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27 year-old Farzana Hussain* from Wellampitiya, a town about 4kms east of Colombo, Sri Lanka, has been wearing the burqa since she was 11.

Following the deadly attacks that killed more than 250 people in the country’s capital on Easter Sunday, the Sri Lankan government banned the covering of face that “hinders the identification of individuals in a way that threatens national security.” This includes the burqa and the niqab, face coverings worn by several Muslim women.

Since the ban on April 29, Hussain hasn’t left her house.

A schoolteacher by profession, who teaches the Qur'an – the way of reading and memorizing it – she says the ban has made it ‘difficult’ for her to go out.

She says she’s lucky that the school holidays haven’t ended yet, but if the ban isn’t lifted by the time schools reopen for the new session, it will be hard for her to teach.

“We have been advised to stay at home unless there is a dire need to go out. If I’m not allowed to cover my face, I will stop going out to teach because I prefer covering to teaching,” Hussain says, hoping the ban is lifted soon.

Meanwhile, 18 year-old Zareen Rashid* from Colombo is scared that even if the ban is lifted, it will be hard to avoid the racism.

“The niqabis are still going to go through racial discrimination and will be asked to remove it in public places. Going out with the niqab after the ban being lifted will be equivalent to walking in hell because people will call you a terrorist. Staying indoors will be a better option than going out,” she says.

She may be right.

Back in 2016, after France banned the burkini – a swimming costume that adheres to the Islamic rule of dress that requires women to cover much of their body and heads – following a terror attack, photographs and videos emerged showing the police stripping women at the beaches.

Rashid hasn’t left her house since the ban. However, she knows she will have to remove her niqab as soon as college begins. Rashid started wearing the niqab at 14 after her father advised her to.

But, she says, wearing it has strengthened her connection with God; making her feel brave and confident, and it hasn’t stopped her from achieving anything she has wanted to. Without her niqab, she says she feels ‘naked’.

However, Mariam Wadood, a lawyer and activist who works with the Colombo-based NGO Women In Need, wants the ban to be imposed permanently.

She believes “everyone's rights and liberties must come with limitations. Freedom must stop at the beginning of someone else’s fear or discomfort.” 

Mariam, who herself does not cover her face, believes that the burqa and niqab are Wahabi influences and although they are not a symbol of terror, they are a symbol of radical Islam. “The burqa and niqab create disconnect and division in the country, among communities, and even within the community,” she says.

“We must now put our country first. National and public security is threatened, and if it is law that the niqab and burqa must be removed then we must adhere to it,” she says adding that the niqab is not compulsory is Islam. 

Kolkata-based women’s rights activist and researcher Mariya Salim agrees that the niqab is, in fact, not compulsory in Islam adding that the tradition is itself dictated by patriarchy. 

“But these are deeper questions and the state cannot impose these restrictions by force,” she says.

Mariya says that while banning the burqa and niqab might seem like a progressive thing to, the reasons for the ban are completely wrong. 

“It restricts the mobility of those women who use it to navigate spaces. They are anyway living under severe patriarchy in the name of religion, and now their movement will also be restricted, especially if they come from conservative families that require them to wear niqab. It will make life more difficult for women who are dictated by patriarchy in their everyday lives.” 

For 33 year-old Ayesha Muhsin in Colombo, wearing the niqab made her feel safe and secure, even if sometimes she felt she was being judged. 

“Travelling alone with the niqab is easy, as you don’t feel uncomfortable about the trishaw driver acting funny,” says Muhsin, who has given up wearing the niqab after the ban to make sure her face is very visible but is still faced with suspicious glares because she wears the hijab that covers only her head.

Burqa is a garment that covers the entire body from head to toe, while niqab covers only the face, leaving slits for eyes. The hijab, on the other hand, covers only the head and the face remains revealed. The burqa and niqab are banned in Sri Lanka, while the hijab isn’t.

But, she believes, not wearing the niqab is equally dangerous. “There’s a lot of hatred towards the Muslim community at the moment and wearing the niqab in public might result in the niqabi becoming a victim of some serious harassment.”

Women like Hussain, Wadood, and Muhsin believe that the ban will indeed help with “public protection”, a narrative the Sri Lankan government has sold to its citizens.

“I think the ban is a sensible move as it was taken due to security reasons and not for racial reasons,” says Muhsin, who has been wearing the niqab for twenty years.

Salim, the women’s rights activist and researcher, believes that by banning the burqa and niqab the Sri Lankan government is “clearly putting forth the ‘all terrorists are Muslim narrative’.”

