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SriLankan Airlines will lose USD 130 million for the year ending March 2020, chairman Ashok Pathirage disclosed to the Parliamentary Committee On Public Enterprises (COPE). He requested a USD 300 million capital injection from the government to prevent a debt spiral.

Pathirage blamed the situation on the loss of tourism after last year's Easter Sunday bombings and the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Arrivals from China, for example, which accounted for 30% of inbound travel in 2018, plunged 92.5% in February year-on-year.

Although undercapitalised due to past losses, the airline had been expecting to reduce its loss to about USD30 million in 2021, the chairman told the committee, promising that “the board has a plan where we are very confident the airline will be profitable two to three years down the line", he stated.

It was only last month that the government approved a further handout to SriLankan Airlines, this time for USD 50 million, to enable it to continue its services.

Loss-making since Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l) concluded a profitable ten-year management contract with the carrier in 2008, SriLankan's cumulative losses will total LKR 232 billion rupees (USD1.27 billion) by end March 2020, Pathirage said, including USD 115 million to release it from a controversial Airbus deal. The carrier committed in 2013 to buy six A330-300s and four A350-900s and take a further four A350-900s from lessors but later reneged on its decision to add any of the A350s.

Sri Lanka's previous administration, which was in power until November 2019, decided in August of that year to sell a 49% stake in the flag carrier and try to attract foreign investors by assuming some of the airline's legacy debt. Nothing further was done, however.

Pathirage also reiterated earlier plans to launch flights to Frankfurt Int'l and Sydney Kingsford Smith and lease more A330s. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the carrier currently operates an all-leased fleet of five A320-200s, two A320-200neo, two A321-200s, four A321-200neo, six A330-200s, and seven A330-300s.

Samaraweera made these comments while speaking at the UNP Working Committee meeting held at the party headquarters 'Sirikotha' last night (01).

The parliamentarian observed that the formation of the new coalition was postponed due to minor issues for several months. At a time when the general election is scheduled to be announced in a few hours, the impediments to finalising the agreement have been the shameful actions of a few who are trying to divide the party and hand over an advantage to the incumbent government at their behest.

When MP Vajira Abeywardena had tried to interrupt, Mangala Samaraweera had said that "you are one of the conspirators."

Recalling the past where the SLFP had been in the opposition for 17 years from 1977 to 1994, Mangala Samaraweera had noted that the UNP would have to remain in the opposition for years if the party gets caught in such conspiracies. He had requested them to set aside other issues for the time being and focus on discussing matters related to the formation of the alliance immediately.

However, after the two sides had clashed over trivial matters, Samaraweera had walked out from the Working Committee meeting.

Sajith faction to contest from 'Samagi Jana Balawegaya'

However, the Working Committee meeting which was held yesterday ended without reaching consensus on a symbol and both parties had decided to contest separately.

The general secretary of the 'Samagi Jana Balawegaya' (SJB) Ranjith Madduma Bandara stated that the majority of UNP MPs have decided to contest the next general election under the SJB led by Sajith Premadasa.

The Police Narcotics Burea and the Sri Lanka Navy in joint operation nabbed two foreign trawlers packed with over LKR 6000 million worth of heroin and crystal methamphetamine in Sri Lanka's biggest-ever drugs bust at sea, Navy spokesman said.

Former president and the Leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Maithripala Sirisena says his party will extend its fullest support to strengthen the government of President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa at the next general election.

Accordingly, the SLFP will join hands with the Sri Lanka Freedom People's Alliance (Sri Lanka Nidahas Podujana Sandanaya) and contest the upcoming general elections under the 'pohottuwa' symbol. He said that the symbol of the party is irrelevant when fighting on behalf of the people in the country.

The former president made these comments while making the keynote speech at a workshop held for SLFP representatives in Polonnaruwa last Saturday (22).

Chairmen and members of Pradeshiya Sabhas as well as all other SLFP representatives in Polonnaruwa participated at this workshop.

SLFP Leader Maithripala Sirisena said that he is well aware of the challenges faced by the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government and observed that the payment of salaries to state sector workers have become a serious issue. He further said that the government also needs to settle a substantial amount in debts.

A strong Govt. can't be formed without the SLFP

Pointing out that it is funny to think that one could win the Polonnaruwa electorate without the support of the SLFP, the former president stressed on the need to unite and form a strong government at the general election.

While noting that the SLFP has launched a very systematic campaign, the former president said that he intends to strengthen the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government by working towards the victory of the most number of parliamentarians at the election.

Despite being faced with many difficulties throughout its inception as a party and having emerged victorious in all elections since, the founder of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Basil Rajapaksa asserted that the SLPP will achieve a landslide victory at the upcoming general election.

He made these comments while addressing party representatives at the SLPP headquarters in Nelum Mawatha, Battaramulla.

