By this evening (02), 601 complaints have been received against Dr. Mohamed Shafi attached to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital who is currently under arrest.
The interim report of the committee appointed by the Ministry of Health to investigate complaints against Dr. Shafi will be handed over to the Secretary to the Ministry of Health tomorrow (03).
Fifty mothers lodged complaints at Kurunegala Teaching Hospital today claiming that they had not conceived again after undergoing a Caesarian surgery under Dr. Shafi.
The total number of complaints received by the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital on the matter by now has risen 486.
Meanwhile, 08 mothers lodged their complaints against Dr. Shafi at the Dambulla Hospital.
The Kurunegala Teaching Hospital stated that there are still more chances to file complaints against Dr. Shafi.
Director of the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital Dr. Sarath Weerabandara said that the investigations will commence within the next few weeks according to the instructions of the Health Ministry.
Meanwhile, a protest was held at the Telwatte area in Ambalangoda today demanding the abolishment of the committee appointed by the Ministry of Health to inquire into activities of Dr. Shafi and to appoint an independent investigation committee instead.
Don’t enter into any agreement with foreign countries: Buddhist, Catholic leaders
31
May 2019 08:59 pm – 1 – 2275
Chief prelates of the Malwatte and
Asgiriya chapters and Colombo’s Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith today
called on the government to refrain from entering into any agreement with any
foreign country in a manner foreign armed forces could enter Sri Lanka and set
up camps in the country jeopardizing the people’s sovereignty upheld by the
Constitution.
Note
Now SOFA agreement with US
By Our Diplomatic Editor
Foreign
Minister Tilak Marapana raised concerns of the Sri Lanka Government — during
his visit to Washington DC this week — with his US counterpart, Secretary of
State Michael Pompeo, on the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between
the two countries.
SOFA is another controversial
agreement the US was proposing to the Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement
(ACSA) signed first in 2007 and renewed in 2017.
The ACSA provides for joint
military cooperation between Sri Lanka and the United States and includes
logistic support, supplies, services and the use of airports and ports during
unforeseen circumstances”. While the 2007 ACSA permits US military vessels to
anchor in Sri Lanka ports on a ‘one-off’ basis, the 2017 ACSA appears to be
open ended
Do we need this now ?
We
have Sen(di)nayake who is not second to the Marshal ( not in the field) these
days who can handle any situation ,we should be rushing to enter into such
treaties?
Do
we need heavily built Green Berets loafing around courting our lasss and
mistreating our skinny soldiers like in Okinawa ?
Quote
1995 Okinawa rape incident
(The 1995 Okinawa rape incident took
place on September 4, 1995, when three U.S. servicemen – U.S. NavySeaman Marcus Gill and U.S. Marines Rodrico Harp and Kendrick Ledet, who were all
serving at Camp
Hansen on Okinawa – rented a van and kidnapped a 12-year-old Okinawan
girl. They beat her, duct-taped her eyes and mouth shut, and bound her hands. Gill
and Harp then raped her, while Ledet claimed he only pretended to do so
out of fear of Gill.[1] The incident led to further debate over the continued presence of U.S. forces in
Japan. The
offenders were tried and convicted in Japanese court by Japanese law, in
accordance with the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement. The families of the defendants initially
claimed that Japanese officials had racially discriminated against the men
because they were all black and coerced confessions from them, but later
retracted the claims.[2]))
Yankee
Dickie in Sri Lanka made a similar blunder and Indian army of Occupation was
evicted with a great difficulty by Premadasa
We
should be wary about such situation when you see what happened in Vietnam,Iraq
,Libya Japan and Afghanistan
Dr Sarath OBEYSEKERA .
Rise-up Sri Lanka Rise-up! Destroy the Enemy as It Pivots-to-Lanka to Build An Electrified Eelam ‘Border-Wall’ and Make the Island Its Military-Hub in the Indo-Pacific (Part 1)
Posted on February 26th, 2019
By ‘Che’
Children
of Lanka, behold thy Mother in the year 2050, penetrated and abused! Mother
Lanka behold thy Children of 2050, bereft of mother, dignity and
enslaved!
The
above map of Sri Lanka, in the year 2050, is taken from the Gospel according to
‘Born Again’ America, printed by courtesy of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC).
This
Map is a visual representation of some key elements of an Agreement reached
between Wickramasinghe and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), after
two years of very secretive discussions.
The
Agreement (the Americans prefer to call it a ‘Compact’) was to have been signed
in November 2018 between the Americans and Wickramasinghe.
Had
the Agreement been signed as planned, the Island by 2050, as depicted in the
Map, would have been splintered and the entire Country whored into being an
American Military-Base.
Sri
Lanka’s recent history records how three European nations, successfully invaded
the Country by stoking in-fighting amongst the native population. The Sri
Lankans of that time did not realise they were being set-up. Consequently, Sri
Lanka was conquered and the Europeans ruled the Island for nearly 400 years.
It
appears that we have yet not learned this vital lesson of history. The threat
of the country being subjugated by a new Imperial power is imminent. Sri Lanka
is on the edge of an abyss with the Enemy now at our door.
And
pray, what are we Sri Lankans doing? We are squabbling with each other gazing
at the other’s navel.
Make
no mistake, the Americans are going full throttle to take over Sri Lanka. No
apologies are needed, no need to couch our language. Sri Lanka’s Enemy
Number One, right now, is America. FULL STOP.
With
the MCC Agreement, only awaiting Wickramasinghe’s signature, the Americans are
on the verge of taking over our Country; Wickramasinghe and his cohorts are
handing it over to them on a platter.
Sri
Lankans, we do not have much time left; now is the time to comprehend and unite
to defend our Motherland. Shed Party, Ethnic and Religious affiliations and
differences to drive this accursed Enemy from our shores.
Harbour
no illusions, it is a hard fight like what David experienced when he squared
off with bullyboy Goliath.
But
united, we have the strength, the cunning and the wisdom to drive this Enemy
out from our shores. And this we shall!
Vide
America’s map of Sri Lanka featured above, a prominent feature of the map is
the Land-Corridor running the length of Trincomalee to Colombo via
Dambulla.
Under
cover of ‘Megapolis’ development, the Americans demanded from Sri Lanka an
‘Economic’ Corridor of 1.2 Million Acres of land from Trincomalee to Colombo
for a lease period of 200 years; the Americans insisted that the law inside
this Corridor must perforce be US law.
This
Corridor literally divides Sri Lanka into two – the North and the South – like
in the Eelam Map of the defeated terrorists or the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) on
the 38th parallel in the Korean peninsula separating North Korea from the
South.