“When an attack like the one in Sri Lanka happens, it affects the entire sub continent. Muslims across South Asia have been trying to prove that it is not ‘their Islam’ the kind that ISIS claims to be representing because they fear the backlash of this decision which is nothing but Islamophibic.”

Even 18 year-old Rashid is perplexed about how exactly banning the burqa and niqab might solve any security issues.

“It’s because they (government) think it’s only those that wear the burqa and niqab are terrorists,” she says. 

*Names have been changed to protect identities. (News18)

Cabinet approval has been granted to expedite the implementation of the recommendations submitted by the experts’ committee appointed to restructure the SriLankan Airlines.

President Maithripala Sirisena appointed a committee headed by State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne in January 2019 to make recommendations pertaining to a restructuring strategy for the loss making SriLankan Airlines.

The committee of experts comprised Senior Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, University of Sri Jayewardenepura Professor Dissa Bandara, President of the Association of Public Finance Accountants of Sri Lanka V. Kanagasabhapathy, Deputy Auditor General L. S. I Jayaratne, Attorney General’s Department Senior Deputy Solicitor General Viraj Dayaratne, Senior State Counsel Mahen Gopallawa, Chairman of the Finance Company PLC Wasantha Kumarasiri, former SriLankan Airlines officials Dr. Dharmadatne Herath and Ajith Amarasekara, Minister Dr. Harsha De Silva and Thisuri Wanniarachchi.

Popular actor Ryan Van Rooyen, who was arrested with drug kingpin Makandure Madush in Dubai, was released after being fined Rs. 4000 by the Matara Chief Magistrate, Isuru Netticumara, today (09).

Rooyen was deported to Sri Lanka on April 4 and was detained at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

He was subsequently handed over to the Weligama Police the next day following the discovery of cannabis in one of the vehicles owned by him.

Former US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert O. Blake Jr, at an event organized by the Pathfinder Foundation, had claimed that the incumbent government should have established a high-level group of technocrats similar to the one that existed during the time of former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in order to prevent terror attacks in the country.
 
Delivering a presentation titled ‘Update from Washington: US Foreign Policy towards China and South Asia and what it means for Sri Lanka,’ at the BMICH yesterday, the former ambassador had pointed out that having a high-level group of technocrats in Sri Lanka could definitely benefit the country and that Sri Lanka could learn from the mistakes the US had committed before and after the 9/11 attacks.

Who is Robert O. Blake?
 
Robert O. Blake was the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka from 2009 to 2013. He was the architect of initiating US action on Sri Lanka in the Human Rights Council in 2012.

Since then, he has retired from US Government Service. He now works for McLarty Associates which claims to be able to provide access to US business and Congress for personnel in countries around the world, for a fee. McLarty Associates employs former diplomats like Robert Blake who are willing to be mercenaries with former White House officials, journalists, and intelligence officers, among others. 

Pathfinder Foundation

US citizen Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is now desperate to realize his Presidential ambitions, need people to lobby for him with US Congress and the US Administration and help build his international profile, and he needs all the help he can get. So Gotabaya makes arrangements to have Robert Blake hired and he visits Sri Lanka and speaks at an event in Colombo, just weeks after the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, and days after Gotabaya expresses determination to contest for the Presidency.
 
The event is organised by Milinda Moragoda’s Pathfinder Foundation funded by Chinese money which now seems to have become a branch of the so-called “Viyathmaga”. The sole objective of the Pathfinder Foundation these days is building Gotabaya’s international profile, grooming him to take over the Presidency.
 
What is Blake Jr. saying? 

Robert O. Blake Jr., at this Pathfinder Event, sings for his supper by praising Gotabaya’s “so-called” leadership. Blake knows very well that Gotabaya, during his time as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence was constantly surrounded by sycophants, wheeler-dealers, lackeys, yes men and even murderers who would do anything illegal at Gotabaya’s command. Yet, being the mercenary that he is now, he shamelessly lies to the public saying that Gotabaya had a high-level group of technocrats who prevented terror attacks in the country. 

One wonders how and why these so-called technocrats could not then prevent the bomb attack on Gotabaya himself or on the Commander of the Army at the time, Sarath Fonseka. Does that mean that these technocrats and Gotabaya planned and carried out those attacks themselves to hoodwink the public into believing that it was the LTTE? If so, with stories being circulated that Gotabaya paid the BBS and the National Thawheed Jamath from a secret vote in the Ministry of Defence, one wonders who is behind the Easter Sunday attacks.
 
