Businessman Dilith Jayaweera has been named the Presidential Candidate of the Sarvajana Balaya for the upcoming Presidential Election.
The Presidential Candidate was be announced by Wimal Weerawansa at the Sarvajana Balaya convention at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium in Colombo.
Representatives of the alliance participated in this convention.
MP Dayasiri Jayasekara declared today that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party will throw its support behind Leader of the Samagi Jana alliance and the Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in the upcoming Presidential Election.
“As the SLFP, our central committee has been steadfastly opposed to the current government. Therefore, we cannot extend our support to them,” MP Jayasekara said, emphasizing the party’s decision to maintain its stance since November 11, 2023, when it resolved not to align with the government.
MP Jayasekara underscored the party’s commitment to uphold the decision made by its Central Committee, asserting that they have adhered to this directive without deviation.
He said that the focus now is on supporting Sajith Premadasa’s candidacy to secure victory in the upcoming election and usher in a new era of governance.
He reiterated the SLFP’s vision of establishing a government characterized by integrity, free from corruption, capable of driving the nation forward.
India’s INS Shalki, a diesel-electric submarine commissioned in 1992 arrived in Sri Lanka’s Colombo port on August 02 and will depart on August 04.
“The visit is an Operational Turn Around (OTR), wherein the submarine will replenish fuel and provisions,” India’s embassy in Colombo said.
“The crew will recuperate and have the opportunity of visiting places of interest in Sri Lanka.”
The Commanding officer was due to call on Sri Lanka’s Western Naval Area Rear Admiral WDCU Kumarasinghe and 50 Sri Lanka naval personnel was to visit the submarine.
INS Shalki was the first submarine to be build in India, the statement said.
Sumbarines INS Karaj had visited Colombo in February 2024 and INS Vagir had visited Colombo in June 2023.
Sri Lanka has shut a electronic visa application site run by consortium involving companies called VFS Global, IVS and GBS, after a court order suspended the the contract awarded without competitive tender.
“We have been notified of certain interim orders issued by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka today pertaining to the agreement under which this platform is operated,” a statement on front page of the website said.
“In view of these orders, the website is suspended effective 2 August at 17:00 hours Sri Lanka Standard Time.”
The Department of Immigration continued to issue on arrival visas physically to tourists from eligible countries, airport officials said.
Court also ordered the status quo that prevailed before April 18, when the site was operated by Mobitel, a domestic company.
There was no immediate information on when the old site would be restored. Department sources said a decision is likely to be taken next week.
Mobitel was charging one dollar for the service while VFS Global was charging different prices ranging from 10 dollars to 18.5 dollars and more depending on the category of visa.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) says that steps will be taken to suspend the party membership of anyone who acts against the party’s decisions regardless of their positions.
The General Secretary of the SLPP Sagara Kariyawasam has informed in writing that this decision was unanimously arrived at by the Politburo of the SLPP.
Furthermore, the SLPP mentioned that against a backdrop where the party has adopted proposals to field a candidate of the party for the 2024 presidential election, if any member of the party presents himself as a presidential candidate without the knowledge of the party or acts directly or indirectly against the candidate presented by the party, disciplinary action will be taken against that member regardless of the position held by that member in the party, and the party membership of the person in question will be suspended.
Additionally, it has also been decided the same will apply for any party member who backs any candidate other than the SLPP’s presidential candidate directly or indirectly, or acts against the decisions taken by the party.
Sri Lanka will address the scarcity of safe drinking water in its north by finally starting on its long-touted “River for Jaffna” project, which was proposed by an engineer 70 years ago, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said.
Wickremesinghe was speaking at the opening of the Thalaiyady Seawater Desalination Plant this morning (2).
“The establishment of this water purification plant will significantly resolve the drinking water issues in Jaffna. We also intend to commence work on the Paliaru Reservoir to provide water to the Pooneryn area,” Wickremesinghe said.
“I have also decided to launch a “River for Jaffna” program. Once both this purification plant and this program are fully implemented, the water problem in Jaffna will be completely resolved. This will help restore the Vadamarachchi area to its former lush state.”