For
the lease of this Corridor, in Sri Lanka, the Americans have offered 400
Million US Dollars, which works out to a meagre Rupees Twenty-Four (Rs. 24/=)
per Acre per Month!
To
boot, this Corridor has the ‘Eppawela’ phosphates (one of the world’s largest
deposits which the Americans were trying to snatch in the 1980’s and were
prevented by a brilliant landmark judgement of the Supreme Court), ilmenite,
thorium (a nuclear fuel used as a substitute for uranium), Monazite, and
rare-earth metals Cerium and Lanthanum. All this for Rs. 24/= per month!
The
MCC did a ‘Constraints to Investment’ analysis of Sri Lanka. Consequently, the
Americans threatened that if Sri Lanka wanted the Americans to go ahead with
their ‘Rupees 24/= per acre per month’ investment for 200 years, Sri Lanka
should abrogate her land laws which had protected her Sovereignty and National
Security; Sri Lanka was instructed to pass new Land Laws that would legalise
State Land to be brought under the hammer (viz Privatised) and laws which would
permit the Americans to buy outright any extent of Land in any part of the
Island.
Wickramasinghe
agreed to oblige and these new Bills – the ‘State Land Bank’ Bill and the ‘Land
(Special Provision)’ Bill – were drafted.
These
two Bills and the ‘Constraints to Investment’ Report were drafted at Harvard in
Massachusetts and subsequently sent to Sri Lanka’s Attorney General and the
Legal Draftsman for their signatures.
To
give the readers a sneak view of the draft Bills, some highlights are excerpted
from the respective preambles to the Bills.
State
Land Bank Bill: a. Provides for the
establishment of a State Land Bank: b. Requires the compilation of a register
of all State Lands belonging to Public Institutions: c. Makes provision for
these Public institutions to lease such lands to persons making a request for
same: d. Repeals Part 1v, Part v and Part v1 of the Land Reform Act No:1 of
1972 (this repeal includes the restriction in place on ownership of property by
a single individual to a maximum of 50-acres): e. Vests the powers of the Land
reform Commission in the State Land Bank: f. (Sec 17) – Enables any person,
including foreigners, to lease out State Land.
Land
(Special Provisions) Bill: a.
Grants absolute Title to citizens who presently, by ‘Government Grant’, have
regulated usage of State Lands: b. Permits citizens, who hold Title to State
Lands, to mortgage such land to banks: c. Permits banks to sell off such State
Lands, mortgaged to the banks, to private individuals including foreigners:
d. This Act shall be in operation for only seven years.
The
Americans further instructed Wickramasinghe to ‘replicate’ in Sri Lanka’s rural
areas, the ‘40-Acres and a Mule’ concept that had been enforced in America in
1865; the former slave owners were required to give each of the emancipated
slave-families, 40- acres of land and a mule.
Without
wherewithal, the black families survived the first month on the flesh of the
Mule; thereafter, to survive, they sold their property back to the former slave
owners for a pittance and the black families, in droves, trekked and trekked
and trekked to the industrial cities like Detroit, Michigan and Chicago in
search of employment.
The
‘40-acre and a mule’ concept drove out the black community from their Lands in
the South, pauperised and bonded the former slaves from the inception of their
emancipation, created mass urban migration to the industrial centres, was
responsible for the creation of black ghettos in American cities, created the
foundation for a large number of the black community to be sent to prison for
drug offences and be deprived of their voting-rights, created a bank of surplus
labour which the American private sector exploited by paying them less than
subsistent wages.
In
an ‘everywhere-Mary-went-the-lamb -was-sure-to-go’ attitude, Wickramasinghe
publicly complied with American directives and announced his intentions of
giving each rural farmer family 2-acres of land.
With
the proviso in the ‘Land (Special Provisions) Bill that this law applies only
for seven years, the problems the American black community are burdened with,
would be compounded and accelerated; it could be anticipated that the rural
poor would hurriedly sell off or mortgage their Lands.
When
the rural poor are compelled and encouraged to mortgage their lands and trek to
the cities, the land (devoid of any one occupying it), becomes available for
companies like Monsanto to initiate their assault on our land.
This
is Ranawaka-Wickramasinghe ‘Megapolis’ development, if you may.
It
is pertinent that over 80% of Sri Lanka is State Land.
Does
it behove an Imperial Power to invade an island and capture her territory by
force of arms when it can simply buy up the entire country with the aid of
collaborators from within?
As
can be deduced from the Map, the country has been perforated into several parts
with provision to make further divisions in the future.
An
‘Electrified’ Railway Line from Trincomalee to Colombo (Vide the Electrified
Railway Line featured as little rectangles in the legend to the Sri Lanka Map
above) makes a distinct physical separation of the North of the Island from the
South.
The
electric ‘protective’ fences on either side of the electrified railway line to
protect humans and animals from being electrocuted, would make this ‘Eelam
Wall’ the World’s first electrified ‘Border-Wall’!
As can
be evinced from the Map, Sri Lanka has been metamorphosed into a large
‘aircraft carrier with several runways, plum in the centre of the Indian
Ocean.
There
is an International Airport in Polonnaruwa too!
There
is cause for even greater concern. Some researchers claim that MCC has put out
another Map, portraying Sri Lanka in the year 2100, a hundred years from hence;
as per that map it is arguable whether Sri Lanka is one Island or two Islands.
These
researchers have reportedly challenged the MCC and Alaina Teplitz to put out
into the public domain the map of Sri Lanka in the Year 2100.
According
to the emerging reports, in the American Map of Sri Lanka in the Year ‘2100’, a
Canal like the Suez Canal, has been dredged along the length of the Economic Corridor
from Trincomalee to Colombo; this Canal has opened up the Bay of Bengal to the
Arabian Sea via the Laccadive Sea, affording the INDOPACOM and its RIMPAC
military alliance a tremendous strategic advantage over Powers like India,
China and Russia.
For
Sri Lanka such an ‘Eelam Canal’ would sound the death knell for her; this Canal
would permanently slice the Island into two.
The
Megapolis Minister reportedly is the mid-wife for the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC) baby, delivering a Frankenstein mutation of Sri Lanka.
Who
or what is this MCC which can commit America to Agreements with Sovereign
Nation States?
The
MCC is a bi partisan American organisation (approved by both the Democrats and
the Republicans) set up and funded by the US Government, to do what the CIA,
the NED (National Endowment for Democracy) and USAID, have been trained to
do.
The Chairman of the MCC Board is the US Secretary of State
and its Vice- Chairman, the US Secretary of the Treasury; the rest of the MCC
Board are the US Trade Representative, Administrator of USAID, the CEO of the
MCC and four private sector members appointed by the US President on the advice
and consent of the US Senate.
