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The license of W.M.Mendis Company has been withdrawn due to the non-payment of taxes, the Department of Excise has announced.

 Accordingly, the production activities of the distillery had halted since last week, it is reported.

The company belongs to Arjun Aloysius; the owner of Perpetual Treasuries Limited who was named as one of the main suspects in the Central Bank bond scam.

Accordingly, the production in the Arrack distillery located in Welisara has come to stand still.

All temporary workers who had been recruited from manpower companies have been relieved of their employment.

However, the routine office work and the delivery of stocks of earlier products are taking place at present, according to company sources.

Source : Ada Derana

China is willing to work with Sri Lanka for better development of the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a message addressed to President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday.

In the message to congratulate Sri Lanka on the 70th anniversary of its independence from the British colonial rule in 1948, Xi recalled the traditional friendship and mutual assistance between China and Sri Lanka, and said that the two countries have conducted pragmatic cooperation within the framework of joint construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, achieving fruitful results.

"I pay high attention to the development of China-Sri Lanka relations, and I am willing to make concerted efforts with President Sirisena to push the China-Sri Lanka strategic cooperative partnership of sincere mutual assistance and long-standing friendship to keep achieving greater development in the better interest of the two countries and the two peoples," Xi said.

Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa based on ancient land and maritime trade routes.

Beleaguered Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has declared a 15-day state of emergency, his aide Azima Shukoor announced on state television Monday.

The move gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects and comes amid a deepening political crisis in the Indian Ocean nation as Yameen refuses to comply with a Supreme Court order to release political prisoners

Source : The Hindustan Times

Police Headquarters sources say investigating officers of the CID are deeply worried regarding the political pressures being exerted on the bond scam investigations.

That is because various criticisms are being levelled against the CID for the manner Arjun Aloysius and Kasun Palisena were arrested yesterday and for providing the information to the media regarding the time of arrest.

Sources have now revealed that the incident was telecasted live on Sirasa TV after an IT specialist with political connections who works for the department provided them with the necessary details. This has now brought great disrepute to the CID.

 Pressure to arrest the father as well :

Sources also say a senior attorney of the Attorney General's Department has continuously pressurized the CID officers to arrest five suspects including Arjun Aloysius's father in connection to this investigation.

But while claiming his father and the others have no connection to the issue, the CID requested the courts on Friday to name Former CB governor Arjuna Mahendran, Owner of Perpetual Treasuries Arjun Aloysius and CEO Kasun Palisena which was granted by the Fort Magistrate.

Police have now commenced investigations into an incident where a female candidate contesting in the upcoming local government elections is alleged to have been sexually assaulted by an individual. According to the Police, the incident had occurred on Friday around 5 PM in the Kuda Pokuna area in Welikanda following which a complaint was lodged with the Welikanda Police by the aggrieved party.

The Police say the suspect has been identified as a political supporter and has now fled the area. According to Police Spokesperson SP Gunasekara, the victim in the meantime has been admitted to the hospital.

“Welikada Police are conducting investigations to apprehend the suspect” SP Gunasekara confirmed.

Welcoming the arrest of Perpetual Treasuries Chief Arjun Aloysius and others, Deputy Minister of Development Policies and Economic Affairs Dr Harsha De Silva said the Attorney General should go ahead and immediately arrest those named in the 34 reports of Presidential Commission looking into serious crimes (PRECIFAC) as well.

Also, Dr De Silva said the arrest was welcomed but he wished that it happened earlier, when the AG’s Department was first informed by the Prime Minister in 2016.

The Deputy Minister said it was he who first revealed in Parliament in 2011 as to how the ring was engaging in massive securities fraud in the equity market.

“I hope the authorities would at least now support the Central Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission by providing necessary technical support for forensic investigations to reveal the totality of the fraud that took place since then in both in the equity market and in the debt market.

“I hope that the AG will go ahead and immediately arrest those named in the 34 PRECIFAC reports as well. The future of our nation depends on it,” he said.

The owner of Perpetual Treasuries Limited Arjun Aloysius and its CEO Kasun Palisena, were further remanded until February 16 by the Colombo Fort Magistrate.

Aloysius and Palisena were arrested yesterday (04) by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and was taken into remand custody after being produced before the Fort Magistrate Court.

CID officials have recorded statements from the both suspects for over 12 hours in connection with the Central Bank Bond case.

70th Independence Day Message

“This year, we celebrate 70 years of independence from colonial rule. It is an occasion for us to remember that we were only able to achieve Independence with the participation of all communities coming together towards a common goal,” states Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in an Independence Day message.

The message adds:

“It is our responsibility to keep in mind that true independence is only possible when we can unite as one nation, rising above political, religious and ethnic differences. Only then is independence truly significant and meaningful to all.

“Freedom is fulfilled when human dignity and spiritual liberty is attained - in addition to social, political and economic freedom.

“Since being elected to power, our Government has consistently focused on creating the right social and political climate needed to build a society that is indeed free and stable. “Under a theme of One Nation, the 70th Independence Day celebrations that are held today, reflect our legacy as a free nation.

“My hope is to see all Sri Lankans unite as one to sustain freedom for all.

“Let’s strive to be a people truly committed to our nation’s progress on this Independence Day”.

Government coalition partner United National Party (UNP) led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made the announcement at an election rally held in the northern town of Vavuniya.

"500 million rupees has been earmarked to build a 1000 Buddhist temples in the north and east provinces," said the chapter subtitled 'reconciliation' in a handout distributed in the public rally addressed by the PM.

Sinhala-Buddhist supremacy

Reference to 1000 temples in some copies of the Tamil version had been redacted in an obvious attempt to avoid offending Tamil voters.

