Author: TELO Admin

Provisions will be introduced to regulate and control election expenses, following the Cabinet’s approval being granted on Monday (29 November) for a proposal by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the effect, as part of efforts to create a more just playing field for the conduct of free and fair elections, the Government said yesterday (30 November).

“Prior to 1977, there were regulations about election-related spending. Unfortunately, however, with the introduction of the proportional representation electoral system, these regulations did not make their way to the new legislation. In 2017, the Cabinet gave approval to amend existing ordinances and as the final step, President Rajapaksa gave this cabinet paper this week. We hope that with these provisions, a background and a playing field to conduct freer and fairer elections will be created,” Cabinet Spokesman Dullas Alahapperuma said at the post-cabinet meeting press briefing held yesterday.

He raised concerns about the unlimited spending during election times, which he claimed, has become a practice.

“Regulating the spending capacity during elections is one big aspect of ensuring fair elections. We must also look for an election mechanism that represents the people better. However, we hope that regulating election expenses will create new hope for a country that is exhausted with the current election mechanisms and politicians. We hope that there will be bipartisan support in Parliament for this,” said Alahapperuma.

In September this year, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Monaragala Pradeshiya Sabha Member Harshaka Priya Dissanayake, who was accused of bribing voters to garner votes, was disqualified in a landmark High Court judgement. The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) and the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) initially filed the case against Dissanayake. Following the ruling, PAFFREL noted the necessity of laws to limit election expenses by candidates.

The Parliamentary Select Committee to Identify Appropriate Reforms of the Election Laws and the Electoral System and to Recommend Necessary Amendments has reached an agreement in consultation with the relevant parties to introduce these provisions.

The Morning’s attempts to contact Election Commission Information Officer M.K. Saman Sri Ratnayake for more information on the matter proved futile.

German Ambassador Holger Seubert is scheduled to pay an official visit to Jaffna and Trincomalee from 29th of November to 02nd of December 2021.

His visit strongly focuses on further strengthening economic ties between this region of Sri Lanka and Germany.

During his visit, Ambassador Seubert will launch the partnership between the German Asia Pacific Business Association (OAV) and the Yarlpanam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (YCCI) partnered by the German Chamber of Commerce (AHK Sri Lanka).

He is expected to hold discussions with several senior government officials including Governor of the Northern and Eastern Province, Jeevan Theagarajah, Governor of the Eastern Province Anuradha Yahampath and the Mayor of Jaffna, V. Manivannan.

Furthermore, he will meet with representatives and partners of German companies, the Goethe Institute and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

That will give him a broad overview of the existing cooperation regarding trade, industrial production, vocational training, culture and education in the Northern and Eastern part of the country, the German Embassy in Colombo said.

He will also have the opportunity to visit a demining site of the HALO Trust in Jaffna (co-financed by Germany) and discuss other relevant subjects with representatives from the region.

Sri Lanka is investigating a sharp rise in kitchen explosions caused by cooking gas that have reportedly killed at least one person and wounded dozens of others, parliament heard Monday (Nov 29).

The island is in the grip of an economic crisis with serious shortages of fossil fuels and other essential goods because of depleted foreign currency reserves.

Opposition lawmakers have blamed increased concentrations of propane in liquified petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders used for cooking, relative to the more expensive butane.

The government is now probing LPG supplies after a dozen blasts linked to kitchen stoves, consumer affairs minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna told parliament.

“During a short space of time there has been a very sharp increase in gas accidents,” he said.

“We don’t want to have 10 to 15 homes blowing up daily, so I have ordered an investigation.”

An official in Sri Lanka’s consumer affairs agency, who asked not to be named, told AFP that higher concentrations of propane were increasing pressure on LPG cylinders, causing leaks that led to explosive fires.

State-run gas agency Litro has denied changing the proportion of butane and propane in domestic gas cylinders, instead blaming poorly maintained stoves and faulty pipes.

Local media reports said a 19-year-old woman was killed after a gas cylinder leaked and exploded in Sri Lanka’s east last week.

Police have denied the death was due to a gas leak.

Consumers have faced serious LPG shortages in recent months with authorities struggling to find foreign exchange to finance gas and crude oil imports.

Sri Lanka’s only oil refinery shut for the first time in its 52-year history this month because it could not source dollars to import crude.

The island’s economy shrank last year as the pandemic took hold and tourism nosedived.

