Category: News

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has made five key recommendations pertaining to the Bill on the Commission for Truth, Unity and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka, which was published by way of gazette notification on 29 December 2023.

In a letter addressed to the President, the HRCSL recognized the well-established human right to truth under international law, emphasizing its crucial role in transitional justice.

However, it asserted that the promotion of this right should be aligned with the advancement of other transitional justice pillars, including accountability, reparations, and preventing the recurrence of past injustices.

Accordingly, the HRCSL made the following five key recommendations:

1) Without delay, a high-level committee should be set up under the Presidential Secretariat, comprising pertinent experts and representatives from victim groups and civil society. The primary responsibility of this committee is to oversee the implementation of all positive recommendations from prior truth-seeking mechanisms, including the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

2) Programmes that inform the country as a whole about the findings of previous truth-seeking mechanisms should be carried out.

3) Establish a strong, impartial entity for investigating and prosecuting serious human rights violations and crimes, promptly providing it with essential resources and access to expertise, including international perspectives as needed.

4) Transitional justice in Sri Lanka should address both armed conflicts and civil disturbances, including insurrections, delving into their political and socioeconomic roots for a holistic national reckoning.

5) The Presidential Secretariat should serve as the host for any transitional justice mechanism in Sri Lanka, providing it with the utmost status and significance.

Despite forecasts predicting a decrease in vegetable prices after the festive season, the actual prices have remained high. Most vegetable varieties are now priced at over Rs. 1,000 per kilo, with carrots and beans reaching the highest levels, surpassing Rs. 1,200 per kilo.

Yesterday, the country witnessed its highest recorded vegetable price, with a kilo of carrots reaching Rs. 1,400 at the New Manning Market in Peliyagoda.

The escalating prices have led to a decline in vegetable consumption, as many consumers express their inability to afford them at these prices.

People report that the prices of nearly all vegetable varieties have increased, creating significant financial challenges for consumers.

The current market prices reveal that beans are priced at Rs. 1,000 per kilo. However, there have been fluctuations in the prices of other vegetables, with green chillies and tomatoes decreasing to Rs. 800 and Rs. 350 per kilo respectively. On the other hand, the cost of lime has seen an increase, reaching Rs. 500 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the business community running tourist hotels and guest houses across the country expressed concern about the high prices of vegetables that has affected the industry.

Traders in Nuwara Eliya’s Dedicated Economic Centre said the prices of vegetables had sky rocketed and that it resulted in a sharp drop in purchases. They pointed out that the price of carrot was Rs.2000 a kilo, cabbage Rs.680, leeks Rs. 500, capsicum Rs.650, tomatoes Rs. 800, beetroot, Rs.500, broccoli, a variety in demand among foreign tourists, Rs.3600, basil Rs. 2600, cauliflower Rs.,1300.

Meanwhile many customers said it is with great difficulty that they manage to have one vegetable curry for a meal. They pointed out that the price hike in the retail market was unprecedented and that the vegetables available were of poor quality.

Sri Lanka is to make fresh approaches to counter the UNHRC process during its upcoming session in March, this year by engaging the leaders of the different countries including those from Africa, Daily Mirror learns.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is currently in Davos, Switzerland will head to Uganda to attend the Non-Aligned Summit that kicked off last Monday. The leaders from about 120 countries across the world have converged in the Ugandan capital Kampala for the 19th Summit of the NAM.

On the sidelines of the summit, the President is slated to hold bilateral talks with the leaders of a number of African countries for strengthening bilateral ties including cooperation at the UNHRC.

Sri Lanka has been in the UNHRC limelight since 2012 after the civil war ended. Sri Lanka’s case will be taken up once again in the upcoming session.

The government of Sri Lanka consistently rejected the latest Resolution 46/1 and 51/1 that led to the setting up of the so-called ‘Accountability Project’ calling it intrusive.

An informed source said the government will make fresh engagements with the United Kingdom, the country which leads the core-group countries which advocated the resolution on Sri Lanka. The President recently decided to join the operations led by the United States and the UK in the Red Sea to counter attacks by Houthi rebels from Yemen, an act interpreted by some as a move, in part, to engage these countries ahead of the UNHRC process.

The government has taken measures to implement measures envisaged in the latest UNHRC resolution. The government enacted a bill recently to establish a national unity and reconciliation office, in a key step towards post-conflict reconciliation with the Tamil community.

The bill to set up the ‘Office for National Unity and Reconciliation’ was passed with a majority of 48 votes, while 7 Members of Parliament voted against it.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has neither decided on a candidate or whether the party will put forward a candidate for the upcoming Presidential Election, the SLPP leader and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

The former President said this during an event to discuss party organisational activities at the grassroots level held at Grand Monarch Hotel in Thalawathugoda.

“President Ranil Wickremesinghe is the candidate of the United National Party for the upcoming Presidential election. Our candidate has not been decided yet. We have not yet decided to field a candidate or not. Further discussions are going on in this regard,” he said.

He further said that the current focus was regarding the programme to take the party forward.

He also said that SLPP will pay attention to the people’s wishes at the grassroots when taking a decision regarding the upcoming Presidential Election.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has arrested five Chinese loan-sharks in Dehiwala.

The Police said that a Sri Lankan was also arrested from the loan center operated in Dehiwala.

According to the Police, the loan-sharks had provided loans to people and later held them to ransom to get the money back with interest.

The Cyber Crimes Investigations Division of the CID conducted an operation based on a complaint received and arrested the suspects.

The Police also seized 8 desktop computers, 13 laptops, and 41 mobile phones.