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According to sources within the Department of Prisons, Bond scam suspects Arjun Aloysius and Kasun Palisena now being held in the H ward of the Colombo Magazin Prison are being given preferential treatment while also being given the facility to use mobile phones. 

In a recent raid of E and H wards, three mobile phones were discovered and confiscated sources say. 

While the duo was first held in the E ward they were later transferred to the H ward. They are currently said to be housed with around 60 LTTE suspects and underworld members. Sources say Aloysius and Palisena have been receiving special treatment from the first day of imprisonment. 

Those in the H ward are said to be using mobile phones to keep in touch with politicians according to information uncovered by Intelligence services, Deshaya newspaper reports. They have further revealed that Aloysius and Palisena are among those who have been using mobile phones while in prison. 

Jayantha Samarakoon

President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday commenting on the recent controversial comments made by a top Buddhist monk urging former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to take over the country as a Hitler-type military dictator said he will not allow the country to return to a dictatorship. 

President Sirisena said as a Buddhist he had the highest respect for the clergy, but could not agree with a senior monk of the Asgiriya chapter who invited Rajapaksa to “be a Hitler, take the military and take power.”

He said the voters toppled former strongman, President Mahinda Rajapaksa because they wanted to end a decade-long iron-fisted rule and win back their personal freedoms.

“In January 2015, people did not vote for food or jobs,” the President said addressing a meeting Nikawaratiya. “They voted for freedom and democracy. I have restored both and will not allow this country to slip back into a dictatorship.”

He said he was saddened by the call of Ven. Venduruwe Upali Thera who sought a return to an era when citizens were deprived of their basic human rights and any dissent was immediately crushed.

Two individuals believed to be connected to the savage killing of a rare Leopard in Ambalakulam, Kilinochchi was arrested by the Police last night. Three Police teams were deployed in the area following the brutal killing which was caught on tape and distributed widely on social media. Court eventually ordered the arrest of these suspects asking the Police to identify them through the video footage. 

One arrested suspect has been identified as 42-year-old Nadarasa Mohana Rasa, a resident of Ambalakulam while the other is said to be 39-year old Nadaraja Sukumal of Udayanagar. 

The villagers had obstructed the officials of the Department of Wildlife from capturing the Leopard and instead chose to form a mob to capture it themselves and kill it in a brutal manner. 

This type of Leopard is considered to be highly endangered and therefore a severely protected species in Sri Lanka.

Venerable Vendaruve Upali Thero, the Anunayaka of the Asgiriya Chapter said that he would like to see former Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa resort to becoming a ‘Hitler’ and enforce a military rule to build the country if necessary.

The venerable Thero made these remarks at an alms-giving held to commemorate the 69th birthday of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, that was held at his residence in Mirihana.

Expressing his dismay at the recent controversial comments made by Asgiriya Anunayake Vendaruwe Upali thera asking Former Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa to be like Hitler, Minister Mangala Samaraweera says he was deeply ashamed by the statement made. 

“This statement by a responsible and senior monk in the country is both serious and clearly malicious” releasing a communique he said adding that any person who is of right sound and mind cannot make such a shameless statement while knowing of the brutal rule carried out by Hitler and the Nazis in Germany. 

The Minister also went on to say that Buddha in his Dhamma does not condone dictatorships at any point. “Therefore only a monk following the steps of Devadatta thera can make such a fearsome statement” the Minister claimed. 

He also warned the people of the country must beware of such statements made with vile intentions which call for the rule of a killer and are against Buddhist precepts as well as social norms. 

According to the Minister rulers such as Hitler converted the whole of Germany into a prison while killing thousands of innocent people through the use of inhumane methods such as gas chambers and was considered as the cruellest dictator in recent history.

In his statement, the Minister also pointed out that the former Rajapaksa regime too showed similar signs. “No one had the right to life under the Rajakasa rule,” he said.   

However, the government will never allow this country’s people to be subjected to a military junta rule lead by the Rajapaksa family, the finance Minister affirmed.

United States Government that we will remain fully engaged with the Sri Lankan Government to help it meet its continuing and standing commitments to the international community to advance the cause of reconciliation and lasting peace for all Sri Lankans, outgoing US Ambassador to Sri LAnka Atul Keshap said yesterday. 

The reassurance from Ambassador Keshap comes in the wake of the United States government deciding to withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council effective June 19, 2018. 