It is common knowledge and Blake knows this very well, that Gotabaya was constantly surrounded by sinister characters who would do anything to please Gotabaya in return for questionable rewards. Sadly, he himself has now joined this group of mercenaries.
 
People who have seen Gotabaya operate at close quarters know how Gotabaya refused to heed the advice of technocrats even after the conclusion of the conflict in 2009. He was not interested in matters concerning Sri Lanka’s post-conflict security and intelligence reforms. He did nothing to develop the defence, security or intelligence sectors. All he was interested in was to strengthen dictatorial centralised individual control and not strengthen or set up institutional arrangements that will last. In fact, we are today paying the price for his lack of professionalism and refusal to work with technocrats or skilled professionals with knowledge in these fields.
 
Moreover, he antagonised and isolated Sri Lanka from the international community that is essential for setting up the networks required for fighting international terrorism and countering violent extremism inspired by groups and entities outside Sri Lanka. He even ignored giving legal or statutory force to the National Security Council.
 
If he was so knowledgeable about security, if he had technocrats advising him or if he heeded the advice of technocrats who were sharing their views with him, why then did he fail to at least institutionalise the National Security Council!?
 
If he had actually acted as a professional and a true patriot at the time and set up institutional mechanisms, such institutions would have ensured that action was taken despite the President’s lethargy or ignorance, to prevent the attacks that took place on Easter Sunday.
 
The blood of the innocent human beings who perished on 21st April is on Gotabaya’s hands as much as Sirisena’s. It is a sad day indeed to watch people like Robert Blake become mercenaries who sing for their supper instead of helping Sri Lanka strengthen democracy, rule of law, statutory and other regulations to enhance security, combat terrorism and violent extremism, and attract investors to expand its economy and become a hub in the Indian Ocean so that Sri Lanka can finally achieve stability, reconciliation, development and true prosperity for all her people instead for a privileged few.

Political consultations between the Turkish and Sri Lankan Foreign Ministries will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, on Friday.

The consultations will be chaired by Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha, said a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement on Thursday.

“During the consultations, bilateral relations, regional and international issues as well as cooperation in the international organizations will be discussed,” it added.

The Constitutional Council unanimously approved the appointment of Acting Attorney General, Dappula de Livera as the country's new Attorney General.

The decision was taken at the Constitutional Council meeting chaired by the Speaker Karu Jayasuriya that was held on Tuesday, the Speaker's Office said.

Dappula de Livera has over 32 years of experience as legal counsel and has served as State Counsel for the Attorney General’s Department. He is a member of the National Commission Against the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Sri Lanka as well as the Task Force established by Justice Ministry to deal with human smuggling and illegal migration.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called for unconditional support from all parties to get the Counter Terrorism bill passed. The Premiere speaking in Parliament yesterday pointed out that Sri Lanka is faced with a global terror threat and that the government is open to discussing any recommendations from the other parties that would expedite the passage of this legislation.

In response to an article published in a newspaper on Tuesday that this could be done by using the existing Penal Code, the Prime Minister said, “I like to remind them that there are ongoing conflicts with competing power centres in Syria, where the USA, Russia, Iran and Turkey have all intervened. We do not want get drawn into such a situation." 

Wickremesinghe said the government was taking every possible step to capture the people linked to the attacks, restore the normal life of the people and provide support for industries affected by the attacks while security authorities have been able to improve the security situation at present. 

"Yesterday, schools were opened. The Security Forces and the Police have consolidated security in schools. I received a report from the Minister of Education in this regard. We hope that the attendance of schoolchildren will gradually improve even though it was low yesterday. Likewise, last Sunday, many Christian churches held service. Last Friday, prayers were also made in the Muslim churches. Our security forces have been able to ensure that all this work is done without any hindrance," Wickremesinghe said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a major global threat from foreign fighters fleeing the defeated Daesh (ISIS) terrorist organisation and declared stopping them should be a high global priority.

"They, as well as those they inspire, represent a major transnational threat", he said on Tuesday at the launch of the UN Countering Terrorist Travel Programme (CTTP). "Detecting and disrupting these terrorists and other high-risk criminals prior to them carrying out an attack is a high priority for the international community".

He warned, "Many are well trained and could carry out future terrorist attacks. Others hope to radicalise and recruit new followers to their cause".

