Category: News

As the 21st amendment was passed in Parliament recently, the question which has now hit the House by storm is which MP is a dual citizen? While silent whispers and internal talks continue among the parliamentarians, no name has still come to light with almost all departments remaining tight lipped over it.

The Department of Immigration and Emigration launched a special investigation last week following a request made under the Right to Information Act, to identify which MPs are dual citizens.

The Department is yet to finalize its investigations stating that the probe was conducted based on a document containing the date of birth, name and National Identity Number referred by Parliament.

Sources within the Parliament however said they had no idea as to who the MPs are who are dual citizens as such information was not required to be registered by Parliament.

There was no legal provision for it, and none of the 225 MPs have declared themselves to be dual citizens to the House.

The only name that became publicized in recent months is that of Basil Rajapaksa who is no longer an MP and due to his firm belief to remain an American will not have any place to contest in a Sri Lankan election or hold a parliamentary seat in the future.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena who has been under pressure to divulge the names is yet to get any indication from the Immigration and Emigration Department.

Sources close to the Speaker told Daily Mirror that Abeywardena will seek a legal notice to obtain the names from the Immigration and Emigration Department and will also seek the advice of the Attorney General and the Justice Ministry.

After this, the names are likely to be made public. According to sources, it is possible that over 6 names of MPs may surface once the probe is completed but to date the names are running on speculation only.

MP Udaya Gammanpila has already alleged that State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage was a dual citizen as she was a UK citizen to which Diana has challenged Gammanpila to go to court to prove his claim that she was not a Sri Lankan citizen.

Rumors were also afloat that some MPs from within the TNA may also be dual citizen holders but this allegation was shot down by senior TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran, who stated that there were no dual citizens within the TNA.

He however said that they had heard there were many dual citizens in Parliament and if so this should be investigated and action should be taken to remove them.

Some FR petitions are also likely to be filed in the coming weeks to get more information on who the possible dual citizens are and according to sources those MPs who are likely to be exposed are also preparing to challenge their stand.

Ape Jana Bala Pakshaya (Our Power of People Party) MP Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera stated yesterday (1) that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not the answer to Sri Lanka’s present crisis, claiming that it has not succeeded in saving a single country over the past few years, and that it will therefore, not succeed in saving Sri Lanka either.

“From 2015 to date, the IMF has not been able to save a single country. The result of dealing with the IMF will be that any independent strategy that is available to Sri Lanka to emerge from this crisis will be blocked.”

The monk observed that one such independent strategy is printing money, and pointed out that the IMF cannot impose any conditions on countries like Myanmar, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and Cuba, because they print their own money.

“I am not in favour of a military Government, but Myanmar does not face starvation, addictive drug problems, or the collapse of the State machinery. I am not saying that we need to form a Government like Myanmar, I am only saying that there are countries surviving without the conditions of the IMF.”

Rathana Thera also indicated that the IMF targets countries like Sri Lanka because of its inability to control the US and all countries belonging to Europe excluding England that print their own money.

“Does the IMF give permission to America to print US dollars? What right does America have to maintain the US dollar at such a high rate? The IMF cannot impose any conditions on the use of Euros in Europe, because that authority lies with the European Parliament.”

He also noted that while it was possible for the IMF to limit and impose restrictions on countries like Sri Lanka three decades ago, it is no longer possible to do the same because they do not hold the monopoly power anymore.

“The IMF cannot restrict or control countries like us anymore because they can no longer rely on the support and empowerment of the US and Europe because they are economically struggling. Organisations like the World Health Organisation and other financial institutions are gradually becoming Asian-based, as they are relying on Asian funding.”

The Government of Sri Lanka is currently engaged in debt restructuring negotiations with creditors in hopes of obtaining IMF Board approval for a $ 3.9 billion bailout programme, for which it has only reached a verbal staff-level IMF agreement.

Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage today (02) ordered the acquittal of Parliamentarian Rishad Bathiudeen, who was named a suspect in a case filed over Easter Sunday terror attacks, from the case in accordance with the instructions of the Attorney General.

