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The 54th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to be held in Colombo, in May 2021, The Finance Ministry said today.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera intimated Sri Lanka's willingness to host the 2021 event in Colombo during the recently concluded ADB Annual Meeting in Fiji.

The Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors provides a platform for member governments to interact with ADB staff, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and representatives of observer countries, international organizations, and the private sector.

ADB’s Annual Meetings have become a premier forum for the discussion of economic and social development issues in Asia and the Pacific.

Minister Samaraweera held preliminary discussions with Colombo based hoteliers regarding logistical arrangements for the conference as over 3000 delegates from 67 countries are expected to participate at the annual meeting.

Finance Minister Samaraweera discussing logistical arrangements with Colombo based hoteliers at the Treasury.

The decision to hold the 2021 Annual Meeting of the ADB was taken at its 52nd meeting held in Fiji early this month. The next Annual Meeting of the ADB is scheduled to be held in South Korea in 2020.

President Maithripala Sirisena announced on Monday (27) that he will allow the emergency laws to lapse within a month as the security situation was "99 percent back to normal" following the Easter bombings.

Sirisena told Colombo-based diplomats from Australia, Canada, Japan, the US and European Union that security forces had been successful in arresting all those responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last Friday urged the diplomatic community based in Sri Lanka to take steps to lift the travel advisories imposed on Sri Lanka.

Wickremesinghe made the appeal while briefing diplomats on the security situation in the country following the Easter Sunday attacks.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne noted that it was him who had submitted the Cabinet paper to seek approval to allow the controversial doctor, who had tendered his resignation, to return to the Kurunegala Hospital.

A Kurunegala Teaching Hospital doctor was arrested over allegations that he had acquired a large number of assets through suspicious means.

He pointed out that no prior complaints were received regarding the doctor concerned. Senaratne further stated that they will appoint a special investigative body to look into the allegations against the doctor. This committee will be appointed by the Health Ministry, comprising three members of the Ceylon College of Gynaecologists and one member from the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC).

The media would have abstained from giving the same coverage if the arrested person was a Sinhalese surgeon, Senaratne said.

He made these remarks while attending a press conference held at the Temple Tress on Monday.

Speaking on the allegations made against Industry and Commerce Minister Rishard Bathiudeen, Minister Senaratne said that the government has appointed a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into the conduct of Minister Bathiudeen and added that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya will also open their investigations for the general public in order to maintain total transparency.

The Health Minister stated that Bathiudeen had not forced the Army Commander to release the suspects and said that the Army Commander himself had earlier admitted that Bathiudeen had only made a request.

Senaratne underscored that it was the previous regime that nurtured Zahran and his subordinates. He added that it was under former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Gotabaya Rajapaksa that the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks Zahran Hashim and 26 others of the National Thowheed Jama'ath were paid, incidentally from the same bank account.

The United National Party will field their very own candidate at the upcoming presidential election, parliamentarian Hesha Withanage said at a meeting in Godakawela.

Sharing his sentiments again on Facebook, the vociferous back bencher reiterated that the UNP will not be fielding anyone outside the party and that they will only consider an original UNPer to be its candidate. He further stated that they don't need to import a leader and stressed that they will not give presidential candidacy to a 'merchant' like Dhammika Perera.

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Administration and Disaster Management, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, at a press briefing in Moneragala yesterday, emphasised that on behalf of all party loyalists, they will only field a candidate from the UNP at the upcoming presidential polls.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera's budget proposal to establish a 'Palmyra Fund' geared towards providing adequate financing for the accelerated development of Eastern and Northern Provinces was launched under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the Temple Trees yesterday (27).

The fund was established after considering the requests made by parliamentarians representing the Norther and Eastern provinces, premier Wickremesinghe said.

The fund starts with a seed capital of LKR 2.5 billion while additional funds of LKR 2.5 billion is to be allocated for the fund, the Prime Minister.

In addition to this seed capital, LKR 7 billion of funds will be spent on the North and the East under ‘Gam Peraliya’ rapid rural development programme. According to the Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, approximately LKR 50 billion will be spent on the North and East this year alone, he said.

Wickremesinghe further said that funds will also be made available under the Enterprise Sri Lanka credit schemes for small-scale businesses to operate in the Northern and Eastern provinces.

