Category: News

Sri Lanka is to support the push by the United Nations to end hostilities in Gaza, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told the Muslim community in Mannar today.

The President said that he does not condone the suffering faced by Palestinians as a result of the war between Hamas and Israel.

Wickremesinghe also said that food aid has been dispatched to Gaza but there are doubts if it is sufficient.

The President expressed these views at an event held in Mannar with the participation of the Muslim community in the area.

He also said that his Government will ensure equal rights to all religions and equal reights to all the people in Sri Lanka.

The President assured that steps will be taken to address the issues faced by the Muslim community in Mannar.

The UK’s Channel 4 has declined to appear before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday carnage. The television station has said that it couldn’t reveal confidential sources or what it called confidential journalistic material. Referring to the C4’s response, sources close to the investigation asserted that such a course of action would be severely inimical to those who valued truly independent media.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has recently appointed retired Supreme Court Justice S.I. Imam to head a Committee to investigate C4 programme “Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings – Dispatches’ that dealt with the Easter Sunday terror attacks. The other two members of the committee are Retired Air Force Commander A.C.M. Jayalath Weerakkody and Harsha A.J. Soza, PC. C4 telecast the programme on 05 September.

Declining to assist in the investigation, C4 has said: “The content of the Programme speaks for itself and Channel 4 has nothing to add beyond the details set out therein.”

On behalf of Justice Imam’s committee, S. Manoharan, Senior Assistant Secretary to the President, has requested C4’s assistance offering an opportunity for a senior representative to appear before the

Committee in person or furnish information through electronic means. Manoharan functions as the Secretary to the Committee.

Among those who appeared on the controversial C4 programme were Hanzeer Azad Maulana, ex-CID officer IP Nishantha Silva, former Human Rights Commissioner Ambika Satkunanathan, former Sunday Leader Editor Fredrika Janz and ex-UNP National List MP Sarath Kongahage.

The main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has demanded that it would join the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on the Easter Sunday carnage only if the chairmanship of the PSC was offered to the Opposition. The government is yet to make an announcement in this regard.

The Catholic Church has rejected both the President’s committee as well as the PSC declaring a five-point plan to address its grievances. The Church proposals included temporary suspension of intelligence chiefs and Senior DIGs, Nilantha Jayawardena and Deshabandu Tennakoon, who have been named in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI), to facilitate an internationally supervised investigation.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe is exploiting calls for progressive electoral reforms from society to delay elections, Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) Manjula Gajanayake, alleged on Thursday.

Gajanayake expressed his concerns to The Island, stating that this strategy may lead to long-term crises.

President Wickremesinghe, through a Gazette, dated 16 October 2023, has established a Commission of Inquiry, led by retired Supreme Court Justice Priyasath Dep, whom some alleged is a relative of the President. This Commission is tasked with investigating and proposing changes to current election laws and regulations. It consists of nine members and is mandated to assess existing electoral frameworks and offer recommendations that align with current requirements.

Gajanayake noted that the stated goals of this initiative appear progressive and align with the demands made by election monitors, academics, and political parties over the years. These goals include enhancing representation for women and youth, adopting electronic voting using modern technology, and facilitating voting for Sri Lankans residing abroad. Additionally, the Commission is exploring the possibility of individuals contesting and representing two councils simultaneously, allowing those elected to Parliament to participate in provincial council elections concurrently.

The Commission is also examining other factors, such as permitting private sector voters engaged in election-related services on voting day to use postal voting and modifying the first-past-the-post voting system to better suit the pluralistic nature of society. Furthermore, it is tasked with proposing media standards, a code of conduct for political entities and their members, and strengthening laws governing political party registration and operations to enhance trust and public accountability, he said.

Gajanayake said that this is not the first time President Wickremesinghe has used progressive societal demands to his advantage. Earlier this year, a Committee, led by former head of the Elections Commission, Mahinda Deshapriya, was asked to reduce the number of local councillors from 8,400 to 4,000, the IRES head said.

“There was a feeling that there are too many local councillors, and no one could object to reducing them. Deshapriya has handed over a report on how to reduce the number. If the government actually wanted to reduce the number, they could have used these reports to do so. However, these reports are now shelved. It is obvious that the government only wanted to delay local council elections by this endeavour. Thus, it is clear that the Committee appointed on 16 October 2023 is a similar move by the President,” he said.

Gajanayake said appointing such a committee, when elections are near, is akin to undermining the legislature and the Elections Comission.

“The President now directly controls both local and provincial councils. Local councils haven’t had elected representatives for over six months, and provincial councils have not had elected representatives for over 60 months. Now the governors control both these bodies, and the President controls the governors,” he said.

Source:The Island

The Indian Navy’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), arrived at SLAF base Katunayake for training of Sri Lanka Air Force Pilots and Sri Lanka Navy ships for ship-borne helicopter operations on 19 October.

The training is about familiarising SLAF pilots with the ALH and providing co-pilot experience. Further, the training team is also about deck landing practice on-board Sri Lanka Navy Ships..

The training deployment is in line with the capacity-building initiative of the Government of India amongst its neighbours as part of ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’. The engagement would also foster closer interoperability and seamless conduct of coordinated Maritime Operations.

It may be recalled that the deployment of the indigenous ALH helicopter in Sri Lanka was undertaken from 23-31 March 2022 for the training of SLAF pilots for co-pilot experience during deck landings and Landing training for SLN personnel which is a niche capability to achieve. The high level of understanding and coordination between the Armed Forces of the two countries further cement the close relations achieved through millennia old friendly ties between the two neighbours.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

During the bilateral discussions, both leaders pledged to further consolidate the strong partnership and extensive cooperation between Sri Lanka and China.

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang expressed profound gratitude for Sri Lanka’s enduring support through the historic Rubber-Rice Pact with the People’s Republic of China when he met President Wickremesinghe yesterday (19).

Emphasizing that the Chinese people will always remember this gesture of goodwill, Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang assured that China remains committed to extending its supportive hand to Sri Lanka.

Reaffirming China’s unwavering support for the development of the Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port within the framework of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, the Chinese Vice Premier expressed confidence in the successful realization of both projects under the leadership of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

President Wickremesinghe underscored the historical significance of the China-Sri Lanka Rubber-Rice Agreement, the first foreign commercial agreement entered into by Sri Lanka. He underscored the importance of establishing new commercial relations that align with the shared principles of both nations.

The President expressed deep appreciation for China’s invaluable support in the face of the economic challenges confronting Sri Lanka. He emphasized the enduring and strengthened friendship between Sri Lanka and China, particularly under the leadership of President Xi Jinping.

He also emphasized Sri Lanka’s commitment to preserving the identity and peace of the Indian Ocean region, advocating for the prevention of any power struggles in the area.

President Wickremesinghe further highlighted Sri Lanka’s aspiration to enter into a free trade agreement with China. He also pointed out that Sri Lanka is actively pursuing membership in the Regional Economic Relations Organization (RCEP).