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UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim said today (15), that the UNP parliamentary group has decided to continue with the unity government and carry out party reforms following a meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

He further stated that it was agreed to restructure the party while taking measures to stabilize the government.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says the UNP and SLFP led unity government should continue as it is due to the recent LG poll results.

 When asked if the Premiership should go to anyone other than Wickramasinghe, TNA MP M.A Sumanthiran said the TNA has no opinion in this regard.

He also said no request has been made of them to join to form a UNP unitary government and even if such a request is made the TNA will not support such a cause by becoming part of the government.

"Our position is that we will not become partners of the government until we see a settlement for the national question."

“No such offers made”

The MP also refuted rumours that several cabinet ministerial portfolios have been offered to the TNA if they support a UNP unitary government. “No one has invited us or offered such posts to us,” Sumanthiran said.

However, he said if such a request is made the party will hold discussions regarding it adding that however, the party will not become a party to the government which is to be formed.

“National government must continue”

He also claimed to have no connection to parties who are calling for the resignation of Premier Ranil Wickramasinghe adding that the TNA stances is that the national government should continue.

The MP while accepting that the EPDP and the All Ceylon Tamil Congress’s voter base has increased as seen in the recent polls, he said the TNA would hold discussions in this regard.

(BBC)

President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed the members of the commission to inquire and report the malpractices in Sri Lankan Airlines, Mihin Air and Sri Lankan Catering, during the period of 6th of January 2016 to 31 of January 2018, the president's media division said.

Retired Supreme Court Judge Anil Gunarathna has been appointed as the President of the commission, and Court of Appeal Judge Gamini Rohan Amarasekara, Retired High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe, Retired Deputy Auditor General M. D. A. Harald, the Director General of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board Ms. W. J. K. Geeganage have been appointed as the members of the Commission.

The Japanese Justice Ministry stated that 2,226 people from Sri Lanka had applied for refugee status last year.

Justice Ministry officials however stated that they believe that most of the asylum seekers came to Japan for work and such applications will be declined due to strict screening procedures.

Japanese government said the number of foreigners who applied for refugee status in the country during 2017 hit a record high for the 7th year in a row with 19,628 people filing for refugee status but only 20 were granted asylum.

President Maithripala Sirisena will make a special statement on the future actions of the government before Friday, Minister Susil Premajayantha said today. 

Meetings between key parties have been held on a frequent basis on the way forward after the upsetting local government poll results which saw the SLPP sweeping the board.

Former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Prasanna Nanayakkara was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department last night (13) for concealing evidence pertaining to the Lasantha Wickramatunga murder case.

At that time of Wickramatunga’s death, Prasanna Nanayakkara was overlooking the Western Province as the Senior DIG.

Police sources said that the ex-DIG will be produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate today.

It is reported that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has agreed with the President to establish a caretaker government headed by the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) if a general election is held.

After a discussion with the UPFA ministers and MPs last evening, a proposal has been submitted for a caretaker government and it was agreed upon subject to several terms after the decision was informed to Mahinda Rajapaksa by the SLFP leaders.

Accordingly, it is reported that if the several conditions including the holding of an early general election are accepted then JO members are now favourable to form an alliance government.

Making a resounding comeback in Sri Lanka’s local polls, Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa fired a salvo against constitutional reforms aimed at curtailing powers of the executive president.

Following a landslide victory of the Sinhala nationalist Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led by him, Rajapaksa demanded the president to roll back the 19th amendment to the constitution and dissolve parliament, inevitably leading to the collapse of any further reforms.

amendment to the Sri Lanka constitution ushered in by the unity government in 2015 restricts the executive president from dissolving the parliament until it continues in office for four and a half years.

It also established an independent election commission that conducted the local government polls.

“We will support to remove the 19th amendment,” said Rajapaksa. “The government should propose it.”

SLPP, formed by breakaway members of the ruling President Maithripala Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) took control of 239 local bodies out of 341 throughout the island in the elections held on Saturday the 10th.

The United National Party (UNP) led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took control of 42 councils and Tamil National Alliance 34.

The SLFP was able to get control of an abysmal 10.

The local polls were the first elections held since the coalition government of SLFP and UNP took office in August 2015.

“Dissolve parliament”

Following the massive victory, Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the president to dissolve the parliament and call for fresh elections.

“There is a clear mandate for that," he told a press briefing in Colombo. "A government should listen to the people’s mandate.”

He asked journalists to “promote that ideology” in their output.

The government had pledged to introduce long overdue reforms to the constitution aimed at strengthening the parliament and devolve powers to provinces.

Sinhala-Buddhist nationalists led by Mahinda Rajapaksa have been on a continuous campaign opposing any changes to the constitution that would make the state secular and devolve powers to Tamils.

PM meets President

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and President Sirisena had an emergency meeting late into the night on Monday (12) to discuss the future of the shaky coalition.

The PM who consulted party seniors before the meeting had been requested by a majority to continue with the unity government to “deliver the commitments of good governance pledged in 2015".

Source : Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka

The Court of Appeal (CA) today further extended its interim order preventing police from acting against former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa under the Public Property Act regarding a Magistrate's Court inquiry, until February 28 .

The two-judge-bench comprising then Court of Appeal (President) Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justice Shiran Gunaratne extended this Interim Order preventing police from acting under the Public Property Act against Rajapaksa, on Galle Magistrate’s court inquiry over a complaint that the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum and Memorial in Medamulana was built using public funds amounting to Rs.90 million.

Source : Daily News

If Ranil Wickramasinghe continues as the PM, MP’s of the SLFP and the UPFA are to function as an independent group within the Parliament, Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva has said.

35 out of 41 will not join the ‘Pohottuwa’

The Minister is said to have communicated this decision to all the Ministers of the SLFP and the UPFA last night while confirming that 35 out of the 41 MP’s belonging to the parliamentary group will not join the SLPP.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva stated that the President has been informed of the decision taken by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) senior leaders Minister Susil Premajayantha, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Dilan Perera, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena

Issue is Political

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva stated that the SLFP and the UPFA party has no personal grudge with the UNP or the Prime Minister but however they are of the view that the PM should change in order according to the response of the people in the local government polls.

The newly elected 8,356 candidates from the recently held Local Government elections will assume duties for 341 local authorities on March 6.

The number of seats to be assumed in the local authorities, classified as Urban Councils, Municipal Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas are 41, 24 and 276 respectively.

The gazette notification in this regard will be issued tomorrow, said the Local Government and Provincial Councils Ministry.

Source : Daily News

United National Party (UNP) MPs say that the UNP has come to a unanimous decision to form a unitary UNP government.

 They said that this decision was taken at the discussion held by the UNP parliamentary group at the Temple Trees with the Prime Minister and the party leadership today and that the government that will be established in accordance with the policies and vision of the UNP.

They made these comments in response to questions posed by the media after the meeting held at Temple Trees.

They also claimed that no change in regards to the post of PM will be made adding that a wider discussion will be held regarding after the formation of the UNP unitary government.