“The govt will be giving employment to 22,000 graduates, so there will be a significant portion of them who come from Jaffna. There are other schemes under which employment opportunities will be founded. Funds that are being pumped into the northern and eastern economies will also create employment opportunities there,” the prime minister added.

Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera, Leader of Tamil National Alliance R. Sampanthan, Non-Cabinet Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Dr. Harsha de Silva, State Minister Vijayakala Maheswaran, Parliamentarians Selvam Adaikkalanathan and S. Shritharan also graced the event.

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has expressed its deep shock and concern over the Presidential pardon of Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, who was released from prison on 23rd May 2019. The pardon raises a number of pressing questions which the President and the government are obliged to answer.

Gnanasara Thero was convicted of four contempt of court charges by the Court of Appeal on 8th August 2018 and sentenced to 19 years of rigorous imprisonment to be completed within 6 years. The conviction and sentencing was premised on the Thero’s behaviour within court premises which was judged to have been beyond the respectful behaviour expected of ordinary citizens before the courts.

CPA stressed that presidential pardons exist to correct miscarriages of justice and are to be exercised with extreme caution and gravity. The pardon of Gnanasara Thero cannot be called a fit and proper exercise of that power by any metric. The trial, conviction and sentencing of the Thero raised no legitimate questions of any miscarriage of justice and there was ample opportunity for the Thero to fully exercise his right to a fair trial by appealing his conviction. Indeed this option was pursued by him at both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court which both duly dismissed the appeals. As such, the pardon itself amounts to an undue interference with the legal process.

The pardon raises a number of very serious concerns. First, it legitimises the view that it is possible to act with contempt for the judiciary, be punished through a legitimate judicial process, and then enjoy impunity through a pardon granted on political considerations. The pardon specifically signals that some categories of citizens, such as the Buddhist clergy, can expect to enjoy preferential treatment when it comes to obeying the law. It also sets a dangerous precedent whereby properly tried, convicted and sentenced persons can be released on the whims of the President and government.

Second, the pardon comes amidst the ongoing and extremely tense situation in the country. It has been a mere week since extremist Sinhala Buddhist mobs instigated anti-Muslim riots across North Western Sri Lanka, resulting in the death of one Muslim man and the damage to a large number of Muslim residences, businesses and places of worship. Gnanasara Thero has played a documented role in the past as Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena in expressing hate speech and inciting violence towards minority communities, particularly Muslim Sri Lankans. The pardon, however indirectly, represents a worrying endorsement of such anti-minority sentiment, and can only heighten the anxiety and fear being felt by Muslim Sri Lankans today.

The responsibility for interfering with the rule of law and endorsing anti-minority sentiment in this manner lies not only with the President but the wider government as well. The Minister of Buddha Sasana Gamini Jayawickrama earlier endorsed requests by religious and political third parties to issue the pardon, and numerous members of the government have spoken out and acted in support of it. Accordingly, the government as a whole must justify, with stated reasons, why the grant of a pardon in this case will not be inconsistent with the Constitution, the rule of law, and the administration of justice in Sri Lanka and will not exacerbate inter-communal tensions. Anything less will directly undermine the legitimacy of Sri Lanka’s democracy.

Leader of 'Mahason Balakaya' Amith Weerasinghe has been further emanded until tomorrow (29) by the Colombo Additional Magistrate.

Weerasinghe was arrested on May 14 in Teldeniya for instigating communal disharmony and religous hatred.

The Police said that Weerasinghe had posted content on the internet which was deemed offensive to religious coexistence.

The Colombo Magistrate's Court instructed the Police Organised Crimes Preventive Division to submit a complete report containing evidence against the accused tomorrow.

According to Sri Lankan Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake, the present security crisis facing the country was a result of the failures of many government institutions. In a television interview available on YouTube, he cited foreign exchange control failures to monitor money coming into the country, Customs Department failures, and intelligence coordination failures.

Aside from these valid insights, there is a more fundamental failure contributing to all other failures: the virtual extinction of a rule of law based legal system, and the crisis of justice institutions. The destruction of Sri Lanka’s rule of law framework did not occur overnight; it happened gradually over a period of some 40 years.

How did a rule of law based legal system become extinct in Sri Lanka?