Two years ago the UN estimated that over 40,000 foreign terrorists from more than 110 countries may have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join terrorist groups, he said. With the fall of the territories held by Daesh, many of them are returning home or relocating to other trouble spots or safe haven, he added.

"It is apparent that that these terrorist who lost territory elsewhere are looking for new pressure points to ignite", Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Rohan Perera, whose nation was attacked by terrorists last month on Easter, said.

Two affiliates of Daesh has claimed responsibility for the Easter suicide bombings in his country and it is investigating Daesh links to two local groups, National Thowheed Jamath and Jamath Millate Ibrahim, he said.

Perera, who is also the head of the UN Committee on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism, said that Sri Lanka is pursuing efforts to establish a regional counter-terrorism there.

Under-Secretary-General Vladimir Voronkov, the head of the Office of Counter-Terrorism, described the CCTP as a flagship programme of his office in partnership with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Office of Information Communication Technology (OICT) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Under the programme the UN is to provide state-of-the-art software, goTravel, which is capable of analysing travel data to help help countries track terrorism suspects across borders, according to the UN. It will be able to cross-check data from Advance Passenger Information System used by some government agencies and Passenger Name Record used by airline reservation systems with international databases of terrorist and criminals through an enhanced information exchange.

1990 Suwa Seriya launched its new Emergency Dispatch Management (EDM) System and the unique 1990 Mobile App to enable faster dispatching and management of ambulance movements. 

The 1990 App which is available for both Android and iOS phones will enable persons with smart phones to call the service faster and easily by just a touch of one button. This Mobile App will also capture the location of the caller more accurately enabling the ambulance to reach the patient faster. All this is being initiated to provide the most reliable and efficient free ambulance service to Sri Lankans even in the furthest parts of the country.  

Reducing the response time through the new EDM system and the 1990 App will specifically help patients suffering cardiac arrests and stroke. It has been found through research that every minute of reduced response time increases the chances of survival by approximately 10%. 

Currently, the average response time for 1990 ambulance service is 8 minutes and 23 seconds in the Western Province and 11 minutes and 25 seconds in the rest of the country, which is comparable to or better than most developed countries.  

“The introduction of the new EDM System and the 1990 App further confirms our continued commitment to save lives” said Harsha de Silva, Minister of Economic Reform and Public Distribution, the chief architect in securing this very significant project for the people of this country. He requested people with smart phones to download the app the soonest.  

“This service is an outright grant by the Indian Government and we are thankful for their generosity to save precious lives of Sri Lankan people through this service” said Dr. Harsha de Silva. He elaborated that there are no conditions attached to this USD 22.5m grant as wrongly communicated by persons with vested interests. 

In 2018, the operations of the service was transferred to the 1990 Suwa Seriya Foundation created by an Act of Parliament. The foundation is totally owned by the Government of Sri Lanka and operates under the Ministry of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution. Board of the foundation is appointed by the President. Currently 1,428 young Sri Lankan men and women are employed by the Foundation. 

“The significance of this new system is that it makes us second to none in emergency dispatch systems anywhere in the world. It is also important to state that the development of the technology was provided free of charge and some aspects at a nominal cost by Sri Lankan software companies” said Dumindra Ratnayaka, Chairman of the Board of the Suwa Seriya Foundation. 

“As at 3rd May, 2019 we have answered 1,057,571 number of calls, dispatched 199,997 number of ambulances for emergencies and have had 174,555 hospital admissions” confirmed Sohan de Silva, CEO of the 1990 Suwa Seriya Ambulance Service.

The Cabinet has approved the proposal put forward by Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam to distribute tablet computers (tabs) among school children in spite of president Maithripala Sirisena’s objections.

Kariyawasam’s proposal calls for the free distribution of 183,000 tabs at a cost of Rs. 3.5 billion.

The President, from the beginning, held the view that a pilot project should be implemented first on the distribution of tablets. He had opined that a final decision could be taken subject to the results of the pilot project and that there is no need to provide 183,000 tabs at this initial stage.

The matter was taken up for discussion at the Cabinet meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (07). Despite his objections, president Sirisena caved in, enabling the Education Minister to get Cabinet approval to proceed with the programme.

Omani Minister of Oil and Gas Dr. Mohammed Hamed Al Rumhy has reaffirmed Oman’s firm interest to take part in the Hambantota oil refinery project which was announced in March 2019.

The Board of Investment (BOI)said in a statement the assurance was given during talks between a Sri Lankan government team and Omani authorities

It was announced in March that the Omani Ministry of Oil and Gas would have a 30 percent stake in a US$ 3.88 billion oil refinery project in Hambantota.