He further stated that he expects to win the election by getting 113-120 seats.

He had also pointed out the importance of executing an eco-friendly election campaign while paying strict adherence to election laws and regulations.

Sri Lanka Nidahas Podujana Sandanaya to contest under SLPP!

SLPP General Secretary attorney-at-law Sagara Kariyawasam had officially informed the Election Commission on Tuesday (03) that the Sri Lanka Nidahas Podujana Sandanaya would contest under the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).  

Attorney-at-law Sagara Kariyawasam made this notification as all political parties must inform the Election Commission of their intention to contest within seven days of the declaration of an election.

The government has deployed troops to help police control worsening traffic congestion in the capital, the Army said Monday (Feb 24).

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a retired army officer, ordered the military to assist traffic officers at the main entry and exit points to Colombo, a city which nearly a million people enter or leave daily, a spokesman said.

The military police will also lend support "in any other area where their services are required", Army spokesman Chandana Wickremasinghe added.

Traffic slows to a snail's space in Colombo during the morning and evening rush hours making it one of the slowest road systems in South Asia.

Recent studies have shown average speeds drop below 7kmh in the morning and the evening.

The capital does not have a mass transit system, forcing many to use their own transport that chokes the narrow streets.

The former government began work on the country's first light rail transit system last year at an estimated cost of US$1.5 billion. The Japanese-funded project is expected to be operational within about five years.

Security agencies are stepping up surveillance, harassment, and threats against human rights activists and journalists, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today. Since November 2019, when the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa came into office, there has been a rapid closing of civic space and freedom of expression.

In interviews with 15 Sri Lankan human rights defenders working in different locations around the country, Human Rights Watch heard consistent accounts of increased surveillance and pressure from security agencies. Several said that intelligence officials had asked activists and victims about their advocacy plans ahead of the current United Nations Human Rights Council session, which began on February 24, 2020 in Geneva. “We fear that international lobbying and travel to Geneva may not happen in future because of this situation,” one activist said.

“Since the return of the Rajapaksas to power, a state of fear is being re-established in Sri Lanka,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director. “The activities of the government’s security apparatus are evident in some violent attacks and public death threats against activists and journalists, but also in equally dangerous actions happening out of sight.”

Rajapaksa has placed a number of important civilian agencies under the Defence Ministry, including the civilian police and the NGO Secretariat, which regulates nongovernmental groups, among dozens of others. He has appointed a serving military officer as head of the civilian intelligence agency and a retired general, Kamal Gunaratne, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, as defense secretary.

Over the past three months, unidentified people have physically attacked journalists several times, and issued death threats against reporters perceived as critical of the government. Security officials have searched media offices. The Defence Ministry announced on January 24 that it had drafted a new cybersecurity law to prevent people from publishing “defamatory posts” on social media. The proposals have not yet been published.

Several human rights activists described receiving repeated phone calls from intelligence officers. Some of these calls have apparently been to tell activists that they are being watched at that moment. On other occasions the caller asks questions or issues threats or warnings.

One human rights defender said that “everything has shifted into a critical situation. After the election, military activities including monitoring and inquiries have increased. They are following us. That is a huge threat for human rights groups.” Another activist said: “We collected stories and documents. Now we’ve stopped everything. We did a lot of work. Now, zero.” A third activist said she so constantly feels under surveillance that intelligence officers “might even be in the next seat on the bus.”

Police and intelligence officers have sought to instil fear in rights groups by visiting their offices and demanding staff lists, home addresses, and other personal details. One activist said the authorities came to his office demanding this information, but then revealed that “they knew already everything. My personal details, they knew it. This is part of the intimidation.”

Many of these activists carry out research and advocacy on abduction, torture, murder, and enforced disappearance allegedly committed by security forces, including members of the intelligence agencies and the military, between 2005-2015 when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was defense secretary during the administration of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is now prime minister. During those years the United Nations found credible evidence that the Sri Lankan government was responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

An activist whose group works on so-called “white van” abductions and enforced disappearances allegedly committed by intelligence officers under the previous Rajapaksa administration said, “It is in question what will happen to me and my staff.” Another activist said, “I am even more scared because the kind of inquiry that has been happening is about people’s families, so that is even more frightening than if they are asking about our official activities.”

The intelligence agencies have also begun to target the financial and administrative records of nongovernmental organizations over the last five years, and especially details of funding from donors abroad. Activists fear the authorities will allege accounting errors as a pretext to shut them down or to bring criminal charges.

Several human rights groups based in eastern Sri Lanka have been summoned for questioning in Colombo by the police Terrorist Investigation Department (TID). One human rights activist said: “In the investigation they told us, ‘You have used money you received from abroad for terrorist activities in Sri Lanka. You are involved in terrorist activities, that is why you have been called for investigation.’”