The most important cause for this is the development of a system based on principles contrary to rule of law principles. This system was created largely by the 1978 Constitution, which itself is based on such contrary principles:

The 1978 Constitution allows for the virtual taking over of the lawmaking function by the Executive President, thus virtually displacing the role of a dynamic legislative system to debate and adopt laws. In the process of such debates, how the new legislation affects the overall rule of law framework is an important consideration.

Rules relating to the passing of laws and amendments to the Constitution were changed to make it easy for the Executive President to pass legislation suited to him while preventing public debate on such legislation.

By including national security provisions in the Constitution, a conflict is created with the rule of law principle. The inclusion of the national security law into the Constitution made it possible to grant impunity for many crimes.

The Constitution virtually displaced command responsibility in all institutions, making it possible for the Executive President or other parliamentarians to interfere in these institutions. As a result, gradually, the way was paved for politicians and influential persons to use public institutions as they wished. This displaced the rule of law framework for these institutions.

Discretion in deciding on matters of any kind in any institution was widely allowed, thus displacing the basic principle that it is the law that is important in decision-making and that discretion only plays a limited role. This gave rise to all kinds of practices, which would have been considered illegal under the rule of law systems. It also ensured that no monitoring of the institutions was possible, with everyone acting as they wish.

This process made its way into justice institutions as well. The police, for instance, had many varying criteria for acting on crimes, depending on all kinds of extraneous consideration. The same happened to the Attorney General’s department, which for a long time had the reputation of being based on legal considerations only. Within the judiciary, discretion took a more prominent place than the law. This happened in a wild way under Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, and it has continued thereafter. This was expressed beautifully by late S. L. Gunasekara, Senior Attorney at Law, who wrote that ‘those days we knew what will be the ultimate outcome of a case and that is no longer the case now’. Even the United Nations Human Rights Committee exposed how international norms and standards were violated by some of the judgments of the Supreme Court.

As a result of this displacement of the rule of law system, Sri Lanka lost the ability to distinguish between legality and illegality. Actions are regarded as valid despite being illegal. Many monetary scandals have their base in ignoring rules and laws. Enforced disappearances, widespread corruption, and many other illegal practices have now become part of the local system of law and justice in Sri Lanka.

When a system is so confusing, it is almost impossible for various institutions to coordinate towards achieving a single purpose. For a state, the security of its citizens is the most important single goal that it should pursue. This is not possible however when the total system is not run by uniform principles considered the basic criteria of judging the action.

What matters in security is not what is done after the disaster has already taken place. What really matters is prevention. Working towards prevention is something that is done on a regular basis as daily work. Such prevention is possible only when every one is bound by the same ultimate principles of rule of law.

Thus, transforming today’s insecure situation into secure circumstances cannot merely be done by certain military arrangements, which are made during an emergency. The transformation needs to go beyond such situations, and address causes which broke down the country’s legal and judicial system.

Sri Lanka has submitted the final papers to the EU, signed by both the government of Indonesia and the government of Sri Lanka to buy fabric from Indonesia.

This is to secure a complete duty waiver exporting to the European Union (EU) under the GSP + concessions.

The EU has virtually accepted the submission and the Sri Lankan government is waiting for the EU approval to go ahead with this initiative, Nimal Karunathilake- Acting Additional Director General of the Department of Commerce said.

In addition, Sri Lanka has come to final stage of making a joint submission to the EU, signed by the South Korean government and the Sri Lanka government to purchase fabric from Korea.

“Sri Lanka mainly imports fabric from China even though China is not a beneficiary of GSP+ concessions. Now, we’re trying to include both Korea and Indonesia. The work is still going on. The only thing is that it might take few more months and we’re very positive that the EU will grant approval for these two proposals shortly,” Karunathilake told at a seminar held in Colombo last week, under the theme ‘Brexit and its complications to Sri Lanka’.

“Despite the fact the Sri Lankan apparel manufactures continue to purchase fabric at a cheaper price from China, China doesn’t have trade relation for duty concessions with the EU. For this reason, Sri Lanka is unable to fully utilize the full capacity of GSP+ concessions.” Karunathilake said.

