Category: News

The Catholic Church stated that it is not ready to discuss the related investigations with any party representing the Government until the recommendations made by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI), which investigated the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019, are implemented.

Public Security Minister Tiran Alles on Monday (28) raised concerns about the extent of the desire of the Catholic community, including the Church, to uncover the truth behind the terror attacks, claiming that they had not responded favourably to his invitation for them (the Church) to get together with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and analyse the progress of investigations.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (29), Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka (CBCSL) National Director of Communications Father Jude Chrishantha Fernando charged that Alles is merely making statements to the media, but not doing what needs to be done. “We saw him saying that certain parties are only holding media briefings about this, and not interested in uncovering the truth, but what we see is that he is doing the same thing. The CoI has recommended that criminal charges be filed against several individuals, including former President and incumbent Opposition Parliamentarian Maithripala Sirisena and the former State Intelligence Service Director and incumbent Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Nilantha Jayawardena. The Government has not implemented any of those recommendations. What Alles should first do is to consult the relevant parties and make necessary interventions to implement them.”

In response to the Minister’s remarks on the fact that the Church had not responded to his invitation even after he took steps to hand over the complete CoI report to them, Fernando said that they are thankful to Alles for having done so, but that there is no point in receiving the report if what it recommends is not implemented.

“We thank him for handing it over to us, but what is the use of receiving a report if its content is limited to words? By boasting about his action to hand it over to us, he accepts that the CoI report is something that is important. So, he should first do what it has recommended, and then seek to meet us. We must tell him that the Church is not something that consists of brainless people. We are keeping an eye on everything that happens,” Fernando said.

The final report of the CoI was tabled in Parliament on 8 April 2021, but the witness records were not released reportedly due to legal reasons. In February 2022, all the volumes of the report, including the related witness records, were handed over to the Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. However, several parties, including the Church, had been accusing the Government of not releasing certain sections of the report in an alleged attempt to cover up the truth behind the terror attacks. Against that backdrop, Alles had handed over the complete report to the CBCSL in April this year.

In response to a media query on Monday, Alles said that he was of the view that 99% of the related investigations carried out by the CID are over. “The Catholic Church and certain other individuals keep holding media briefings, claiming that investigations have not been conducted properly. They were lamenting that they had not been given the CoI’s report, and then I took steps to hand it over to them. Both before and after that, I urged the Church to grant us an opportunity to meet them and explain the current status of the investigations, but there has been no response to date,” he said.

Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman has refused to budge on a decision taken over the construction of a Buddhist temple, despite threats from monks who stormed a meeting yesterday.

Thondaman told Colombo Gazette that he will not allow any illegal constructions to take place in the East and that proper procedures must be followed.

He also told a group of monks who stormed the Trincomalee District Consultative Committee (DCC) meeting yesterday that they were setting a bad example.

The Governor told the protesting monks that by protesting and storming the meeting they were sending a message to people from other religions to do the same in other parts of the country.

The monks had even threatened to “squeeze the neck” of the Governor if he refused to submit to their demands.

However, the Governor told Colombo Gazette that he will not deviate from his stand as authorization had not been obtained to construct the temple.

Thondaman had recently ordered construction work on the temple in a Tamil village in the Iluppaikulam area to be suspended.

Monks led a protest in Trincomalee yesterday against the decision taken by the Governor by blocking the road before storming the Trincomalee District Consultative Committee meeting chaired by Thondaman.

The Governor later had a private discussion with the monks and officials and explained his position on the matter.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says thousands of families of missing persons from all communities across Sri Lanka continue to suffer due to the uncertainty surrounding the fate of their missing loved ones.

In a statement to mark the International Day of the Disappeared which falls on 30th August, the ICRC said that it remembers the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who are missing or separated from their families due to armed conflict, other situations of violence, disasters, humanitarian emergencies and migration.

“When people go missing, it causes anguish and uncertainty for their families who continue to live in a state of ambiguity, not knowing whether their loved one is alive or dead. For many families of missing persons, knowing what has happened to their relatives is the most pressing need. In most situations, the missing person is often the breadwinner of the family, and their absence exacerbates the economic, legal and administrative challenges of families who struggle with the multiple consequences that they are faced with. Their plight should be acknowledged by authorities, communities and society-at-large,” the ICRC said.

The ICRC said that the people have the right to know what happened to their missing relatives and authorities have an obligation to provide information and assist efforts to ascertain the fate and whereabouts of missing persons.

“This is enshrined in international humanitarian law, which also requires parties to a conflict to take measures to ensure that people do not go missing in an armed conflict,” the ICRC added.

The ICRC said that increased and continuous efforts are needed to search for missing persons and to provide individualized answers on their fate and whereabouts to their families. These include, amongst many others, the strengthening of national frameworks and systems, including medico-legal ones; putting in place or improving existing processes and mechanisms dedicated to establishing the fate and whereabouts of missing persons; and the collection and processing of information on missing persons and the events in which they went missing, as well as on human remains and possible human remains sites.

“Sri Lanka has not been spared from this humanitarian tragedy. In 2023, thousands of families of missing persons from all communities across the country continue to suffer due to the uncertainty surrounding the fate of their missing loved ones. It is important that they receive answers on the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives. While every effort must be made to establish the fate of missing persons, their relatives must also be enabled to live in dignity,” the ICRC statement said.

In Sri Lanka, the ICRC implements an island-wide support programme that addresses the emotional, economic, legal and administrative needs of families of missing persons. Concurrently, the ICRC has been working with authorities and relevant stakeholders to build their capacities to address the multifaceted needs of families, including their need to know.

The ICRC stands ready to continue sharing its global expertise with relevant stakeholders in Sri Lanka, in order to contribute to the process of clarifying the fate and whereabouts of missing persons, in accordance with its humanitarian mandate.

The Colombo Port City has denied links to a Chinese man who was robbed of his cash and valuables worth over Rs 40 million at a residence in Lake Drive, Borella.

The Colombo Port City Economic Commission said that relying on accurate and verified information on such an incident in question of such an unfortunate criminal event, and any attempt to associate it with the activities within Colombo Port City is entirely unsubstantiated.

The Commission urges the media, the public, and all stakeholders to exercise caution and responsibility when sharing information related to such incidents and spreading unverified information which can lead to unnecessary misrepresentation, that can be detrimental to the reputation and credibility of the Colombo Port City project.

The Colombo Port City Economic Commission is actively collaborating with relevant authorities to address any concerns to ensure the well-being and security of all those associated with Colombo Port City to maintain the highest standards of safety and security.

Member of Parliament Anura Kumara Dissanayake said he has been chosen as the candidate of the National People’s Power (NPP) party for the upcoming presidential election.

Speaking at a television political programme, Dissanayake revealed that the decision was made after a thorough discussion within the NPP’s Executive Council.

A proposal for his candidacy was presented during the council meeting and it was officially approved on Monday evening, he said.