Category: News

Indian EAM raises concern over fishermen arrest, pushes for 13A

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India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar raised concerns over the arrest of poaching fishermen and heavy fines on their boats when he met Sri Lanka’s newly elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the Indian External Affairs Ministry said.

Jaishankar was in Colombo on Friday (04) on an official visit and met President Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.

“EAM raised the concerns pertaining to Indian fishermen who are detained in Sri Lanka. He pressed for their early release, as well as of their boats, and reconsideration of the heavy fines imposed on them,” the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

Sri Lanka has witnessed bottom trawling by Indian fishermen during the peak fishing season in the island nation’s northern waters off Jaffna, Navy and Northern government officials have said.

Bottom trawling is banned by Sri Lanka and is a punishable offense, which has led to arrest of a raft of Indian fishermen along with their expensive bottom trawlers.

Depletion of fish resources in the Northern sea in the face of continuous Indian bottom trawling, a method of banned fishing that involves dragging heavy weighted nets across the sea floor, has pushed some Northern fishermen to take up Chinese funded sea cucumber farming.

Sri Lanka’s North is just 27 km from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Sri Lanka Navy has been arresting scores of poaching Indian fishermen after the island’s Northern fishermen pressurised the Colombo government to curb Indian encroaching and bottom trawling.

“A humanitarian approach focused on livelihood issues would create a durable basis for addressing this matter. A meeting of the Joint Working Group on Fisheries and of the Fishermen Associations would be timely,” the Indian External Affairs Ministry said in its statement.

Northern fishermen have repeatedly pleaded with the governments of both India and Sri Lanka to stop bottom trawling in Sri Lankan territory. However, the plundering of Sri Lankan fishing resources continues despite the Sri Lankan Navy arresting some Indian fishermen and confiscating some trawlers, government officials say.

ETHNIC ISSUE
Minister Jaishankar during the visit also discussed the lingering ethnic issue in Sri Lanka.

“With regard to the ethnic issue and the reconciliation process, EAM reiterated India’s support for the aspirations of all communities, including Tamils, for equality, justice, dignity, peace while maintaining the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka,” the External Affairs Ministry said.

“The full and effective implementation of the 13th Amendment of its Constitution and the early holding of Provincial Council elections will facilitate these objectives.”

Dissanayake’s Marxists Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which has long maintained an anti-Indian sentiment and protested against all Indian projects in Sri Lanka, has strongly protested when India entered into an agreement for devolution of power.

That 1987 agreement, popularly known as Indo-Lanka Accord, saw Sri Lanka bringing in a new amendment to its constitution to give power powers to the country’s Northern and Eastern provinces where majority of ethnic minority Tamils live.

The amendment says the central government has to give its land and police powers to the provinces. However, Successive Sri Lankan governments have opposed the move.

Dissanayake’s JVP protested the Indo-Lanka deal before being involved in a bloody insurgency in 1988/89. The insurgency was controlled by the killing of thousands of JVP cadres across the country by the state military.

Analysts say India’s latest request to fully implement the 13th Amendment comes after a long period of silence on the issue.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted to fully implement the 13th amendment in 2023, but saw protests from some ethnic majority Sinhalese and lack of unity among Tamil political leaders for the proposal.

President assures justice for Easter attacks victims

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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced that the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks will be expedited, and steps will be taken to ensure that such a tragedy never occurs again in the country. He assured that justice will be delivered to the victims.

The President made these remarks during a discussion held today (06) at St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, Negambo, with the families of those killed and injured in the Easter Sunday attack, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake visited the church during the morning and laid floral tributes at the memorial established in honor of the victims. To mark the occasion, a commemorative gift was also presented to the president.

During the discussion the President met with the families of the victims, who shared their concerns and difficulties with him directly. He highlighted that the Easter Sunday Attack which happened on 21st April 2019 was the most tragic disaster in the recent past and that it will not be allowed to be buried with time.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressed his belief that one of the key factors influencing the people’s decision in the last presidential election was their hope for justice concerning the Easter Sunday attacks.

He emphasized that the aspirations of the citizens align with his own, stating that his goal is to deliver the justice and fairness the people seek in relation to the Easter Sunday attack. He assured that efforts have already begun to achieve this, the PMD added.

