Category: Breaking News

The Mayor of Jaffna, Viswalingam Manivannan, who was arrested by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) at around 2.30am on Friday morning, was released on bail. Manivannan, was issued bail at the Jaffna Magistrates Court, on Friday evening after paying a Rs. 2 Lakh payment. The Magistrates Court has filed the case under the Penal Code and not under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), despite being arrested and investigated by TID officers.

Former Senior Lecturer in Law at University of Jaffna, Dr Kumaravadivel Guruparan questioned the validity of the reasoning used to carry out Manivannan’s arrest.

Manivannan, who is also an attorney-at-law, was arrested on charges of attempting to resurrect the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and taken to Vavuniya for ‘further investigation’.

The arrest follows an investigation into the uniforms of a Jaffna Municipal Council task force which was launched this week to enforce penalties against environmental infractions such as littering and spitting. Sri Lankan police alleged that the uniforms worn by the task force were similar to those formerly worn by the LTTE’s police force.

The Jaffna Municipal Commissioner was summoned by police on Wednesday night and interrogated for around 3 hours regarding the uniforms. Police also told the Commissioner to halt the task force’s duties and to hand over its uniforms, which the commissioner carried out the following day. Police said at the time that the uniforms and the remainder of the investigation would be handed over to Colombo.

At around 8pm on Thursday night, Manivannan, along with another council member, Varatharajah Partheepan, were summoned to the Jaffna police station. After a lengthy interrogation, the Mayor was handed over to the TID and arrested. Partheepan continued to be interrogated and was released around 3am.

Earlier on Thursday evening, Manivannan held a press conference to address the allegations, and explained that the uniforms were in fact the same as those worn by a similar task force ran by the Colombo Municipal Council. The Mayor said that the uniforms held no further connotations and that the police were making allegations based on social media conspiracy theories.

“I strongly condemn the arrest of Mayor of Jaffna V Manivannan by the Sri Lankan governmentt, and call for his immediate release,” Canadian MP Gary Anandasangaree said on Twitter. “The continued harassment and arbitrary arrests of members of the Tamil community including elected officials, journalists & human rights defenders must end.”

The Mayor of Toronto, John Tory and Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown also joined in calling for the release of the Jaffna Mayor.

“I join Gary in condemning the arrest of the Mayor of Jaffna by the Sri Lankan government. I echo the call for his immediate release. This continuing unjust treatment of Tamils is unacceptable,” said John Tory on Twitter. “I urge others to join in this call and to stand in solidarity with our Tamil community.”

Patrick Brown tweeted, “The arrest of #JaffnaMayor by the Sri Lankan gov seems to be a revenge tactic against the UNHRC for setting up an investigation against them. This is wrong, wrong, wrong. They should release all political prisoners & cooperate with the UN to ensure justice for the #TamilGenocide”.

Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, said on Twitter that his party condemns the arrest and echoed calls for Mayor of Jaffna, V Manivannan’s release. “The @TnpfOrg unreservedly condemns the arrest of Manivannan by the TID and calls for his immediate release. The severe racial and political insecurities of this regime have reached such heights that a steady path towards fascism is inevitable,” tweeted Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam.

Manivannan was represented by the ITAK MP and lawyer, M.A Sumanthiran and 25 other supporting lawyers. Manivannan has insisted that he will pursue legal action against the police for his detention.

“If taking steps to uphold the cleanliness of the [district] is a mistake, we will continue to make that mistake. Arresting me is disgusting and it disrespects the independence of the [Jaffna] Municipal Council,” said Manivannan. “They claimed I was attempting to recreate the LTTE with the uniforms. But the police have no authority to intervene in the independent activities of the Municipal Council. I am ready to fight a legal battle against the tyranny of the police, I will not allow tyranny of the police to exist.”

The case has been adjourned until 26th June 2021.

Leaders of eleven parties of the ruling government coalition have agreed to meet Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and make a decision on the upcoming provincial council election.

The party leaders met at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headquarters yesterday (08) under the patronage of former President Maithripala Sirisena.

The meeting between the party leaders and the Prime Minister is scheduled to be held on April 19 at 10 a.m.

SLFP General Secretary State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera, National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Minister Wimal Weerawansa, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Udaya Gammanpila, DEW Gunesekera, Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero and Gevindu Kumaratunga also took part in the discussions yesterday.

These eleven party leaders first came together to oppose the government’s move to hand over the Eastern Container Terminal of the Colombo Port to an Indian company and have met once a month at their respective party headquarters since then.

This is the first time that former President Maithripala Sirisena has joined the discussions. Prior to this, State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara was the representative of the SLFP at these meetings.

At yesterday’s meeting, the leaders have not discussed the possibility of conducting separate May Day rallies. However, the Wimal Weerawansa faction hopes to reach an agreement with the Prime Minister in this regard as well.

Meanwhile, SLFP General Secretary, State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara said that neither the SLFP nor any other party of the ruling alliance has a need to splinter the SLPP led government coalition and form a new one.

Jayasekara expressed these views at a media briefing held in Colombo recently.

