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Parliamentarian Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, who was appointed as Minister of Education and Higher Education by president Sirisena, requested Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to resolve the prevailing political crisis through discussions with the President.

Rajapaksha made these remarks while delivering a special statement in Parliament today.

He urged the Speaker discuss the issue with the President and to restore normalcy by establishing a government which commands the majority in Parliament.

Rajapaksha addressed the House today, despite a decision taken by MPs representing the government to boycott parliamentary proceedings for a third day today (29).

He also requested the Speaker to allow any group which is able show a majority in Parliament in a democratic manner to form a government and move forward.

Sri Lanka's highest-ranking military officer, Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, was remanded by court today (28), over his alleged role in protecting the main suspect in the abduction and murder of 11 Tamil youths in 2008.

Wijeguneratne, who was accused of harbouring former Navy officer, Prasad Hettiarachchi alias Navy Sampath, was ordered to remanded till December 05 by Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayaka.

It was also reported that several photo journalists and cameramen who were at the Fort Magistrate’s Court premises to cover Wijeguneratne's case had been attacked by several men who arrived on motorcycles. Journalists at the scene said that they suspect them to be naval officers attached to Admiral Wijeguneratne.

Multinational companies have raised fears of Sri Lanka losing the EU's GSP plus trade concessions due to the current political crisis.

In a statement today, the Free Trade Zone Manufacturers’ Association (FTZMA) Executive Committee, which employs around 45,000 workers with more than 50 organizations, said that the negative image being portrayed in Western countries, including some of Sri Lanka’s largest export markets, has drawn concern from both domestic and international customers.

“Since the crisis started on the 26th of October, we have had many concerned inquiries from our customers and other stakeholders both local and international regarding the present political situation in the country. The image portrayed especially in the west has been extremely negative both in the print as well as digital media. Being one of the oldest democracies in the world this has been debilitating and shameful especially some of the recent incidents that took place in Parliament”, the FTZMA said.

This has had implications for most of the future order books of our members as well as the potential of losing GSP+ for exports to the EU,” FTZMA added.

They also said that upholding the Constitution and adhering to democratic processes and institutions are vital factors that would help to grow their businesses.

“Upholding the Constitution, Law & Order, Consistent policy making, and political & economic stability are key to growing our businesses and attracting further FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). We are extremely disturbed and disappointed with the behaviour of all political parties concerned in not reaching a consensus to this political flux.  It is important and urgent that all political leaders at loggerhead put the country first rather than their personal agendas,” FTZMA said.

The FTZMA also warned that failing to resolve the current political impasse would have grave concerns as Sri Lanka would become non-competitive and undesirable in the eyes of investors.

The Sri Lankan rupee hit a record low for a sixth straight session on Wednesday (28) as the selling price reached 182.27 against the US Dollar. 

The Central Bank raised its main interest rates on November 14 to defend the rupee, which has faltered as foreign capital outflows continued due to the current political crisis.

Constitutional expert Jayamapathi Wickramartne PC said today that the President Maithripala Sirisena's arbitrary action of not appointing the Member of Parliament, who commands the support of the majority of Members, is a flagrant and an intentional violation of the Constitution. 

The appointment of the Prime Minister is now governed by Article  42 (4) which states: “The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the President’s opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament".

More than 113 MPs have already submitted signed affidavits expressing their support to ousted Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wickramaratne further said that this is an impeachable offence and it violates the fundamental rights of citizens.

United National Party (UNP) MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka today requested Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to summon IGP Pujitha Jayasundara to Parliament within 48 hours, over the recent remarks made by the President with regard to the alleged assassination plot.  

At a meeting with the Foreign correspondents Association, the President had alleged that Fonseka had been linked to a plot to kill the President. 

This is a serious allegation which raises privilege issues since I’m an MP. Therefore, I request you to summon the IGP to parliament within 48 hours to give answers to this. Either put me in jail or summon the IGP to parliament,” Fonseka said.

A group of women activists held a protest outside the Presidential Secretariat demanding an end to the crisis that was started by president Sirisena. 

" Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, we are asking you, in the name of the children of this country, please do not drag us into this darkness. The chaos around us has risen out of an utterly anti-democratic decision taken by you. It is therefore you who have to reinstate this country within its constitution and set it back on its democratic principles. It is completely within your executive powers to do this. And it is your responsibility", they said. 