"Sri Lanka co-sponsored with the United States two UN Human Rights Commission Resolutions: 30/1 in 2015 and Resolution 34/1 in 2017, and the United States continues to extend its support to Sri Lanka to fulfill these important commitments and obligations as articulated and reaffirmed in these resolutions", he added.

, Keshap said that Sri Lanka’s continued progress toward fulfillment of these international commitments will facilitate further growth of our bilateral relations and enhance Sri Lanka’s ability to engage with friends and partners around the world. 

"We will follow Sri Lanka’s progress closely and look ahead to engaging with Sri Lanka between now and March 2019 in the spirit of friendship that has marked our recent relations.  As Sri Lanka takes further steps outlined in the Geneva resolution, the United States will also support and expand our bilateral partnership", the US Embassy said.

Three High Court Judges to hear cases in the country’s first Special High Court Trial-at-Bar which will be established to try high-profile financial fraud and corruption cases have been appointed. High Court Judges Sampath Abeykoon, Sampath Wijeratne and Champa Janaki Rajaratne have been appointed to the posts.
 
Cabinet approval was granted to establish three anti-corruption High Courts in the country and the first of these special High Courts is to be established within the Hulftsdorp Court complex to try high-profile cases. The new cases will be taken up daily commencing from July 15. The special courts will hear cases involving money laundering, bribery and large financial crimes, dishonest misappropriation of property, and criminal breach of trust by public servants.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs today urged anyone in Sri Lanka or overseas to share with the Office on Missing Persons information regarding any individuals, including security forces and police personnel, who may be considered to be missing. 

Issuing a statement today, the Foreign Ministry said that its attention has been drawn to a list of names published online by the ITJP (International Truth and Justice Project). According to the ITJP, this list, which presently consists of 351 names and can be accessed at http://www.disappearance.itjpsl.com/#lang=english is of persons who are alleged to have disappeared while in the custody of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in May 2009. 

The Ministry underscored that the OMP which has been established by an Act of Parliament (Act No. 14 of 2016 as amended by Act No. 09 of 2017) is the permanent and independent entity in Sri Lanka that is vested with the tasks of, inter alia, searching and tracing of missing persons and clarifying the circumstances in which such persons went missing, and their fate; making recommendations to the relevant authorities towards reducing the incidents of missing persons; protecting the rights and interests of missing persons and their relatives; and identifying proper avenues of redress to which such missing persons or their relatives may have recourse. 

Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges and encourages anyone in Sri Lanka or overseas to kindly share with the Office on Missing Persons and direct any information to; 

Chairperson

Office on Missing Persons

Address: 34, Narahenpita Road, Nawala, Sri Lanka
E-mail: <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;

Chamara Indrajith, one of the main suspects of yesterday’s jewellery shop robbery and shootout in Matara, has been shot and killed by police today when he allegedly tried to hurl a grenade at them.

The suspect was taken by police to recover a hidden bag of clothes to the area called Kirala Kaley (Kirala Forest) after his arrest. Initially police said that the suspect was shot and injured, however, it was later confirmed that he had succumbed to injuries while being taken to the hospital.  
 
One police officer was killed, two other police officers and two civilians were injured and hospitalised following the shootout outside the famous Nileka jewellery shop in Matara town, between several armed men wearing helmets who were robbing the store and policemen responding to a witness phone call, at around 10.45am yesterday.
 
Following a search operation carried out in the vicinity by the police immediately after the gun battle, one of the suspects Chamara Indrajith Jayasundara was caught in the Hunukotuwa area. 

Three other suspects were arrested after they were found left behind near the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital with gunshot wounds. They are currently receiving treatment at the hospital ICU.

An Australian woman and her four-year-old daughter have been killed in a car crash in southern Sri Lanka.

Louise Collins, 37, and her daughter Poppy died when the white van they were travelling it collided with a parked lorry on the side of the road near the town of Nagoda on Wednesday.


Louise Collins and son Freddy, who was injured in the crash. 

Mrs Collins’ family confirmed their involvement in the tragedy with The Courier-Mail on Thursday. Mrs Collins’ oldest brother James confirmed Poppy’s brother Freddy, 2, and father Patrick, from Melbourne, were the other two people injured in the crash.

They remain in a Sri Lankan hospital recovering from their injuries.

James said the family loved holidaying in Sri Lankan and had visited several times.

“They were going over there for a short break. They loved the peace and tranquillity over there.”


