Category: News

Sinhala Mobs in presence of the police in Trincomalee Today attacked a rally held in remembrance of LTTE member Thileepan.

Vehicles transporting an image of Thileepan came under attack after they were surrounded by a Sinhala mob.

Tamil National People’s Front MP Selvarasa Gajendran led the rally and was on a truck carrying a picture of Thileepan.

A Police officer at the location was seen telling the vehicles to turn back while the mob attacked them using poles and stones.

The mob also attacked MP Selvarasa Gajendran and threatened policemen who attempted to stop the attack.

Rasaiah Parthipan, known as Thileepan, was a Tamil Eelam revolutionary and member of the LTTE.

Thileepan began a hunger strike on 15 September 1987 in front of the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple.

After refusing food or water for 12 days, Thileepan died on 26 September 1987.

After a “martyr’s funeral” in Jaffna, Thileepan’s body was handed over to the University of Jaffna’s medical faculty.

Sri Lanka’s overall money laundering and terrorism financing risk has been rated as “medium” as per the national assessment done by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

This was revealed by the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) via the publication of the sanitized report of the 2021/2022 National risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing.

The CBSL published the sanitized report of the 2021/22 National Risk Assessment on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing which was developed based on the assessment conducted by its Financial Intelligence, together with public and private sector stakeholders.

The National Risk Assessment identified drug trafficking, bribery and corruption, customs related offences including laundering of trade-based proceeds, as the most prevalent predicate offences, where the money laundering threat was rated as medium high.

Fraud, robbery, environmental and natural resource crimes were reported to have a medium level money laundering threat.

Human smuggling or trafficking, tax offences, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing related unlawful activities were assessed as having a medium low money laundering threat while lower threat was observed for counterfeiting of currency.

Further, the assessment identified the money laundering risk of the financial and designated non-financial businesses and professions.

Accordingly in the Informal Money Remitting sector the risk is high.

In the Real Estate sector, Banking sector and Finance Companies, the risk is medium high.

Money Value Transfer Services Providers, Stockbrokers, Primary Dealers, Casinos, Dealers in Precious Metals and Stones, Notaries and Lawyers were reported to have a medium-level threat.

Meanwhile, Accountants, Trust and Company Service Providers and Insurance service providers were observed to have a medium low-level threat of money laundering.

The Finance Intelligence Unit said, a strong political commitment is critical to address the national Anti- Money Laundering and Counter Financial Terrorism plan.

It was also stated that, by better understanding the current risk environment, respective stakeholders, from now onwards can effectively allocate more resources to the high-risk areas to safeguard the integrity of Sri Lanka’s financial system.

The Chinese geophysical and seismic scientific research vessel Shi Yan 6 (IMO: 9904247) has commenced its 80-day expedition into the Indian Ocean and was enroute to the Malacca Strait yesterday (16) evening, despite Colombo not yet having granted diplomatic permission for the vessel to call port or carry out a planned joint survey in the waters surrounding the island, The Sunday Morning learns.

According to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Priyanga Wickramasinghe, the ministry has not granted the Shi Yan 6 permission as of last evening.

Wickramasinghe added that the dates and territories for the survey were yet to be finalised.

Last week, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, responding to a question, confirmed that Sri Lanka had not granted permission and that the request was being processed.

Last month, the Ministry of Defence told The Sunday Morning that permission for the Shi Yan 6 to call port in Colombo had been granted. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disputed the statement, stressing that Sri Lanka had not granted permission and was processing the request.

China has made the request seeking clearance for the mission in April this year, with the vessel planned to visit the island in October.

The Sunday Morning also reported that the Shi Yan 6’s request for a wide range coastal survey had been resisted by top defence officials, with recommendations made that the survey should be limited to the southern coast of the island.

The vessel’s planned arrival in Sri Lanka stokes controversy one year after the controversial visit of Chinese satellite tracking ship, the Yuan Wang 5, to Hambantota Port, which drew strong concerns from India and the US.

The Shi Yan 6 is expected to undertake a joint research with the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) as part of an agreement between the parties in 2014 to locate the wrecks of vessels from historic Chinese navigator Admiral Zheng He’s fleet off the southern coast.

