Sri Lanka Sunday reported 18 deaths due to COVID-19 after the figures were confirmed by the Director General of Health Services on Saturday, October 30.
Among the deaths reported today, 10 are of males and 08 of females. All the deaths are of elderly people in the 60 years and above age group.
According to the data reported by the Government Information Department, the total deaths due to Covid-19 since the pandemic began last year has now risen to 13,743.
Chinese company Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd., which is in the midst of a controversy over a twice rejected shipment of organic fertiliser, would have to submit a fresh sample of the fertiliser stock to the authorities if the quality of the fertiliser was to be retested, according to the Department of Agriculture.
This came in the backdrop of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo blacklisting state-run People’s Bank over its failure to honour terms of a Letter of Credit (LC) that was opened to import organic fertiliser from China.
“A new sample must be sent by the Chinese company to be tested once again,” Department of Agriculture Director General Dr. Ajantha De Silva told The Sunday Morning.
He said the sample must be up to the standards set by the National Plant Quarantine (NPQ) tests.
“The fertiliser sample must pass the SLS (Sri Lanka Standards) tests and the tests carried out by the National Plant Quarantine Service,” he added.
When questioned on the claim by the Chinese that a German company had found no harmful substance in the Chinese fertiliser, Dr. De Silva asserted that third party testing was not considered by Sri Lanka.
“We don’t take into consideration any third party testing. We go by the tests of our National Plant Quarantine Service as well as that of the SLS, which are all in line with international standards,” he said.
Furthermore, De Silva said there was a court order banning the importation of the said fertiliser: “There is a court order in place stopping the importation of this fertiliser.”
Nevertheless, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka claimed that both Chinese tests as well as a German company’s third party test found no harmful substances in the fertiliser.
“The key and only issue is the NPQ SL’s report. M/s Seawin complained that according to experts in China and the German third party inspection agency, no harmful substance was found in the fertiliser,” Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Lou Chong told The Sunday Morning.
He added that the Chinese fertiliser company and the German testing company had questioned the NPQ report.
“Sri Lanka’s report is very suspicious; (they) even did their tests in (the) wrong temperature against the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) standards,” Chong stated.
People’s Bank, in a press statement regarding the move by the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, denied that it defaulted a payment relating to a LC, and pointed out that delay in payments was due to an enjoining order issued by the Colombo Commercial High Court.
Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, responding to a question by a journalist during a visit to the Dalada Maligawa yesterday (30), said that he was not aware of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo blacklisting People’s Bank.
The Government had also alerted the port authorities to not allow the vessel carrying the controversial shipment of fertiliser to dock in Sri Lanka.
The Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa says that he has not been informed of the People’s Bank being blacklisted by the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka.
He made these remarks while speaking to media after visiting the Temple of the Tooth today (30).
The Minister of Finance, speaking to media said that he visited the temple to obtain the blessings of the Sacred Tooth Relic before presenting the budget on behalf of the people of the country.
However, when inquired whether the Minister was aware of People’s Bank being blacklisted by the Chinese Embassy, Minister Rajapaksa said that he has not been informed of such an event.
The People’s Bank of Sri Lanka was blacklisted yesterday (29) by the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka for failing to make the payment according to the Letter of Credit and the contracts between two parties.
The decision has also been submitted to the Ministry of Commerce of China.
Accordingly, all Chinese enterprises were reminded to tighten risk control and avoid accepting L/C issued by the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka in international trade with Sri Lanka, said the Embassy.
Recently, the Chinese fertilizer enterprise Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd requested to get the payment of L/C by People’s Bank of Sri Lanka according to the contracts.
Disregarding the contract obligation, the business rules and international trade customs, the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka defaulted the payment of L/C and caused huge losses to the Chinese enterprise, said the Chinese Embassy.
However, People’s Bank said that is it bound by an enjoining order issued by the Commercial High Courts of Sri Lanka with regard to the trade transaction in question, which precludes the bank from processing the payment.
People’s Bank also said that the temporary delay in processing the said payment pertaining to the LC is solely due to the bank’s obligation to be bound by the legal directions of the country, as a responsible corporate citizen.
It added that once the legal barriers in effect are removed, the LC payment will be effected promptly a per the usual trade practices.
Imagine walking in the streets of your hometown. You hear the breaks of an unlicenced white van screech behind you. You turn around to see what is happening and, before you know it, you are bundled into the vehicle.
You are blindfolded, handcuffed, gagged and driven for hours to an unknown location, where in a dark room you will be tortured and interrogated for months and for crimes that are little more than the fertile imaginings of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL). When you escape to the UK, your torturers continue to harass and brutalise you and those who you left behind.
This is the fate suffered by tens of thousands of Tamil nationals of Sri Lanka since the beginning of the armed conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE – an armed group which used to fight for an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka) in 1983.