The SLFP General Secretary stressed that there was no truth to the claims that several parties representing the ruling alliance were engaged in discussions to form a separate alliance.

Minister Jayasekara emphasized that no one wanted to break the current alliance, adding that the representatives of around ten parties met and conducted several rounds of discussions in the recent past on certain issues.

He reiterated that this should not be viewed as an attempt to break the alliance but as a process that would actually help to strengthen the government.

He further said that their objective is to do what is right by the 6.9 million voters and not to cause any inconvenience to the government.

Source:Lanka Leader

The conduct of elections to the provincial councils is in the interests of the top brass of the government but fresh political hurdles now stand in the way of it.

The government has taken a policy decision to conduct the elections, already delayed over a legal glitch, under a fresh criterion for the elections of members. The Cabinet nod has been given to amend the law for the introduction of this system which is a mix of proportional representation and the First Past the Post method. It proposed 70 percent of members to be elected in respect of each constituency and 30 under proportional representation.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the main party of the government, is keen to have the elections as early as possible after the enactment of the new piece of legislation that gives effect to the proposed electoral system. At last Monday’s Cabinet meeting, a decision was to be taken to refer the proposal to be drafted into bill for enactment after the passage through Parliament.

However, the Cabinet Ministry who represent the parties that are aligned with the SLPP to form the government raised objections to the content of the proposed bill. They were against the proposal to field three candidates from the same party for each electorate. These Ministers insisted that consensus should be reached among the parties in the government before working out the final draft of the bill. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has now called for a meeting of the party leaders on April 19 to discuss and iron out differences in this regard.

This represents a major obstacle in the early enactment of the bill to call for elections. The provincial councils lapsed their terms starting from 2017. At the moment, all the provincial councils remain defunct with elections being unable to be conducted because of a legal issue that emanates from the new Act signed under the previous government.

The initiative by the new government to clear the obstacle in terms of enactment fresh legislations is bound to be an exercise taking time. First, the government has to bring about consensus within its own ranks. After the bill is signed into Act, the delimitation process has to be completed. There is already a delimitation report worked out by the previous government dividing the country into 222 electorates in view of the elections to the provincial councils. The new government will obviously have a relook at it. It is true that a section of the government wants elections as early as possible. However, it is a time consuming exercise to sort out issues at hand.

The conduct of elections to the provincial councils is in the interests of the top brass of the government

In addition to such challenges, the public pressure is also building on against the conduct of elections to reconstitute the provincial councils. An influential segment of the political forces that backed this government has come out openly against it. Instead, these ask for scrapping the system, rather. Fourteen leading Buddhist monks recently rote an open letter critical of the move to call for elections at this hour.

They are Ven. Ittepane Dhammalankara Mahanayaka Thera , Ven. Diviyagaha Yasassi Nayaka Thera, Ven. Dodampahala Chandasiri Mahanayaka Thera , Ven. Karagoda Uyangoda Maitrimurti Mahanayaka Thera, Ven. Matale Dhammakusala Anunayaka Thera, Ven. Balangoda Sobhita Nayaka Thera, Ven. Tirikunamale Ananda Mahanayaka Thera Ellawala Medhananda Nayaka Thera, Ven. Prof. Tumbulle Silakkhanda Nayaka Thera , Ven. Omare Kassapa Anunayaka Thera, Ven. Prof. Kandegoda Vimaladhamma Anunayaka Thera, Ven. Akuratiye Nanda Nayaka Thera, Ven. Prof. Medagama Nandavamsa Nayaka Thera and Prof. Agalakada Sirisumana Thera.

“Making preparations to hold Provincial Council elections in haste, similar to the passing of the 20th amendment to the Constitution, seems to be a hint that the promise placed before the people of the country to have a new constitution is only a facade.

The recent UNHCR resolution passed recently in Geneva reveals the shameless attempts of the Western interests to annul the Prevention of Terrorism Act. In this regard it is sad to note that there are sections within the Government, the opposition and the NGO sector that are hand in glove with various groups who are hell-bound to destroy our country.

The short-sighted cabinet decision to hold elections for Provincial Councils before getting the recommendations of the Committee appointed by this same Government in regard to a new Constitution should be considered as a golden opportunity lost to rectify a wrong that is hindering the future path of progress of this country.

If Provincial Council elections are held as announced, the government will be legally bound to implement in full the 13thAmendment. According to the provisions of the 13thAmendment, Provincial Councils are allowed to establish Provincial Police Forces and hold firearms, ammunition and other equipment,” they wrote.

In the past, only India has taken a particular interest in the implementation of the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka, a constitutional provision incorporated into the Constitution in consequent to the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord. India has repeatedly called for its implementation. Now, the reconstitution of the provincial councils in accordance with the 13th Amendment is a matter that has crept into the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka.

As such, the government is under pressure from India and the international community to conduct elections. At the same time, it is under compulsion from its local support base to scrap the system. It is now a matter of reconciling these two contrasts. Management of public opinion or reconciling it with international demands are natural challenges in democratic governance. Previously, the government acceded to the local pressure. That is exactly what happened when it reneged from the commitment by the previous government to develop the East Container Terminal of the Colombo Port. The internal pressure regarding the provincial council system is also something difficult to be ignored.