MCC CEO Jonathan Nash and Chargé d’affaires ad interim
Robert Hilton meeting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Temple Trees on 20 Sep 18
.Cabinet
paper on bulletproof vehicle for MR due to request..
Opp. Leader’s office sent request for bulletproof
vehicle in letter to PM’s Office
It cited serious security threats to former
President
Decision on Cabinet paper referred for next week
Daily FT ,…….
Should we take a clue from the His Eminence The
Cardinal ??
I agree that Ex-President’s life is
worth protection because people are now lamenting that they made a wrong
decision.Hence they may want to revert the decision they made .
Maduluwawe Sobhita Thero is
no more hence there is no one to advise .Rathana Thero is also in a warpath
with the President and the Government.
Prof Wijesooriya who was an ardent
supporter of the incumbent government is now regretting that he supported them
to come to power .
We are not sure about Rajitha
Senaratne ,as he is unpredictable and Patali is head on collision with the PM
in getting rid of Badhurdin. These were the same people who towed the line with
MS to get rid of MR .
Now with Dammika .Nagananda
,Pallewatta eying for the post ,we should keep the experienced ex leader
alive to take the helm.
I remember we did lot of work in
converting a land rover to a bullet proof vehicle for the President
Premadasa after JVP tried to blow off Athulathmidali in the Parliament. Unfortunately
President Premadasa was driving around in the same converted bullet proof
vehicle when he was killed by tigers ,That is because ,fate made him come
out if vehicle with Mohiddeen to greet Babu. ( I sometimes wonder whether
Mohidden was a member of NTJ?)
Whether we all take precautions by
driving bullet proof vehicles or not when time is up you may die of choking a
Coa Cola .
At this juncture MR should say that
he did not want any bullet proof vehicle and say, my people are more important
and let the government protect them .
The German government’s anti-Semitism commissioner has urged
Jews to avoid wearing skullcaps in public.
When I read above news I was wondering whether Sri Lankan
Authorities may contemplate to issue a advisory to Muslims also with similar
waning ?
Similar
waRning has been issued to Muslim Women regarding wearing Burqa covering the
face Soon it may be applied to Muslim men against wearing their traditional
cap?
I
recall an anecdote in Russia about Jews ,Christians and Muslims started
wearing skull caps and buddhist none .
A
Russian Communist who is an atheist was leading a group of priests of Christian
,Jew .Muslim and a Buddhist faiths through the jungle A
ferocious black bear started chasing them and all three other than Russian
started praying .The Russian thought that praying would not help as the God was
nowhere ,he climbed up a tree and shouted to other three to also climg the tree
.
Bear
was trying to come up the tree and the Russian got scared and urinated ( he
uttered Naa Hui)
Next
to him on the tree was the Jew who had some drops fallen on his heary head
,more unrine fell on Christian and muslim also much more
Head
of the buddhist was fully soaked
Anecdote
says that after the incident Jew shaved part of the head and
started wearing a skullcaps (kippah ) ,Christian who was a priest
started wearing a bigger cap ( Zecchetto
.Muslim
shaved hair and started wearing cap ( Kufi/Taqiyah) to cover the whole
head
Finally
buddhist priest whose head was fully soaked decided to shave the whole head !
Very
soon all the buddhists may have to shave their heads to identify themselves as
buddhists?
The fast unto death started by Ven Athureliye Rathana Thera in the hallowed precincts of the Sri Dalada Maligawa last Friday is all the more significant because he is a UNP national list MP. This is a fast unto death started by a member of the government against the government – a governing party MP starting a fast demanding the removal of a Cabinet Minister and two provincial Governors of the same government. Even though the President and Prime Minister may be pulling in different directions, for all practical purposes, it is one government. The fast started by Ven Rathana Thera is in many ways reminiscent of the similar fast unto death started by Ven Omalpe Sobitha Thera against the Chandrika Kumaratnga government’s Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure or P-TOMS in 2005.
That however was a fast unto death started by an opposition Bhikku MP against a proposed move by the government. This time it’s a member of the government that has started a fast unto death against his own government. One may assume that the fast unto death started by Ven Rathana will end in much the same way as the fast unto death started by Ven Omalpe Sobitha Thera – what happened at that time was that the Ven Mahanayake Theras prevailed upon Ven Sobitha Thera to give up his fast on the assurance that the Chandrilka Kumaratunga government had pledged to the Ven Mahanayakes that the government would not sign P-TOMS without giving the Ven Mahanayake’s the final say in the matter.
In any event the P-TOMS arrangement was shot down by the Supreme Court for being in violation of the Sri Lankan Constitution and things ended on a satisfactory note for all concerned. Ven Omalpe Sobitha Thera is alive and well and we see him often on TV. Ven Rathana has gone on a fast unto death demanding the removal of Minister Rishard Baithiudeen, and Governors Azath Salley and A.L.M..Hisbulla and if something is not done about these individuals, Ven Rathana will not be able to give up his fast. The dates for the debate on the no confidence motion against Minister Rishard Baithiudeen has been fixed for the 18th and 19th of this month. How long can a human being last without food and water? The government will have to ensure that Ven Rathana is not still lying in the precincts of the Dalada Maligawa when the debate takes place in Parliament.
Death fast during the debate?
The last thing the government needs is for Ven Rathana to be lingering between life and death in the Dalada Maligawa premises while the NCM against Baithiudeen is being debated in Parliament. Ven Rathana is not just any monk, but a sitting member of the very Parliament that will be discussing the NCM. Christian MPs within the government have already said that they will be voting against Minister Baithiudeen. They have been joined by several members of the TNA representing the ITAK, the EPRLF and TELO. The larger body of TNA Parliamentarians may still not have committed themselves either way but it’s obvious that no TNA Parliamentarian will really be in a position to take the political risk of voting in favour of Minister Baithudeen because of the simmering issues between Tamils and Muslims in the North and East.
The Eastern Tamils want Governor Hisbulla removed from that post. They organized a hartal when he was first appointed to that position by President Sirisena. The antagonism between the Muslims and the Tamils in the East is so sharp that we should not be surprised to at all if a delegation of Tamils comes from the East to support the fast unto death started by Ven Rathana because one of the demands he has put forward is the removal of Governor Hisbulla from that post. If the Tamils of the East think that Ven Rathana’s fast is their ticket to success and that their joining in will give Ven Rathana’s project a better chance of succeeding, they will at some point definitely make an appearance before the Dalada Maligawa.
As this column was being penned on Saturday, the news came that TNA MP S.Viyalendran who defected to the JO late last year had also started a fast in Batticaloa in support of Ven Rathana’s fast in Kandy. Two Parliamentarians on hunger strike at the same time in different parts of the country making the same demands. Viyalendran’s hunger strike will undoubtedly gain as much traction in Batticaloa as Ven Rathana’s fast in Kandy because there were hartals in Batticaloa when Hisbulla was first appointed Governor, and Batticaloa was also the scene of one of the Easter Sunday suicide bombings.
