The local government polls have been postponed further through a gazette notification issued by the district returning officers.
The gazette notification says it is not possible to hold the LG polls on April 25 as the Treasury is yet to release the funds required for the election.
The LG polls were first postponed from the originally fixed date of March 09.
Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church has planned to march on Thursday (20), to mark four years since the 2019 Easter attacks which falls on Friday (21).
The Catholic Church said justice has not yet been served for the victims of the 2019 April 21st attacks.
Rev. Fr. Jude Krishantha, the Media Director of the Archdiocese of Colombo, said the march which will commence from the Katuwapitiya Church at 9 PM on Thursday (20) and is due to arrive at the St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade early on Friday (21) morning.
He said several special masses and silent protests have also been organized to mark four years since the attack.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne was among a number of policemen and politicians who met former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to greet him for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
Rajapaksa’s office posted images on social media of some of those who visited him at his residence to greet him for the New Year.
Among those seen greeting the former President and having a conversation with him was IGP Wickramaratne.
Former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda was also pictured meeting the former President.
A number of other policemen and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs, including Cabinet Ministers, also visited the residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa and greeted him for the traditional New Year.
The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka has issued a statement clarifying that the Chinese National Wildlife and Grassland Administration Unit has not received any application for the importation of 100,000 rilawas from Sri Lanka.
The statement also notes that the unit has no knowledge of a request for the importation of 100000 rilawas from Sri Lanka. The Chinese National Wildlife and Grassland Administration Unit is responsible for monitoring and managing the import and export of wild animals and plants to and from China, and permission must be granted by the unit for such activities.
The embassy’s statement comes in response to reports in local and international media claiming that Sri Lanka was ready to export 100,000 endangered relaws to a Chinese private company for research. The Sri Lankan Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera, has previously made clarifications on the matter.
The Chinese Embassy has made inquiries to the National Wildlife and Grassland Administration Unit to address the issue.
Environmentalist Nayanaka Ranwella said today that according to investigations conducted by them, the government is planning to send 100,000 monkeys to China for their brains to be eaten raw while they are still alive.
The issue of exporting monkeys to China had become the main topic in the country. However, according to the Wildlife Protection Act, there are no legal provisions to export a large number of wild animals to other countries.
“According to the Act, our country cannot export animals for money as we have signed an agreement not to engage in the sale of wild animals.
“Exporting wild animals will not help in bringing in foreign exchange. However, it has been reported that the wife of a senior official of the Coconut Development Board has been involved behind the scenes with this program,” Ranwell said.
Moreover, he said that a special meal preparation method is underway in China, which involves eating the monkeys’ brains in the raw while they are still alive.
Also, it was reported that an order for a large number of monkeys was received from America as well. These monkeys have a similar body structure to that of the humans, so they would be used in laboratories to conduct final medical tests.
Ranwella requested the government not to export the monkeys, but insted to take a decision to export the parliamentarians who have ruined the country.
“Because of these monkeys a large share of crops are being destroyed. But exporting them is not a solution. We have already proposed solutions to protect the crops, but none in the government are even prepared to listen to them,” Ranwella added.
Representatives from the administrative body of the Vedukkunaari mountain temple and several Hindu organisations from Vavuniya met with the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka to discuss issues related to threats to the temple.
The administrative body of the Athi Lingeswaran Temple shared concerns about the destruction and vandalism of idols in their temple, obstacles presented by the Archaeological Department to replace and reconsecrate the idols, and ongoing Sinhala colonisation of various villages on the border of the Northern provinces with the High Commissioner. They also presented documentation detailing these issues over the past few years.
The temple administration reported that the High Commissioner promised to address these issues in relevant forums to resolve them amicably and as soon as possible.
A seven-hour hunger-strike in Jaffna has marked the beginning of a campaign, described by organizers, as one to prevent invasions by the state to change the racial and religious heritage of the northeastern Tamils.
Hindu, Christian and Catholic priests as well as a number of politicians attended the event at Nallai Adheenam Ashram from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm.
Their campaign is based on five demands to safeguard the Tamil heritage, including an immediate halt to all attempts by the state to change the demography in the two provinces.
A parallel signature campaign also started.
The Sri Lankan cabinet has given the go-ahead to amend the country’s civil aviation law to allow public-private partnerships in the aviation sector, a development that may open up opportunities for Indian companies.
Sri Lanka may allow the participation of private companies in ground handling at the airports at the initial stage, said people familiar with the matter.
