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One of the most admired War Heroes in contemporary Sri Lanka, Corporal Hasalaka Gamini Kularatne of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR) who exactly 27 years ago laid his life for defence of his Elephant Pass camp was recalled to memory in front of his Elephant Pass statue premises during 13 - 14 July in fitting commemorative arrangements, organized by the 66 Division of the Security Force Headquarters - Kilinochchi (SFHQ-KLN).

Commemorative arrangements began with an all-night Pirith chanting ceremony on Friday (13) night, followed by an offer of alms (Heel Daana) to the members of the Maha Sangha. Organized on the instructions of Brigadier Deepthi Jayathilaka, General Officer Commanding, 66 Division with the support of the 662 Brigade Commander, Colonel Champika Ranasinghe and his troops, the commemorative event was attended by the mother of late War Hero and a gathering of civilians, in addition to Officers and Other Rankers.

On the following day (14), Major General Nishshanka Ranawana, Commander, Security Forces - Kilinochchi (SF-KLN), attending the second phase of the memorial ceremony as the Chief Guest set light to the eternal lamp near the statue and revered the heroic memory by placing a floral wreath at the foot. The War Hero’s mother, Mrs S.G Juliet, together with the General Officer Commanding, 66 Division, 662 Brigade Commander and several of her relatives paid their respects to the monument by placing wreaths.

Hundreds of coconut oil lamps were lit around the premises afterwards in memory of this great soldier as the dusk fell before the ‘Last Post’ was sounded for the culmination of the day’s proceedings in keeping with military traditions.

Source : SLR

Writing to President Maithripala Sirisena regarding the government’s recent decision to re-introduce the death penalty the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka has stressed that imposing the punishment is a human rights violation. Chairperson of the Commission Dr Deepika Udagama said having written to the President on January 1, 2016, the commission had made recommendations to remove the death penalty from the country’s legal system, the HRC is dismayed at the recent decision taken. 

She also said in the letter that the commission does not feel implementing the death penalty can address the issue of drug trafficking. According to them implementing the death sentence will only contribute negatively to a society where the public has lost faith in the justice system.

Udagama also reminded the President of a set of recommendations issued in 2016 which called for the abolition of the death penalty in Sri Lanka in keeping with Sri Lanka’s commitment to a more humane society consonant with human rights principles and values.

Full text of the letter :

Despite widespread reports that the Sri Lanka Army is preparing to remove a large number of its troops and camps from the North, releasing a statement today the Army has refuted these reports. “The Sri Lanka Army as a responsible one will not close down any Army camp as alleged in those misleading reports” the communique read. 
 
Going on further it said that certain media organizations operating under disgruntled politicians who are unhappy about the various development projects, being undertaken by Army troops island-wide are trying to mislead the public with false propaganda. “We urge the public to not be misled by these reports,” the Army release said adding that under any circumstances it will not resort to any decision that would pose a threat to national security
 
Explaining the situation the communique said the right-sizing process of the Army after the war is being distorted by parties with vested interests.  
 
“Rightsizing process has always been happening in the Army. Through the process, the troops who are mainly deployed for administrative duties are relieved and mobilized for field duties to gain better productivity, thereby doubling their efficiency” it further said. 
 
However this process does not allow any Army camp to be closed, but it instead enables the majority of troops in those camps to be deployed for emergency disaster needs and nation-building tasks in an effective manner. 
 
“Nevertheless, some false media reports try to claim that this process has led to a large let-up in the security arrangements in the North and East. It certainly is not a disbanding of battalions but is only a restructuring with the intention of distributing human and material resources equally among other battalions” it further said.

An undergraduate of the University Kelaniya has gone missing after falling over the ‘Asupini Ella’ in Aranayake the Police said. The victim has been identified as a male. Search operations are being conducted.

IGP Pujith Jayasundara says he is prepared to introduce the national suit to the Police as a uniform instead of the current Khaki uniform. Once it is done, all police officers will conduct themselves like him, the IGP is claimed to have said. 

Sources say he had made these comments during a friendly discussion between, Minister of Law and Order Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Deputy Minister Nalin Bandara and Northern Province Chief Minister C.V Wigneswaran.

Prices of all bakery products except bread will be increased by Rs 5, stated the All Island Bakery Owners Association.

