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President Maithripala Sirisena has extended the term of office of the Presidential Commission to inquire into allegations of large scale frauds and malpractices in SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Catering and Mihin Lanka, to February 15, 2019.

Sirisena appointed the commission on February 14, 2018 to inquire into allegations of large scale frauds and malpractices in relevant institutions during the period of January 01, 2006 to January 31, 2018, and the official term of the commission was to expire on December 31, 2018. It has now been extended till the 15th of February 2019.

President Sirisena meeting the members of the commission today (19) at the Presidential Secretariat inquired into the progress of those investigations.

The members of the commission, including its Chairman, Retired Supreme Court Judge Anil Gunarathna participated in this meeting.

Leader of Democratic Peoples Front (DPF) Mano Ganesan MP said that he has offered to forgo a Cabinet portfolio. He also said that former Minister and ACMC leader Rishad Bathiudeen too had voluntarily offered to refrain from accepting a Cabinet post. 

Informed sources within the UNP said that parliamentarian and former Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Malik Samarawickrama had also offered to forgo a Cabinet position.

Making a special statement in parliament, The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader R. Sampanthan said that there are two opposition leaders as Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has not removed him from the position. 

Sampanthan was the leader of opposition before the illegal dissolution of the parliament on the 9th November.

SLFP Parliamentarians Vijith Vijithamuni Soysa, Lakshman Seneviratne, Piyasena Gamage and Indika Banadaranayake have crossed over to the government when parliament convened today (18).

Sri Lanka ’s revised National Physical Plan for 2018-2050 devised by the Urban Development Authority has been stalled by president Maithripala Sirisena following his contentious removal of the Cabinet of Ministers on October 26.  

The government was expected to invest US$ 400 million for initial infrastructure development activities over the 30-year period while attracting over US$ 4 billion in foreign investment for some key mega projects under the government's public-private partnership. 

President Sirisena is yet to grant his consent to this physical plan which is crucial for the country in the next three decades, a top official of the UDA said adding that the country’s infrastructure facilities cannot be improved without approving the plan. 

He pointed out that National Physical Plan for 2011-2030, which was gazetted in 2011 is now outdated as several key national and international developments have taken place since then. 

Therefore, the government has decided to revise and update the plan, he disclosed. Main objectives of the plan were to formulate national physical policies, plans and strategies to ensure and monitor the implementation of such national policies and plans regionally and locally. 

The aim is to promote and regulate integrated planning of economic, social, physical and environmental aspects of land and territorial waters of Sri Lanka, he said. 

According to the proposed plan, the future development initiatives in the corridor, such as industrial estates, cultural development zones, tourism zones and urban service centres will be concentrated on six major population centres in the corridor. 

The corridor consists of  the Colombo Megapolis, Gampaha Metro Region, Negombo Metro Region, Kurunegala Metro Region, Dambulla Metro Region and Trincomalee Metro Region. It has been proposed to develop Colombo-Trincomalee as the main economic corridor along with three other sub-corridors, while Anuradhapura and Kandy are also to be developed separately as metropolitan areas, he disclosed.   

The National Physical Plan should be approved by the National Physical Planning Council headed by the President as per Section 3(1) of Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Act No. 49 of 2000. 

This plan has been devised by the National Physical Planning Department (NPPD) under the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry, with the consultation of various stakeholders, during over one and half years. 

Previous Cabinet of Ministers chaired by the president has reviewed the draft plan in December 2017 and it was presented to the NPPA recently, he said revealing that the draft copies of the plan were handed over to all relevant representatives of the NPPA recently. 

The final plan was submitted to the National Physic al Planning Council for the president’s approval, but he has not signed it following the change in the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry, he said. 

The key component of the plan is the proposed Colombo-Trincomalee economic corridor, consisting one-third of the country’s population. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been conducting a detailed study, which is expected to be released shortly, he added. 