A resulting foreign exchange shortage prompted authorities to shore up Sri Lanka’s trade imbalance with a broad ban on imports, including some food and agricultural products.

That decision eventually sparked food shortages, with supermarkets rationing rice and the price of some staples doubling earlier this month.

Source: AFP

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) announced yesterday (29) that it has commenced a Suo Motu (of its own accord) inquiry concerning an assault on a journalist at Mullivaikal, Mullaitivu on 27 November 2021 by Army soldiers.

The HRCSL has called for reports from the General Officer of the Commanding 59 Division of Sri Lanka Army, Mullaitivu, and the Headquarters Inspector of the Mullaitivu Police Station with regard to the assault on or before 3 December 2021.

The Mullaitivu Press Club engaged in a wide range of protests on Sunday (28), condemning the assault of the individual by the name of V. Vishwachandran Mullaitivum last Saturday (27), a freelance independent journalist, who was assaulted by three officers attached to the 59 Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army.

Video footage showed Vishwachandran claiming that he was merely taking a photo of the “Mullivaikal” road sign when he was assaulted using “barbed wire”. Pictures of Vishwachandran’s hands show injuries, and he had later been admitted to hospital for treatment.

Three army officers attached to the 59 Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army, who were allegedly involved in the said assault, were reportedly arrested by the Police on Sunday (28) and later released on bail.

“He was beaten with palmyrah fronds wrapped with barbed wire. He suffered serious injuries and was admitted to the Mullaitivu District Hospital for treatment. Journalists in Sri Lanka, especially those in the war-affected North and East, are subjected to serious challenges amidst severe threats to their lives and profession. Despite 44 Tamil journalists being abducted or subjected to forced disappearances or killed, none of the perpetrators have been brought to justice,” the Mullaitivu Press Club said in a statement on Sunday.

The assault had occurred on the day of “Maaveerar Naal”, a commemorative day observed across the North and East as a mark of respect and remembrance of those who died during the civil war. Although reports show that several courts denied requests by the Sri Lanka Police to ban the planned commemorative events, many media outlets detailed the heavy military presence during the events last Saturday.

The Ministerial Subcommittee on amending the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) met with members of the Sri Lankan Collective for Consensus (SLCC) on to discuss the current state of their proposals.

SLCC consists of individuals drawn from civil society organisations that have reconciliation, human rights and peace building aims in their work.

Chairman of the Subcommittee, Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris said there was no draft legislation as yet to share but only a set of proposals which they wished to discuss with civil society and other groups. He stated that there would be no repeal of PTA as there is a continuing need for it due to security issues. He explained there was a need for balance between personal liberty and freedom and the need for national security.

The noteworthy amendments described in the verbal presentation made by Minister G.L. Peiris consisted of the following:

Detention orders: The period of validity of a detention order would be reduced from 18 months to 12 months.

Restricted use of PTA: The IGP has issued clear instructions to police officers not to have recourse to the PTA as a regular mode of arrest or as a short cut. The norm should be to investigate with the use of the normal law. They should only use PTA in exceptional circumstances when adequate evidence is found in investigation and if national security issues arise in the process of investigations.

Supervision by magistrates: It will be mandatory for magistrates to visit the place of detention and to personally ensure the welfare of detained persons. The Human Rights Commission should/ will be informed of such detention. Magistrates will be empowered to direct the IGP to investigate if any evidence of torture is found. In such a situation the Attorney General will institute criminal proceedings.

Judicial oversight: The person detained will have access to judicial appeal through Article 126 of the constitution (Fundamental Rights jurisdiction of Supreme Court) and Article 140 (Writ jurisdiction of Appeal Court). This will be spelled out in the law so that there is no ambiguity. This will be the first time in the four decade long history of PTA that detention orders can be legally challenged.
Access to lawyer: The person detained will have the right to access a lawyer and to visits by family members. This will be a statutory right so that there is no discretion in the matter.
Repeal of Section 14 of PTA: This prohibits publication of any statement made by the detainee or with regard to the investigation.

Speedy trial: Trials of PTA cases will take place on a daily basis until completed to avoid delays. The Chief Justice has already directed that PTA cases should be expedited.

Advisory Board: This has been set up under Section 13 of the PTA. Chaired by retired Chief Justice Asoka de Silva it has already recommended the release of 26, 8 and 6 prisoners on three occasions. The Advisory Board is expected to make recommendations and advise the President on the investigation, release, granting of bail and future action related to the persons imprisoned over terrorist activities and detained under detention orders.