The war ended in 2009 with the defeat and humiliation of the LTTE and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of ordinary Tamils in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Police (SLP) and the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) are chief amongst those systematically abducting, unlawfully detaining and torturing any Tamil individuals suspected as being in any way associated with the LTTE or espousing separatist ideas. Those who were lucky enough to successfully escape the country face years of surveillance, threats, and collective punishment as their families bear the continued wrath of the GoSL.
They have lost safety and security and their home. As their UK status as refugees confirm, they cannot return – the risk of persecution is too great.
200 of those Tamils who found refuge in the United Kingdom are now seeking justice for these ongoing crimes against humanity.
On 27 October 2021, we, as Global Rights Compliance LLP, filed a complaint with the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and the Metropolitan Police in the UK against a number of GoSL officials implicated in these crimes.
The President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Secretary of Defence Kamal Gunaratne and a number of individuals who held command positions within the SLP and SLA over the last two decades must be held to account. Countless Tamils were abducted, detained, tortured, deported and persecuted for decades with impunity under their watch.
But instead President Gotabaya plays the role of distinguished statesman, soon to arrive in the UK for the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November 2021.
Since they will be arriving in Glasgow, the Scottish police are in a unique position to ensure that those among the Sri Lankan delegation credibly suspected of these heinous crimes are brought to justice. Rather than training the Sri Lankan police, they should be arresting them.
The SLP and its sub-branches Criminal Investigation Division, Terrorism Investigation Division and Special Task Force have been credibly accused of being involved in the abduction, detention and torture of Tamils by the United Nations as well as reputable non-governmental organisations such as the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Two hundred victims of their cruelty have now provided cogent evidence in support.
While the Scottish police have defended the training programme on the basis that it is designed to enhance the SLP’s respect for human rights, the fish rots from the head down.
As aptly put by Human Rights Watch, the “assistance risks appearing to endorse or lend legitimacy to agencies that are unwilling to improve their respect for human rights.” Of course, the training falls on deaf ears. Of course, international human rights organisations calling for the cancelling of the program are right.
Of course, the training programme should be “paused” until the UK Government reviews its appropriateness.
The Convention against Torture (CAT) requires its States Parties to take into custody and investigate persons within their territory who are suspected of committing torture. Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, the UK should investigate, arrest and prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanity.
In the face of such criminality, the UK government should understand that this and nothing else is appropriate.
Authors: Wayne Jordash QC and Uzay Yasar Aysev of Global Rights Compliance.
Source:heraldscotland.
The Sri Lanka Muslim community expressed shock and dismay over the establishment of the ‘Presidential Task Force for One Country, One Law’ under the leadership of a controversial monk.
The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) said that the Muslim community, as citizens of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, have been living for many centuries as one country and one Nation, with their individual, cultural, religious laws and identities under the protection of one Sri Lankan Constitution.
“We express our disappointment on the appointment of a controversial individual for a responsible position, who is known for inciting disharmony within different religious and ethnic communities, especially hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslim community, in spite of the presence of many legal and religious leaders who are working day and night for the establishment of peace, harmony and coexistence in our country,” ACJU said.
The ACJU said the appointment is a setback for all counter-radicalization efforts and peace and harmony initiatives.
The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama further believes that the appointment tarnishes the reputation of the country in the international arena.
Seven minority parties met in Colombo yesterday (30) and decided to firmly stand by the proportional electoral system and resist any attempt to change it, The Sunday Morning learnt.
The seven parties committed to work collectively to preserve the proportional electoral system in view of the all-powerful executive presidency that was further strengthened by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the organisers of the meeting said. The party leader had decided that the Parliament and all legislatures should act as “check and balance apparatuses” in parallel with the executive presidency in the interest of democracy.
“Parliament and provincial councils shall be elected via the proportionate electoral system that would ensure the representation of parties with alternative political principles, and the representation of (all) social segments of Sri Lanka,” the Democratic People’s Front said in a statement following the meeting.
The discussion was attended by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) party leaders, People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) Leader MP D. Sidharthan, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) Leader MP Selvam Adaikalanathan, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) MP S. Sritharan, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) Leader Mano Ganesan, Sri Lanka Muslim Council (SLMC) Leader MP Rauff Hakeem, TPA Deputy Leader and Upcountry People’s Front (UPF) Leader MP V. Radhakrishnan, Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) Leader MP Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam, All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Legal Secretary Rushdie Habeeb, Ceylon Workers’ Congress (CWC) representative Mathiyoogaraja, Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) representative Thavarasa, Kandy MP Velu Kumar, and Nuwara Eliya MP M. Udayakumar.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrived in Glasgow, Scotland to attend the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).
The delegation headed by the President arrived at the Glasgow International Airport at 12.40 p.m., Scotland time, today (30). The President and the delegation were warmly welcomed by Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mrs. Saroja Sirisena, President’s Media Division said.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Glasgow from tomorrow (Oct 31) to November 12 to discuss climate change and to talk over how countries implement their strategies to tackle the climate crisis. November 01 and 02 are set aside for the World Leaders’ Summit.
The COP26 – the UN Climate Change Conference – is a critical moment in the fight against climate change and the conference will be attended by around 25,000 people representing a wide range of fields, including Heads of State, government representatives, scholars and businessmen from 197 countries. It is reported that this is the largest conference ever held in the United Kingdom.