The President also stressed the importance of conducting the investigation without any preconceived conclusions or biases. He instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security to ensure a transparent and impartial investigation, guided by openness and objectivity.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake acknowledged that there is a widespread belief in society that the Easter Sunday attacks may have been carried out to gain political mileage. He stated that if hundreds of innocent lives were sacrificed for political purposes, it would be a profound tragedy. He emphasized that if politics in the country has reached such an extreme, the first priority must be to eliminate this dangerous situation.

The President also highlighted growing suspicions that the government apparatus at the time may have been involved in the attacks. If such allegations are true, he warned, the country would remain in a dangerously unstable and insecure state. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to uncover the truth behind these events, he emphasized.

Additionally, President Dissanayake stressed that justice must be delivered to the victims of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of nearly 274 people and left many others injured, to honor the love and devotion of their families.

He also expressed his deep appreciation for the role played by the priests, who helped prevent an even greater social catastrophe in the aftermath of the attacks. The President extended his gratitude to them once again for their efforts, it said.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake further stated that if the bonds, trust, and harmony within society are weakened, and people begin to view others with anger and suspicion, it would pose a serious threat to the well-being of the community. In light of this, he emphasized the need for a fair and transparent investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks.

The President also noted that for the past five years, those who gathered on the streets on April 21 were driven by a hope for justice, which sustained them year after year.

His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, speaking at the event, shared that despite appealing to the Human Rights Commission in Geneva for justice for the Easter Sunday victims, no resolution has been achieved. He also pointed out that while the government has been working to provide necessary support to the victims, the public continues to question the true cause of the attack.

His Eminence Cardinal Ranjith expressed his belief in President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, acknowledging the trust the people of Sri Lanka have in him and appreciating his integrity. He added that he believes the President will deliver on the promise of justice. He further expressed his belief that the President will take action to hold those responsible for the Easter Sunday attack accountable and ensure justice is served.

Rev.Fr. Manjula Niroshan, the mission in charge of Katuwapitiya Church, along with a large number of Easter attack victims and devotees, attended the event, according to the PMD.

Sri Lanka’s “political trauma” driven by both internal and external factors – Indian FM

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Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar says the political trauma Sri Lanka had to experience two years ago was a result of both internal and external factors.

Addressing a discussion organised by the U.S. think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Indian External Affairs Minister said conflicts in a specific region can have serious impacts on other regions of the world, especially the global south.

“The international economy today is fragile. I have travelled to various parts of the world which has had a very hard time for the last five years, where people have seen a visible sort of drop in the quality of life. I may mention Sri Lanka. I’ve been in that country, I’ve been going there from time to time. I think part of what explains political shifts there was actually the trauma that they underwent as a result of some sort of factors within their control, but some of it was not”, he said.

Furthermore, Dr. Jaishankar added: “Now, what the lessons of tensions of conflicts… what we saw in Ukraine, what we see in the Middle East…that in a globalized world, conflicts and tensions anyway are going to cause problems everywhere. It’s not regional. It is going to come at everybody in some form or other.”

“The global south is extremely concerned about new factors of stress, tensions, anxiety, more pressures on the system because they are at the bottom of the change. We feel the pain. Today, people want reassurance, they want stability. Nobody wants more anxiety”, he signed off.

DIG Dhammika Priyantha to Head SIS

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DIG Dhammika Priyantha has been appointed as the head of the State Intelligence Service.

He previously served as the officer in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department and the Financial Crimes Investigation Unit.

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Sri Lanka spy chief sacked, agency returns to police control

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The head of Sri Lanka’s State Intelligence Service (SIS) was sacked on Saturday, and the premier spy agency was brought back under the control of the police after nearly five years.

Retired Major General Suresh Sallay was dismissed after he refused to resign following the takeover by the new government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, an official source involved in the shake-up told Economynext.

Police Deputy Inspector General Dhammika Priyantha, who had earlier served at the CID/FCID, was appointed as the director of the SIS, bringing the agency back under the police’s jurisdiction.

The SIS had shifted to military control under Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency, but his successor, Ranil Wickremesinghe, not only retained the controversial Major General Sallay but also re-employed him after his retirement.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa had blamed Sallay’s SIS for intelligence failures that led to his downfall in July 2022, following months of street protests against acute shortages of food, fuel, and medicines amid the country’s worst economic crisis.