On February 26, the Rajapaksa government said it would no longer abide by Human Rights Council resolution 30/1, which Sri Lanka endorsed in 2015. Resolution 30/1 commits Sri Lanka to ensuring truth and justice for past abuses. An activist said that Sri Lankan human rights groups that worked in support of Resolution 30/1 now find themselves vulnerable: “Now the government is saying you are urging the people to disturb the peace [by supporting resolution 30/1]. They say, ‘You have no right to do it.’”

Members of the Human Rights Council should, as a matter of priority, support a new resolution to establish an international mechanism or tribunal to address past crimes in Sri Lanka, Human Rights Watch said.

On February 14, the United States banned Sri Lanka’s army chief, Gen. Shavendra Silva, from travel to the US due to “his involvement, through command responsibility, in gross violations of human rights, namely extrajudicial killings” during Sri Lanka’s civil war. Other countries, including EU members and the United Kingdom, should follow suit and impose sanctions on him and others credibly accused of serious rights violations and war crimes.

The EU should also remind Sri Lanka of its human rights obligations under the European Union’s GSP+ system of trade preferences and of the consequences of failing to comply.

“Sri Lankans are seeing their civil and political rights being stripped away and replaced by authoritarian structures at a rapid pace,” Ganguly said. “It’s crucial for the UN Human Rights Council to remember the past, respond to the warning signs, and resolutely insist on fundamental human rights principles, including delivering justice to victims.”

The National Peace Council says that the travel restrictions imposed on Army chief Lt Gen Shavendra Silva is a continuation of a regime of international sanctions against Sri Lanka on the grounds of its unwillingness to deal with unresolved issues of the final phases of the war.

Following the announcement of the government's decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of UNHRC Resolution 30/1, the National Peace Council (NPC) called on the government to demonstrate its continuing commitment to national reconciliation by spelling out its alternative roadmap which will address the concerns of all Sri Lankans.
In a statement, they point out that in September last year, the United Nations (UN) suspended Sri Lankan Army deployments in its peacekeeping operations after then President Maithripala Sirisena appointed General Silva as Army Commander accusing him of command responsibility for serious human rights violations.
"The decision of the US is argued to be on the basis of information found in UN and other reports available as far back as 2014.  In October 2015, the Sri Lanka government agreed to address these concerns by co-sponsoring UNHRC resolution 30/1 which set out a roadmap to reconciliation.

On the other hand, the withdrawal of the US from the UNHRC in 2018 was seen as debilitating those commitments. It needs to be noted that the sanctions are being implemented only after there are indications of backsliding from governmental commitments made in the 2015-19 period. With Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s announcement of the government decision to withdraw from Sri Lanka’s co-sponsorship of the UNHRC resolution, the National Peace Council (NPC) is concerned about further sanctions that could potentially be injurious to the country," the NPC said.

The National Peace Council said that the appropriate path for Sri Lanka to take at the present time would be that of restorative justice where the state would acknowledge the human rights violations and crimes of the past that occurred on all sides and focus its priority attention to restore the lives of those who survived to the maximum level possible. 

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the UN, Kshenuka Senewiratne, recently said "Sri Lanka is committed to find innovative and pragmatic solutions driven by the domestic context to protect the country’s national interest guided by the provisions of the Constitution, and the will of the citizens expressed through democratic means." Therefore, the Sri Lankan government should now demonstrate its continuing committement to national reconciliation through an alternative roadmap which will address the concerns of all citizens.

According to sources from the Presidential Secretariat, Bimal Gonaduwa, who was appointed as the Project Director of the Colombo Port City Project by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) is being sidelined by the Chinese company in charge of construction while according preferential treatment to Deputy Project Director Piyusha Gunasekara.

It is also alleged that the Chinese company is taking a special interest in her because she is known to represent the interests of the Chinese company rather than the interests of the Sri Lankan government.

Nihal and Piyusha dancing to the Chinese company's tune!

After the incumbent Rajapaksa government came to power, Nihal Fernando, the then director of the Port City Project, was removed and Bimal Gonaduwa was appointed. It is said that his removal had to do with the fact that Nihal Fernando was revealed to be a pawn of the Chinese company.

At the time Nihal Fernando was sacked, the Mangaing Director of the company that is handling the construction of the Port City Project, Houliang Jiang, had made an effort to recruit him as a consultant to the Chinese company, but the government had refused.

According to Presidential Secretariat sources, Deputy Director of the Port City Project, Piyusha Gunasekara and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development, Anjali Devaraja have also provided preferntial treatment to the Chinese company with the support of a high ranking official of the ministry.

