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The website of Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS) which was not in operation for over two months has now been restored.

The website had crashed due to a technical fault but now has been up since January 1 the organization spokesperson Rohitha Bashana said. .

However, he added that the Sinhala website will need several more days to be restored to its original form.

The agreement regarding media guidelines to presented to Parliament and gazetted by the Elections Commission on December 4, 2017, to ensure a fair and independent election will be signed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Temple Trees tomorrow (02).

 These guidelines approved by the Cabinet would become law once they are approved by Parliament and it would be the duty and responsibility of all sectors of the media to abide by these media guidelines, the Prime Minister’s office said in a press release.

This will guarantee just and fair use of mass media which is one important aspect of conducting all future elections in a fair and independent manner. This could be considered as another victory of ‘Yahapalanaya’, the release further added.

It is reported that the President is preparing to make a special statement to the media regarding the controversial report on the bond scam handed over to him on Saturday by the special Presidential Commission.

The statement is due to be issued on Wednesday (03). The president has also confirmed the news on his Twitter account.

The President is set to hand over the Bond report to the courts for further legal action, Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Mahinda Amaraweera said.

The Minister made these comments while addressing a gathering of supporters in the Hambantota district.

According to sources, the President had held a discussion regarding the recommendations in the report with the Presidential commision after being handed over the commission report.

The President is said to have later taken the report to his residence in Polonnaruwa while reserving the whole of yesterday (31) to study the report. He is also said to have called the Prime Minister and the Auditor General for a discussion on Tuesday (02) to discuss the next steps to be taken regarding the report.

The Commission was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to begin an inquiry into the issuance of Bonds that took place during the time period February 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016.

The UNP claims Maithripala Sirisena was handed a double-edged sword when he was appointed as the country’s President on January 8, 2015.

According to UNP MP Thushara Indunil, this sword was handed to Sirisena to destroy all corrupted individuals. However, as of today one side of the sword has become blunt he said requesting that the President use the figurative sword to strike down crooks.

The MP made these comments while addressing a public gathering held aiming at the upcoming local government polls.

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Fraud and Corruption Commission Report Hidden Away!

The MP accused the President of hiding away the reports submitted by the fraud and corruption commission.

While the report by the Serious Fraud and Corruption Commission has also been handed over to the President that particular report has not been publicized as yet with authorities remaining silent in this regard.The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the fraud and corruption was chaired by Court of Appeal Judge Padman Surasena and consisted of five judges.According to inquiries carried out by this commission, it has been recommended that the civic rights of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa be abolished under one charge.Investigations reports on 17 complaints handed over to President

After the commission was established, more than 2000 complaints were received, of which 400 were investigated.

Investigations have been completed regarding 17 of the complaints which have now been sent to the President.

The commision is said to have looked into various frauds committed including the Avante Garde transaction, the fraud at the Hambantota port opening ceremony, irregularities that took place at Sri Lanka Airline as well as the Irrigation and Water Supply Projects of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board.

Accordingly, the President’s office has instructed the Police Financial Crimes Division (FCID), Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption to investigate 120 complaints received.

These instructions were issued as the relevant institutions have already commenced investigations into these complaints.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General's Department has received six reports into the large-scale frauds committed to commence legal proceedings in this regard.

Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya has told the media that the charges will be framed in the near future.

India has introduced over 40 training courses for Sri Lankan government officials to give them an understanding of India's approach towards governance, the Indian High Commission reported.

The 45-day-long courses with full funding from Indiawill commencen from January 15, the Indian High Commission here said in a statement.

The courses would work under the Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme of the Ministry of External Affairs, the statement said.

The training courses aim to give Sri Lankan government officials an understanding of India's approach towards governance and rural and urban development.

The streams include Leadership and Skill Development, International Trade, Management, Accounting, Water resources, Entrepreneurship, Renewable Energy, Governance, Medicine, IT, English Language, Agriculture, Rural Development and Tourism. (PTI)

Hitting out strongly at former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his allies, Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka said Rajapaksa was a man who had no qualms about betraying the country to serve his family.

The Minister said his sole intention behind betraying the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and forming the flower-bud party was to find a way to bring his son, Namal Rajapaksa, to power.

"Such a man will not be reluctant to betray the country for his own benefit," Ratnayaka said, addressing a meeting in Morawaka, on Sunday (31).

The Minister added that President Maithripala Sirisena was elected the President democratically and became the Chairman of the SLFP. "Then the President took measures to rebuild the party. That was when Rajapaksa decided to divide the SLFP camp. The flower-bud party was formed not for an election, but to ensure a future for the former President's son. It will never bloom."

"Even the ones who genuinely respected Rajapaksa for the military triumph over the LTTE now find it hard to vote for the flower-bud party. They have now joined us and work for the UNP's victory," Ratnayaka said.

He said under the Rajapaksa administration, two roads were built in the Morawaka area - one for the public and one for a private property belonging to the brother in law of the former President.

