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The Minneriya National Park has been temporarily closed after wildlife officers were attacked by villagers last night (26). A group of unidentified individuals has attacked the officers of Minneriya National Park attached to Wildlife Conservation Department and taken away a suspect who had been in the custody of the officers.

Sources say over 100 people had descended on the park to carry out the attack. 

Six wildlife officers have been admitted to Habarana hospital following sustaining injuries and are receiving treatment. Reportedly, the wildlife officers had arrested the suspect for engaging in fishing activities without a license and was to be produced before the Hingurakgoda Magistrate’s Court today (27). Habarana police is conducting further investigations regarding the incident.

President Maithripala Sirisena today visited Medamulana in Weeraketiya to pay his final respects to the late Chandra Tudor Rajapaksa, the brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The President expressed his condolences to the former President and the family members and was also seen engaging in a cordial chat with Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa.

Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa, MP Chamal Rajapaksa and Western Province Chief Minister Isura Devapriya were also present on the occasion.
The cremation ceremony of the late Chandra Rajapaksa is scheduled to take place at the family burial grounds at 2.00pm today (25).

Source : Ada Derana

Minister of Housing and Construction Sajith Premadasa has raised suspicions regarding the announcement of a railway strike to coincide with the launch of the Government’s Enterprise Sri Lanka and Gamperaliya rural development programmes on August 29.
 
According to Premadasa, elements from the opposition are attempting to disrupt various development projects initiated by the Government. “It is their stooges that have pushed the railway union to announce this strike,” he said.
 
The Minister made these comments yesterday while handing over the new ‘Muthumari Nagar’ model village to the public in Muttur, Trincomalee. It is the 110 model village constructed to provide housing under the ‘Semata Sevana’ program initiated by the Ministry of Housing and Construction.
 
According to the Minister, while the opposition has announced a protest on September 5 in a futile bid to topple the government, the government will hand over yet another 100 similar model villages on the same day.
 
“Many parties are trying to label the housing projects a failure,” Premadasa said adding that these were merely malicious attempts to create a negative image regarding the services being rendered by the government. 
Source : Sunday Observer

Amphibious transport dock USS Anchorage (LPD 23), with the embarked 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) arrived in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, for a scheduled port visit Aug. 24.

During the visit, Sailors and Marines will have opportunities to explore the local area and meet with their counterparts during exercises with the Sri Lankan Navy and Marines. The visit is also an opportunity for U.S. Seventh Fleet to explore local logistics support services for visiting naval forces operating throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

Part of a growing U.S.-Sri Lanka naval partnership, the visit follows the Sri Lankan Navy's inaugural participation in exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), which concluded Aug. 2, as well as exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Sri Lanka, held for the first time last year.

Robert Hilton, Chargé d'affaires ad interim of the United States Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, welcomed the arrival of the USS Anchorage and embarked MEU.  “This visit and training will build our shared capacity to respond to humanitarian emergencies in the Indo-Pacific region.  We’re also excited to try out the air logistics hub concept which utilizes Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean to ensure the quick availability of relief supplies, equipment and other material when needed by the U.S. and partner militaries and humanitarian organizations.”

"Our Navy and Marine Corps team is deeply committed to continuing to strengthen our partnership with the Sri Lankan armed forces," said Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, commander, Amphibious Force U.S. 7th Fleet. "We are proud of the tremendous work that American Sailors and Marines are doing alongside their Sri Lankan teammates."

Capt. Dennis Jacko, commanding officer of Anchorage, said Sailors and Marines are focused on completing a successful mission and representing America in Sri Lanka.

"These ship visits help demonstrate the value of the growing U.S.-Sri Lanka partnership," said Jacko. "The goal with Anchorage is to not only enhance security cooperation, but to build understanding of the HADR (humanitarian assistance, disaster relief) capability that contributes to disaster response, along with sharing of best practices and enabling more efficient joint relief efforts in the event of a future disaster."