Sallay was present, along with other service chiefs, when Rajapaksa was forced to flee the President’s House in Colombo as mobs of protesters stormed it on July 9, 2022.

Sallay had failed to alert Rajapaksa about a group of women storming Rajapaksa’s private home on March 31, 2022, an event that marked a turning point leading to his eventual downfall. Rajapaksa disclosed the intelligence failures of Sallay in his book,

The Catholic Church had repeatedly urged successive governments to take action against Sallay, who was accused of involvement in the Easter Sunday bombings of April 2019.

A British newspaper reported in September 2023 that Sallay had orchestrated the Easter Sunday bomb plot while working for the Directorate of Military Intelligence, with the aim of creating instability to pave the way for the Rajapaksas to return to power.

The Times newspaper said that the deadly bombings, which killed at least 280 people, including 45 foreign nationals, were orchestrated by Sri Lanka’s military intelligence.

Sallay was promoted to head of the State Intelligence Service shortly after Gotabaya Rajapaksa came to power in November 2019. He was recently given a one-year service extension by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and when it ended, he was re-employed as a retired officer.

Islamic extremists set off suicide bombings at two Catholic churches, a Christian church, and three hotels. The attacks were later claimed by the Islamic State group.

Sallay has denied the allegations and has counter-sued Catholic priests who accused him. He has also filed a civil defamation case against Yasmin Sooka, a former South African chief justice, who accused Sallay of masterminding the bombings.

The Criminal Investigation Division (CID), then headed by Ravi Seneviratne, concluded that the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) where Sallay employed had attempted to mislead those investigating the April 2019 bombings.

Seneviratne’s team of detectives, led by Shani Abeysekera, also found a direct link between DMI operatives and several suicide bombers involved in the most audacious terror attack in the country’s history.

With Seneviratne now heading the Public Security Ministry as its secretary and in charge of the police department, investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks have resumed

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Over 120 independent groups place deposits for General Elections

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A total of 122 independent groups have placed their cash deposits for the upcoming general elections scheduled for November 14, 2024, the Election Commission stated.

The groups made their deposits between September 25 to October 04.

Key districts with the highest number of deposits include Batticaloa (15), Jaffna (15), Digamadulla (11), Trincomalee (12) and Colombo (12).

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Reciprocal Cultural visit between Indian and Sri Lankan Armed Forces

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Reciprocal cultural visit between Indian and Sri Lankan Armed forces commenced on 02 October 2024, with arrival of Indian Air Force Aircraft with 120 Indian Armed forces personnel at Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo. During the course of next three days, Indian delegation will be visiting cultural sites in and around Nuwara Eliya. The aircraft departed with 120 Sri Lankan Armed forces personnel for a three day long visit to Bodh Gaya, India.

A ceremonial welcome was accorded to the incoming delegation and were received by senior officers of Indian High Commission, Colombo and Sri Lankan Armed forces. A memento exchange between the heads of delegations from both sides was followed by a group photograph. The aim of this cultural exchange is to further enhance people to people contact between both the Armed Forces and exposing them to each other’s cultural heritage.

Bilateral relations between Indian and Sri Lankan Armed forces in line with India’s Neighbourhood First Policy has been deep rooted and extensive. Defence cooperation between both the nations spans across multiple spheres including training, capability development of Sri Lankan Armed forces personnel, bilateral exercises, bilateral goodwill visits by Navy and Coast Guard ships and people to people contact.

It may be recalled that similar cultural exchanges have taken place twice in the past with last visit in June 2019 wherein 80 Armed Forces personnel from both sides have visited India and Sri Lanka respectively. These visits were halted post Covid, however, through the efforts of Ministry of Defence from both sides and High Commission of India in Colombo, these cultural exchanges have re-commenced this year.

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SLFP’s leftists to support NPP

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The left-leaning camp within the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has decided to fully back the National People’s Power (NPP) without any conditions attached.

Treasurer of the group Hector Bethmage made the announcement to the media in Colombo yesterday (03).

He claimed to have the support of around 40 of the party’s electoral organizers.