One by one the government’s defences are crumbling when it comes to the NCM against Minister Baithiudeen. First it was the Christian MPs in the government. Then it was an ITAK Parliamentarian from Manner. Then the TELO and EPRLF MPs. The latest to join the chorus from within the government against Minister Baithiudeen is Minister Champika Ranawaka. At a press conference last Thursday flanked by the JHU high command Ven Hedigalle Wimalasara Thera, Karunaratne Paranavithana and Nishantha Warnasinghe Minister Champika Ranawaka said that Minister Rishard Baithiudeen should resign pending an investigation. The JHU has stressed that the allegations levelled at Baithiudeen cannot be examined adequately through a debate in Parliament and that they should be investigated by the police and that Minister Baithiudeen should resign until he is cleared of the charges. He described the charges against Minister Baithiudeen as being of a serious criminal nature.
Champika stopped short of saying what he would do in the event that Minister Baithudeen does not resign. However it is quite obvious that when the debate on the NCM against Baithudeen most of the Sinhala MPs in the government will make themselves scarce. It will in fact be worth seeing how many government MPs actually turn up to vote at all. Indeed, how may will even speak in Parliament on the NCM if it entails defending Minister Baithudeen? How many Sinhala MPs will consider it worth their while to defend Baithudeen and risk a reduction in the votes they get? Due to the poisonous contagion of ethnic politics in this country very few Sinhala MPs get any Muslim votes and very few Muslim MPs get Sinhala votes.
Due to this divide, few Sinhala MPs will consider it worth their while to go out on a limb to defend Baithudeen even if he is completely innocent of the charges against him. A major inhibiting factor in this regard is the storm gathering in the form of the allegations against Dr Mohamed Shafi of the Kurunegala hospital over infertility reported by many Sinhala women who had undergone cesarian operations by him. For several days now, dozens of women have been arriving at the Kurunegala hospital complaining of unexplained infertility after being operated on by Dr Shafi. The fact that he is a member of Rishard Baithudeen’s political party and contested elections on the UNP list as a nominee of Baithudeen’s party is going to make all Sinhala politicians think twice before even speaking at the debate on the NCM against him.
Can the allegations against
Rishard be proved?
When one takes a closer look at the NCM against Minister Baithudeen, one sees that it is very difficult to argue against it. The first charge on the NCM is that the Sri Lanka Army Commander had stated to the ‘Silumina’ newspaper on 5th May 2019 that pressure was exerted on him by Minister Baithiudeen to release a suspect apprehended in connection with the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks on 21st April 2019. One can argue whether the Minister was exerting pressure on the Army commander or merely making an inquiry and a request. In the early days, during the JVP’s armed rebellions and the Tamil separatist struggle, Sinhala and Tamil politicians used to phone the police or the army about arrested suspects. Today however, after suffering multiple outbreaks of terrorism, the tolerance for this kind of behaviour on the part of politicians is at a low ebb.
If there is another JVP insurgency today, anybody who phones the police on behalf of an arrested suspect will be regarded as a terrorist himself. This Islamic terror comes at a time when the people’s tolerance level has gone down and Baithudeen’s intervention will be looked at in that light. The exact words exchanged between the Army Commander and Baithiudeen will be of crucial importance. In that regard, what the Army commander has revealed to the public does not bode well. He said that his last words to Minister Baithudeen was “Give me this call after one and a half years”. This refers to the maximum period of detention under the PTA. The mention of this maximum period of detention gives one the impression that Baithiudeen did ask for the suspect to be released.
Champika was right when he said that the allegations made against Baithiudeen cannot be examined in a debate in Parliament and that a police investigation will be necessary to ascertain whether they are true or not. The second allegation against Baithudeen is that the factory owned by Ahmed Ibrahim, who carried out the suicide bomb attack on Cinnamon Grand Hotel had been supplied with empty cartridge casings by the Ministry of Trade and Commerce which is under Minister Rishard Baithiudeen in breach of the usual procedures. This too has to be investigated properly just like other allegations against the Minister such as the following
* Reasonable suspicions have arisen that political influence has been instrumental in allowing the workers of the factory which is believed to have been used for the manufacture of the bombs to be released on bail on 06.05.2019 by not producing them to court under the Prevention of Terrorism Act by the Sri Lanka Police.
* No action was taken against S. K. P. Alahudeen, the Treasurer of the All Ceylon People’s Congress led by Minister Rishad Bathiudeen for not disclosing the plans of terrorists to the authorities despite being aware of the activities of the terrorists.
* Two sons of Al-Haj Mohamad Ibraim Yusuf Ibrahim, a close associate of Minister Rishard Baithiudeen, carried out suicide attacks.
* Abdul Hanuth, a Pradeshiya Sabha member of the All Ceylon People’s Congress, who claimed to be a Coordinating Secretary to the Minister, has been arrested as a terrorist suspect.
* A Movulavi who claims to be an advisor to the Minister has been arrested as a terrorist suspect.
* Rifkan Bathiudeen, one of the Minister’s brothers, when handed over to the police after being arrested by the army, was released without being produced before Courts, as a result of pressure exerted on the police.
* A very strong opinion prevails in society based on information provided by the officers of the security forces and the police that Minister Bathiudeen is exerting undue pressure on the investigations in relation to the Easter Sunday terrorist attack.
* The fact that Minister Rishard Baithiudeen is in the government is an obstacle to the investigations and the police have so far failed to question the Minister despite strong suspicions about a direct link between the Minister and the terrorists.
The nature of these allegations are such that the first instinct of even a reasonably cautious MP will be to avoid saying anything in defence of Baithiudeen and to wait for a proper investigation to clear him. For example, who can argue against the last allegation that Minister Baithiudeen’s continued presence in the government is an obstacle to the investigations? Furthermore, who will argue publicly that Al-Haj Mohammad Ibraim Yusuf Ibrahim was not a close associate of the Minister or that S. K. P. Alahudeen, the father of one of the female suicide bombers was not the Treasurer of the All Ceylon People’s Congress? Baithiudeen for his part has not made it any easier for government MPs to support him by issuing a detailed rebuttal of these allegations.
Polarisation between Muslims
and non-Muslims
The polarization between the Muslim community, on the one hand, and non-Muslim communities, on the other, is growing by the day. The Easter Sunday attacks did not just come out of the blues. This was preceded by years of conflicts within the Muslim community itself with various schools of thought fighting each other verbally as well as physically. The Mulsim leaders remained deaf and blind to these goings-on because all that they were interested in was votes. Whether those votes came from moderate Muslims or extremist Muslims was not the concern of these Muslim politicians. For them every last vote counted and the since the extremist Muslim was also a Muslim, they tried to balance the two and the end result of this was the Easter Sunday attacks and the resultant fall out.
