solutions to the ethnic issue could be presented and discussed before February 4 as expected by President Wickremesinghe.”
A new survey by the Institute for Health Policy (IHP) indicates Sri Lankans continue to hold unfavourable views of all major political party leaders.
The public maintains unfavourable and worsening views of all, the latest Sri Lanka opinion tracker survey (SLOTS) shows.
The past three months have seen a fresh decline in favourability for most, giving back some modest gains since August.
President Ranil Wickremasinghe, leader of the UNP, has the least negative favourability ratings, although by a small margin.
In November, he was viewed unfavourably by a net 46% of Sri Lankans, but this was still marginally better than other party leaders.
Opposition leader and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa had a net negative rating of 57%, not significantly different to that of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, NPP and JVP leader, who had a net negative rating of 55%.
Recent interviews suggest that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ratings may have started to recover from the deep lows (-80%) they maintained for most of the year, with his favourability rating recovering to a net negative 51% in November.
SLOTS has been tracking favourability of leading politicians daily since August 2021.
Through the end of 2021, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, leader of the SLPP, maintained an edge in favourability over the opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa.
The economic and political crisis that hit at the start of the year then collapsed President Rajapaksa’s favourability and dragged down the favourability ratings of all politicians’ SLOTS tracks, with the public expressing unfavourable views of all by April 2022.
From June, the favourability of the other party leaders began to recover but remained deeply negative through October, after which the latest interviews suggest the public is becoming more negative in their views.
Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has decided to consider two applications filed seeking an order on the Election Commission to call for Local Government Elections without delay.
The applications will be considered on the 18th of January 2023.
The applications were filed by Professor G. L. Peiris, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Dayasiri Jayasekera, Lakshman Kiriella, M. A. Sumanthiran, among other MPs in the opposition in Parliament.
The applications were taken up in the presence of justices Priyantha Jayawardena, Kumuduni Wickremesinghe, and Achala Wengappulli.
The Chairman and members of the Election Commission and Prime Minister were named as respondents in the applications, and the bench ordered to send notice to them to make submissions.
The petitioners claim that there is an attempt to delay the Local Government Elections, and thereby would violate the people’s right to exercise their franchise.
Sri Lanka’s army has decided to vacate posts of over 16,000 military personnel on a budget proposed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the island nation struggling to reduce government spending ahead of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal.
President WIckremesinghe last month proposed to give voluntary early retirement for military personnel in order to reduce the spending on military and train retired military personnel for other skills aiming to use the human resources for the country’s economy.
Ministry of Defence declared general amnesty for the Tri-Forces absentees, enabling legal discharge from the respective services. The period of general amnesty is in force from 15 November 2022 until 31 December 2022.
Ministry of Defence notified that the Tri-Forces absentees who are presently overseas are also eligible to receive a legal discharge from their respective services without reporting to the unit during declared General Amnesty period.
Army Spokesman Ravi Herath said so far 16,141 personnel including officers and other rank soldiers have applied for the amnesty.
“Some 21 officers and 15,838 other ranks have given medical and security clearance and we have given them the resignation letters,” Herath told EconomyNext.
“Also 179 more have come to their respective brigades and the clearances are being issued to them”.
Herath said, the government gave the permission for all military personnel before October 25 to voluntarily leave service, regardless of the time period they had not been in the service through applying for amnesty.
“We also have 12 officers and 96 other rankers who are in abroad, who applied. Those applications are also being processed,” Herath said.
According to Herath, when an army officer does not return on a specific date mentioned after his vacation period, salaries will not be processed and aft personnel will be removed from service and will not be enlisted back.
The Air force Media Spokesman, Group Captain Dushantha Wijesinghe, said 983 Air Force personnel applied for amnesty and 732 were given clearance.
It is not clear how many were cleared by the Navy.
India’s rupee trade settlement mechanism, a means of using rupees instead of dollars and other big currencies for international transactions, is attracting interest from more countries.
Tajikistan, Cuba, Luxembourg and Sudan have begun talking to India about using the mechanism, according to two sources and an official document reviewed by Reuters.
It has already been used by Russia following the imposition of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up the mechanism in July.
The government is looking to bring countries that are short of dollars into the mechanism, said a government official and an industry source aware of the development. The sources declined to be named, as the matter is confidential.
The four countries have shown interest in opening special rupee accounts, called vostro accounts, but partner banks in India have not yet provided those facilities, documents showed.
Opening of these accounts needs approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
Mauritius and Sri Lanka have also shown interest, and have seen their special vostro accounts approved by the RBI, documents showed.
India’s central bank has given approval to banks to open 12 vostro accounts for trade in rupees with Russia, according to the document.
Six other accounts, including five for trade with Sri Lanka and one for trade with Mauritius have been authorised, the same document showed.
Queries sent to the federal finance ministry, commerce ministry and RBI remained unanswered.
TALKS WITH GULF NATIONS
India continues to discuss denomination of trade in rupees with larger trading partners, including key oil suppliers Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
Details of potential rupee-dirham trade mechanism are being firmed up by the central banks of India and UAE, a second government official said, requesting anonymity.