Louise and husband Pat Collins

Louise has been remembered as “loving and vibrant”.

The family was based in Doha, Qatar.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said: “(The department) is providing consular assistance in relation to the death of two Australians and injury of two further Australians in a motor vehicle accident in Sri Lanka, in accordance with the Consular Services Charter.”

Legal action will be taken against individuals who had been involved in the killing of a rare leopard in Kilinochchi, Director General of the Department of Wildlife, Chandana Sooriyabandara has said. 

He said representations will be made to court and action will be taken to nab the killers. He says the people in the area had obstructed the Department officials from carrying out their duties and killed the leopard. They had even attempted to grab the weapons of the officials he said. 

A Leopard which is an endangered species had been brutally killed by villagers in Kilinochchi after they claim it had attacked 10 people in the area. However, Leopards are known to be shy animals and generally do not attack groups unless provoked. Serious backlash against the incident has been brewing on social media after videos of the incident were widely circulated.

Environmentalists have also identified some of the suspects connected to the killing through their facebook posts with one employee of the zonal education office in the area also being implicated in the incident.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that over the years, a lack of economic stability has been a major hindrance to doing business in Sri Lanka where economic growth in the post war years was dominated by debt financed state investments. 

The Minister said that it is in this context that the government has shifted to a private sector, export, and FDI, led model of economic growth where the state will play a key role in smart regulation, setting a robust institutional framework, and targeted interventions to ensure social justice and equity. 

Speaking at the Sri Lanka Investment and Business Conclave 2018, organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Samaraweera said that "economic stability is a sine qua non for a private enterprise led growth model."

The Minister pointed out that while the government was able to introduce several key reforms towards ensuring long term economic stabilization, Sri Lanka also achieved a primary budget surplus for the first time in many decades in 2017.

"The Inland Revenue Act came into force on April 1^st 2018, with the aim of simplifying and rationalizing the tax regime. This legislation creates a transparent and predictable tax regime, shifting away from ad hoc tax changes that hinder investment. Our objective is to establish a level playing field which will encourage competition and contestation which would be of benefit to consumers and a competitive economy," Samaraweera said.

 Investment opportunity

Samaraweera further said that a crucial element of the investment decision is ensuring a competitive business climate.

 "Ensuring smooth processes in starting up and expanding a business has been a major policy objective of this government. As mentioned earlier, the Inland Revenue Act has simplified the processes pertaining to taxation. The business registration process was streamlined and Register of Companies (RoC) now facilitates business registration through a single website allowing company registration within a day," he added.

He said that several other steps relating to ease of access to and registration of land, construction permits, and other elements relevant to the business climate is also being addressed by the government.

 Connecting with the globe

Samaraweera said that Sri Lanka is in the process of implementing comprehensive unilateral trade liberalization that includes the rationalization of para-tariffs which add costs to business and consumers.

 In addition to unilateral trade reforms, the government is in the process of entering into strategic trade agreements with key regional economies.

"We recently signed our very first comprehensive FTA with the Singapore and two other comprehensive FTAs are being negotiated with China, India, and other ASEAN nations. Along with GSP + Sri Lanka will soon have market access to India, China, and Europe, making the country a unique destination for investment. This network of FTAs will enable Sri Lanka to meaningful integrate into regional value chains to drive future trade and economic growth," Samaraweera added.

Reforms ahead

Touching on reforms, Samaraweera said that the government has been working on bringing in key reforms during last two years with Budget 2018 marked as a milestone of reform agenda. A new Foreign Exchange Management Act was introduced last year, easing many restrictions imposed on external sector transactions.

The reform agenda items include, 

1. i)Eliminating para- tariffs on imported inputs and components
2. ii)Removing barriers to trade and FDI in services

iii) A “Single Window” for investment approvals

1. iv)Eliminate Non-Tariff Barriers in exporting as well as importing goods
2. v)Targeted promotion of identified sectors for investment in Sri Lanka
3. vi)Establishment of new export-processing/investment zones

vii)  Improvements to business climate through digitization of key processes such as land registry and integrating government agency approvals.

 The Minister emphasized that the government is committed to further facilitation of the investment climate through a well thought out programme for eliminating barriers in the business environment. 

"With a clear set of comprehensive investment incentives spelled out, Sri Lanka is poised to be a major source of investment for companies looking to use Sri Lanka as a base to tap into the fast growing Indian Ocean region," the Minister said.