Last week, after Muslim villages in Madatugama in Kekirawa in the Anuradhapura District demolished a Towheed Jamath mosque in Kekirawa, the Eastern Province Governor A. L. M. Hisbulla issued a statement stating that it was wrong to take advantage of the prevailing situation and to demolish the mosque of a rival school of Islamic thought. As this writer has been stating all along, Hisbulla’s home town of Kattuankudy is a hotbed of Towheed activity and unless he holds a candle to them, he has no political prospects in that part of the country. He has tried to couch his statement in terms giving the Jamiyathul Ulema and the Muslim Affairs Ministry the final say without various Muslim sects taking the law into their own hands, but can this issue be solved without taking sides?
The very reason why this went out of control is that the Muslim politicians who were dependent on the Muslim vote failed to take action against the rising tide of extremism. Hisbulla’s statement shows clearly that all that this country can expect of the established Muslim political leadership is more of the same. A sobering thought indeed. This appears to be a time for each Muslim to think for himself or herself and decide accordingly. The purported leaders of the Muslims are no longer leaders, but followers of whoever can deliver votes to them. Obviously, there is a great deal of confusion within the Muslim community as to how to deal with the new situation.
Some Muslim groups that have been pushing for reforms in the laws applicable to Muslims seem to be apprehensive that they will be seen as traitors to the Islamic cause because of the stand they have taken. The Muslim Personal Law Reform Action Group (MPLRAG) which has been pushing for reforms to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act put out a statement last week stating among other things that the current heightened interest towards reforms to the MMDA and in particular, the lack of a minimum age of marriage for Muslims of Sri Lanka is motivated by prejudice and majoritarian entitlement.
This obviously is a reference to the Prime Minister’s statement that the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act will be amended. So far as this writer is aware, no one else referred to the MMDA in the month since the Easter Sunday bombings. The MPLRAG statement also stated that Muslims had been forced into ‘performative atonement’ and ‘self-policing’. What that would mean is that the atonement that one has seen from within the Muslim community was just a performance put on to placate non Muslims and it was done involuntarily just to wriggle out of a sticky situation. Even the self-policing that the Muslims professed to be doing in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings has been forced on them.
MPLRAG complains that “MMDA reform has been pushed into the government’s agenda in a policy environment that is emotionally charged for Muslim communities and driven by prejudice of certain non-Muslim quarters”. They have also said that “At this juncture, we will work to ensure that the reform conversation is not hijacked by those forces who are not interested in the wellbeing of the community nor leave it to be held in continuous hostage by anti-reform forces within the community”. The contortions that MPLRAG has been forced to perform indicates the bind that the Muslim community finds itself in. If the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act is to be reformed at all, the vast majority of the MPs who will have to vote for it will be non-Muslims. When MPLRAG talks about Muslims being forced into performative atonement and self-policing, who will want to have anything to do with reforming Muslim personal laws?
In 2010, when the EU wanted to withdraw the GSP+ facility from Sri Lanka, they wrote an interim report outlining some of the conditions that Sri Lanka had to fulfill to retain GSP+ and one of those conditions was the banning of female circumcision among Muslims. At that time, this writer said that no government was going to interfere in a religious practice especially if it had no bearing on the adherents of other religions. Of what concern is it to any non-Muslim whether Muslim women were circumcised or not? Likewise, what interest would any non-Muslim have in how old a Muslim girl is if they are to be given in marriage?
The SLFP group in Parliament has been speaking of a law that will apply to everybody regardless of religion and ethnicity and that is the restriction of the number of children in a family to two per family because this country is overpopulated already. If organisations like MPLRAG want to reduce the sufferings of Muslim women under the existing Muslim personal laws, they are not going to succeed in that objective by referring to expressions of contrition by prominent Muslims as performative atonement and steps taken by Muslims against extremist elements within the community as self-policing. These things are happening in a context where Sri Lanka has suffered the worst ever terrorist attack on civilian targets in South Asia at the hands of Islamic extremists.
NEW DELHI. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena returned to Colombo on Friday night after a visit to India diplomats described as successful.
“It was a successful visit for three reasons”, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India Austin Fernando told The Sunday Island here today.
He elaborated thus: “Our President came to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second swearing-in ceremony – an auspicious moment. His meeting with Mr. Modi and his team went off very well. It was friendly and productive. And the visit ended with the President’s declaration that Mr. Modi will go to Sri Lanka next Sunday.”
The President was accompanied by Ministers Rauff Hakeem and Mano Ganesan, while lawmaker Arumugam Thondaman arrived here on his own. They all attended Modi’s swearing-in at a spectacular ceremony in the sprawling forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s Palace) in sweltering heat on Thursday evening.
While Fernando accompanied Sirisena to the bilateral meeting with the Indian leader, Modi’s team included his National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Sandhu and Dinesh Patnaik, Additional Secretary (Indian Ocean Region) in the External Affairs Ministry.
The two leaders had a one-on-one meeting after the team-level talks.
The Sunday Island understands that Sirisena raised the issue of some Sri Lankan fishermen being kept in Indian prisons for illegal fishing in Indian waters. Modi responded by suggesting that no fishermen should be kept in custody either by India or Sri Lanka. And both sides agreed.
A senior Indian official said big business houses are involved in deploying large fishing vessels which had been indulging in bottom-trawling for years and, in the process, destroying the coast lines of both India and Sri Lanka. While Sri Lanka has banned bottom-trawling, India has only “prohibited” it with no legal repercussions.
India has been spending millions on training Tamil Nadu fishermen in deep-sea fishing to wean them away from bottom-trawling. But much more needs to be done to stop big business houses to put an end to the practice of bottom-trawling, the official opined.
The highlight of Sirisena’s visit was his hour-long interaction with Indian and foreign media, attended by about a hundred print and television journalists. But the interaction was not a part of his original program.
While driving from the airport to The Taj Palace Hotel on Thursday, High Commissioner Austin Fernando suggested the presser to Sirisena after receiving several requests for interviews. The President agreed.
Immediately, Nirmala Paranavitana Fonseka, Minister (Press) in the High Commission, got into the act and, with help from the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, put together a well-attended interaction with the global media. Fernando conducted the proceedings.
The President spoke in Sinhalese, and was ably translated into English by Pabodha Senaratne, his brilliant interpreter. His answers to pointed questions were lucid and precise, and he spoke with confidence and answered all questions without any fumbling.