Approximately 300 Sri Lankan naval academy midshipmen and 40 distinguished visitors, will tour Anchorage to learn about the ship's amphibious capabilities. Additionally, Sailors and Marines will conduct training in visit, board, search and seizure, security force reaction techniques with the Sri Lankan Navy and Marines.

Captain Jacko also emphasized the damage control training that will occur during the visit. "The U.S. Navy damage control program is the world's most proficient, and I'm excited to be a part of sharing our best practices with the Sri Lankan Navy. I'm also very pleased to be able to return to Sri Lanka since visiting in 2010 on USS Pearl Harbor."

"The Sri Lankan navy, host nation support team and the U.S. Embassy have provided tremendous assistance and cooperation in developing the first temporary air logistics hub concept in Sri Lanka," said Cmdr. Deborah K. McIvy, assistant chief of staff, Expeditionary Strike Group 7. "Successfully leveraging local logistics support services will help standardize the process for future operations, to include supplying mission-critical supplies for HADR efforts."

In addition to the professional exchanges, Sailors and Marines will take part in sporting events, including baseball, soccer, basketball and volleyball.

Anchorage, which is part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), and the 13th MEU are deployed to the 7th fleet area of operations to support regional stability, reassure partners and allies and maintain a presence postured to respond to any crisis ranging from humanitarian assistance to contingency operations.

n a bid to take the culture of entrepreneurship to the rural villages, improve livelihoods and usher in prosperity, the Government is planning to conduct a series of awareness campaigns islandwide to facilitate the implementation of the recently launched interest subsidised loan scheme, ‘Enterprise Sri Lanka’. The expositions will also educate the public on the Government’s recently launched accelerated rural infrastructure investment scheme, Gamperaliya Sanwardana Sangrama, another key highlight of the Government’s hallmark future economic development policy programme, ‘Vision 2025’.

In this regard, the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media will conduct the first major exhibition in Moneragala this week from August 29 -31 and roll out several village-level infrastructure projects parallel to the exposition under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“We selected Moneragala because it is one of the poorest regions in the country and many people would benefit from the programme that we will do including the ‘Enterprise Sri Lanka’ scheme. Additional resources for the Gamperaliya programme would be allocated in the next Budget,” Minister of Finance and Mass Media, Mangala Samaraweera announced at a press conference on Monday.

According to the Minister, the event will comprise 515 stalls and draw the participation of about 204 persons from the corporate sector including those from abroad. Special bus services will be operated for the exhibition.

‘The Enterprise Sri Lanka’ initiative, launched in July this year, with an allocation of over Rs. 5.2 billion comprises 16 credit financing schemes under three categories - interest subsidy loan scheme, donor-funded refinance loan scheme and financial and non-financial support programme. A total of 11 loan schemes offered under the interest-subsidy scheme include Ran Aswenna, Govi Navoda, Riya Shakthi, Rivi Bala Savi, Diri Saviya, Jaya Isura, Sondura Piyasa, Madya Aruna, Arambuma Credit Scheme, ‘Green Loan’ and ‘Middle Income Housing Loan Scheme’.

The donor funded refinance loan scheme consists of three categories (Rooftop Solar Power Generation Project, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Line of Credit Project and Pavithra Ganga Initiative) while there are two other financial and non-financial support programme.
“The objective of the programme is to support young entrepreneurs in villages and strengthen their small businesses by providing capital on easy terms through Sri Lanka’s state owned banks. The loan schemes address financing needs of small scale farmers, agro and fish processing establishments, poultry producers, potential home and vehicle buyers, women and youth,” a senior official from the Fnance Ministry pointed out.

According to him, all state banks and branches have set up a special desk and ‘Relationship Manager’ to handle Enterprise Sri Lanka loans.On the other hand, Gamperaliya is a fast-track rural development programme aimed at developing irrigation, rural roads, schools, sanitary facilities, playgrounds, Sathi Pola, green parks, electricity, renovation of religious and archaeological sites and housing. With an investment of Rs. 65.8 billion, the Gamperaliya scheme will be the primary focus of the Government’s economic agenda over the next two years. Accordingly, the Government has set aside Rs 200 million per electorate for the next four months and intends to inject more money into the rural economy particularly for the development of rural roads, rural markets, and other public work under this programme me me , Minister Samaraweera said.