Noting that the GSP+ utilization rate is relatively low, which is at 55 per cent, he added that country cannot just depend on the EU, the UK or the USA markets for exports. According to him, industries in China and India will play a major role in the global trade in the years to come. By 2030, China will overcome the USA as the largest economy in the world.

He said therefore Sri Lanka needs to look at these aspects and see whether the country could sign an FTA with China in the near future.

Two individuals have been arrested during a joint search operation conducted by the Army and Police on a house in Narammala.

It was reported that the individuals had in their possession some petrol bombs, local military uniforms and foreign military uniforms.

According to sources, the head of the household that was arrested had contested the local government election in 2018 from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLFP).

Furthermore, the other individual that was arrested with him has been identified as his son, it was reported.

Switzerland has relaxed its travel advisory on Sri Lanka after the Sri Lankan government recently assured all resident ambassadors in Colombo about the improved security situation the the country.

Accordingly, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) of Switzerland has updated its travel advisory on Sri Lanka and advised its citizens to travel to the island nation 'with caution'. Earlier, the FDFA had advised to 'restrict travel' to Sri Lanka unless it was essential.

Meanwhile, China too relaxed its travel advisory on Sri Lanka from 'do not travel' to 'be cautious' last week. Around 260,000 tourists have been visiting Sri Lanka each year since 2016.

While attendance reaches normal levels in schools island wide after the assurance of the Army Commander, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Minister of Education, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam pledged to install CCTV cameras in Government schools throughout the island and reiterated that the Ministry at present has no plans to postpone the exams scheduled for the next few months.

“The Examinations’ Department will have to hold a number of examinations in the coming months and we have no intention of postponing these exams only because parents refuse to send their children to schools. CCTV cameras are to be set up at all government schools island-wide in order to strengthen the security system. The Government would bear the project’s expenses,” said Kariyawasam speaking to the Sunday Observer last week. He expected that due to security measures taken jointly with the armed forces, Police and civilian School Security Committees (SSC), that 100 percent attendance will be achieved within the week itself.

The Ministry had issued clear instructions to school principals, to local, zonal, provincial and national education authorities and the local government authorities on ensuring the security of students, teachers and school property, and of action to be taken in an emergency. While the SSCs are tasked with the responsibility of checking those entering school, and surveillance of class rooms and school premises no circular was issued from the Ministry stopping children from bringing usual bags to school or ordering transparent bags to be brought therein, said the Minister.

“Children need not necessarily buy them although school principals order to bring them. This action has been taken in several Provincial Schools as a result of the authority given to Principals to take appropriate action in their particular schools to ensure the security of students and teachers,” said Kariyawasam. He advised parents not to fall into the traps laid by anti-government elements and trade unions to keep the national education disrupted forever and called for them to send children to school without fear.

Additional Secretary, Ministry of Education, Hemantha Premathilake confirmed that there is an increase in the attendance of students after schools started on May 21. “According to reports received from schools, island wide, it is clear that 85 – 90 percent of the students are back in school this week. Schools are back to normal.” The academic term both in schools and at higher education institutions returned to normalcy last week with the Catholic Schools, Universities and other tertiary education institutions reopening for the term on Tuesday, May 21.

Parents, principles and trade unions alike praised the Army Commander’s statement about strengthening the security of schools and encouraging parents to send their children to school. Noting that since the second school term started and the security forces are deployed with all security measures in place for students to attend schools many parents trusting unconfirmed stories, rumours and gossip are still reluctant to send their children to schools, Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Senanayeka said “At this juncture, I emphasise that since members of the Armed Forces and the Police on a priority basis have taken all necessary steps to ensure security arrangements for all schools, parents should now send their children to schools without resorting to irrational fears as such.”

The Principal of Sri Jayawardenepura Maha Vidyalaya Kotte, Major D.A.D. Wanaguru said that although schools started on May 6, 2019, the student turnout was low but now it’s back to normal due to tight security measures and the statement made by Army Commander. “We send children into the schools after a thorough check making sure that the school premises are safe for students. The armed forces and parents supported us very much on this task,” he said. He questioned the rationality of keeping the children at home, when all security measures are already in place in schools. “This is foolish. For how long are parents going to keep children away from schools due to fear?” he asked.