Foreign Minister Prof G L Peiris, Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera, State Minister of Solar, Wind and Hydro Power Generation Projects Development Duminda Dissanayake, Principal Advisor to the President Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Foreign Secretary Admiral (Prof.) Jayanath Colombage and Secretary to the Ministry of Environment Dr. Anil Jasinghe accompanied the President.
Sri Lanka will engage with the Tamil diaspora and continue the domestic mechanisms, which were proposed to address the past human rights abuses, Foreign Minister G L Peiris had told British Foreign Secretary Affairs Elizabeth Truss when both met on Tuesday (26) in London, the island nation’s foreign ministry said.
The United Kingdom sponsored a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council in March this year in relation to Sri Lanka’s progress in addressing alleged human rights violations.
It was done after more than 250 Tamil diaspora groups based in the UK came together in January to push Sri Lanka’s former colonial rulers to do so.
Amid the UN human rights probe as per the March resolution, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has been gradually taking some steps to address the past human rights issues while engaging with the affected parties “for the time being”, analysts say.
“He (Peiris) also informed that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has encouraged him to engage in a dialogue with
the diaspora and the Government are also reaching out to the Tamil National Alliance,” Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday (29).
“The Government has also commenced an engagement with the civil society organisations, has released some suspects held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and is revisiting the PTA to make changes that are
not cosmetic but substantial.”
“He also stated that the offices such as Office of Missing Persons, Office for Reparations and Office for National Unity and Reconciliation are engaged in useful work.”
Sri Lanka is facing risks of losing over 500 million US dollars worth of European Union trade concession due to the government’s failure to fulfil some requirements including abolishing PTA, to continue the benefit.
The country is also facing a risk of sovereign debt default as rating downgrades by all three international rating agencies have compelled the Sri Lankan authorities to seek funds from global capital markets due to high-risk premiums.
The Foreign Minister, since his appointment two months ago, has been seeking to deepen bilateral trade and investment from many countries.
“Referring to the Free Trade Agreements Sri Lanka has signed with India and Pakistan, he (Peiris) stated that such agreements provide an opportunity to British companies and act as a conduit to manufacture in Sri Lanka for export to these markets,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss had told Peiris that the two countries need to engage more in investments.
“She added that the UK is developing a broader investment portfolio which Sri Lanka could
be a part of,” the ministry said in the statement.
Leader of the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) MP Mano Ganesan met with former President and Leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Maithripala Sirisena to inquire about the SLFPs stand regarding the electoral system and stated that Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), which represent the Tamil and Muslim communities, will also support the proportional system.
The discussion was held yesterday (28) at the residence of the former President.
“At this meeting, I explained to the former President that this stand by the SLFP was contrary to the position previously expressed directly to me by him as the SLFP Leader and the General Secretary of the party MP Dayasiri Jayasekara,” Ganesan noted.
He went on to say that Tamil National Alliance(TNA), the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), which represent the Tamil and Muslim communities, also support the proportional system, adding that many leaders of allied parties within the government as well as minority parties have personally told Ganesan that they support the proportional system.
Ganesan also pointed out that at present the SJB and the JVP are also of the view that the proportional system should continue.
During their meeting, former President and SLFP Leader Maithripala Sirisena responded to Ganesan saying that the statement at the PSC was wrong and the position of the party had not been exposed properly.
“The statement at the PSC was wrong. The position of our party has not been expressed properly. The official delegation of our party will state our position in the near future. The SLFP does not accept the mixed system. We support the proportional system. The Local government elections can be held under the mixed system. However, proportional representation is appropriate in provincial and parliamentary elections,” said Sirisena.
The SLFP leader had also said, “It is good that this country has an Executive Presidency. It serves to unite the country. But, similarly, a pluralistic parliament is needed to represent all political policies. That is why it is good for democracy in this country. This is the position of SLFP.”
The People’s Bank of Sri Lanka has been blacklisted by the Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka for failing to make the payment according to the Letter of Credit and the contacts between two parties.
The decision has also been submitted to the Ministry of Commerce of China. All Chinese enterprises are reminded to tighten risk control and avoid accepting L/C issued by People’s Bank of Sri Lanka in international trade with Sri Lanka.
In recent weeks, the Chinese fertilizer enterprise Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Co., Ltd requested to get the payment of L/C by People’s Bank of Sri Lanka according to the contracts.
Ignoring the contract, the business rules and international trade customs, the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka defaulted the payment of L/C and caused huge losses to the Chinese enterprise, sources said.
According to the contracts terms, payment should be made by means of a Letter of Credit established through the People’s Bank of Sri Lanka upon submission of all the required documents:
75% of the contract value is based on the quantity shipped as per the Bill of Lading and the quantity stated in the Commercial Invoice.
25% on a final acceptance certificate issued by the purchaser to the Bank confirming delivery of the quantity of fertilizers in complete conformity with the specifications.