According to them the rise in diesel prices has warranted the increase as many machines in bakeries run with fuel.  The price increase will be in effect from midnight Sunday (15).

JO MP Kumara Welgama says he has no need to answer to Rtd. Major Ajith Prasanna. “Why should I answer to a man known by the whole country as insane” he questioned. 

The MP made these comments following a public meeting held recently. 

According to Welgama, Ajith Prasanna is a person who had to leave his residential area and contest in a different area in the election. The MP pointed out that he is a crazy person who was not even able to gather 5000 votes. “Why should I talk to someone like that?” he asked. 

Recently Ajith Prasanna had claimed that Welgama is being blackmailed by the government and he is therefore now leaking information regarding the JO to it. 

Speaking at the event, however, Welgama continued to voice his dissent against Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the next possible presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe says Sri Lanka Navy has been advised to emphasize on anti-submarine warfare. According to him the number of shore patrol vessels are also being increased. 

Attending an event in Colombo today Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe said the Hambantota port is being given far more publicity than deserved in recent times due to claims that the port could become a Chinese naval base. “But the agreement with China Merchant is that the security of the Hambantota port will be with the Sri Lanka government and the Sri Lankan armed forces,” he said adding that this was accepted. The Prime Minister said the government has now taken steps to move the Naval Southern Command from Galle to Hambantota as well as a result. 

According to him, the Indo-pacific concept put forward by the USA is being seen by China as a mechanism to contain China in the Indian and Pacific Oceans thereby increasing its strategic vulnerability. According to him, Sri Lanka also appears to have become entangled in the issue due to partnerships with Chinese organizations for the construction of the Hambantota Harbour and the Port City. 

The Prime Minister said discussions are now being carried out with the India Airport Company for a Private Public Partnership between them and the Civil Aviation Authority to manage the Mattala international airport.  According to him, therefore, no one can accuse the government of handing over projects to only China.

Thailand is proposing the use of the early harvest scheme (EHS) during the first round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks with Sri Lanka to accelerate implementation, as discussions began on Friday (14).

Deputy Commerce Minister of Thailand Chutima Bunyapraphasara said the EHS will help the FTA Sri Lanka to accelerate the negotiations faster as it usually takes 2-3 years at the soonest before a pact is settled.

President Maithripala Sirisena and Thai Premier Prayut Chan-o-cha, jointly announced the first round of FTA talks on Thursday after meeting in Colombo.

Sri Lanka is the fourth-largest trading partner of Thailand in South Asia and during 2013-17, bilateral trade between Thailand and Sri Lanka averaged US$ 491 million (16.4 billion baht) per year.

Ms. Chutima said Sri Lanka wants Thailand to open imports for Sri Lankan products, particularly for agricultural products such as tea, fruit, textile, jewellery, while Colombo is calling for more investment from Thai investors.

Thai companies are set to invest in Sri Lanka in the sugar and sugar cane, furniture, cement and agricultural industries, she said.

Former Chairman of Sri Lankan Airlines Nishantha Wickremesinghe, the brother in law of Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa came into the board of Sri Lankan Airlines in 2008 and thereafter was made Chairman in 2010, where he demanded a monthly remuneration of Rs. 500,000.

At the Commission on Wednesday, the company secretary Dalrene Thirukumar produced what is called the Cost Center Document for the Chairman’s office which lists out the expenses of Nishantha Wickremesinghe excluding his salary and allowances. As per the witness’s testimony, the Chairman’s salary and allowances are handled by the office of the company secretary.

The Chairman’s Office consists of only the Secretary to the Chairman and the Executive Secretary.

From 2008 – 2009 the basic salary for the Chairman’s office staff was Rs. 288,000, however, after Wickremesinghe was made Chairman in 2010, that figure rose to Rs. 557,000. This is just for two employees serving in the Chairman’s office. In 2013 – 2014, the basic salary for the Chairman’s office staff reached Rs. 3.812 Million and dropped top Rs. 2.977 Million for the next financial year.

The entertainment expenditure reimbursements in the Cost Center Document notes, from 2009 to 2010 the figure was just Rs 46,000.

However, in the following year, that figure rose to Rs. 496,000 and was above Rs 150,000 each year until 2014, where it was Rs. 473,000.