The handout, "Government Rebuilding Villages" outlines the UNP vision for local government bodies.

Angered by the UNP announcement Tamil politicians have described the move as an indication of Sri Lanka retaining the foremost place granted to Buddhism even though plans are afoot to reform its constitution.

“This clearly shows that the Sinhala, Buddhist supremacy in the Tamil areas of north and east continued by Sinhala governments for ages is not going to stop,” said Viswalingam Manivannan, the Jaffna Mayoral candidate of the Tamil National People's' Front (TNPF), speaking to journalists in Jaffna.

Chinese funds

State-sponsored Buddhist temples have been mushrooming in the war-torn Tamil areas since the military took over its control from Tamil Tigers in 2009.

Earlier in 2016, the government approved plans to rehabilitate one hundred Buddhist Temples in the north and east with Chinese Funds.

Source : JDS Sri Lanka

70th Independence Day Message

“If one is to truly fathom the value of independence, it is essential to understand the pain of being oppressed and subservient, in the face of a foreign power. This is why we are grateful to all our heroes who sacrificed their lives to restore and sustain our nation’s independence.

“On a day like today, when the value of freedom is commemorated, the nation pays tribute to its true patriots whose contribution to our motherland was invaluable,” states President Maithripala Sirisena in an Independence Day message.

The message adds:

“As Sri Lanka celebrates seven decades of independence, it is appropriate to reflect on how far we have come as a nation. In terms of achieving human development, and various social, economic, and political challenges we were faced with, the progress we have achieved over this period is laudable.

“I believe that as a nation with a unique identity, we have what it takes to overcome any challenge. We have proven it throughout our history. Today, we must show once again that Sri Lanka is a nation that can rise within a short span of time.

“We have to undertake many a mission, including achieving inclusive green growth, national reconciliation, and uplift the quality and competitiveness of our human capital on a global scale.

“We must also remember that true freedom does not comprise only of political freedom. Our independence is not complete until economic and cultural freedom is achieved. In our journey towards economic freedom, this year is a crucial one.

“As a country, our future successes lie in our commitment to achieving long-term goals with firm determination, as we have done in the past. Completion of the Moragahakanda reservoir as the last massive step in the Mahaweli development program is a testimony to our perseverance and commitment to meet such long-term goals.

“This year has been declared the ‘National Food Production Year’, with hopes to reach the goal of food security, a dream that our nation has had since Independence.

“On this occasion that we celebrate seven decades of Independence, I pledge to fulfil all my duties towards mother Lanka, and I emphasize that our true strength is in our unity and determination.”

Source: Sunday Observer

Appointment letters to members of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, set up to probe allegations against Srilankan and Mihin Lanka Airlines, and SriLankan Catering (Pvt) Limited, will be issued early this week, said Secretary to the President, Austin Fernando.

“The Gazette notification to set up the Presidential Commission was issued on Friday night.

On Monday or Tuesday we will issue appointments letters to each of the Commission members,” Fernando told the Sunday Observer.

He said that prior to beginning work, a secretary to the commission has to be appointed.

“We have requested the Chairman of the Commission, retired Supreme Court Judge Anil Gunaratne, to nominate a secretary. If the Chairman does not nominate a secretary, we will appoint one,” he said. Fernando said that before initiating functions, the Chairman and the Commission must sit together and discuss and decide on the staff and other required facilities.

A venue to house the Commission has also to be decided by the authorities and the Attorney General has to decide on the staff to be allocated to assist the Commission.

“After this, the Commission will publish a notification to the public stating the areas being covered by it and requesting complaints. After the complaints are received, it will be processed and inquired into accordingly,” he said. Fernando added that inquiring into allegations is a long procedure and that is the reason the Commission has been appointed for six months. The five-member Commission consists of retired Supreme Court Judge, Anil Gunaratne, Appeal Court Judge, Gamini Rohan Amarasekera, retired High Court Judge, Piyasena Ranasinghe, former Deputy Auditor General Mallawa Arachchige Don Anthony Harold and Director General of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board, Wasantha Jayaseeli Kapugama, said a communiqué issued by the President’s Media division.

The Commission will probe allegations of malpractices within the period January 1, 2006 to January 31, 2018.

Source : Sunday Observer

The new special anti-corruption High Courts would help conclude cases of large scale corruption within six months, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

“I am hopeful that the new High Courts on Corruption that have just got Cabinet approval, will help clear the backlog of cases, since they will have specific jurisdiction over complex financial crimes and misappropriation of State assets,” Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said.

According to the new legislation, the anti-corruption HCs will comprise three judges who will take up financial fraud, corruption, criminal breach of trust, money laundering, terrorist financing, organised crime, assets and denials of State revenue.

“Justice was the promise of yahapalanaya and we remain committed to living up to this promise. But the people also want to see justice so I am hopeful that within the year, some of the large-scale corruption cases will be tried and concluded,” the Prime Minister said. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said after the national unity government rose to power in 2015, getting to the bottom of large-scale cases of corruption cases was a priority. “At the same time, we need to be cautious that these investigations are not conducted like political witch-hunts and that the due process of the law was followed every step of the way,” the Premier explained. “It is remarkable that a newly established police unit to probe financial crimes has been able to conclude investigations into more than 400 cases. It is a priority for this Government to ensure these cases are expedited. But just as important as speed, is the need to get the process right, so there can be no allegation of bias or malice against political opponents.”

 “At the same time,” the Prime Minister said, “it is understandable that people are losing patience and are eager to see justice being served against those who have misappropriated the people’s money.”

Source : Sunday Observer