According to Chinese media reports, the Shi Yan 6, which is operated by the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (SCSIO), is heading to the East Indian Ocean on an 80-day-long expedition, departing from Guangzhou in South China’s Guangdong Province.

The vessel, one of the latest in China’s growing scientific fleet, is entering the expedition with 28 scientific research projects from 13 research teams onboard and is expected to cover a range of more than 12,000 nautical miles, reports indicate.

“The voyage, based on multidisciplinary observations, aims to obtain a large amount of basic data for revealing the mechanisms by which dynamic processes affect biogeochemical cycles, ecosystems, and sedimentary processes in that region, clarifying the geographical pattern of biodiversity in the study area, uncovering the response and indicative role of biological communities to physical processes, as well as understanding paleoclimate changes, Wang Weiqing, Chief Scientist of the expedition, said. An observation system will be deployed in the key observation area to study the current system in the local topographic evolution and its relationship with seabed sediments and geology,” the Chinese broadcaster CGTN said.

The online ship tracking organisation Marinetraffic.com on Friday (15) indicated that the vessel had departed, making 10.4 knots, passing the coast of Vietnam and heading to the Malacca Strait, through which ships transit to the Indian Ocean.

France has contributed Euros 500,000 through UNICEF to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to prevent and treat malnutrition among children in the country.

The contribution enables UNICEF, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, to provide children under two years of age with the required nutrition services. Parents and caregivers will also be educated on the correct practices to prevent and treat acute malnutrition and ensure the healthy growth and development of their children.

Malnutrition, if not urgently treated, can kill or damage a child’s physical and cognitive development, especially during the first two years of a child’s life, but often also negatively affect opportunities for the rest of their lives.

Hardships brought about by Sri Lanka’s economic situation continue to stalk families, especially the poor and most vulnerable households. Access to a regular and adequate nutritious diet remains out of reach for many young children and their families, putting them at risk of malnutrition.

This contribution enables UNICEF and its partners to among others, to treat 1,500 children who suffer from severe acute malnutrition through provision of therapeutic food.

To provide 120,000 children between 6-23 months with micronutrients to address deficiencies and prevent malnutrition.

To reach 200,000 parents/caretakers with accurate information on proper practices to prevent and treat malnutrition among their children.

“Contributions such as this from France boost our joint efforts to scale up our ongoing response to children in urgent need of treatment for malnutrition as well as help undertake prevention measures”, said Christian Skoog, UNICEF Sri Lanka Representative, while adding, “Every contribution represents a chance for a child to grow up healthy and develop to the productive citizen that Sri Lanka needs”.

UNICEF has remained agile in its work to address the needs of children in Sri Lanka and ensuring that the most vulnerable and their families are cushioned from the worst effects of poverty, COVID-19 and now the economic difficulties.

“The Government of France has a long-standing partnership with Sri Lanka and this contribution through UNICEF is just one demonstration of our shared vision for children and the people of Sri Lanka”, said Jean-François PACTET, Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

This contribution is in line with France’s International Strategy for Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture (2019-2024) and its commitment to the “Nutrition for Growth” (N4G) initiative, to ensure healthy, nutritional and sufficient food for all and enable populations to regain their food autonomy. France will host the next N4G Summit in 2024 and is hoping to bring together the main nutrition players for ambitious commitments to combat malnutrition.

The damage to the SLPP has already been done. It has been proven that the SLPP is a corrupt cabal, a government of the Rajapaksas, by the Rajapaksas, for the Rajapaksas

After all the hype, the much-awaited Channel 4 documentary has seen the light of day and raised a storm of protest in Sri Lanka, but what, if any, are its implications on the country’s volatile political landscape?

In a nutshell, the documentary alleges that the Rajapaksas, through high-ranking Army officer Suresh Sally, conceived the 2019 Easter terror attacks in the country, so that it would create a climate of fear that would then propel Gotabaya Rajapaksa to the Presidency. This was done through the mediation of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, better known as Pillayan, a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, now turned politician and state minister, it is alleged.

The fallout from the documentary has been predictable. Rajapaksa, Sallay and Chandrakanthan have all vehemently denied the claims that have been made and so has the Ministry of Defence, in an official statement. On the other hand, the collective opposition has gone to town, lambasting the Rajapaksas and calling for an international investigation, a call supported by the Catholic Church.