This was conveyed when a delegation comprising Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama, Petroleum Minister Kabir Hashim and Industries and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen and BOI chairman Mangala Yapa met with with Dr. Al Rumhy, Omani Commerce and Industry Ministry Ali Masoud Al Sunaidi and State General Reserve Fund Chief Investment Officer Mulham Al Jarf for further discussions on May 06.

A Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry media communiqué said that the ministerial visit was a follow up to the meetings Dr. Al Rumhy had with the three ministers in Sri Lanka in March 2019, during the former’s visit to Sri Lanka as the guest of honour at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the greenfield oil refinery in Hambantota, on Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen’s invitation.

On May 5, the delegation was taken on a familiarization tour to the Sohar Free Zone and port, where comprehensive presentations were made by the representatives of the Sohar Port Industrial Port company and Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic).

During the familiarization tour, the delegation was given a comprehensive briefing of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry of Oman.

The delegation had a site visit to the oil refinery and Liwa Plastic Industries Complex which is the new petrochemical complex developed by Orpic.

The meeting with Dr. Al Rumhy focused on exploring avenues for cooperation in the field of petroleum industry between Sri Lanka and Oman and sharing the experience of Oman in setting up of oil refinery projects in Oman and abroad.

The two delegations also discussed on providing training for the staff of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd. in Oman.

The Omani government also expressed their keen interest in exploring investment opportunities in Sri Lanka, and agreed to arrange a visit of an official team from SGRF for discussions with the relevant institutions in mid-June 2019.

The Ministry of Finance announced a host of measures aimed at strengthening the tourism industry including the reduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed on hotels and tourist operators. The tourism sector was one of worst affected after the deadly Easter Sunday attacks that rocked the island nation after the country was named as the best travel destination for 2019 by the world's premier travel magazine, 'Lonely Planet,' last year.

Accordingly, a moratorium will be announced shortly by the Central Bank to tourism sector institutions and individuals on a case by case basis. The moratorium period will be until 31st March 2020 for both capital and interest payments granted to the tourism sector as of 18th April 2019, a release by the Finance Ministry said.

Furthermore, capital and interest falling due during the moratorium period should be converted into a term loan which should be recovered from July 2020 and charged a concessionary rate.

Enterprise Sri Lanka

With regard to the Enterprise Sri Lanka credit schemes introduced by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to create a new entrepreneur class, the Finance Ministry said that they will allocate Rs. 1.5 billion to provide interim releif for teh tourism sector loans coming under the Enterprise Sri Lanka credit schemes. 

Tourism sector loans (Jaya Isura, Green Loan etc.) shall also be considered on a case-by-case basis for the moratorium, State Minister Eran Wickramaratne said. He added that the interest subsidy will be borne by the government on outstanding credit facilities (both capital and interest) granted to the tourism sector in the performing category as at 18th April 2019.

Borrower’s repayment will start from 1st April 2020 and capital and interest payments falling due during the moratorium can be recovered from July 2020 onwards. Alternatively, the repayment period can be extended for the number of months it was falling due during the moratorium.

Tourism loans registered on or before 18th April 2019 will be granted before 31st March 2020 under Enterprise Sri Lanka, with the interest subsidy to be borne by the government to continue from the granted date. 

Working Capital Loans 

Arrangements have been made to allow the tourism sector to obtain fresh Working Capital under the Enterprise Sri Lanka scheme with a repayment period of 2 years.  75% interest subsidy will be borne by the government from the effective interest rate until 31st March 2020.
The interest will be at 3.4% as the government is giving a 75% interest subsidy, the Finance Ministry said. 
VAT Reduced

VAT will be reduced from 15% to 5% on hotels and tour operators registered with Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020. 

Concessions for Security Equipment 

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who is on an official visit to Fiji to attend the Annual Meetings of Asian Development Bank (ADB), said on Friday (03) that he was looking to give special concessions to the tourism industry with regard to the importation of security equipment. 

Accordingly, the government has allowed the importation of security equipment duty-free, effective from 7th May 2019. However, they will be liable to pay the NBT.  The Finance Ministry said that this provision is not limited to the tourism industry and is applicable to all industries. The following security equipment could be imported duty-free.

○       Handheld Metal Detector
○       Walk-through Metal Detector
○       Baggage x-ray Inspection Equipment
○       Vehicle Scanners