Talks with Saudi Arabia on a rupee-riyal trade mechanism also continue, the government official added.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are talking through ways to invest Indian rupees they earn as part of these transactions, as the gulf nation’s exports to India exceed imports from it.
“We have presented the option of investing additional rupees in Indian markets,” the official said.
As part of the rules issued earlier this year, the Indian central bank has allowed for any rupee holdings to be invested in government securities.
Source – Reuters
Elections must be held regardless of the activities to demarcate wards for local authorities, Chairman of the National Delimitation Committee Mahinda Deshapriya said.
“The Election Commission has indicated that election would be held, while allowing the delimitation committee to carry out its duty,” he said.
Deshapriya said that if elections are to be held once the work on demarcation is completed, elections would be further delayed by six months.
“With our duties, the existing members of LG Bodies which is around 8,800 at present, could be reduced to between 5,100 and 5,200, by February 20,” he said.
However, Deshapriya noted that this system is unlikely to come into effect with the forthcoming election.
The Deputy Chief of the Chinese Embassy Hu Wei paid a visit to the Eastern Province from 8th to 10th December, to follow up the distribution of China’s recent donations to the island in various ways, including 10.6 million litres of diesel to farmers and fishermen, 9,000 metric tons of rice to students from underprivileged families and 100 sets of solar streetlights donated by China’s Yunnan Province to 38 schools across the Eastern Province.
A Chinese embassy press release said that on the afternoon of 8th December, DCM Hu Wei met with Anuradha Yahampath, Governor of Eastern Province at the latter’s secretariat in Trincomalee. Both sides exchanged ideas on further promoting cooperation between China and the Eastern Province and other topics of mutual interest. They also joined local principals in a hand-over ceremony of the 100 sets of solar streetlights donation.
DCM Hu Wei visited Abhayapura Primary School in Trincomalee and Korakallimadu Sri Ramana Maharishi School in Batticaloa, interacted with teachers and students and gifted rice packs donations and panda backpacks to the pupils. The diplomat also visited the paddy field at Nochchikulam, Trincomalee and the beach in Kaluwankerney, met with local farmers and fishermen and handed over a batch of diesel to them. It was highlighted that the 10.6 million litres of diesel provided by China to Sri Lanka free of cost will benefit 232,749 farmers for harvesting 342,266 hectares of paddy fields in Maha season 2022/23 and all the 3,796 fishing vessels below 40 feet in the island.
On the afternoon of the 9th, the Chinese Embassy delegation was invited by the Batticaloa District Civil Society to Kaluwankerni, an underdeveloped Tamil fishing village in Batticaloa, where the first phase of 10 houses had already been built to help most needy families by the Embassy. DCM Hu had a discussion with the villagers and Batticaloa District Civil Society representatives and officially launched Housing Project Phase II for the villagers.
During the visit, DCM Hu Wei broadly met with local government officials, civil society representatives, farmers, fishermen, housewives, teachers, students and deeply encouraged by their high praise and friendship towards China, especially for the support of PPEs, vaccines, housing, education, rice, medicines, and fuel donation in the past year. Hu reassured them of China’s continued assistance to Sri Lankan people of all communities in the coming months to overcome current challenges.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated at the all party conference held on Tuesday (13) to resolve the national ethnic question that in January 2023, he will hold discussions with Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya leader Sajith Premadasa regarding the devolution of power and the 13th Amendment to the Constitution based on the seven related Commission reports in the past and the report on Constitutional reforms submitted by a committee led by President’s Counsel (PC) Dr. Romesh De Silva.
President Wickremesinghe emphasised that all political parties should come to an agreement to provide a solution to the ethnic problem by the time of the upcoming 75th independence celebration. “We must all come together to solve the problem in this country. Whether it is called an ethnic problem or something else is not important. We want to provide solutions to these problems. All the political parties came together to find a solution for this and reached an agreement in Parliament. This party leaders meeting was called today for that purpose,” he added.
He further said: “Members of the North have discussed the national issue of the country today. This question can be discussed under two parts. The first is the process of compensating for the missing and locating them. There are many problems that need to be solved regarding the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA), and regarding land. The second is the arrangement required to do legal work related to the devolution of power”. In this regard, Minister of Foreign Affairs M.U.M. Ali Sabry PC and Minister of Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe PC are jointly implementing a special programme, President Wickremesinghe said. “Accordingly, we hope to provide a report on the missing persons and political prisoners. After that we can talk about devolution,” he added.
The report of the Commission headed by Supreme Court Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz to review past human rights related commissions’ and committees’ reports will be printed in about a week. The report includes a number of proposals. “We are also considering the suggestions in previous reports”.
President Wickremesinghe said that several issues have been raised about lands in the North. The relevant Advisor, the Secretary to the Ministry of Lands and the Chief of Defence Staff hope to come to a solution together with the representatives of the people in those areas. Currently, there has been progress here. “As the discussions progress, ideas can be learned. That is why this conference was called to learn the views of all the parties. I suggest that we should come to a solution on this,” he added.