The Colombo-Trincomalee economic corridor has been identified as the area with the most potential for development activities that has the capacity to attarct a major share of future investments in the island, he opined.

The United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has decided to nominate former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to be the Leader of the Opposition. The decision was taken at the UPFA parliamentary group meeting held today (18), that was chaired by president Maithripala Sirisena. .

When parliamentary proceedings began, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said that he would recognise Rajapaksa as the leader of the opposition. However, raising objections, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said that the parliament should be allowed to investigate the suitability of the former president to function as the leader of the opposition since questions have been raised regarding his eligibility to continue as a member of parliament as he has joined the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem also noted that Rajapaksa has ceased to become a MP. Hakeem said that Rajapaksa had contested from the UPFA at the last general election but had resigned from the party and joined SLPP and therefore his seated has been vacated.

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) on Tuesday moved an adjournment motion to abolish the executive presidency saying that majority of the people of the country favor to usurp the power from a single individual.
 
Adjournment Motion on "Abolition of Executive Presidency" was proposed by JVP MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa.
 
The United National Party (UNP) led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament that they will support moves to slash the powers of the President and requested the rest of Parliament to support the JVP's motion to abolish the Executive Presidency.
 
Earlier in the year, the JVP as a private member's motion presented the 20th amendment to the Constitution to parliament to abolish the executive presidency and requested all political parties to support it.
 
According to the proposed 20th Amendment, the President is elected from Parliament with a secret ballot by a simple majority and should not hold any position of a political party nor could be a member of any political party during his tenure.
 
JVP MP Vijitha Herath said during the past 50 days the people firsthand learned valuable lessons how an executive presidency can violate the constitution and fundamental rights of the people.
 
He pointed out that although the parliament was not in session during the political crisis, the 20th amendment submitted in May 2018 is still valid.
Speaking during the debate UNP MP Malik Samarawickrema said the recent events showed why the Executive Presidency must be abolished. He said the UNP would support the motion and urged all other parliamentarians also to support the JVP motion.
 
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) also expressed their support for the motion.

Source : Colombo Page

The government needs to address the national question and provide a constitutional solution to i, the National Peace Council said in statement.The NPC said that they believe that the coming period will be the most decisive in Sri Lanka’s post-independence history in regard to finding a just and lasting solution to the ethnic conflict.

Full statement is as follows;

"The restoration of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to his position as Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena has brought to an end seven weeks of political crisis in which the country did not have a functioning government.   As articulated by the Prime Minister himself, most of the people of this country joined together to protect the constitution, democracy, and the rights of the people. They joined this fight on behalf of their country and democracy without any personal gain. The National Peace Council wishes to appreciate the apex courts of the judiciary which proved their mettle and contributed immensely to bringing the political crisis to an end. 
 
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe made it clear during the political crisis that providing a political solution to the national question and enshrining it in constitutional law is a priority for him.  The TNA votes in parliament during the crisis provided the majority in parliament that was needed to show President Sirisena, and the country, that Mr Wickremesinghe was entitled to be appointed as prime minister.  The TNA leadership has been criticized for being more concerned about the prime minister than about the Tamil people.  In our view the TNA’s contribution to the preservation of democracy, to respect for the constitution and to the Rule of Law goes beyond the personal. 
 
During the next year the government needs to address the national question and provide a constitutional solution to it. This would require a 2/3 majority in parliament and approval by the people at a referendum.  The National Peace Council believes that the coming period will be the most decisive in Sri Lanka’s post-independence history in regard to finding a just and lasting solution to the ethnic conflict and that the support of President Sirisena would be important for this endeavor to be a success. This is likely to be the last available time period for the UNP and SLFP that worked together for the first time in history to continue to work together.  It is through their collaboration that the most vexed and intractable of the country’s problems, its ethnic conflict that gave rise to nearly three decades of terror and war, might be resolved."

The National Peace Council is an independent and non partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country.

