Author: TELO Admin

11 Political Parties affiliated with the government say if they are not given an opportunity to discuss matters surrounding the controversial LNG deal with the executive, they will be compelled to take their case to the people.

11 government parties made a written request to the President to provide an opportunity to discuss the matter, which was later turned down.

The request had been made by the Democratic Left Front (DLF), the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), the National Freedom Front (NFF), the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU), Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya, Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), National Congress, Eksath Mahajana Party, Sri Lanka Communist Party, the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya and the Yuthukama National Organization.

When these parties met again on Saturday (23), Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara told reporters that the 11 parties within the government maintain their position against the proposed agreement surrounding the Kerawalapitiya Power Plant.

Despite not being awarded an opportunity to meet the President to discuss the matter, Nanayakkara said “It isn’t over, yet”.

Minister Udaya Gammanpila said they hope to raise the matter at Sunday’s (24) party leaders meeting.

A traffic policeman attached to the Eravur Police has been interdicted over assault of two youths in Eravur after a video went viral on social media.

A video footage shared by Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam shows a traffic cop assaulting two youths travelling on a motorcycle in Eravur.

“Police Brutality continues in Batticaloa and will fall on the deaf ears of Minister Sarath Weerasekara,” the MP tweeted.

Responding to the MP Rasamanickam, the Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara said the officer involved in the incident had been interdicted.

The minister informed the MP that the incident took place when the traffic police officer was inquiring about a road accident.

The officer was measuring an accident on the road using tape and two youths travelling on a motorcycle had gone past at speed dragging the tape for nearly 500 yards without stopping.

The police officer then pursued the youths on his motorcycle and had caught them before the assault had taken place.

Minister Weerasekara said the Police officer had no right to assault the youths and therefore he will be charged.

Claiming that the Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group and Chinese Embassy are influencing the Sri Lankan authorities to accept the ship carrying organic fertilizer shipment which was rejected following the laboratory tests, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake today urged the Government to halt the said ship from entering Colombo port.

He told a news conference that the Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group had written to the Director General of Agriculture and several other authorities such as the Secretary to the President, Prime Minister and the Agriculture Ministry Secretary yesterday urging them to accept the ship carrying the controversial organic fertilizer.

He said according to the letter, they have said that the ship left China on September 23 and was scheduled to reach Colombo port yesterday (22).

“They have also said that there was an agreement to conduct another test on the fertilizer through a third party. We ask them with whom they have reached the agreement to do such a test,” he said.

The JVP MP said the ship was heading to Sri Lanka despite reports that it was turned back after having rejected the sample in laboratory tests in Sri Lanka, as it contained harmful bacteria known as Erwinia.

He said it was reported that the Director General of Agriculture had requested the Harbour Master in the Colombo Port not to allow the ship to enter the port or anchor anywhere in the vicinity of the port.

“The decision of the Director General is truly praiseworthy. We urge the Government not to revert the decision under any grounds,” he said.

He said China or any other country had no right to influence the affairs of Sri Lanka, as ours is a sovereign nation.

Sri Lanka’s spot rates have turned negative again as dollar liquidity tightened at the 203 to the US dollar non-credible pegged rate as dollar liquidity tightened amid rupee liquidity injected to sterilize a short from a reserve ratio hike.

Sri Lanka’s central bank raised the Statutory Reserve Requirement by 2.0 percent from September creating a large liquidity short and then filled it and other intervention with 87 day money and outright purchases of Treasury bills.

This was done amidst attempts to get crippled bond markets working, allowing rates to adjust.

There had been only one successful bill auction recently as rate adjusted.

Though importers are now progressively allocated dollars at 203 and some are getting dollars at higher rates through various means.

Banks have severely restricted letters of credit to ration dollars, amid the liquidity injections of the central bank.

This week the spot/1 month was quoted at a negative -10/00 cents.

Spot/2 months a negative -20/00

Spot/3-months -60/-40 202.40

Spot/6-months -90/-50

The strict re-imposition of the non-credible peg at 203 and the reduction of dollars cleared at a ‘floating rate’ has also led to the central bank providing dollars for imports as the liquidity injected came up for convertibility.

A central bank that continues to inject money to sterilize interventions (a non-credible peg) faces depletion of reserves.