The Jaffna peninsula is bounded by the Indian Ocean and depends on its natural limestone aquifers, but this groundwater has come under threat due to saltwater intrusion, increasing water demands, and runoff from agricultural use of nitrates.
In 1954, Engineer Arumugam, former deputy director of the Irrigation Department, proposed a River for Jaffna for the benefit of the Jaffna peninsula water resources and environment.
Over the years, the irrigation department, Mahaweli Authority, various local and foreign consultants, and international agencies have contributed to and improved the proposal.
The IMF has commended Sri Lanka’s progress towards achieving debt sustainability, with Senior Mission Chief Peter Breuer highlighting the successful execution of domestic debt restructuring and the finalization of agreements with the Official Creditor Committee and China EXIM Bank as major milestones in this effort.
“The authorities have made commendable progress with putting debt on a path towards sustainability,” Breuer said. “The execution of the domestic debt restructuring and finalizing the agreements with the Official Creditor Committee and China EXIM Bank are major milestones.”
The IMF has been closely involved in assessing Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring initiatives.
Breuer noted that IMF staff reviewed the “Joint Working Framework” announced after the second round of restricted discussions with the bondholder committee. This assessment was shared with Sri Lankan authorities and the financial advisors of the bondholders.
“We encourage a swift resolution of the remaining steps to achieve debt sustainability and regain investor confidence,” Breuer added. “We will continue to support Sri Lanka’s ongoing debt restructuring efforts.”
Looking ahead, the IMF will formally assess Sri Lanka’s progress in meeting key commitments under the IMF-supported program during the third review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
The timing of this review will be discussed with the government following the announcement of the upcoming presidential elections.
The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has reportedly receiving 45 complaints related to violations of election laws concerning the upcoming Presidential Election.
Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi stated that the majority of complaints involve the misuse of state power.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has registered its strong protest with Sri Lanka over the death of an Indian fisherman following a collision between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat near Katchatheevu island today.
According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, the ministry summoned the Sri Lankan acting high commissioner in New Delhi and lodged a strong protest over the incident.
“We expressed our shock and anguish at the unfortunate loss of life. Our High Commissioner in Colombo will also be raising the matter with the Sri Lankan government later today.
“The Government of India has always emphasised the need to deal with issues pertaining to fishermen in a humane and humanitarian manner,” the ministry said in a statement.
According to Indian media, concerns were raised after a collision between a Sri Lankan naval vessel and an Indian fishing boat near Katchatheevu island left one fisherman dead and another missing.
The collision occurred about 5 nautical miles north of Katchatheevu Island on Thursday morning. Of the four fishermen on the boat, two were rescued and taken to Kankesanthurai.
A search is underway for the missing fisherman, the ministry said. Indian Consulate officials in Jaffna have been asked to urgently go to Kankesanthurai to support the fishermen and their families, it added.
Katchatheevu Island, situated between Rameswaram (India) and Sri Lanka, was traditionally used by fishermen from both countries. In 1974, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi agreed to cede Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka under the “Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime Agreement.”
This agreement confirmed Sri Lanka’s sovereignty over the island and addressed historic waters between Sri Lanka and India in the Palk Strait and Palk Bay. But Indian fishermen are allowed to access the island, as per the agreement.
Hindustan Times
A senior Tamil leader from the North has accused the political leaders from the south of not even tendering an apology for the deadly Black July pogrom of 1983, which was perpetuated with government support. The Sinhala rioters who went berserk killed hundreds of Tamil people in the capital Colombo and other parts of the country.
53 political prisoners at the notorious Welikada jail were massacred. The Black July riots of 1983 were a watershed moment that polarized the already divided country on ethnic lines.
“Even as we are facing a Presidential election, candidates who keep on coming to the north and east to campaign neither express regret nor offer an apology to the Tamil people even after four decades. None have provided any compensation or other assistance to those affected,” said Suresh Premachandran, former Jaffna District MP and leader of the EPRLF at a meeting in Jaffna recently.
The former spokesperson of the erstwhile Tamil National Alliance was speaking at an event in Jaffna recently to remember Tamils who were massacred at the Welikada Jail during the Black July riots in 1983 and in the Bindunuwewa rehabilitation camp and other detention facilities in Sri Lanka.