“The Government hopes to provide close to Rs 32 billion for the Gamperaliya programme for the next four months.Budget 2019 to be presented to Parliament in November will also provide more funds to make this project a success in the coming years,” Minister Samaraweera told journalists at the media briefing on Monday.

Meanwhile, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development, Wijith Wijayamuni Zoysa explained the rationale behind selecting Moneragala as the first venue for Enterprise Sri Lanka and Gamperaliya exhibition. He said that as the district is suffering from acute poverty levels, the Government intends to take development to the grass roots by empowering people in that region.“The Government has understood the needs of a new breed of young entrepreneurs and has put in place the necessary financial frame work to support them.

‘Enterprise Sri Lanka’ will be an ideal platform to create a conducive environment with fair and equal opportunities for budding local entrepreneurs to contribute to the country’s development,” he pointed out. Also taking part in the media briefing, Minister of Public Administration and Management, Law and Order Ranjith Maddumabandara said the exhibition would rejuvenate Wellassa.

“Entrepreneurship is something that is in our DNA. During the pre and post-colonial period, Sri Lanka had maintained robust global trade and entrepreneurial engagement with the rest of the world,” the Minister said.He added that the Government has embarked on an ambitious development revolution based on two important pillars, ‘democracy and reconciliation’.

The second and third editions of ‘Enterprise Sri Lanka’, Gamperaliya exhibition are slated to be held in Anuradhapura and Jaffna.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe left for Vietnam today to attend the Indian Ocean Conference in Hanoi.

The conference takes place from August 27 -28 under the them “Building Regional Architectures” to promote strategic cooperation and trade ties between countries, consolidate security frameworks and administrative processes, and contribute to maintaining regional peace, stability, development, and connectivity. Wickremesinghe is scheduled to address the inaugural session of the two-day conference on 27 August.

The ‘Colombo Defence Seminar - 2018,’ is set to begin at the BMICH in Colombo on Thursday (August 30). The two-day international defence conference, 8th in its sequence will be held under the theme, ‘Security in an Era of Global Disruptions’.

The conclave, organize by the Sri Lanka Army is expected to be attended by about 800 foreign and local participants including 14 local and 13 foreign speakers.

Thematic discussions on ‘Demographic Transformation & Implications on Security’, ‘Technological Disruptions’, ‘Human-Induced Climate Change’ and ‘Political Extremism’ themes with close focus on ‘Human Factors & Homeland Security’, ‘Global Challenge of Internal Displacement’, ‘Urban Security in the 21st Century’, ‘Cyber Conflicts & Future Power’, ‘Social Media & Authenticity: Global Security Challenges’, ‘Artificial Intelligence & Autonomous Weapons’, ‘Role of the Military in Response & Mitigating Strategies (Regional Perspective)’, ‘Role of the Military in Response & Mitigating Strategies (Global Perspective)’, ‘Climate Geo - Engineering: Challenges & Opportunities’, ‘Role Played by Violent Non - State Actors’, ‘Ideological Polarization’, ‘Destabilizing the International System’, ‘Diaspora Communities Amidst & Conflict’, ‘Technological Creativity: Challenges to Armed Forces’, ‘Climate Change: Future of Warfare’ and ‘Leadership in Mitigating Violent Extremism’ will be conducted during the two day period of the conference.

Representatives from Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, Chile, Canada, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Kenya, Korea, Maldives, Mozambique, Netherland, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Nepal, Philippines, Rwanda, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, UK, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe have confirmed their participation at this year’s event.

Source : Sri Lanka Army

Top political sources say a Presidential election could be announced in January 2019 if the joint opposition comes to an agreement with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). 

Sources say serious political discussions have commenced in this regard and that they were initiated by several MP’s of the 16 group which left the government recently along with some MP’s from the JO. 