The media men went away duly impressed. Since New Delhi-based foreign journalists cover Sri Lanka as a part of their “beat,” they said such interactions with visiting Sri Lankan dignitaries are a great help.
TNA Parliamentarian S. Viyalendiran has launched a protest fast at Gandhi Park in Batticaloa, supporting the hunger strike launched by MP Ven. Athureliye Rathana Thero.
The TNA Batticaloa District MP, who has pledged support to the Joint Opposition, commenced the protest this morning (01) supporting the demands made by Ven. Rathana Thero.
Viyalendiran calls on the Prime Minister to remove Minister Rishad Bathiudeen immediately and questions why the President still has not sacked Governors Hizmullah and Salley, who he called racists.
Rathana Thero commenced a protest fast in front of Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy yesterday (31) demanding the removal of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, Eastern Province Governor M.L.A.M Hizbullah and Western Province Governor Azath Salley from their respective posts.
The Thero has said that he is prepared to sacrifice his life if need be in order to achieve his demands.
Meanwhile the Thero’s hunger strike has entered day two as he continues his protest today.
Viyalendiran had pledged support to Mahinda Rajapaksa and joined the Joint Opposition during the constitutional crisis in October last year. He was was sworn in as Deputy Minister, a position he held for a few days.
Viyalendiran was subsequently sacked by his party, the Democratic People’s Liberation Front (DPLF), the political wing of People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE).
Anil Amarasekera Co-President National Joint Committee
Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe, The Prime Minister of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, The Prime Minister’s 0ffice, No. 58, Sir Ernest de Silva Mawatha Colombo 7.
Dear
Sir,
The
Millennium Challenge Corporation Agreement
The National Joint
Committee is committed to protect and preserve the unity and territorial
integrity of our nation. We believe that Sri Lanka should follow a foreign
policy of nonalignment. Due to the fact that Sri Lanka is strategically located
in the Indian Ocean the country needs to remain nonaligned and refrain from
getting involved in the geopolitical confrontation that is developing between
America and China, through agreements that would enable these countries to gain
a foothold in Sri Lanka.
The nonaligned policy was
compromised when the Acquisition and Cross Service Agreement (ACSA) was first signed
in 2007 and subsequently renewed in 2017. This agreement is now contemplated to
be further extended to a Status of Forces Agreement (ACSA) with immunity being
provided to foreign servicemen on Sri Lankan soil. There is another
controversial agreement with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) of
America that is supposed to have been signed on 27th of April 2019.
Therefore the National
Joint Committee at its last meeting decided to request you to release to the public
the text of the MCC agreement. The information available in certain websites argue
that as a result of this MCC agreement with America the sovereignty, unity and
territorial integrity of our nation will be lost to posterity. These websites
are given below for your information.
The articles in these
websites point out that the MCC agreement will create an economic corridor
extending from Trincomalee to Colombo containing a land mass of 1.2 million
acres which would be leased for 200 years to America for sum of 480 million
dollars. To accommodate the acquisition of land for this proposed economic
corridor these articles state that two new laws namely the State Land Bank bill
and Land Special Provision Bill are to be enacted.
Furthermore these articles
indicate that the area covered by this economic corridor will contain Eppawala
phosphates, Limonite, Thorium, Monazite and rare earth metals Cerium and Lanthanum.
It is also pointed out in these articles that the law applicable within this
economic corridor would be the American law and not the Sri Lankan law.
Therefore if such an
agreement is implemented the country will be divided into two parts by this
economic corridor with the northern part being available to create the nation
of Eelam as envisaged in the separatist ideology. It is in this northern part that the ancient
cities of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kurunangala are situated.
Freeport McMoRan which is
an American Company in the year 2000 tried to mine the phosphates in Eppawala that
is now within the proposed economic corridor by acquiring land using the
Ministry of Industrial Development. However this was not made possible as the
Fundamental Rights of the people to possess their land was upheld by the
Supreme Court. When delivering judgment in this Eppawala case Justice
Amarasinghe quoted what Arahat Mahinda had said to King Devanampiyatissa
O great King, the birds of the air and the beasts have as equal a right
to live and move about in any part of the land as thou; The land belongs to the
people and all living beings; thou art only the guardian of it ….
Therefore if the land
belongs to the people and the King who was the head of state was only a
guardian what right has a Prime Minister to sign an agreement to establish an
economic corridor and deprive the people of the land on which they live?
However given the fact that
you did sign a peace agreement as the Prime Minister with the LTTE leader
Prabhakaran in 2002 sans the approval of the then head of state or the cabinet
and been made aware that MCC has recommended a 500 million dollars payment to
Sri Lanka subject to the approval of the American Congress, would you be kind
enough to inform the National Joint Committee and the public the text of this agreement
and if it was signed by you on or about 27th April 2019.
Standards for the blouse whether sleeveless or sleeved ,
whether naval button can be seen or not , and obe’ Theeraya” measurement by
specifying width , front of the blouse to cover chest area and the back , etc
etc
Otherwise fashionable ladies may improvise saree to look
more revealing and vulgar ?
By now
you would have been inundated with advise, hints etc by many.
These
are my hints or pathways, take it or leave it:
i.
Never
underestimate your opposing team;
ii.
At
the beginning of your innings, if you are successful in scoring couple of
boundries or sixers, do not underestimate the Bowler or field placements;
iii.
Refrain
from playing your Shots assuming that the Bowler is silly;
iv.
Remember
there are 300 deliveries and no hurry at all;
v.
Matches
are lost by few runs on many occasions;
vi.
Matches
are won mostly by strong innings by an individual member;
vii.
If
you are settled and scoring rapidly, do not be over-confident;
viii.
If
your Team is at 175 at the end of 35 over for the loss of 3 or 4 wickets, DO
NOT ATTEMPT TO SET A TARGET OF OVER 300;
ix.
Avoid
dot balls, at least consistently score 4 to 5 runs per over;
x.
And
finally, once again DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE OPPOSING TEAM.
Conducting the study, researchers at the University of Maryland in the US – and the IRSS research institute in Burkina Faso – first identified a fungus called Metarhizium pingshaense, which naturally infects the Anopheles mosquitoes that spread malaria.
The next stage was to enhance the fungus. “They’re very malleable, you can genetically engineer them very easily,” Prof Raymond St Leger, from the University of Maryland, told BBC News.
Image captionInstructions for making the funnel-web spider toxin were added to the fungus’s genetic code
They turned to a toxin found in the venom of a species of funnel-web spider in Australia.
The genetic instructions for making the toxin were added to the fungus’s own genetic code so it would start making the toxin once it was inside a mosquito.
“A spider uses its fangs to pierce the skin of insects and inject toxins, we replaced the fangs of spider with Metarhizium,” Prof St Leger explained.