Dammika Perera, a parent whose child attends Ananda College, Colombo noted the increase in student turn- out throughout the week. “My son said that most of his classmates had attended school this week. The statement of Army Commander gave us more confidence to send our children back to school,” Perera said. Ranjan Ramakrishnan, a parent from Kandy criticised the Government for deploying parents to check the students’ school bags. “Parents generally do not have training or proper knowledge on checking bags. They cannot do such a job without any training”. This is a wrong decision by the Ministry,” he said.

A parent whose child attends St. Lawrence’s Convent, Colombo said that she still fears sending her daughter to school although it has been said that safety measures have been taken. “We cannot take the risk of losing our children although the Government and the Education Ministry assured us about the safety and security measures implemented.

The schools have ordered students to bring see-through school bags. Terrorism cannot be stopped or solved by changing school bags. Checking school bags early morning is futile. It cannot detect 100 percent if a child’s bag has weapons hidden inside. Why cannot the Government install some metal detectors in schools island wide to assure 100 percent safety?” she said.

An anonymous parent said that her son was denied entrance to school when he went with his normal school bag. “He was told to take his books and other stuff out and leave his school bag on the floor at the entrance of the school just because he did not carry a transparent bag. Terrorists will not send bombs in school bags today like the LTTE did long ago. This is a foolish decision taken by some school principals.

The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU), General Secretary, Joseph Stalin was in agreement. “Some schools have insisted that only transparent bags be allowed inside. Most parents buy school bags in the first semester and having to buy a second bag later creates difficulties for them. According to Joseph, while student attendance was limited to about 30 percent island wide during the first two weeks but had returned to normal since May 21, after the Wesak holidays and Army Commander’s assurance of safety.

Joseph cautioned parents and urged the government to regulate the collection of money from parents by certain school administrators on the pretext of purchasing security equipment. “We have heard that some schools are collecting money from students to buy CCTV cameras. If the Government had permitted the installation of CCTV cameras inside schools, it should take steps to do that using money allocated to the Ministry or provincial ministries,” he said. According to Education Ministry sources, Edcuation Ministry secretary Secretary, Nihal Ranasinghe, is looking into complaints received by the Ministry in this regard.

Meanwhile, UNICEF Sri Lanka runs a communication campaign entitled #BacktoSchoolSL highlighting that it is time for children to go back to school and begin studying. The campaign is currently running across TV, Radio, Print and Digital Media. Communication Officer, UNICEF Sri Lanka, Suzanne Wooster Prematilaka said that UNICEF believes that every child has the right to education, even during emergencies. “Schools are not just about learning and books. Schools are places where friendships are built. They are also a place where children get to play, share and connect with their peers. Children deserve their childhood so that they can survive, grow, learn and develop to their fullest potential. Getting children back to school is in the best interest of all children and all of Sri Lanka,” she said.

Nivendra Uduman, Counselling Psychologist at Samutthana - The King’s College London Resource Centre for Trauma, Displacement and Mental Health spoke to the Sunday Observer on why parents fear sending children back to school and how to overcome this condition. The absence of threat and violence and reassurance from higher ups are not always parameters to help people feel calm after an event which really shook the entire nation. Trust needs to be rebuilt, wounds require healing, and people, even though they may not have been directly affected, need time and space to grieve. There are no quick fixes, and we really need to understand and accept this as a fact,” stressed Uduman.

“Easter Sunday’s event, has left a great deal of difficult emotions for people to deal with. These emotions may include fear, shame, guilt and sadness. Fear and uncertainty are what most people might feel including parents due to the security situation in the country. We are now aware that the situation has gradually subsided but there is still doubt, uncertainty and anxiety about sending children to school,” he says.

“It might also be difficult for parents to trust what the authorities say and do due to existing gaping lapses in security and safety. I believe that tightening security and constant reassurance from the authorities are insufficient. Schools and other relevant authorities must work with parents to address their insecurity and fear and most importantly to acknowledge it. There is also prejudice and a racial element to this situation, where certain parents might not be comfortable with their children having classmates from ‘certain communities,” Uduman added.

He further says that children themselves can be apprehensive. “The fear of discrimination, harassment and bullying can also keep children away from school. This situation needs to be addressed on a deeper level, addressing bias, prejudice, stereotyping and most importantly inter-cultural understanding must take place even at the school level.