The discussions even have reached the point to initiate a plan to distribute posts if their bid is successful. However, the JO is said to be insisting that the Presidential candidate must be from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. 

(Deshaya)

A new organization has been formed to promote Former Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the next Presidential candidate.

The group called Patriotic Professionals Forum has now commenced a multi-platform media campaign as a result. Sources say the group is being funded by donors from abroad.

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake has occurred in the Andaman island which lies to the East of Sri Lanka. 

As per the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the quake lies 250 km Southwest from Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The quake is of moderate nature and no reports of damage has been reported so far. USCG has not issued a Tsunami alert as of now.

A  member of the controversial de-limitation committee died of a heart attack in Jaffna Saturday hours after a report he co-authored was shot down by parliament in an unprecedented move.

Professor Shahul H. Hasbullah, 67,  was a member of the committee which drew up new electoral boundaries for the next provincial council election. The panel had presented a 804-page report to the House five months ago and it was debated and rejected on Friday.

While in Jaffna to attend a function at the university there, Hasbullah,  a professor of geography at the University of Peradeniya, took ill and died early Saturday, a family friend said. His funeral was due to take place at his village of Erukkulampiddy in the district of  Mannar on Saturday afternoon.

Hasbullah was appointed to the five-member delimitation committee in October 2017 by President Maithripala Sirisena. Other members of the de-limitation committee are Dr. K. Thavalingam (Chairman), Dr. Anila Dias Bandaranaike, P. M. Siriwardhane and S.Vijesandiran.
The committee report came in for scathing attack by both government and opposition members of parliament who voted 139 to nil to reject it.

Provincial Councils and Local Government minister Faiszer Musthapha whose presented the thick volume to parliament voted against it in a move unseen in recent parliamentary history.

Hasbullah specialised in population geography and internally displaced persons, having been made a refugee when Tamil Tigers drove out Muslims from Jaffna in 1990.

He graduated from the Peradeniya University and obtained his doctorate from the University of British Columbia, Canada.

Parliamentary observers said the Sri Lankan government may have set a record in the history of Westminster parliamentary system by voting to defeat a report it had commissioned and introduced in the House.

The report was required to be approved by a majority of two-thirds voting in its favour, in terms of the Provincial Councils Elections Act. It was originally presented to parliament on March 6  by Musthapha.

Even the JVP which supported the report and called for early elections absented themselves at the time of voting. It was clear that no political party was in favour of holding early local elections despite their rhetoric to the contrary.

The defeat of the report means there will have to be a fresh de-limitation effort which will require several months thus delaying provincial council elections.

Many observers asked why the legislature spent time and money to debate a report that they were unanimously going to reject.

Source : Economy Next

Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa's chief of staff was indicted today (24), for embezzling millions of dollars from a state insurance firm.

A new court set up to investigate major corruption began its work by hearing the case against Rajapaksa's top aide Gamini Senarath and three others accused of siphoning off 500 million rupees (US$3 million).

The four took the money during the construction of a hotel in the capital Colombo that was meant to be managed by the Hyatt group, prosecutors said.


Sri Lanka's ex-president Mahinda Rajapakse, who was questioned by police last week, denies any wrongdoing AFP/LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI

Sri Lanka's government announced in May the creation of a special court to accelerate high-profile cases, following criticism of the slow pace of justice since President Maithripala Sirisena came to power in 2015.

He had pledged to punish members of the former administration accused of stealing vast sums during Rajapakse's decade-long rule.

Stringent security was in force on Friday at the court, which released all four men on bail of 1.1 million rupees each.

The judges also allowed a defence plea for more time to study the indictments and fixed the next hearing for Sep 19.

Rajapaksa's top civil servant, Lalith Weeratunga, has already been convicted of misappropriating US$4 million and sentenced to three years in prison.

Two of the former president's three sons have also been charged with money-laundering and other relatives face corruption allegations.
Rajapakse was questioned by police last week in connection with the abduction and torture of a journalist in 2008.

The ex-president denies any wrongdoing and has accused the new government of a witch-hunt.

Source: AFP/mz