The NPP government’s programme is very similar to the SLFP founder S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s principles, said Bethmage.

Meanwhile, Mahinda Amaraweera said the SLFP was yet to decide on how to contest the upcoming general election.

Allying with certain parties is under consideration, he said.

India’s economic support critical to meet aspirations of the people – President tells Indian EAM

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Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar today (04) called on President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Highlighting that India’s economic support is critical to realize his vision of a prosperous Sri Lanka and meeting the aspirations of the people, President Dissanayake referred to the potential of export of renewable energy to India, which could help reduce production costs in Sri Lanka and create additional resources.

The President also noted the contribution of Indian tourists and recognized that this has the potential to grow further.

Briefing the President about ongoing initiatives in the field of energy production and transmission, fuel and LNG supply, solar electrification of religious places, connectivity, digital public infrastructure, health and dairy development, EAM Jaishankar highlighted that they would contribute to economic sustainability and provide new streams of revenue.

Regarding security and defence, the meeting brought out that the interests of India and Sri Lanka were closely intertwined. Their collaboration was in mutual interest and contributed to the stability and security of the region. The importance of a continuous dialogue that would promote trust, transparency and mutual sensitivity was recognized.

President Dissanayake reiterated that Sri Lankan territory would never be allowed to be used in a manner inimical to India’s security interests.

On Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring efforts, EAM Jaishnakar recalled that India had been supportive of Sri Lanka’s economic stability and recovery from the very start. It was the first country to give financing assurances, which enabled the IMF to finalize the Extended Fund Facility. He confirmed India’s support in the Official Creditors’ Committee in respect of Sri Lanka’s agreement with International Sovereign Bond holders. He noted that India is also willing to expedite the conclusion of its bilateral MoU with Sri Lanka and the President conveyed his appreciation in that regard.

EAM Jaishankar also raised the concerns pertaining to Indian fishermen who are detained in Sri Lanka and pressed for their early release, as well as of their boats, and reconsideration of the heavy fines imposed on them. He said that a humanitarian approach focused on livelihood issues would create a durable basis for addressing this matter. Noting that a meeting of the Joint Working Group on Fisheries and of the Fishermen Associations would be timely, EAM Jaishankar appreciated the release of 50 Indian fishermen today.

In his meeting with Prime Minister Amarasuriya, he underlined that the Government of India was prepared to respond to the training and capacity building requirements of Sri Lanka. Their discussion also focused on the benefits of digital public infrastructure.

EAM Jaishnakar conveyed India’s strong commitment to advance bilateral cooperation based on its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and SAGAR outlook during his meeting with Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath.

In this context, he assured that India’s ongoing development assistance to Sri Lanka through projects of Sri Lankan priority will be continued. He emphasized that India has offered to modernize the Kankesanthurai port through a grant to the tune of USD 61.5 million. He also conveyed that payments for 7 completed Line of Credit projects to the tune of USD 20 million could be converted into grants. India has also decided to gift 22 diesel locomotives to the Sri Lankan Railways.

With regard to the ethnic issue and the reconciliation process, EAM Jaishnakar reiterated India’s support for the aspirations of all communities, including Tamils, for equality, justice, dignity, peace while maintaining the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.

He added that the full and effective implementation of the 13th Amendment of its Constitution and the early holding of Provincial Council elections will facilitate these objectives.

EAM Jaishankar also met former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa.

Jaishankar meets Ranil, Sajith and Harini during Sri Lanka visit

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Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Subramaniam Jaishankar, who arrived in Sri Lanka on an official visit this morning, has met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in separate meetings today.

Earlier today, Jaishankar had called on Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo and also met with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Vijitha Herath at the Foreign Ministry.

Posting on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), after meeting Sri Lanka’s new prime minister, the Indian foreign minister said he conveyed good wishes for her new responsibility.

“Discussed Digital Public Infrastructure, training and capacity building. Agreed to work together to advance our partnership,” he said.

Following his meeting with Wickremesinghe, Jaishankar said he was glad to see the former President today and that he “thanked him for his efforts in advancing our ties in the last two years.”

The Indian Foreign Minister also said he “assured him that India will continue to commit to Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and development.”

After meeting with former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, Jaishankar said India appreciates his continued support for the India-Sri Lanka relationship.

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