Laboratory tests showed the genetically modified fungus could kill quicker, and that it took fewer fungal spores to do the job. The next step was to test the fungus in as close to real-world conditions as possible.
A 6,500-sq-ft fake village – complete with plants, huts, water sources and food for the mosquitoes – was set up in Burkina Faso. It was surrounded by a double layer of mosquito netting to prevent anything escaping.
Image captionA so-called “mosquitosphere” tests the fungus in real-world conditions, without releasing it into the wild
The fungal spores were mixed with sesame oil and wiped on to black cotton sheets. The mosquitoes had to land on the sheets to be exposed to the deadly fungus. The researchers started the experiments with 1,500 mosquitoes.
The results, published in the journal Science, showed numbers soared when the insects were left alone. But when the spider-toxin fungus was used, there were just 13 mosquitoes left after 45 days.
Image captionA mosquito breeding pool inside the test area
“The transgenic fungus quickly collapsed the mosquito population in just two generations,” said Dr Brian Lovett, from the University of Maryland.
Tests also showed the fungus was specific to these mosquitoes and did not affect other insects such as bees.
He added: “Our technology is not aiming to drive the extinction of mosquitoes, what we’re aiming to do is break malaria transmission in an area.”
New tools are needed to tackle malaria as mosquitoes are becoming resistant to insecticides. The World Health Organization has warned that cases are now increasing in the 10 worst affected countries in Africa.
Image captionA mosquito infected with fungus marked in green
Commenting on the findings, Prof Michael Bonsall, from the University of Oxford, said: “Neat – this is a super-exciting study.
“The prospects for controlling mosquitoes using this modified fungus are high.
“Proportionate bio-safety regulations are needed to ensure that the viability of this and other approaches for vector [mosquito] control using genetic methods are not lost through overly zealous restrictions.”
Dr Tony Nolan, from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, added: “These results are encouraging.
“We need new and complementary tools to augment existing control methods, which are being affected by the development of insecticide-resistance.”
One man’s morning commute included quite the spectacle in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, after he spotted a local pineapple salesman taking his job to the next level.
According to the owner of the footage, the salesman is a normal passenger on the train and is always seen with a pineapple dish. However, on this particular day the man displayed a new talent by balancing the bowl of fresh fruit on his head while the train flew through the town.
Let’s hope these balancing skills translate to sales!
By: Brian M. Perkins Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 17 Issue: 11
Aside from a branch of fighters in the restive region of Jammu and Kashmir, India has largely been spared violence at the hands of fighters belonging to, or aligned with, Islamic State (IS). Similarly, many of the once potent terrorist groups operating in India have largely been dismantled in recent years. The country does, however, have its fair share of IS sympathizers and individuals who have traveled abroad to fight alongside IS in Syria and Iraq. Indian security forces have mostly managed to foil attacks plotted by IS sympathizers across the country over the past year.
During IS’ recent rebranding and string of announcements regarding new Wilayat (provinces), the group announced the formation of Wilayat al-Hind in May following an attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Perhaps the most shocking recent development regarding IS in India, however, is the revelation of tentative connections between radicalized individuals in Kerala State and the culprits behind the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
IS Connections and Radicalization in India
India has long struggled with a variety of terrorist organizations throughout the country, with groups adhering to a wide range of ideologies from radical Islamist groups to militant communist and Maoist groups. The relationship between Indians and IS has been relatively insignificant when compared to other countries in the region when looking at the per capita number of individuals who have travelled to join the group or the presence of official affiliates. IS, however, has gained a toehold in Jammu and Kashmir through local militants who pledged allegiance to IS, ultimately becoming Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), an offshoot of the larger Islamic State-Khurasan (ISK) which at the time was primarily based in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Outside of Jammu and Kashmir, however, there are not any areas as largely affected by armed violence and very few pockets of Indian Muslims adhere to more strict forms of Islam that fall in line with IS ideology. Although Muslims are a considerable minority in India, comprising around 13 percent of the population, it is the second largest Muslim community in the world. Given this fact, the number of foreign fighters, which is estimated to be in the low hundreds, is a very small fraction of the country and there is no indication of a rapidly growing support base. There are, however, a few worrisome trends that have developed in Kerala over the past several years.
Kerala police stated in 2017 that they believed upward of 100 individuals had joined IS in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria (India Today, November 11, 2017). Among the 100 were reportedly five families from Kerala who joined IS in Afghanistan in 2016. Additionally, militants hailing from Kerala have also been identified as fighting alongside ISJK, suggesting links not only to IS branches outside of India but also those far closer geographically. The cause for the disparity between the number of Keralites radicalized compared to those from more northern states is hard to pin down to a single cause, but among the reasons reported by Kerala police and locals are historical links to Gulf states and the high percentage of migrant workers subjected to a more conservative brand of Islam in the Gulf and even in the Maldives. Upward of 90 percent of Kerala’s emigrants travel to the Gulf, 38 percent to the UAE and 22 to Saudi Arabia.
Along with the high number of migrant workers has come an influx of remittances, accounting for a third of the state’s economy, and a steady rise in Salafist mosques and madrassas. The areas that historically had the highest number of emigrants and the largest rise in Salafist mosques and madrasas, such as Malappuram, Palakkad and Kasaragod, are also among the areas that have seen the highest number of foreign fighters and terrorism related arrests (First Post, June 21, 2017). Similarly, over the past several years they have also seen the most significant return of emigrants, despite remittances still rising, suggesting a higher than normal return of individuals exposed to a more conservative brand of Islam that more closely corresponds with that of IS (News Minute, February 9). According to accounts by locals, many spread their newfound conservativism to their families, neighbors, and disenfranchised youth. The return of a large number of emigrants has also placed significant stress on the economy. Meanwhile, there has been a more concerted effort by IS to recruit from southern India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives through propaganda published in Malayalam and other regional languages.
Sri Lanka – India Connection
In early May, Sri Lankan Army chief, Mahesh Senanayake, reported that some of the suicide bombers responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks had recently traveled to Bangalore, Kashmir, and Kerala for training or to make links with local groups. Meanwhile, India’s National Investigation Agency raided the homes of several individuals in Kerala, including Riyas Aboobacker from Pallakkad. Riyas had reportedly been following the speeches and videos of the mastermind of the Sri Lankan attacks, Zahran Hashim, for more than a year and was in contact with individuals who had traveled to Afghanistan and Syria (Economic Times, April 29). Riyas was also allegedly in the early stages of planning his own attack in Kerala.