Then we come to the “Duty Travel Overseas” column in the Cost Center Document. These numbers include the expenses of the Chairman as well. Let’s have a breakdown as follows.

2008 – 2009: Rs. 532,000
2009 – 2010: Rs. 184,000
2010 – 2011: Rs. 1,306,000
2011 – 2012: Rs. 3,133,000
2012 – 2013: Rs. 5,109,000
2013 – 2014: Rs. 6,346,000
2014 – 2015: Rs. 9,028,000

So in the latter part of his career as Chairman of the national airlines, his cost centre document for overseas travel shows a staggering number of just over Rs 9 Million.

The commission of inquiry also drew its attention towards the “Telephone Rentals” listed in the cost centre document. These number include chargers and trunk calls.

2008 – 2009: Rs. 22,000
2009 – 2010: Rs. 337,000
2010 – 2011: Rs. 460,000
2011 – 2012: Rs. 692,000
2012 – 2013: Rs. 873,000
2013 – 2014: Rs. 1,468,000
2014 – 2015: Rs. 1,056,000

So, when looking at those numbers, one would actually question who were they talking to for the airlines to incur such a cost.

Another key highlight in the proceedings on Wednesday was the Sales Related Pax Cost which can be defined as the cost for excess baggage. According to the witness, Commercially Important Passengers get their excess baggage cost waived off as per a policy and this revenue is usually lost by SriLankan Airlines.

According to the witness, this cost is shown in the cost centre document because Nishantha Wickremesinghe had waived off the cost for someone’s excess baggage and wants the airline to pay for that.

2008 – 2009: Rs. 32,000
2009 – 2010: Rs. 703,000
2010 – 2011: Rs. 00.000
2011 – 2012: Rs. 2,652,000
2012 – 2013: Rs. 1,986,000
2013 – 2014: Rs. 1,837,000
2014 – 2015: Rs. 516,000

In total from 2008 to 2015, Nishantha Wickremsinghe had waived off a sum of Rs. 7,726,000.

Speaking to News 1st an expert in ticketing and airlines baggage handling said, the usual rate for excess baggage carried by a commercially important passenger per kilogram would be between Rs. 2500 and Rs. 3000.

If we do the match, Rs. 7.7 Million would have been for around 03 tonnes which is equal to the combined weight of 36 grown men.

According to the witness, only the Commercial Department at SriLankan Airlines would be able to say who the Commercially Important Passengers were for these particular flights.

Source: Newsfirst

Deputy Minister Dunesh Gankanda has suggested that former Secretary of Defence, Gotabaya Rajapaksa should take up one out of the two existing vacancies for an executioner at the Department of Prisons. 

He made these comments while attending a public meeting held in Ratnapura. 

According to him, the other vacancy could also be filled by a Rajapaksa. “They can take a pick as to who can be given the post from the family” he added.

Addressing the Subhaga Scholarship Awards Ceremony held at the Temple Trees yesterday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the New Education Standard Act comprising all the changes required to enhance the quality of the country’s education will be introduced in the near future.Wickremesinghe underscored that during the past three years, the government had implemented several programmes for the improvement of facilities in schools. But, the qualitative development of education in Sri Lanka is not up to the mark.

“Paying our attention towards quality education is an important factor. We have to provide scope and ensure quality education.

I have already instructed Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam to take necessary measures to develop national standards for education,” the Premier said.

The Prime Minister further said that the quality of education will improve the learning process. But, improving the quality of education is not an overnight development.

“Qualified and trained teachers, better infrastructural facilities, up-to-date curriculum and regular assessments of the students are the main tools of ensuring quality education,” the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said that education inspectors in England is considered as a very important profession and they care called Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education. They are responsible for the inspection of public and independent, primary and secondary schools, higher education colleges, community learning, Local Authority Education Departments and teacher education.

“The contribution of teachers is significant in ensuring the quality of the country’s education system. Therefore,it is essential to engage trained teachers in all schools to strengthen the teaching and learning process,” the Prime Minister said.

“The government has focused special attention towards all teacher requirements such as teacher recruitment to schools, training, national policy on teacher transfers, grading and promotions of teachers, teacher salaries and welfare services,” the Prime Minister said.

“Measures would be taken to make teacher training compulsory within the next four to five years. So the teachers who have not yet undergone training should complete their training by then,” the Premier added.