Families of those killed, religious leaders, politicians, and civil society activists participated in the remembrance event held at the Thanthai Chelva Memorial Hall.
Suresh Premachandran accused successive governments of branding all those Tamils who were killed as ‘terrorists’. Adding further the leader of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) said there is a need to pass on the struggle for the rights of the Tamil people to the future generations.
“The governments of this country looked upon all the Tamils who have been killed as terrorists and that’s the reason we lost thousands of people in the struggle. Apart from that thousands more were killed by the Army and the Navy. So, for people like me who escaped death, remembering those who have been killed is needed to take forward the struggle of the people who fought for their rights for the coming generations”.
Presidential candidate Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Minister for Justice, Prisons Affairs, and Constitutional Reforms offered a brief apology from the Tamil people for the Black July riots that happened 41 years back. Following his statement on the 23rd of July in Colombo, he later announced his candidature on July 29, 2024.
The remembrance event in Jaffna was attended by the leader of the Tamil National Green Movement and former minister of the Northern Province Ponnuthurai Ayngaranesan, Dean of Arts faculty Sivasubramaniam Raguram, leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi Maavai Senathiraja, families of those killed during the riots, released political prisoners, and University students participated in the remembrance event.
Political parties including TELO, EPRLF, PLOTE, the Crusaders for Democracy Party, and the Tamil National Party that formed the Democratic Tamil National Alliance also participated in the event to remember those killed in the Black July riots.
At a similar event jointly organized by the Jaffna Traders Association and Civil Service Organizations to recall the killing of Tamil people in the Black July riots saw the participation of religious and political leaders and social activists.
25-27 July 1983
During the 1983 Black July massacres 53 Tamil political prisoners under remand in the Welikada jail, including the leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization were hacked to death in their cells by the Sinhala prisoners detained there with the complete support of the security guards and prison officials.
When the bodies of the 35 killed on the 25th of July 1983 including TELO leader Kuttimani (Selvarajah Yogachandran) were heaped inhumanly in front of the Buddha statue in the forecourt of the jail, even those faintly breathing were identified and beaten to death.
Then again on the 27th of July, when the Sinhala prisoners laid siege to the cells where the Tamil political prisoners were detained on the first floor and attacked them, 18 people including the leader of the Gandhian movement Dr Somasundaram Rajasundaram were killed. Among those who miraculously survived were the present minister for fisheries Douglas Devananda, Panagoda Maheswaran (Tambipillai Maheswaran), Anthony Pillai Alagiri of the Eelam Revolutionary Organization of Students, and S. David of the Gandhian movement.
Recalling the traumatic experiences in the Welikada prison S. David told news website JDSLanka the riots and massacre and the attack on Anthony Pillai Alagiri inside the prison was led by Sepala Ekanayake who was imprisoned there for hijacking an Alitalia flight. Although the Tamil United Liberation Front tried to nominate TELO leader Kuttimani to the Parliament, the then speaker Bakeer Markar refused to swear him in since he was serving a life sentence.
25 October Bindunuwewa
Almost a quarter of a century ago more than 40 Tamil people held in the Bandarawela Bindunuwewa ‘rehabilitation camp’ were murdered under the pretext of suspicious relations with the now militarily defeated LTTE. They were released after the war and sent for what the government called the ‘rehabilitation and reintegration’ process. In total 41 persons were kept in the Bindunuwewa. In the wee hours of 25th of October 2000, twenty seven among them were hacked and stabbed to death. The remaining 14 Tamils were seriously injured and battled for their lives without proper medical care which was denied to them just for being Tamils. Sri Lankan police and the local Sinhala villagers were accused of the attack and massacre.
Among the 41 persons arrested for the Bindunuwewa massacre, 19 were police officials including the Officers in Charge of the Bandarawela and Diyatalawa police stations and the rest were local villagers.
An appellate court on May 17 released the four persons including two police officers who were found guilty and sentenced to death by a local court on the 1st of July 2003.
However, JDS says the case against the Upcountry plantation workers who protested against the gruesome massacre of 27 prisoners and 14 other inmates injured inside the Bindunuwewa camp is yet to conclude as the state has failed to produce witnesses in court.