It is unclear which of the bombers traveled to India and the exact nature of their trip but Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir are the most likely locations in which they might have found partners. Kerala was also placed on high alert after being warned that 15 alleged IS-inspired militants had left Sri Lanka and were bound for the Kerala coast (Times of India, May 25). The growing trend in Kerala has prompted the state’s police to establish its own Anti-Terrorism Squad to tackle rising fundamentalism and terrorist activity (The Hindu, May 28).
These revelations, along with the fact that India warned Sri Lankan authorities before the attack, indicates the possibility of an interconnected (even if only loosely) network that links militants from Jammu and Kashmir—where IS does have more solid ties—to Kerala, Sri Lanka, and beyond. These nascent connections coupled with links to foreign fighters as well as familial and migrant ties to Gulf states and the Maldives raises concerns over the possibility for more cross-coordination between recruiters, propagandists, and would-be terrorists.
Chief prelates of the Malwatte and Asgiriya chapters and Colombo’s Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith today called on the government to refrain from entering into any agreement with any foreign country in a manner foreign armed forces could enter Sri Lanka and set up camps in the country jeopardizing the people’s sovereignty upheld by the Constitution.
They also requested the government leaders to proscribe extremist organisations in order to bring in lasting peace in the country and implement one law in the country, without destabilizing it through harmful agreements with foreign countries, at a time when the country is in a mess.
They made this request after a discussion participated by the Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera, the Anunayakes of the Malwatte and Asgiriya Maha Viharayas and Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith at the Asgiriya Maha Viharaya today.
The said that the country’s sovereignty was under threat due to party politics and the non-aligned policy of the country has been threatened by the agreements entered into by the present government with various other countries.
The Buddhist and Catholic leaders were of the view that Sri Lanka had become a target of various extremist organisations as a result of politicians acting in an opportunistic manner in order to protect their political power.
They added that they had information that the government was planning secretly and in an arrogant manner to enter into various agreements with foreign countries that would jeopardize the sovereignty of the country, and stressed that the government had no right to do so. (
Pushpakumara Jayarathne and Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa Courtesy The Daily Mirror
The number of complaints received by the Kurunegala and Dambulla hospitals against Dr. Siyabdeen Mohamed Safi, who is alleged to have engaged in sterilisation surgeries, has reached 377 as at yesterday, the spokespersons of both hospitals revealed.
While the Kurunegala Hospital has received 99 complaints yesterday, the Dambulla Hospital has received 42.
The mothers who lodged the complaints are residents in Narammala, Kuliyapitiya, Gokarella, Polgahawela, Wellawa, Polpithigama, Barandana, Katupitiya, Mawathagama, Dambulla, Sigiriya and Galewela. (
Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa today said it was absolutely wrong to request a list of intelligence service informants to fulfil petty political gains as it would jeopardise the national security of the country.
Speaking at a public meeting held at the Carlton House in Tangalle, Mr. Rajapaksa said investigations into sensitive issues such as intelligence services should be done in a responsible manner.
In order to find information, agents need to get into organisations. Any government does that, police do this, informants are being paid. When these organisations are being formed, intelligence services had sent groups to them. They were paid based on the information they give or on a monthly basis. Based on this today, lists of agents are being requested to fulfil petty political gains, sling mud at them and to make allegations,” he said.
He reiterated that the situation prior to and after the Easter Sunday bomb attack was disappointing and said revealing sensitive information about national security in public was unacceptable.
When names were revealed during the Millennium City incident, the LTTE killed the informants one by one. Personnel of our forces who were in that organisation were also killed. Only one person escaped after leaving the country. These are times we have to be extra careful. Today, we are being told that 99 per cent is fine in terms of the situation in the country. However, one per cent is left. We have our concerns about that one per cent,” he said. (
Hiran Priyankara Jayasinghe Courtesy The Daily Mirror
The Ministry of Public Administration has made it compulsory for all female employees who work in government institutions, to wear a sari or an osari. Male employees should wear a shirt and trousers, or national dress.
It said in its circular to ministry secretaries, provincial chief secretaries and department heads, to make sure that the provisions of circular 2121/1 issued on April 29, 2019 and 2123/4 issued on May 13, 2019 should be strictly adhered to.
The circular has also given guidelines for the dress code for officials and clients – adding that the clients who enter government offices for services should wear a dress which allows for clear recognition.
It said the employees who were provided with uniforms should wear the uniforms provided to them while on duty. (
The Joint Opposition has decided to request Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to hold a vote by name when the No Confidence Motion (NCM) against Minister of Industry and Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Co-operative Development and Vocational Training and Skills Development Rishad Bathiudeen is debated and taken to vote.
UPFA Parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila said he will make the request to the Speaker on 4 June as the public should know the decisions made by their representatives.
He added that as opposed to the nominal vote system, in the case of the electronic vote system the name of the MP cannot be seen. In the case of the former, the relevant MP could be identified through their image. The Speaker will accept it as it protects the right to information, he claimed.
The NCM against Bathiudeen will be debated on 18 and 19 June and voting will be on 19 June at 6 p.m., he noted.
Leader of Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa says that it is improper to inquire the names of secret agents of state intelligence services to fulfil narrow political interests.He stated this addressing a public meeting held in Tangalle last evening (31).
The Opposition Leader said that any government have their own secret agents placed at certain organizations, however, it is improper to ask for their names for the sake of political interests and to sling mud at others.
He added that issues concerning national security were resulted due to such attempts to fulfil such narrow political interests. Even the LTTE had murdered a number of secret agents of the government who were in their organization when their names were revealed during the Millennium City incident, the Opposition Leader commented.
Speaking further he said the situation prior to and after the Easter attacks is regrettable, as it is now revealed that the government had received forewarnings but has not taken any measures until the attacks took place.
This proves that this government has not had any interest concerning national security, the Opposition Leader added.
The Attorney General’s Department has requested the Supreme Court for a fuller bench to consider the Fundamental Rights petition against the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the former Defence Secretary.
The FR petition has been filed against former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and IGP Pujith Jayasundara for allegedly failing to act on prior information pertaining to the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
The petition was taken up before a three-judge bench consisting of Supreme Court Justices Sisira de Abrew, Murdu Fernando and Gamini Amarasekara this morning (31).
Additional Solicitor General Farzana Jameel, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, informed the court that the AG has requested from the Chief Justice through a motion to consider the petition before a fuller bench as the case is of national importance.
Attorney-at-law Gamini Perera, who is appearing on behalf of the plaintiffs, informed the court that he had no objections to the AG’s request for a fuller bench.
The judge bench ordered to submit the petitions to the Chief Justice to decide on the further steps and decided to take it up again on June 06.
The petition was filed by a father, who had lost his son and daughter in the attack on April 21, accusing the IGP and the former Defense Secretary of infringing the fundamental rights of the people by failing to prevent the attacks on churches and hotels even when intelligence information had forewarned.