A letter was later handed over to the presidential secretariat to be given to president Sirisena.

Following is the full text of the letter:

Mr. President,

A single arbitrary and unilateral decision taken by you, on the 26th of October, set in motion a sequence of events that now has thrown an entire country and all of its people into an abyss of confusion and chaos. Since that day, the economy of our country has almost collapsed. Since that day the political culture of our country has deteriorated to a level of national disgrace and an international spectacle. If this is not stopped and reversed, it is very likely we will soon have our state institutions and the country descend into utter chaos. You are aware that a number of foreign countries have warned economic sanctions if this crisis is not democratically and swiftly resolved. To date, a number of international organizations have stopped the flow of aid to our country. Our country is now heavily dependent on foreign aid and loans, so economic sanctions alone will cripple Sri Lanka and its citizens.

Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, we are asking you, in the name of the children of this country, please do not drag us into this darkness. The chaos around us has risen out of an utterly anti-democratic decision taken by you. It is therefore you who have to reinstate this country within its constitution and set it back on its democratic principles. It is completely within your executive powers to do this. And it is your responsibility.

Mr. President, we and our children have only this country to live in. If this country is dragged into an economic and political abyss, it is we citizens who have to suffer the consequences. We have not amassed wealth and resources for ourselves in the manner that our politicians have. This economic crisis does not hit the Ranil Wickremesinghes or the Mahinda Rajapaksas or even the Maithripala Sirisenas of this country, Mr. President, it hits us.

Leaders of this country need to be elected in accordance with the constitution of this country. Thus without marring the truth by bringing in personal likes, dislikes or conflicts; we demand that you provide our citizens and our country with a stable and responsible political solution in keeping with our principles of governance. We do not accept that a seasoned politician like you does not see that a country that subscribes to the principle of parliamentary democracy cannot function under a Government that has not secured a majority vote in parliament. Damaging the principle of parliamentary democracy is a very dangerous precedent; it could very possibly lead to the utter collapse of governance in this country as we know it. Please, in all of this madness, take a moment to think of the innocent children who will have to grow up in this country that you have begun to create.

It is such a tragedy and disgrace that the very basic precepts of Lord Buddha’s teachings – a clear conscience, principled behavior, not lying, honouring one’s word, delivering on promises – have been so completely shamed and ruined by politicians who frequent temples and visit our Mahanayakas twice a week for blessings. This culture of deceit and hypocrisy cannot be allowed to be brought into the constitution.
Mr. President, it is already very late. We demand that you do your job and stop this country from sliding further into darkness. What lies before you is your responsibility by a country and by the children of this nation.

A Facebook executive has admitted that the company “made a mistake” in not removing a post that incited racial hatred in Sri Lanka, an international hearing on fake news and disinformation in London heard on Tuesday (Nov 27). 

Mr Richard Allan, Facebook's vice-president of policy solutions, agreed it was a "serious and egregious" mistake, he maintained Facebook is still "best placed" to remove content which causes harm.

The exchange took place in the British Parliament yesterday, in a hearing that involved 24 parliamentarians from nine countries, including Singapore.

In his question, Mr Tong referenced a Facebook post in the Sinhala language which read, "Kill all Muslims, don't even let an infant of the dogs escape". A report said a user had pointed out to Facebook it violated its hate speech policy.

But Facebook replied then that it did not go against its "community standards" and told the user to directly block the person posting it, among other options.

In a still taken from UK Parliament video footage, Facebook's vice-president of policy solutions Richard Allan gives evidence at an international hearing on fake news in London on Nov 27, 2018. PHOTO: AFP 

Mr Tong asked if Facebook's initial refusal to take down the inflammatory posts - which led to the Sri Lankan government banning access to the platform - showed that the social media site "cannot be trusted to make the right assessment" on what can appear on its platform.

Mr Allan admitted it was a "simple error" on the part of a Facebook staff member, saying: "We make mistakes. Our responsibility is to reduce the number of mistakes."

He added: "We are investing very heavily now in artificial intelligence, where we would precisely create a dictionary of hate-speech terms in every language."

Ms Sun asked if Facebook would work with the authorities to take down false information and close accounts that put out fake news.

Mr Allan said that while it would work with the authorities, "the best person to make a decision about whether that claim is true or false is not Facebook... it's the relevant judicial authority in any country".