Furthermore, Anjali Devaraja, who was a close associate of former minister Champika Ranawaka, had joined the ministry during the good governance regime and worked as a close associate of the minister. However, it is reported that she is now criticising the former minister and has distanced herself from the former minister and appears to be a close friend of the Rajapaksa government. An engineer by profession, she was a  contemporary of Champika Ranawaka during their university days.

It has been reported to the Presidential Secretariat that the two female officials have been tactfully relieving the current Project Director from his responsibilities.

It is also reported to the theleader.lk that certain officials from the Urban Development Authority and the Ministry, have been concealing who have been supportive of the Chinese company, are concealing shortcomings of the company with regard to land reclamation and construction.

The Attorney General has directed the Acting IGP to obtain warrants to arrest former minister Ravi Karunanayake, former Governor of the Central Bank Arjun Mahendran, Arjun Aloysius, CEO of Perpetual Treasuries Kasun Palisena, former director of the Public Debt Department T. Sarathchandra and a few others today.

The Attorney General's Coordinating Secretary, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne stated that the warrant has been issued for the arrest of the suspects on charges of conspiracy, criminal misappropriation, cheating and market manipulation with regard to the bond auction in March 2016.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Wednesday said that his government will withdraw from co-sponsoring a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for war crimes.

His statement came days after the US imposed travel restrictions on Army chief Lt Gen Shavendra Silva and his immediate family members over alleged gross violations of human rights during the final phase of the island nation''s Civil War in 2009.

"Our government has decided to withdraw from the process of co sponsorship in relation to resolution 30-/1," the Prime Minister said in a statement.

The resolution 30/1 was co-sponsored in 2015 by the then Sri Lankan government.

Rajapaksa accused his predecessor of betraying the island's security forces by co-sponsoring the resolution.

"It is because of the historic betrayal that other countries are able to name members of our armed forces as violators of human rights," said Rajapaksa, who was president and commander-in-chief when Sri Lanka launched the offensive to crush the LTTE in 2009.

The 2015 resolution was based on the UNHRC report which had accused the Lankan troops of violating human rights, Rajapaksa’s statement said.

Sri Lanka's ruling and opposition parties have strongly opposed the US move to impose the travel ban on Lt. Gen. Silva, saying America's decision was based on independently unverified information.

Minister of Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena last week said that Lt. Gen. Silva was only conducting a war against a designated terrorist group which was the LTTE.

He was appointed as the Sri Lankan Army Commander last year and previously headed the Army's 58th Division in the final battle against the LTTE in 2009.

The UN rights body resolution had blamed Lt. Gen. Silva’s brigade of committing rights abuses during the final phase of the battle which ended in May 2009. Both government troops and the LTTE were accused of rights violations. The Sri Lanka Army has denied the alleged rights abuses.

Full text of statement:

“The United States of America has prohibited the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva or members of his family from entering that country. Even though we are now in the 21st Century, even members of his family who have not been accused of any wrongdoing, have been subjected to a collective punishment reminiscent of the practice in medieval Europe. The people should be the judge of how fair this is. Even though this collective punishment has been meted out on the grounds that the Army Commander had committed violations of human rights, no one knows what these allegations are.

Our government has already conveyed our displeasure in this regard to the government of the United States in the strongest possible terms. It is because of the historic betrayal committed by the yahapalana government formed by the United National Party, the Tamil National Alliance and the JVP in co-sponsoring UN Human Rights Council Resolution 30/1 in 2015 that other countries are able to name members of our armed forces as violators of human rights. The first operative paragraph of that Resolution had taken note ‘with appreciation’ the September 2015 Report of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights which accused the Sri Lankan armed forces of human rights violations. This report was based on the previous 2011 unofficial report prepared by a three member committee appointed by the then UN Secretary General outside the established procedure of that organisation. In this manner, the UNP-TNA-JVP combine ended up accepting all the unfounded allegations made against our armed forces by various interested parties.

Even though the Army Commander of our country and his family have been subjected to a collective punishment reminiscent of medieval times, the yahapalana political parties have not condemned it. UNP Parliamentarian Lakshman Kiriella says that this travel ban imposed on the Army Commander and his family is the responsibility of the present government. The JVP says that the USA has imposed a travel ban on the Army Commander and his family at this particular moment due to a deal to ensure that the SLPP obtains a resounding victory at the forthcoming Parliamentary elections. For its part the Tamil National Alliance has welcomed the collective travel ban imposed on the Army Commander and his family. The people should take note of the fact that when the UNP government co-sponsored Resolution 30/1 in the UN Human Rights Council, the so called anti-imperialist JVP did not oppose it. From the discussion that has taken place with regard to the collective punishment imposed on the Army Commander and his family, it becomes clear that the political divide in this country is between the patriotic camp which puts the country first, on the one hand, and born traitors who are waiting for the first opportunity to betray the country, on the other hand."