In response, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has done what he always does: appoint a committee. This time, he will be appointing two: one, an inquiry by a former judge of the Supreme Court and the second, yet another Parliamentary Select Committee.

The public will view the appointment of these committees with a pinch of salt. The Easter bombings have already seen the appointment of a Committee of Inquiry and a Presidential Commission of Inquiry by then President Maithripala Sirisena, a Parliamentary Select Committee of Inquiry and a Supreme Court verdict in response to fundamental rights applications filed by aggrieved citizens.

While all these inquiries have shed some light into the blatant negligence that contributed to the attacks, we are no closer to the truth as to who masterminded the attacks. What benefit another two inquiries will add to the already completed four probes is a reasonable question, especially when one of them will be a Parliamentary Select Committee dominated presumably by members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) which is led by the Rajapaksas, the virtual accused in this instance.

The more pertinent question would be the public’s response to the Channel 4 documentary. In much the same way that the 2019 Easter attacks propelled the SLPP to power at the 2019 presidential election, will the latest revelations plunge the ‘pohottuwa’ party out of public favour because of the monstrous allegations that are being made? Or, paradoxically, will this again work in the SLPP’s favour because the Rajapaksa can claim (again!) that they are being persecuted by western interests for trying to save the Sinhala race and the nation?

While the jury is still out on whether the Rajapaksas in fact orchestrated the Easter attacks as alleged in the documentary, it is a fact that they certainly capitalised on it. On the Friday after that deadly Easter Sunday Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that, having saved the country once from Tamil extremists, he was ready to do so again to save it from Muslim extremists and was therefore running for President.

What followed was a seven-month long campaign based on anti-Muslim sentiment raising fears of annihilation of the Sinhala race and Muslim extremism taking hold in the country. There were concerted efforts to compel Sinhalese to boycott Muslim establishments. There was talk of a Muslim doctor sterilising Sinhalese mothers by manipulating their organs, a feat that is medically impossible.

A majority of the voting public fell for this strategy, hook, line and sinker, giving Gotabaya Rajapaksa an unprecedented mandate. Contributing to that mandate significantly were Catholic voters, angry as they were after the Easter attacks. The so-called ‘Catholic belt’ North of Colombo, traditionally a stronghold of the United National Party (UNP), opted to endorse Rajapaksa.

Now, the shoe is on the other foot. Voters are being told that the Easter attacks were a drama staged, at the cost of over 250 lives, merely to bring the Rajapaksas to power again. The Catholic Church and its head, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith who endorsed Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2019, leads the calls for an international investigation and lambasts the Rajapaksas whenever he is able to.

Besides, the SLPP is not what it was in 2019, when it was a virgin political party albeit under the banner of the ageing Rajapaksas. Whatever the Rajapaksas were thought to be guilty of in 2015 that deserved them to be banished into the political wilderness was forgiven in the face of this perceived threat of Muslim extremism.

Today it is not so. The SLPP stands accused and virtually convicted of spiralling the country into an economic abyss of no return. Its hero who was supposed to save the country from Islamic terrorism, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, couldn’t save himself from mobs at his front gates and had to flee through the backdoor of President’s House.

The damage to the SLPP has already been done. It has been proven that the SLPP is a corrupt cabal, a government of the Rajapaksas, by the Rajapaksas for the Rajapaksas. That is why, Ranil Wickremesinghe has been careful not to include any Rajapaksa in his Cabinet.

In such a context, the allegations made about the Easter attacks in the Channel 4 documentary will resonate with most voters. Just as much as they did not need evidence that a ‘snake king’ indeed emerged from the Kelani river to herald the arrival of a new King, they will not need evidence to condemn and convict the Rajapaksas for the Easter atrocities in the court of public opinion.

Therefore, the Channel 4 documentary will form an important part of the next presidential election campaign. This is an issue that Wickremesinghe, who is banking on the support of the SLPP to deliver him the next Presidency in a playing field where the opposition id divided, needs to be wary of. By aligning himself with the Rajapaksas, he too may be found guilty by association.

The Channel 4 documentary will not be a turning point in the next national election- but it will be a stark reminder that those who use fake nationalism for their political advantage can equally become victims of their own actions.