Author: TELO Admin

Former President Maithripala Sirisena today warned the Government of the consequences as a result of the statements being made against him by Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.

The former President and leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) warned that such statements could have repercussions on the relationship between the SLFP and the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

Sirisena said that Aluthgamage has been repeatedly making statements against him in Parliament, despite the SLFP being part of the Government.

SLFP General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekera also spoke saying that the SLFP has 14 MPs in Parliament.

He said that as a party, the SLFP will not tolerate its leader being attacked by a Government MP.

Jayasekera warned that if Aluthgamage continues to make unfounded allegations then the SLFP will also not remain silent.

However, Aluthgamage stood by his statements and insisted that all he said were facts.

He said that he was trying to compare the expenses of the former President and current President.

Aluthgamage said that he had a right to show that the current President had reduced expenses as compared to the expenses of the former President.

Sirisena responded saying that he set an example as President by not travelling frequently in helicopters and reducing overseas travels.

He also warned that the Government has 2/3rd majority because of the SLFP.

Sri Lanka will tap a Chinese company for a port project in Colombo, its largest city, that had been awarded to Japan and India before the partnership was scrapped early this year.

The decision highlights Colombo’s balancing act and comes a month after Indian conglomerate Adani Group was awarded another deal worth over $700 million to develop the West Container Terminal at the Colombo port. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said he wants to be “neutral” in Sri Lanka’s relations with India and China as the nation struggles with a shortage of foreign currency.

His cabinet on Tuesday agreed to have state-run China Harbour Engineering develop the Eastern Container Terminal while stipulating that local authorities would handle all operations. It cited recommendations by a cabinet-appointed committee as the basis for the decision.

The apparent pro-China tilt of Rajapaksa’s government is seen as a factor in the change of plans. Beijing has invested heavily in projects on the strategically positioned island under its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Sri Lanka had signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan and India in May 2019, under previous President Maithripala Sirisena, to jointly develop the Colombo terminal. The operating company would be 51% owned by the Sri Lankan government, with the rest held by Japan and India.

Rajapaksa, who took office in November of that year, indicated at first that the project would stay on course.

That changed this past February, when the cabinet decided that the operating company would be wholly owned by Sri Lanka, pushing Japan and India out of the project. The Japanese government called the unilateral move “regrettable.”

China has continued to provide financing for Sri Lankan infrastructure, taking control of projects such as roads and port facilities in the process. Concerns have been raised that this support is pushing the country into a debt trap, as was seen in a 2017 lease deal of the Hambantota port in the southern coast of the island. The previous government leased it out to a Chinese state-run company for 99 years, in return for $1.1 billion as a part of Colombo’s efforts to repay debt to China.

Source:Nikkei Asia

Scotland Police has said that they will not renew their training contract with Sri Lanka’s police force during the remainder of the agreed period, which ends in March 2022, citing human rights concerns.

Chief Constable of Police Scotland Iain Livingstone told Scottish authorities that they have informed the British High Commission in Colombo, to advise that they are not going to seek a renewal of its engagement to support policing in Sri Lanka.

“Our training in Sri Lanka was suspended in early 2020. We have not deployed to Sri Lanka since that time, because the overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment (OSJA), require a review to accurately reflect the current security and human rights issues in the region, which have changed since our initial deployment after the end of the Civil War in 2010,” he said.

He also said that the OSJA assessment review remains incomplete.

“As such there will be no further deployments of Police Scotland officers to Sri Lanka during the remainder of the agreed period, which ends in March 2022,” he has said.

“We remain, of course, committed to supporting the international development of policing services right across the world, so that we can enhance and enable human rights or we can underline the values that we hold dear of integrity, fairness and respect. Those values will always be at the heart of the work that we deliver in Scotland and at the heart of everything we do internationally”, he added.

Earlier, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the international community, including the UK government’s Police Scotland, to suspend assistance until the SL government takes concrete steps to investigate police abuses.

“Sri Lanka’s police are increasingly killing and abusing people under cover of the Covid-19 pandemic measures and an anti-drug campaign,” the HRW earlier stated.

A special team will be dispatched to inspect the quality of all ferries currently in operation in the Eastern Province, Eastern Province (EP) Governor Anuradha Yahampath said.

She said the team will be headed by the Police, Engineering Division of the Provincial Road Development Authority and the Navy, she said.

She made this statement when she visited the Kinniya Hospital this morning to see the people receiving treatment for injuries after a barge capsized in the Kurinchankerni area in Kinniya.

“We all need to make sure that such incidents do not happen again. This is not the time to point finger at each other. After the war, higher number of bridges in Sri Lanka were built in the Eastern Province. That is during the Mahinda Rajapaksa government. The longest brige in the Eastern Province also included with this. There was an alternative route but people did not want to use it. We will take further action on the recommendations contained in that report.

If there are culprits, we will not hesitate to take action against them. She said no one can evade responsibility.

However, at present, the transport facilities required by these people are being provided by the Navy, she said.

In addition, the government has paid attention to completing the work on this bridge as soon as possible, the governor added.

A delegation of Sri Lankan election officers visited India to observe the operation of election machinery on the ground level.

The Election Commission of India entrusted this responsibility to the District of New Delhi.

A short programme was also held at the AC-38 Voter Centre in the Delhi Cantonment area, a statement from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer said.

The visiting delegation from Sri Lanka was amazed to learn about the effective utilization of information technology in election offices and expressed interest in incorporating it into the Sri Lankan election machineries, the statement said.

During the event, the visiting delegation was given information on the various forms, including EROnet, GarudaApp, Voters Helpline app, PwD app, NVSP portal, Roll of BLOs, and the 1950 helpline. (ANI)