The magistrate issued the order when the magisterial inquiry related to the case was taken up again today.

The former Minister and Wanni District Parliamentarian was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka Police on 24 April 2021 and remanded under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for over six months until he was granted bail on 14 October 2021.

Sri Lanka’s inflation slowed in October for the first time in a year as shortages of food and fuel eased.

The consumer price index in the capital Colombo cooled to 66% from a year ago, the statistics department said in a statement Monday. That’s down from 69.8% in September and a median of 68.5% in a Bloomberg survey.

Transport costs stood at 150.4% and food prices came in at 94.9%, the data showed.

The numbers are a welcome development for Sri Lanka’s monetary authority, which expected inflation to peak this month. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has kept the benchmark rate steady at 15.5% for the last two meetings after hiking borrowing costs by 9.5 percentage points this year. The next monetary policy review is scheduled for November 24.

Falling global commodity prices, assistance from friendly countries and re-purposed funds from multilateral lenders have helped Sri Lanka stabilize its finances in the short run. Supplies of food, fuel and medicines are trickling in as officials pursue a debt restructuring deal with global creditors, that’s key to unlock the International Monetary Fund’s $2.9 billion bailout package.

A proposal by Sri Lanka’s minister of justice for a special committee in parliament on election reforms is being challenged by the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) which claims that the proposal is an attempt to delay elections.

SJB general secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara speaking at an event said on Monday October 31 claimed that President Ranil Wickremesinghe had given an assurance to ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) legislators that elections will not be held.

“We are working against the president’s plan,” said Madduma Bandara.

The MP said his party plans to educate the public and raise the matter in and outside parliament to “hold elections and protect democracy”.

His SJB colleague MP S M Marikkar said at a different event that the SJB will take to the streets if elections are postponed.

“We will get on the streets to send both President Wickremesinghe and the government home, secure an election, and form a government,” said Marikkar.

The MP also claimed that the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and other international organisations have said they will assist Sri Lanka in debt restructuring after the people have elected a government.

There is no evidence, however, that any of those institutions have laid down a condition that elections be held in order to receive assistance in debt restructuring.

Sri Lanka is going through its worst currency crisis in decades, and the IMF has reached a staff level agreement with the government on a 2.9 billion US dollar bailout package if Sri Lanka successfully restructures its debt.

“Without [holding an election], we cannot overcome this crisis. We ask the president not to bring in false committees to postpone elections,” said Marikkar.

Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had requested Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena last week that a special parliamentary committee be appointed to propose electoral reforms for local government bodies, provincial councils and parliament and recommend a homogeneous system for all three, reports said

A parliamentary election in the island nation is not due till 2024. But the president may dissolve parliament and call an early election from March 2023. The recently passed 21st amendment to the constitution has retained the president’s power to dissolve parliament two and a half years after its commencement.

The opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) too has called for elections. Former JVP MP K D Lal Kantha speaking at a rally said the government is not going for elections because it knows it doesn’t stand a chance.

State Minister Shantha Bandara speaking to reporters on Monday claimed that the opposition is demanding elections to destabilise Sri Lanka’s economic recovery by signalling to the world and to potential foreign investors that a change in government is due next year.

The SLPP’s popularity has waned considerably since the popular people’s protests that erupted in Sri Lanka in April this year over the country’s currency crisis. A wave of protests around the country saw the ouster of then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was succeeded by President Wickremesinghe – a former arch rival – with the unlikely support of 134 SLPP legislators.

Opposition parties have claimed that, in return for their support, Wickremesinghe offered sanctuary to the almost universally reviled SLPP and a delay in elections.

However, the government’s approval rating under Wickremesinghe had moved up to 10 per cent in October 2022 from 3 per cent in June, a survey by Verité Research, a Colombo-based think tank found.

Meanwhile, Palitha Range Bandara, the general secretary of the United National Party (UNP) – the party Wickremesinghe leads and is represented in parliament by a solitary MP, has said Wickremesinghe is not in it to do anyone’s bidding.