Members of Sri Lanka’s Parliament on Tuesday questioned whether Mahinda Rajapaksa, who recently quit as prime minister, can hold his seat after earlier relinquishing membership in the political party he represented in the last election.

Lakshman Kiriella, a lawmaker from the ruling United National Front coalition, raised the question in Parliament soon after Speaker Karu Jayasuriya announced that he accepted Rajapaksa as the opposition leader because President Maithripala Sirisena had withdrawn from a national unity government with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Jayasuriya said he would rule on the matter on Friday.

“We don’t want the constitution to be violated any further,” said another lawmaker, M.A. Sumanthiran. “If some members have ceased to be members of Parliament, they must withdraw from this chamber now.”

Rajapaksa last month dropped membership in his former party, led by Sirisena, to represent the Sri Lanka People’s Front, the party he formed and served as shadow leader. He took the step after Sirisena dissolved Parliament and called for fresh elections, aiming to form a base independent of Sirisena.

Rajapaksa, who is popular among Sri Lankans for winning a decades-long civil war that ended in 2009, was the party’s biggest crowd-puller.
However, the Supreme Court restored the same Parliament, calling its dissolution illegal.

Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister on Saturday, ending weeks of political instability in the country. The crisis was triggered by Sirisena’s move to withdraw his party from a national unity government, sack Wickremesinghe as prime minister and appoint Rajapaksa in his place.
Wickremesinghe insisted that he was removed illegally, while Rajapaksa failed to secure majority support in Parliament.

Sirisena dissolved Parliament and called for fresh elections, but the Supreme Court suspended the move and restored Parliament. Later, the court issued a final decision, declaring the dissolution of Parliament and the call for elections illegal.

By that time, Rajapaksa’s opponents had defeated him in two no-confidence votes, but he held on to the office with Sirisena’s support until the Court of Appeal suspended him and his Cabinet from functioning in their offices.

Rajapaksa and his suspended ministers went to the Supreme Court seeking to remove their suspensions, but the court refused.

Rajapaksa was then forced to resign to avert a crisis that would have prevented the government from spending state funds from Jan. 1 without a budget.

Sirisena then restored Wickremesinghe, the man he ousted in October, as prime minister.

Source : The Washington Post

A new political party will be established that would unite all democratic elements in the country, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said. The party will be named as the National democratic Front (NDF), he added.

The premier made these remarks at the 'Yukthiye Satana' rally currently being held at the Galle Face Green.

Thousands of supporters had thronged to Galle Face to celebrate the reestablishment of democracy in the country following the unconstitutional coup that happened in October.

SLFP Vice President and Kalutara District MP Kumara Welgama says that President Maithripala Sirisena should resign from his post immediately.

"The Supreme Court has found that President Sirisena violated the Constitution. One who has acted in contravention of the Constitution should not hold that position. He can be impeached any moment and more than that he should be aware that continuing to hold that post by a person who violated the constitution can give rise to numerous other problems," MP Welgama told The Island.

The SLFP stalwart said that when a country was led by a person who had no legitimacy to hold the post of head of state, other law enforcing authorities would find it difficult to discharge their duties to uphold the rule of law.

"It is time for Sirisena to step down from the post and let the constitutional process to take its own course. His stay in that post will only further worsen the situation. On the other hand, this issue will be detrimental to the country’s interests internationally. Being a seasoned politician the President should understand the possible repercussions of this situation. A president who does not respect a court ruling cannot be trusted to respect anything at all."

(The Island)

The European Union (EU) today welcomed the peaceful and democratic resolution of the political crisis in Sri Lanka. 

“As steady friends of Sri Lanka, we welcome the peaceful and democratic resolution of the political crisis in accordance with the constitution,” the EU delegation in Sri Lanka said in a statement in agreement with the EU Ambassadors and the Norwegian Ambassador resident in Colombo. 

“We commend the resilience of Sri Lanka's democratic institutions and will continue to support its efforts towards national reconciliation and prosperity for all,' the joint statement said.