Following the establishment of a new police unit by the Jaffna Municipal Council, five uniforms belonging to the unit have been taken into custody of the Jaffna Police today (08) due similarities in resemblance with the LTTE police uniform.

According to the Jaffna Mayor Visvalingam Manivannan, the unit was set up to take action against those who pollute the streets of Jaffna. He also added that the unit ensures that people follow relevant health precautions which are currently in force.

Jaffna residents claim that the uniforms of the officers from this unit were used by the de facto LTTE police during the war.

The Jaffna Police has requested the municipal council officers to report to the Jaffna Police Station in order to record statements regarding this matter.

Over the past few months, China has been boosting its vaccine diplomacy efforts, pledging and shipping increasing numbers of COVID vaccines to a number of countries worldwide, particularly in Asia.

Sri Lanka recently received 600,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine that would be used for the vaccination of around 200,000 Chinese workers believed to be currently living in the island nation.

When the pandemic hit Sri Lanka, Beijing also donated thousands of masks, testing kits and health equipment.

Although Sri Lanka’s National Medicine Regulatory Authority (NMRA) has approved the decision to bring in the Chinese vaccine, they have not given the greenlight for its emergency use.

The South Asian nation also received in January a large shipment of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine made in India and plans to acquire shots of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.

Sri Lanka has so far inoculated over 900,000 people out of its 21 million people, just about 2% of the population. It has recorded more than 90,000 infections since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 1,000 related deaths.

Vaccine diplomacy to support national interests?

By supplying vaccines to countries like Sri Lanka, China is looking to showcase its global health leadership to lower- and middle-income countries.

“Any humanitarian diplomacy that national governments conduct has some motives that directly or indirectly support national interests,” Miwa Hirono, professor at the Graduate School of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, told DW.

China’s humanitarian actions in the past have been “multi-faceted and complex,” with decisions often made ad-hoc, she added.

Hirono is collecting data on Beijing’s humanitarian assistance during the pandemic but sees no correlation between vaccine donations and the scale of Chinese investment in a recipient country.

However, the fact that early vaccine aid was given to countries like Cambodia and Pakistan that support Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) merits further research into this, the international relations expert added.

Vaccine donations to countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan, among others, are done “to help our friends,” a Chinese official, who wishes to remain anonymous, told DW. “These countries are friends of China and helped the country at the start of the pandemic,” he added.

China’s ‘softer diplomatic approach’

Despite China’s vaccine diplomacy getting off to a strong start, Beijing appears to be encountering stiff competition and tough questions from abroad.

Security analyst Asanga Abeyagoonasekera told DW that there are “serious concerns that China is raising pressure on Sri Lankan authorities to get approval for the Sinopharm vaccine.”

“Authorities in Colombo are taking their time. They have asked many questions and awaiting response from China,” he pointed out.

The expert stressed that China has switched to a “softer diplomatic approach.”

Still, worries grow that where Beijing’s vaccines go, its influence will follow.

“Recent developments show an increase in Chinese influence over Sri Lanka, be it through vaccine diplomacy or infrastructure diplomacy. One cannot ignore Beijing’s role in the country’s affairs.”

Abeyagoonasekera said that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy appears to be neutral, but it is not. Colombo is “bandwagoning” with Beijing, he stressed. “The decisions taken by the government are tilted more toward China.”

China-Sri Lanka ties are “multilayered,” but Beijing’s growing influence “is a bit worrying,” said Abeyagoonasekera, arguing that it endangers Sri Lankan democracy and could push the country toward a different governing model. “This is a long-term worry I have as an analyst.”

Rohan Samarajiva, founding chair of the policy think tank LINREAsia in Colombo, said that China’s vaccine shipments received greater publicity in the country than India’s. There is an extra dose of gratitude toward the Chinese, he told DW.

China’s support for Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva also contributes to closer bilateral ties, the expert added. “All the talk and aid of the US or Europe pales in comparison to what China is doing,” said Samarajiva.

Growing Chinese clout in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan media, meanwhile, often tend to portray China in a positive light, particularly since receiving COVID-related assistance, Shakthi De Silva, a visiting lecturer at the Department of International Relations, University of Colombo, told DW.

However, there isn’t much coverage on the underlying reasons behind the vaccine deliveries, he added.

China’s vaccine diplomacy is perhaps a component of Beijing’s long-term strategy to maintain good ties with Sri Lanka’s government and people, the expert said.

In the past, Sri Lankans took to the streets in protest when they saw that China was acquiring critical infrastructure in the country like the Hambantota port. Sections of the Sri Lankan population viewed Beijing with mistrust, De Silva pointed out. “Hence, the vaccine and mask diplomacy have helped bolster China’s soft power and rebuild its tarnished image.”

Abeyagoonasekera shared a similar view. “Vaccine diplomacy will definitely add to the infrastructure diplomacy and will further strengthen the bilateral relationship.”

Source:Taiwannews.com