Minister Peiris explained that the proposed changes to the PTA were a result of consensus between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Defence and the Attorney General’s Department, adding that these changes were not conceived as one-off ones, but as a part of a continuum, there being other changes contemplated that will be agreed on later. He also assured that changes in legislation will be rapid, and take place early next year.

Meanwhile, no written documents were provided to the SLCC either before or during the meeting. However, SLCC presented a position paper to the ministerial subcommittee which provides the principles underlying and restraining the PTA which we wish to have incorporated into the amended PTA.

Accordingly, the SLCC highlighted the following:

# Arbitrary arrests need to be ended. An example was given from Batticaloa where 10 civilians including a mother of two had been taken under PTA for commemoration of their dead relatives.

# The period prior to indictment should be considered under the normal law, and hence the judicial officers had power to bail out detainees, as decided in the Pathmanathan case by the Supreme Court and magistrates to be apprised accordingly.

# When detainees are sent to other districts on remand there is lack of communication and cross checking which can be rectified by video links for communication.

# All actions with regard to detention need to be judicial rather than executive or administrative.

SLCC also raised concerns regarding the conduct of security forces who had forcibly prevented family members and others from commemorating Martyrs Day of fallen LTTE cadres. They stressed the importance of national reconciliation taking place in a larger environment that is respectful of human rights.

Ven. Kalupahana Piyaratana, Rev. Asiri Perera (Retired President/ Bishop), Rev. Fr. C.G. Jeyakumar, Mr. Rohana Hettiarachchi, Dr. Joe William, DR. Dayani Panagoda, Dr. Jehan Perera, Prof. T. Jayasingham, Sarah Arumugam, Prof. Tudor Silva, Hilmy Ahamed, V. Kamaladhas, Sanjeewa Wimalagunarathna, Visaka Dharmadasa and David Yusuf represented the SLCC at the discussions.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) heavyweight and Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga has asked the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to leave the government as the SLPP could do without its support.

Addressing the media on Saturday (27), Minister Ranatunga asked former President and SLFP leader Maithripala Sirisena, MP, and members of his parliamentary group to quit the government.

Minister Ranatunga recalled how he urged the electorate in the run-up to the last parliamentary election in August 2020 not to vote for anyone connected with Maithripala Sirisena.

The SLPP Gampaha District leader emphasized that the SLFP contested the last general election on the SLPP ticket. Of the 14 lawmakers in Parliament, 13, including one on the National List (Dr. Suren Raghavan) represent the SLPP. The remaining MP entered Parliament from Jaffna on the SLFP ticket.

Responding to a media query, Minister Ranatunga pointed out that a 2/3 was not required to sustain the government though there were instances the ruling party couldn’t do without such a majority such as introduction of a constitutional amendment.

Minister Ranatunga urged the SLFP to stop making pronouncements pertaining to the government’s position in Parliament. The Minister said that anyone could leave the government.

Last week, Minister Ranatunga called for legal action against MP Sirisena on the basis of the recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. Minister Ranatunga declared that even if all those causing issues quit, the government could go ahead.

Political sources said that the relationship between the SLPP and the SLFP has further deteriorated against the backdrop of the latter throwing its weight behind a high profile campaign launched by a dissident group within the government against the Treasury entering into a controversial agreement with New Fortress Energy. The SLFP and several other smaller groups including the National Freedom Front (NFF) with six lawmakers in the current Parliament have pledged to oppose the US energy deal whatever the consequences. The rebel group consists of over 25 MPs.

Meanwhile, the crisis within the ruling parliamentary group was mentioned as one of the major issues undermining the incumbent government at a workshop conducted for Media Secretaries of ministers and State Ministers conducted at Sri Lanka Foundation on Saturday (27).

The meeting was told how continuing internal strife within the government parliamentary group as well as constituents weakened the administration. Media Secretaries questioned the failure on the part of the government at least to brief them properly of contentious matters as various groups pulled in different directions.

Political sources pointed out that the Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena last week assured Parliament that there was absolutely no issue between the government and the SLPP. The MEP leader made the declaration in the wake of heavy exchanges between the SLFP and Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage over the latter’s criticism of Maithripala Sirisena during the budget debate on presidential expenditure.