Category: News

The protesters at the Galle Face protest site “GotaGoGama” have completetly vacated the site today after 125 days.

They dismantled their last tent from the site this afternoon.

A group of protesters who continued to stay at the protest site near the Presidential Secretariat on the Galle Face Green had already left the site on August 9.

However, several protesters stayed at the location until this afternoon.

They dismantled all the remaining canopies after police again today told the protesters who were occupying the site to leave within 15 minutes.

Sri Lanka has appealed to the United Kingdom (UK) to lift the travel advisory on Sri Lanka.

The appeal was made when Tourism Minister Harin Fernando met the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Sarah Hulton.

Fernando said that he had a successful meeting with the British High Commissioner regarding the current political climate in Sri Lanka, lifting of the travel advisory for UK travellers to Sri Lanka, the promotion of tourism and the security and safety of tourists.

Former Public Security Minister, Rear Admiral (ret.) Sarath Weerasekera, has taken exception to the withdrawal of permission granted to Chinese research vessel Yuang Wang 5 to visit Hambantota port for refueling.

Sri Lanka, in 2017, leased Hambantota harbour to China for 99 years.

The ex-Navy Chief of Staff has raised the issue at hand at the government group meeting, chaired by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, on Monday (08) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Among those present at the group meeting were Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and former PM and MP Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Lawmaker Weerasekera has explained that it wouldn’t be fair to rescind approval at the behest of India after having given the Chinese go ahead on July 12.

Prof. G.L. Peiris had served as the Foreign Affairs Minister at the time the Foreign Ministry granted approval for the vessel to visit Hambantota port.

Since then new President Ranil Wickremesinghe has sworn in Ali Sabry, PC, as the foreign affairs minister after Prof. Peiris chose to join the SLPP rebel group.

Sabry, who held justice and finance portfolios under the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has explained the developments relating to the Chinese ship visit scheduled for Aug 11.

Declaring that the proposed visit was a routine one and posed no threat at all, Colombo District lawmaker Weerasekera alleged that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had to pay a very heavy price by depending on the US and India.

Except for SLFP MP Dr. Suren Raghavan, who asked for deferment of the visit, other members of the government group had been silent, sources said.

MP Weerasekera has warned that China would be furious with Sri Lanka not with India over the ship controversy.

The naval veteran has also referred to joint military exercises conducted with the US and India over a period of time.

Rebel SLPP members hadn’t participated at the group meeting. However, the National Freedom Front (NFF) has issued a statement strongly condemning the government over its response to Indian pressure.

The MP has queried the Indian intervention in the wake of Chinese Ambassador in Colombo Qi Zhenhong taking it up with President Wickremesinghe.

China throughout the war backed Sri Lanka regardless of change of governments. After the successful conclusion of the war in May 2009, Sri Lanka received Chinese support at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) where Western powers continuously undermined war winning Sri Lanka.

The Harbour Master for the Hambantota Port says that the Yuan Wang 5, a ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship in China’s research vessel fleet, will not reach port today.

He said that no vessel can enter the Hambantota Port without his permission.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry already requested China to defer the arrival of the Yuan Wang 5, a ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship in China’s research vessel fleet.

However, there is no announcement on whether or not this vessel will be allowed to enter the Hambantota Port.

The Yuan Wang 5 left its Chinese Port of Origin on the 14th of July, and until now it has not entered a single port along its route.

The vessel has been sailing for approximately 28 days with zero replenishment.

On the 28th of June 2022, China announced that the Yuan Wang 5 would reach the Hambantota Port and the Foreign Ministry granted approval on the 12th of July.

However, on the 8th of August 2022, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry in a letter to the Chinese Embassy requested for the ship to be delayed, however, the Yuan Wang 5 had already entered the Indian Ocean by that time.

However, the statement from the Foreign Ministry did not specify the reason for such a request.

In recent days, Indian media reports suggested that Indian authorities had voiced their protest against the arrival of the Yuan Wang 5, citing security concerns.

When News 1st made an inquiry from the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka on Wednesday (10) on this matter, the High Commission said NO COMMENT.

On Wednesday (10) vessel trackers showed that the Yuan Wang 5 was moving away from its course to Sri Lanka, however, on Thursday (11) the vessel was back on its course to Sri Lanka.

The Yuan Wang 5 was approximately 600 nautical miles away from the southern port of Hambantota in the Sea of Sri Lanka as of Thursday (11) evening.