The Permanent High Court Trial at Bar has once again postponed the trial against former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa and six others for December 8.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa along with the Land Reclamation and Development Authority’s (LRDA) Chairman Prasad De Silva, Badrawathie Kamaladasa, K. Attygalle, Saman Galapaththy, Mahinda Saliya and Srimathi Mallika were indicted for misappropriating LKR 48 million from funds belonging to the LRDA to construct the D.A. Rajapaksa Memorial Museum at Weeraketiya.

The Attorney General had earlier stated that Cabinet approval had not been taken by the accused in constructing the memorial.

The accused are currently out on a cash bail of LKR 100,000 with two sureties for LKR 1 million each.

The Permanent High Court Trial at Bar had earlier ordered the release of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s impounded passport and ordered that the Controller General of the Department of Immigration and Emigration be notified to temporarily lift the travel ban imposed upon the former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.

The 1990 Emergency Ambulance Service, which was expanded island-wide recently under Indian grant assistance, has been making good progress. The service has been available in Northern Province since July; in Uva since August; in North Central Province since September; in North Western Province since October; and Central Province since November 2018. The service is now available in 7 Provinces. The service will also be available in the other 2 Provinces (Sabaragamuwa and Eastern Province) soon. 

At the request of Government of Sri Lanka, the service was initially launched in 2016 in Western and Southern Provinces of Sri Lanka under an Indian grant of USD 7.56 million. This grant included purchase of 88 ambulances, operational expenditure of the service for one year and setting up of an emergency response centre. 

Noting the success of the service, a request was made by Government of Sri Lanka to Government of India to expand the service island-wide in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, Prime Minister of India announced during his visit to Sri Lanka in May 2017, that Emergency Ambulance Service would be expanded island-wide in Sri Lanka under an Indian grant. This promise has been fulfilled and the service is currently being expanded all across Sri Lanka with an additional grant of USD 15.02 million, covering the cost of 209 ambulances, training costs and operational expenditure for one year in all seven Provinces. 

The service, can be obtained by simply dialing toll free number ‘1990’ on any network in Sri Lanka. It is the largest Indian grant project in Sri Lanka after the Indian Housing Project. 

India remains committed to further strengthening the bilateral partnership with Sri Lanka based on Sri Lanka’s own choices and priorities.

UPFA parliamentarian Vasudeva Nanayakkara said that a decision must be made with regard to the restriction on the importation of motor vehicles with low engine capacities in the future.

Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo, Nanayakkara said the importation of vehicles with higher engine capacities can be discouraged with the imposition of taxes.

However, when the previous government introduced similar measures to help curb imports and the depreciation of the Rupee, Vasudeva was one of many critics from the Joint Opposition that vehemently criticised such measures.

A press release issued by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs admitted today that the Sri Lanka Customs had apprehended an outbound foreign national at the BIA while he was attempting to take out USD 53,455 out of Sri Lanka in contravention of the Customs Ordinance some time back.

It further said that the "Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Mahinda Rajapaksa by virtue of the powers vested in him under  section 164 of the S.L Customs Ordinance  directed the Director General of Sri Lanka Customs to release this money to its legitimate owner."

Spokesman of the Customs Department, Sunil Jayaratna confirmed the order given by Rajapaksa. He said that a sum of USD 53,455 confiscated by the Customs Department was released on the order of the Minister of Finance Mahinda Rajapaksa, as he has the authority to do so according to provisions in the Customs Ordinance.

The Finance Ministry in its press release also noted that on a previous occasion, when a foreign national working in Sri Lanka was apprehended while attempting to smuggle out foreign currency, the then Minister of Finance had directed the release of the money after considering a similar appeal, in June 2018. However, in the letter sent to the Director General of Customs by the then Minister of Finance, it clearly stated that the order to release the funds are subject to all applicable duties and levies.

"The order is issued with the understanding that all import duties and other levies are duly recovered", the former Finance Minister's letter said.

However, in the letter sent by Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Director General of Customs, there is no mention of recovering the applicable duties and levies from the foreign national concerned. 

As the press release sent by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs stated that both these incidents are quite similar in nature, it begs the question as to why the current Minister of Finance Mahinda Rajapaksa, ordered to release the foreign currency without it being subjected to government penalties and other duties, as enforced by his predecessor.