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Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera says the October 26 black Friday coup was engineered by opponents due to fears regarding the successful ‘Gamperaliya’ development program launched by the yahapalana government. The Minister made these comments addressing a gathering in Matara recently. 

According to the Minister, De facto Finance Minister of the conspiracy government, Mahinda Rajapaksa had put forward a cabinet paper to cancel the development project.

Samaraweera says the government’s opponents were troubled by the massive development program aimed at uplifting the rural economy.

He says Rajapaksa knew he would be defeated in an election if the Gamperaliya program is allowed to continue for over a year and had made comments to that effect adding that therefore Rajapaksa had said the government must be toppled to disrupt it. 

The Minister has vowed to present Rs. 300 million each to all electoral seats under the Gamperaliya program and stressed the program will not be stalled due to any reason.

Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera has instructed relevant authorities to reinstate the State Media Heads that were in office before the constitutional coup. The then illegal government had replaced all media heads immediately after October 26th.

Accordingly, Thilaka Jayasundara (ITN), Siddik Farook (SLBC), Inoka Sathyangani (SLRC) and Krishantha Cooray (Lakehouse) are to be reinstated as chairpersons of State media institutions.

The Vote on Account to cover expenditures of the first four months of 2019 was passed in Parliament with by a majority of 96 votes today.

102 members voted in favour while 06 members, all from the JVP, voted against. Although the UPFA abstained from voting, its general secretary Mahinda Amaraweera said that the party will not object the vote on account. 

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera presenting the vote on account said that the expenditure for the four-month period would be LKR 1745 billion with LKR 970 billion allocated for debt servicing.

UPFA MP Ranjith de Zoyza, who recently joined the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, has been arrested on charges of assaulting a person, Police media spokesperson said.

Police said that four others were also arrested in connection to the assault that had taken place in Godakawela.

After being produced before the Pelmadulla Magistrate’s Court, the suspects were ordered to be remanded until the 01st of January.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe severely criticized media in parliament today over the circulation a 'fake' list of nominations for Cabinet portfolios allegedly sent to president Maithripala Sirisena. 

The premier alleged that the media was reporting that this fake list was rejected by president Sirisena.He also stated that some media had claimed that SLFP parliamentarian Wijith Vijayamuni Zoysa was included in the list of MPs nominated for ministerial portfolios but pointed out that he was never included in the list.

PM Wickremesinghe slammed media for attempting to mislead the public and called for a parliamentary debate next month on false and inaccurate reporting. He insisted that action must be taken against media outlets that have purposely mislead the general public. 

The fake list of proposed ministers is found below:

Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen, who has been given a bigger Ministerial mandate on 20 December, welcomed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s entry to the Northern development work-and vowed to re-instate IDP funds wrongfully slashed by the recently dismissed administration.

"These long term IDPs, most of whom are Muslims in Northern Province, have suffered for the longest period since the war times. Resettlement and welfare support by the government is vital since there is no one else to spend for them. Before our former Cabinet was replaced by the illegal government of October 26 with its new Cabinet, the former Cabinet had approved funds for resettlement of these old IDPs. The approval was a thorough process, and it was also cleared by the policy Planning Ministry of previous Cabinet. Using these approved allocations, resettlement work already started from August 2018. It is unfortunate that the disputed PM slashed Rs 250 Million from this ongoing allocations, leaving these IDPs in great difficulty," he said. 

"Despite leading an illegitimate government, he has even instructed to divert this Rs 250 million for other work away from IDP resettlement. This is an illegal action and harms the ongoing resettlement process of IDPs," Bathiudeen added.

After his re-appointment today Minister Bathiudeen now heads Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce becoming the only Cabinet Minister to hold this portfolio for the fourth term.

A Tamil refugee family who made a home for themselves in the small Queensland town of Biloela have lost their appeal to stay in Australia.
Nadesalingam and Priya came to Australia separately by boat in 2012 and 2013 following Sri Lanka's civil war. 

They settled in Biloela, where they became ingrained in the local community.The Federal Court on Friday dismissed Nadesalingam, Priya and their two daughters' bid to remain in the country.

But Justice John Middleton ordered they not be deported back to Sri Lanka until after 4pm on February 1, given the time of year and so they had an opportunity to consider their options.

Australian Border Force officials removed the family from their home in March, one day after Priya's bridging visa expired.

They have been detained in a Melbourne immigration centre for the past nine months.

Sri Lankan Tamils Priya and Nadesalingam and their two Australian-born children, from Biloela in Queensland, who lost a bid to stop their deportation.Credit:AAP

The family were issued with a deportation notice in June after the federal government ruled they couldn't stay.

But their removal from Australia was put on hold after they made an 11th-hour appeal to the Federal Court in August.

