Category: News

The United States of America and India are attempting to sabotage the Colombo Port City Project, alleged Sri Lankan State Minister Jayantha Samaraweera on Monday (19), the latest Sri Lankan ruling party member to hit out at the US over the Colombo Port City project.

“Their agents are in play in Sri Lanka to sabotage this project,” said the State Minister adding the US had gone to extent of claiming that the Colombo Port City will become a hub for money laundering.

The State Minister said the Colombo Port City is essential for Sri Lanka and it will become a turning point for the country.

The United States of America is attempting to destabilize the country politically and economically to achieve its political objectives, alleged State Minister Kanchana Wijesekera on the 16th of April 2021.

He noted that ‘It was the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka who was the first to state the Colombo Port City paves the way for money laundering.

Also on the 16th of April, State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal denied claims that the Colombo Port City will not be regulated under Sri Lankan laws.

Cabraal rejected claims that money laundering can take place through Port City, citing that it is unfair to make such claims.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Alaina Teplitz in April warned Sri Lanka of unintended consequences of ‘nefarious actors’ who may try to misuse a China-backed Colombo Port City’s easy business rules as a permissive money laundering haven amid concerns of tax leaks.

Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said today that international forces were behind the Easter Sunday terror attacks stating that his remarks he made on Sunday evening had been misunderstood as he was not referring to any local political group being directly involved in the Easter attacks.

“My remarks on Sunday has been misunderstood by many. I did not refer to a local political group when I said politics was behind the Easter Sunday attacks but international forces. There are some forces who develop weapons and uses religious and ethnic extrimsm such as Wahabism to create conflicts. This is done to market their weapons. I was referring to such groups,” the Cardinal told a press conference today.

“Only a small group of Muslims are involved in extremism. Therefore I would like to appeal to Muslims in Sri Lanka who have co-existed in this country with other ethnic and religious groups for more than 1000 years to maintain that co-existence and teach their children that as well,” he added.

Asked about the comment he made about former President Maithripala Sirisena , the Archbishop said the latter has told certain persons who sought his advice on arresting Zahran Hashim that one must not play with snakes. “Besides the report of the Presidential Commission has mentioned much about the former President. It has also mentioned that former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had adopted a soft approach when it came to dealing with growing extrimsm in Sri Lanka,” he said.

At the same time the Cardinal said there could be a connection between the probes on Easter Sunday attacks and getting the support of Muslim MPs to get the 20th Amendment approved in Parliament.

“Leader of one Muslim political party voting against the 2Oth Amendment and other MPs from the same party voting for it and releasing of the brother of Rishad Bathiudeen are all questionable. These events could be part of a deal,” he said.

The Lawyers for Democracy Movement has expressed concerns regarding the Colombo Port City bill during a media briefing on Sunday.

Att.-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara, a member of the movement, cautioned that the passage of the bill would be a threat to national security.

He pointed out that China, which is occupying lands in Sri Lanka, is facing geopolitical troubles with India and the US. “Ultimately, our country will be caught in proxy warfare between these three countries,” Nanayakkara noted.

Att-at-Law Upul Kumarapperuma, another member of the movement pointed out that laws are being enforced separately in Port City and in other parts of the country.

He also noted that attention is being paid to Port City amidst a massive backlog of cases.”If there is a massive backlog of cases, then how can attention be paid to this?” Kumarapperuma queried.

Att.-at-Law Sunil Watagala, pointed out that Port City also consists of the prerequisites required to be considered as a state.

The head of Sri Lanka’s Roman Catholic church dropped a bombshell Sunday declaring that the 2019 Easter attack was “politically” driven and had nothing to do with Islamic extremism.

Malcom cardinal Ranjith said those who carried out the April 21 suicide bombings against three churches and three hotels were only pawns manipulated by powerful political forces.

“Our brethren were attack not by (Islamic) religious extremism, but by a group that exploited it to use the attackers as pawns in order to strengthen their political power.”

“What we see in this (Easter Sunday attack) is not religious fanaticism or a love for a religion, but the attempts of certain forces to consolidate their position.”

The Cardinal did not name names at a ceremony at the General Cemetery in Borella to bless a memorial for the victims of the attack, but his remarks resonated with claims of a conspiracy.

Members of the current opposition have accused the ruling party, then in the opposition, of directly or indirectly supporting the suicide bombings in order to undermine the shaky coalition government.

The current opposition has noted that Gotabaya Rajapaksa launched his presidential election bid two days after the Easter attack on a pledge to restore national security which became a key campaign issue.

Opposition parties have alleged that the leader of the suicide squad, Zahran Hashim, had previously been on the payroll of the intelligence services during the previous Rajapaksa administration.

Cardinal Ranjith on Sunday opened two monuments at the Borella and Madampitiya cemeteries where some of the 279 people killed in the Easter attacks have been buried.

He pressed for justice for the victims, but stopped short of repeating his demand to punish then president Maithripala Sirisena for failing to prevent the bombings despite advance warnings.

The PCOI appointed by Sirisena found that he was negligent and recommended criminal proceedings against him for not stopping the attacks despite an Indian intelligence agency alerting to it 17 days earlier.

More than 200 people have been arrested in connection with the bombings, but no one has been indicted yet.