"The road built for the public was washed away after a couple of rains. But the road built for the former President's brother in law remained intact. It shows the reality of their so-called development," the Minister explained, adding that the road constructed for the public was a mere eyewash aimed at hoodwinking the people before the election.

"Laying concrete or carpet on village roads is not the sole objective of development. We should empower the public - especially the less-privileged sections of the society and bridge the income gaps. That's what our government is working on," Ratnayaka added.

Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya stated that plans are afoot to appoint a team of experts tasked with expediting the trial process in courts that have been held back over the years due to various reasons.

The AG noted that they have identified a team of 30 lawyers who will be tasked with expediting the hearings of these overdue legal cases.

The leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and chief organizer of the opposition Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has stressed that the information contained in the Presidential Commission to Investigate into the Bond issue should be disclosed to the people immediately.

If the information is not disclosed the party will request for the information through the Right to Information Act on Tuesday (02) he said.

Dissanayake said that 17 reports have been submitted through the Presidential Commissions to Investigate Financial Crimes, but none of them has been disclosed to the public. “This should not happen with the report on the bond issue,” he said.

According to Dissanayake, the public has the right to know the contents of the report regarding the controversial issue.Serious Fraud and Corruptions Commission

While the report by the Serious Fraud and Corruption Commission has also been handed over to the President that particular report has not been publicized as yet with authorities remaining silent in this regard.The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the fraud and corruption was chaired by Court of Appeal Judge Padman Surasena and consisted of five judges.According to inquiries carried out by this commission, it has been recommended that the civic rights of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa be abolished under one charge.Investigations reports on 17 complaints handed over to President

After the commission was established, more than 2000 complaints were received, of which 400 were investigated.

Investigations have been completed regarding 17 of the complaints which have now been sent to the President.

The commision is said to have looked into various frauds committed including the Avante Garde transaction, the fraud at the Hambantota port opening ceremony, irregularities that took place at Sri Lanka Airline as well as the Irrigation and Water Supply Projects of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board.

Accordingly, the President’s office has instructed the Police Financial Crimes Division (FCID), Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption to investigate 120 complaints received.

These instructions were issued as the relevant institutions have already commenced investigations into these complaints.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General's Department has received six reports into the large-scale frauds committed to commence legal proceedings in this regard.

Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya has told the media that the charges will be framed in the near future.

The expiration of US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for Sri Lanka and 119 other countries, with effect from today, will not have any negative impact as every country will need to pay the same duty and be placed on a level playing field, Deputy Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, Dr. Harsha de Silva said.

The US GSP program has been renewed by US Congress as a normal practice and it applies to all 120 countries.

“So we are not singled out and there is no disadvantage at all. All the countries will be on the same level of competition like just now. In any case, only US$173m of $2.8 billion of exports to US last year had US GSP. Apparels only $27m,” the Deputy Minister asserted.

According to a research by the Institute of Policy Studies, although nearly three-quarters of Sri Lanka’s exports to the United States are concentrated on apparel and articles, only about 0.2% of the current apparel exports are eligible to receive GSP concessions. Exporters of rubber, the second largest export product to US, will have only about a quarter of their exports covered under GSP concessions.

Meanwhile, analysts pointed out that when the US GSP scheme was authorised for renewal in 2015 by the former United States President Barack Obama, he had only signed the ‘Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015’ on June 29, 2015 almost two years after it expired in 2013. Thereafter, the preferential duty-free tariffs to the US market for selected products were applied retroactively for the years that were missed out.

The scheme, instituted in 1974 and renewed periodically is designed to promote trade in developing countries. The full list of GSP-Eligible Beneficiaries (as of March 2017) is found on this link

Rs. 55 Million out of the Rs. 60 Million allocated for the self-employed youth under the ‘Pibidemu Polonnaruwa’ development project has been returned to the Treasury. Making this revelation President Maithripala said only Rs. 5 Million of the allocated funds had been spent in 2017.

The President was addressing a gathering in Siripura, Polonnaruwa when he made this statement yesterday (31).

According to him, the funds were returned as institutions comprising of public representatives were not present in the villages. Following the upcoming local government polls, the President promised to establish a special force to ensure development in the villages.

Presidential Secretariat officials will study the report of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena to probe the Central Bank Treasury bond issue before deciding on what course of action to take. A senior Presidential Secretariat official said the report was a comprehensive one and they would need some time to study it. The report was handed over to President Sirisena by the Commission’s Chairman, Supreme Court Judge K. T Chitrasiri, last afternoon.

“It’s a complete report with all the recorded evidence, annexures and recommendations,” he said. The report, numbering 1,400 pages, includes around 100 annexures. The evidence of 70 witnesses who appeared before the Commission, too, is included.

The handing over of the Report brings to an end the work of the three-member Presidential Commission of |Inquiry (COI) appointed in January to inquire into the issuance of Central Bank Treasury Bonds from February 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016.

The other members of the commission were Supreme Court Judge Prasanna Sujeewa Jayawardena and former Deputy Auditor General Veluppillai Kandasamy.

Source: The Sunday Times