In December 2022, the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Gopal Baglay, had said that India was ready to work with the Sri Lankan government in upgrading and expanding the facilities at the Palaly international airport in Jaffna. It would especially benefit the small and medium segments of the business, apart from strengthening the traditional ties between the people of the two countries, he had said.
Recently, SriLankan Airlines said it will start operations from additional three cities in India, including Ahmedabad, to attract more Indian customers. At present, it operates in nine Indian cities. FitsAir, Sri Lanka’s first privately owned international airline, inaugurated its flights on the Colombo-Chennai sector in February. Chennai is its first destination in India.
Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith yesterday said the politicians who had ruled the country since the Easter Sunday carnage had been party to a conspiracy to hide the truth about the tragedy.
Addressing the media at the Bishop’s House in Colombo, the Cardinal said: “We recall vividly the statement made in earlier times by the former Attorney General that behind these attacks, there was a grand conspiracy. It is clear to us and to many others that the attacks were a plot to gain political power. Even the Parliamentary Select Committee appointed at that time by the Yahapalana government affirmed so in its report.
“It is clear for its future wellbeing, the citizens of this country who are upright and just, need to know that up until now what has happened is that, like it was for the Easter Sunday murders, so also there have been in the recent past many political murders, kidnappings, disappearances as well as setting up of religious and ethnic conflicts and violence in this country ignoring the principles of the rule of law and justice for the sole purpose of obtaining political power or hold on to it with the help of criminal elements who have been protected and sustained by them.
“This corrupt political culture adopts the policy of getting the people in this country to forget all these serious crimes by seeking to bury those in the sands of time and erase them from their memory. Our attempt is to show to these state sponsored criminals that we will not stop our efforts at exposing the truth behind the Easter attacks so that we may expose this evil strategy of theirs and ensure that justice is done.
“It is our belief, that if we let go of this effort it will create a bad precedent for the country.
“This country by now possesses a deeply corrupt political power base and some corrupt officials handling legal matters who manipulate the rules to justify such behaviour which would shield and protect political criminals. And so, in such a set up one could engage in such criminal activities even in the future in order to come to power or hold on to power by rousing up base feelings of racialism and religious bigotry among the people, cause such mass murders like the Easter-Sunday carnage and achieve power.
“That is the background in which there is a strong need to find out the truth behind the Easter attacks and to bring the master minds and criminals behind it to justice. Else some of these criminals who are now free and are enjoying political protection may be tempted to carry out such attacks again in order to obtain power even in the future.
“It is four years now, since the tragic murder of 272 innocent worshippers in Churches and visitors in Hotels on the fateful day, Easter Sunday 2019. Yet it has not been possible for us, up to now, to identify the perpetrators behind these attacks and to bring those responsible to book.
“It is clear that the Presidents as well as the politicians who ruled this country since then, as well as the present President and his government and some corrupt state officials have been and are part of an attempt to hide the truth behind these attacks in order to protect the culprits.
“Hence, we call upon all our citizens, irrespective of their racial or religious differences to unite with us to create a strong human chain, on Friday, 21st April, calling for truth and justice for the Easter attack victims.”
Sri Lanka opposition MP Mano Ganesan, who recently made an abortive attempt to bring President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) and the main opposition Samagi Jana Balewagya (SJB) together, said his own party has yet to decide on a future course of action in the event of an invitation to form a national government.
In a telephone interview with EconomyNext on Monday April 17, Ganesan said the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), which he leads, will decide when the time comes.
“We are part of the SJB-led alliance. We’re a separate party. We will decide at two levels: at the TPA level and at the SJB alliance level. We haven’t decided anything yet,” he said.
The Colombo district MP said President Wickremesinghe had told him in a recent one-on-one meeting that he would extend an open invitation to all parties represented in parliament to either join the government or to support its International Monetary Fund (IMF) backed reforms from the opposition. This invitation will likely be made after Sri Lanka’s agreement with the IMF is debated in parliament, some days after April 25 when parliament is set to reconvene after the National New Year holidays.
“He told me that any party can decide if they wish to join the government or to remain in the opposition and still work with the government by participating in the committees, which he said will be established for the implementation of the IMF reforms and other programmes,” said Ganesan.
Reforms such as privatisation will be among matters discussed at the committee level, the MP said.
“The World Bank is going to give us a loan, with minimum interest. That would be useful for the monthly cash transfers for low income groups,” he added by way of an example.
Asked if the president had mentioned cabinet portfolios, Ganesan said it’s still too early for such discussions, noting that the question of taking up cabinet positions would only arise in the event opposition parties decided to join the government.