Friend Brad Coath, who was in court when Friday's decision was handed down, said the family would be devastated.

"Nadas and Priya are keeping an incredibly brave face but it's tough as you can imagine," he said.

Mr Coath said their Australian-born daughters, aged one and three, were particularly doing it tough, having developed nutritional deficiencies and developmental issues as a result of being in detention.

Family friend Brad Coath (left) is seen outside the Federal Court in MelbourneCredit:AAP/Daniel Pockett.

Friend and Biloela resident Angela Fredericks described the family's ordeal as "pure psychological torture".

"Each time they're getting more and more exhausted. It's just the psychological drain of not knowing and the constant fear (of returning to Sri Lanka)," she said.

Ms Fredericks said she was disappointed with the court ruling but grateful the family wouldn't be deported until February.

She said it gave them time to consider their options, including if they wanted to take the case to the High Court.

"It gives us time to keep the pressure on Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to step in," she said.

More than 140,000 people have signed a petition urging Mr Dutton to return the family to Biloela.

Ms Fredericks said the small town community would now put more pressure on the government to intervene.

"We will be back fighting with phone calls daily, sending letters and emails, basically inundating them," she said.

Nadesalingam and Priya came to Australia separately by boat in 2012 and 2013 following Sri Lanka's civil war.

They settled in Biloela, where they became ingrained in the local community. (AAP)

The investigation into the allegation that Chief of Defense Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne threatened the main witness in the case of abduction of 11 youths has been taken over by the Colombo Crime Division (CCD).

It was informed to court yesterday that the investigation into the incident conducted by the Fort Police had been taken over by the CCD on the orders of the Senior DIG in charge of the Western Province. The OIC of the Colombo Crime Division also made a request to fix a date to present the progress of the investigation in a B report.

Accordingly, the Magistrate ordered the Colombo Crimes Division to appear before the court with the Fort Police on January 19 regarding the incident.

The Chief of Defense Staff was arrested and remanded last month for assisting Navy Lieutenant Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi alias Navy Sampath, the main suspect in the abduction and disappearance of 11 Tamil youths to evade court.

The main witness of the case, Lieutenant Commander Galagamage Laksiri Geethal has lodged a complaint in the Fort Police that he was attacked by the CDS and his aides at the Navy Headquarters in Colombo last month.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres has welcomed the resolution of the political crisis in Sri Lanka and called on all the political actors to resolve all outstanding differences in the interest of people of the country. 

“The Secretary-General welcomes the resolution of the political crisis in Sri Lanka through peaceful, constitutional means, and applauds the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions,” Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a press briefing on Thursday. 

The Secretary-General also called on all political actors to seize the opportunity of the appointment of the new cabinet to resolve outstanding political differences in the same spirit of respect for democracy and in the interest of the people of Sri Lanka.

Assuming duties as the Minister of Finance and Media at the Treasury today, Mangala Samaraweera said that a vote account will be presented in parliament tomorrow to cover the expenditures of the first four months of 2019.

Samaraweera said that the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the vote of account, today (20).Accordingly, LKR 1,765 billion have been allocated for expenditure from which LKR 970 billion have been allocated for debt servicing.

Furthermore, LKR 480 billion rupees have been allocated for recurring expenditure while LKR 310 billion have been allocated for capital expenditure.

The price of fuel will come down from midnight today, Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said in Parliament.

Samaraweera said that he will reintroduce the fuel pricing formula when he assumed duties as the new Minister of Finance at the Treasury, yesterday (20).

The new price of fuel is listed below.

• Price of 92 octane Petrol reduced by Rs 10 (New price Rs 125)
• - Price of 95 octane Petrol reduced by Rs 10 (New price Rs 149)
• - Price of Auto Diesel reduced by Rs 5 (New price Rs 101)
• - Price of Super Diesel reduced by Rs 10 (New price Rs 121)

The illegal administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa had temporarily suspended the fuel pricing formula with the Rupee falling from 173 to 180 against the US dollar during the coup.

Krishantha Cooray, Chairman - Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. returned to Lake House today after a hiatus of over one month. He was forcibly removed when Sri Lanka Podhuajana Peramuna Party Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa grabbed power in a political coup in October. Later Wasantha Priya Ramanayake replaced Cooray as Acting Chairman while the MR faction attempted to consolidate power. Dinesh Dodangoda was appointed as Director Editorial. 

However, Cooray, who remained the rightful Chairman returned to Lake House today amidst cheers of the employees who greeted him and escorted him. Cooray and his Predecessor Kavan Ratnayake made significant changes in Lake House during their tenures especially attempting to modernize the institution by introducing modern editorial concepts and forming a new media department. But in weeks Ramanayake and the new appointees dismantled the new introductions taking the institution back to its known archaic concepts and methods.