Category: Breaking News

Amidst growing pressure to amend its travel advice to Sri Lanka which was deemed “overly harsh”, the United Kingdom (UK) has defended its decision and said it would continue to keep the island nation’s travel advise under close review.

UK’s Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia, Commonwealth Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon made this remark in the UK Parliament responding to a question raised on plans to update the travel advice to Sri Lanka to reflect the security situation in the country.

He defended the move, saying that the safety of British people is the main factor when determining UK’s travel advice for all countries, including Sri Lanka.

“Our advice is designed to help British people make informed decisions about foreign travel and remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks when travelling abroad.

“Our travel advice is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals. These assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the government including local knowledge from our embassies and information provided by the local authorities in each country.”

Earlier this year, leading tourism providers including the Experience Travel Group published an open letter with 35 signatories calling for FCDO advice on Sri Lanka to be amended.

It criticized the mentioning of fuel and food shortages in the country dating back to the 2022 political unrest and continued references to the 2019 terrorist attacks and said the UK the government was “systematically undermining the travel industry” in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is heading for a split with one section insisting on fielding its candidate at the presidential election and the other advocating support for the candidacy of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Daily Mirror learns.

The SLPP faction which is loyal to the Rajapaksa family has firmed up its position that the party should participate in the election by fielding its candidate. When the party’s executive committee met, such an idea emerged, but further discussion did not take place on the matter since the election has not yet been declared.

However, the party’s MPs who currently hold positions in the government openly back the candidacy of the President.

Chief Government Whip Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said the SLPP, as a party, had no one competent enough to win the presidential elections and therefore the party should refrain from fielding a candidate. Also, he was openly critical of the appointment of MP Namal Rajapaksa as the national organizer. He said Mr. Basil Rajapaksa should have taken care of the responsibilities of such a post instead.

The presidential election is scheduled for October this year in terms of the Constitution. The SLPP hierarchy has also sought a snap general election ahead of the presidential election but the President has declined to do so.

An attempt to legalize the takeover of private land for President’s House in Jaffna has been thwarted.

Owners of the land protested against a visiting Survey Department team yesterday (26) and handed them a letter of protest.

Of the 29-acre plot, 12 acres belong to the state, on which the facility began to be built in 2010 during the Mahinda Rajapaksa rule.

It is claimed Tamils have deeds to prove they own the other 17 acres.

They say the military took over their land after they fled in the face of the war in 1990.

Without consent by the landowners, the government decided last December to lease 12 acres of the property owned by it to SLIIT, to be followed by the remaining 17 acres too, leased out to the same institute to ensure an income to the Tamils.

President’s Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser Sagala Ratnayaka will leave for India on Wednesday (27), with a delegation.

The land connectivity to be established with India will be the focus of the visit.

The discussions will commence in New Delhi on Thursday (28).

The delegation includes Secretaries to the Ministry of Transport and Environment, General Manager of Railways, Director General of Customs and the Director General of the Office of the Chief of Staff.

Sri Lanka’s next national election will definitely be a presidential election as no funds have been allocated for a parliamentary election and there is no time for that in 2024, Education Minister Susil Premajanaytha said.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday March 26, Premajayantha rubbished speculation that parliamentary elections will precede a presidential poll.

“The presidential election is definitely coming. There is no time to hold a parliamentary election, and no funds have been allocated. Attempting to do that is futile,” he said.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) also indicated that a presidential poll will be held first. UNP general secretary Palitha Range Bandara said the president is obligated to follow the constitution.

“Anyone can make requests. When they make appeals in cricket, the umpire doesn’t rule everyone out. The president has to act according to the constitution. If he doesn’t do that, he may have to face a problem when he no longer has presidential immunity,” said Bandara.

“He won’t get caught in that,” he added.

President Wickremesinghe met with Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) national organiser Basil Rajapaksa last week where the matter had been discussed. Wickremesinghe had reportedly told his cabinet ministers later that the presidential election will be held first.

He has yet to officially announce his candidacy, however.

Rajapaksa and the SLPP, meanwhile, have been advocating for early parliamentary polls, arguing that whatever party that wins the presidential election will be able to consolidate power by winning big at the parliamentary elections that will follow. This would not be in the best interest of democracy, Rajapaksa claimed in one interview, though he did not voice this concern when the SLPP went onto secure a two thirds’ majority at the 2020 parliamentary polls after his brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the 2019 presidential poll in an unprecedented landslide a few months earlier.

Several pressing issues have arisen as there is an estimated 30,000 street children, who engage in begging, in various locations across the country, Wasantha Athukorala, a senior professor in the Department of Economics and Statistics, at the University of Peradeniya, revealed.

He said that this figure is substantiated by research and studies conducted in different areas.

Expressing his views on the matter, Professor Athukorala emphasised the gravity of the situation, describing it as a pressing concern that profoundly impacts the future. He noted the absence of a proper data system maintained by the government regarding these children and stresses that the government’s responsibility is to establish an accurate data system. Without intervention, he warned that the number of street children may continue to rise, potentially leading to increased criminal activities such as drug use, trafficking, theft, fraud and sexual abuse.

Research findings reveal that parents or temporary guardians often exploit these young children for begging and other money-making activities. Many of these children, aged between 4 and 15, who engage in begging alone or accompany adults in bustling cities and religious sites, are deprived of education, he said.

Furthermore, the research indicates that some parents enlist these children in various informal labour and street trading, with many of these parents grappling with drug addiction. Consequently, some of these children become ensnared in drug abuse, as well as engaging in fraudulent activities, theft and experiencing sexual abuse.

In response to inquiries regarding this issue, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon acknowledged that the Police was aware of the situation.

He said that while some of these children are taken under Police custody and brought before the Courts, there was a lack of appropriate facilities to shelter these minors after that.

“The Ridiyagama Detention Centre, under the Department of Social Services, where beggars are sheltered, is currently overcrowded. Given this circumstance, sending street children to Court is deemed ineffective. Instead, there is a pressing need for a comprehensive, long-term rehabilitation process. However, there is currently no suitable facility equipped to accommodate and rehabilitate these children,” he said. Speaking further, the IGP stressed the necessity of a suitable facility for their rehabilitation, highlighting the importance of collaboration among relevant agencies to find a viable solution. Despite the challenges, he reassures that the Police are committed to addressing this critical issue with utmost attention.