“Right now, it’s just a general call,” he said.
Commenting on his efforts to reunite the UNP and the SJB, which broke off from the UNP in the wake of the 2019 presidential election, Ganesan said SJB and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and party secretary general Ranjith Madduma Bandara had communicated to him their refusal to agree to such an alliance.
“When I try to bring about unity and amity between two parties, if one party refuses to agree, I can’t stop them,” he said.
On Monday, UNP general secretary and former MP Palitha Range Bandara hit out at Premadasa for not supporting the government’s reform initiatives, amid seemingly unrelenting speculation that a number of SJB parliamentarians plan to cross over to the government. Though party spokesmen have flatly and loudly rejected these reports, SJB MP Nalin Bandara hinted last week that some crossovers could be expected, although it won’t be any kind of mass exodus. The SJB legislator, in fact, invited Wickremesinghe’s UNP to join a new SJB-led alliance that he said is on the cards.
Political analysts have noted that though differences between Wickremesinghe and Premadasa may be irreconcilable at present, the president and a number of SJB frontliners share largely similar worldviews, particularly when it comes to the question of reforms.
MP Ganesan reiterated the TPA, which comprises the Democratic People’s Front (DPF) led by him, the National Union of Workers (NUW) and the Up-Country People’s Front (UCPF), has yet to decide. He, however, remains critical of certain aspects of the Wickremesinghe administration.
While he acknowledges that some level of stability has been achieved over the past few months with some normality restored in the country, Ganesan attributes much of it to Sri Lanka’s decision to stop repaying debt, which he said has resulted in a surplus.
It is this surplus, plus India’s decision to extend a line of credit to its crisis-hit neighbour, that has led to the relative level of stability, he said.
“But at the same time, I have to agree that there has been an increase in revenue from tourism with more tourists coming in and in foreign remittances, which are good developments that are happening because a relative normalcy is prevailing in the country,” he said.
He insisted however that the reasons for this apparent return to normal is not exactly due to what the government says it is.
“Maybe in part it is down to the government managing, but there is a surplus of foreign reserves being used to bring in oil, food and medicines. India is also helping. They gave us four billion dollars, one billion of which was left unused.
“India extended the time limit on that at the government’s request. Those factors are helping us stay normal. Otherwise there would be scarcity,” he said.
Ganesan said the TPA welcomes the new anti-corruption bill, proposed as part of its commitments to the IMF in exchange for the international lender’s 2.9 billion dollar extended fund facility.
“We have always been demanding anti-corruption. The country has fallen due to three reasons: corruption, wastage and mismanagement. These three ills should go away,” he said.
The TPA is opposed to the new anti-terrorism legislation that the government plans to bring in. The party leader said he personally expressed to President Wickremesinghe his opposition to the anti-terrorism bill in its current form, which he claimed is worse than the widely criticised Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
“Both Sri Lanka and the rest of the world have asked the government to repeal the PTA. But in the guise of repealing it, they’re bringing in a bill that’s even more dangerous.
“I have met the president and told him directly not to do that. He said he’ll consider it,” said Ganesan.
He added that the bill, which has yet to be taken up in parliament, should be amended with its problematic clauses removed.
“If that is done, we will support it, not otherwise,” he said.
“Any government in Sri Lanka having legislation to counter tourism is a reasonable thing. But it cannot be draconian. We shall wait and see what kind of bill the government brings in,” he said, adding that the president had told him that he is open to suggestions.
The MP has been spearheading a move to bring about a ‘Tamil caucus’ of parliamentarians representing Sri Lanka’s Tamil-speaking communities. Commenting on its progress, Ganesan said in addition to the TPA’s three constituent parties that largely represent Indian-origin Tamils, three other parties have expressed their support: the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) led by MP Selvam Adaikalanathan, the Democratic People’s Liberation Front (DPLF) led by MP D Sidhdharthan and the Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK) formed in 2018 by MP C V Wigneswaran.
“We’re waiting for a response from the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK). Its leader Mavai Senathirajah spoke to me two days ago. He said they will positively consider it and come back to me after the holidays. Let’s see
“This is a first step. I have only written to four parties, out of which three have agreed. Once that is agreed, we will then call other Tamil parties and also the Muslim parties. We want all Tamil speaking parties in parliament as a caucus,” he said.
Ganesan stressed, however, that the proposed Tamil caucus will be expressing its collective aspirations within an undivided Sri Lanka.
“We express our collective views within an undivided, one Sri Lanka, where we want to share political power and wealth,” he said.