President Wickremesinghe also pointed out: “As we celebrate the 75th independence day, we need to move forward as one nation. The nation has doubts that it will go to war again. Tamil Parliamentarians say that they have given up war. That’s why we have to discuss and solve this problem from one platform,” he further added.
Meanwhile, Ali Sabry PC said that discussions of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland, and international discussions about Sri Lanka are mainly carried out under two factors. “We have taken into consideration the reports of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, the Justice Udalagama Commission and the Judge Paranagama Commission. All those reports have indicated that solutions could be provided for the incidents that happened in the country, but that these solutions cannot be provided under the mechanism of a foreign country. Accordingly, we had promised to provide solutions for this under a local mechanism, but it has not been implemented,” he added.
According to the President, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed the Justice Nawaz Commission. What was done by that Commission was to prepare the necessary programme to provide solutions for this by incorporating the suggestions of previous commissions.
“We have a responsibility to bring this mechanism in,” he added.
He further said that even the security forces have expressed their interest in bringing this mechanism forward. The security forces say that some units have been branded differently. A situation has arisen where some divisions cannot even go for United Nations operations. They expect to prove their innocence, and if something suspicious has happened, they expect the law to be enforced. “However, we have not been able to follow such a procedure to date. We think that these can be solved through a local mechanism. You can get solutions for this through a Truth Commission. We have discussed this with South Africa as well. It is very good for the North and the South to solve this problem. We will present a Cabinet paper for this. A former Ambassador has been appointed as the Director General of the relevant committee. This is expected to bring many good proposals by uniting all the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims living abroad. As the Government, we hope to provide facilities for that,” he explained.
Premadasa meanwhile said that unity is important even for the economic development of a country. “Differences of caste and religion in politics should not be used since people of different communities are living equally in this country. We have to remove such people from politics. We can bring about reconciliation by way of removing such differences and we have to get rid of racism or else we would not be able to create a new world for the future. Everyone should have the feeling that all communities are treated equally and that we can solve all these issues by way of a home grown solution. As we have commenced this programme, we have to ensure that it continues. Hence, we all have to unite to make this all party conference a success”.
Meanwhile, Leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) and Opposition Parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila warned yesterday that the introduction of a federal system, or even discussions regarding such, will cause disruption to the peace and harmony that is prevalent now.
Addressing the media in Colombo, he stated further that this will also cause disastrous effects to the economy which is on the path to recovery.
“In this crisis situation, co-operation and peace amongst the whole population is cruicial. A federal system can be identified as the most determinant and leading fact in terms of causing division among communities in Sri Lanka. We have experienced since 1967, that as soon as such suggestions are brought forward, society becomes alarmed and provoked while the society gets divided into two factions. So, amidst an acute economic crisis, this can be seen as creating a futile problem which would make it even more difficult to find solutions to the more pressing economic concerns. I do not know why the Government is unable to understand this,” said Gammanpila.
Emphasising the importance of maintaining peace and harmony among all ethnic groups at present, he stated that even the introduction of the topic in major forums will cause adverse effects on the country and its economy. “Right now, there is an almost unprecedented level of harmony between all ethnic groups in the country, without any clashes or disagreements. However, the introduction of such a federal system may cause the disruption of this peace and harmony among different ethnic groups. Our stance and belief is that the introduction of a federal system is increasingly damaging to a country which is trying to emerge from an economic crisis,” he said.
Issuing a statement yesterday, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said that President Wickremesinghe is slated to brief the Cabinet of Ministers in February on the progress of the decisions taken at the all-party conference to resolve major issues in the reconciliation process.
President Wickremesinghe recently called for an all party conference during the 2023 Budget debates to resolve the ethnic issue.
Sri Lanka held the third meeting with its bilateral creditors on debt restructuring, State Finance Minister said, as the island nation’s $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan has been delayed amid agreement among its creditors are yet to be seen.
Sri Lanka could not hold the third meeting with bilateral lenders scheduled for November 17 citing the creditors need some clarification before the next meeting.
The creditors include geopolitical rivals China and India. No country has so far fully agreed with any of the debt restructuring system, government sources have said.
“We are thankful to all our bilateral creditors who participated at the 3rd meeting of officials on Sri Lanka’s debt treatment process which was held today,” State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe said in a twitter message.
“We appreciate the progressive and constructive engagements. Further wish to reiterate that we will maintain an equal, comparable and transparent debt treatment policy.”
Government sources have said Sri Lanka is now eyeing January deadline for the IMF board approval to secure $2.9 billion loan.
They say lack of consensus among Sri Lanka’s creditors over debt restructuring and some pending reforms in loss-making state owned enterprises (SOEs) have resulted in the delay.
Sri Lanka held its first meeting with bilateral creditors on October 14 and the second on November 03, though no consensus has been reached. President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s administration has said that it has been negotiating India and China for debt restructuring separately.