The vessel is now facing the Bay of Bengal from the east of Sri Lanka.

An observation of the course of the Yuan Wang 5 revealed that it was passing over the Ninety East Ridge, a mid-ocean ridge on the Indian Ocean floor named for its near-parallel strike along the 90th meridian at the center of the Eastern Hemisphere.

On Tuesday (9) the Yuan Wang 5 made a slight change to its course and proceeded over the Ninety East Ridge, at low speed.

In 2021, a Chinese government survey ship, the Xiang Yang Hong 03, was operating in the same region in the Indian Ocean and carrying out a search pattern west of Sumatra.

A Pakistan warship is on its maiden voyage to Pakistan while exercising en route with Cambodian and Malaysian navies. The ship is expected to be at Colombo port from August 12-15, 2022.

Chinese built Pakistani-guided missile frigate PNS Taimur to make a port call at Colombo while on its way to join the Pakistan Navy in Karachi, and India too had focused its attention on this vessel as well.

While Sri Lanka permitted the Pakistani guided missile frigate to make a port call at Colombo, it is understood that the ship was denied permission to make a port call at Chattogram port by the Sheikh Hasina government from August 7-10 after making a port call at Lumut port in Malaysia.

Protestors of the “aragalaya” (struggle) attached to the “RanilGoGama”, formerly “GotaGoGama”, at the Galle Face – whose protest site at the Galle Face Green was vandalised on multiple occasions, and whose activism led to the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa – have vacated the site which was in operation since early April.

Speaking at a recent press conference, a key and active member of the “aragayala”, Ven. Koswatte Mahanama Thera, said that even though the Occupy Galle Face movement came to an end yesterday (10), the “aragalaya” would however continue in different forms.

“During these four months of the ‘aragalaya’ against the State leadership and politics in the country, we brought every ethnicity together, and had a lot of victories. I think that it’s a considerable achievement. The ‘aragalaya’ that started on 9 April has made many achievements, but now we have to fight against President Ranil Wickremesinghe, his Emergency Law, and the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act as amended (PTA), which have to be taken away, and also fight towards abolishing the Executive Presidency, which is of the utmost need at the moment in order for democracy to prevail in Sri Lanka. The political unrest and economic crisis will worsen in this undemocratic system of Wickremesinghe and therefore, we will continue our fight against it “

Further, speaking to The Morning, activist Lahiru Fernando said that more than 43 tents were established at the site, and charged, however, that the majority of the tents had since been stolen by third parties.

“We received tents from donors and we have to give them back, but at the moment, we have only 10 tents left, as the others were stolen.”

The library at the “GotaGoGama/RanilGoGama” has been relocated to a temple in Panadura under the same name.

“We were able to donate around 4,000 books to school libraries previously, and the other books will be stored in a temple in Panadura,” Fernando stated.

The protests focused on the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and his Government, and the organisers felt it apt to name their site “GotaGoGama” for which they then coined an equally fitting tagline for their entire campaign – “Gota Go Home”. Within a week or two, in April, hundreds of thousands of anti-Government protestors gathered at the Galle Face Green. Maintaining a veneer of unity in a protest zone that continued to host people of almost all ages, from wizened elders to newborn babies, their ability to come together has been their biggest strength. That has reinforced support for their cause from across the country, and the world, making it possible for the organisers to maintain supplies of water, food, and electricity. The “GotaGoGama” site also had a cinema hall, kitchen, press room, facilities for emergency medical treatments, etc.

Meanwhile, four writ applications filed before the Court of Appeal pertaining to an order by the Police regarding anti-Government protestors have been withdrawn. The petitions had been filed calling on the court to suspend the order by the Police for the protestors to vacate the Galle Face protest site. The applicants have withdrawn the four writ applications filed before the court, and have also informed the authorities that they will vacate the Galle Face protest site. Leading protestors similarly announced that they would be leaving the protest site yesterday (10).

Earlier, Colombo Fort Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage on Tuesday (9) granted bail to eight protestors charged with unlawful assembly, and the obstruction of duties of Police officers at the entry road to the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on 25 May. The suspects appeared before the court in compliance with a notice issued to them previously. Among the suspects were actress Damitha Abeyratne, YouTuber and social activist Rathidu Senarathna popularly known as “Ratta”, actor Jagath Manuwarna, and Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin.