News

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong will arrive in Sri Lanka today on a three day official visit at the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena.

The Singaporean Premier will be received at the Presidential Secretariat on the morning of January 23 with an official Guard of Honour and gun salute that will be followed by official bilateral discussions with President Maithripala Sirisena.

A Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Singapore will be signed following bilateral talks, the Foriegn Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

During the visit, Prime Minister Lee will also meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and discuss economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

The visiting Prime Minister is scheduled to attend a Business Forum in which leading businesspersons and investors from both Singapore and Sri Lanka will be present.

Sri Lanka and Singapore established diplomatic relations in 1979 and enjoy a strong and robust bilateral relationship that has been built on mutual understanding, respect and people-to-people contacts. An official visit of a Singaporean Prime Minister to Sri Lanka takes place after 13 years.

Meanwhile Traffic on several roads around Colombo will be restricted today in view of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to Sri Lanka. According to the Police, the Prime Minister will travel from the Bandaranaike International Airport to the Shangri La Hotel in Colombo at 4.20 p.m. during which time the following roads will be restricted to traffic:

Roads extending from the Kelani Bridge, Baseline road, Bandaranaike junction, Orugodawatta, Ingram junction, Borella junction, D.S. Senanayake junction, and Horton Place will be closed at the time the Prime Minister’s motorcade passes through.

Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Flower Road and Galle Road up to the Shangri La Hotel will also face road closures during these times.

‘Pohottuwa’ stalwart Basil Rajapaksa has declared that he will defeat former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in the Attanagalla electoral seat while going on to erase her mark from the political arena. The politician is said to have made these claims while meeting several Joint Opposition (JO) of the Gampaha district.

'Chandrika is inciting Maithri against us' Basil is said to have said claiming that if she continues to be in politics there will be no political future for him and his supporters. According to sources, he had also admitted to pitting five teams from Attanagalla to defeat her while advising the MP’s to go to Attanagalla and work against her.

With Attanagalla being a Bandaranaike stronghold since 1948 Basil is said to spending the most for the campaign in Attanagalla a leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna told ISIS news.

The Former SLFP party organizer of Gampaha and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has returned to active politics during this election to ensure SLFP wins. However, she is also said to have announced she will retire from active politics after this election.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that regardless of the challenges, the unity government will continue until 2020.

While noting that persons involved in corruption and malpractices in the past were trying to change the Good Governance government, the Premier said that they will never be able to realise their goal.

“The Wanni Hathpaththuwa Development plan will also be launched this year,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister was speaking at a UNP election rally at Nikaweratiya town yesterday.

The Premier said the Sinharaja Range Development project too would come into operation soon. He said the Wanni Hathpaththuwa development plan would be implemented through the Wayamba Development Ministry.

“If the large area reserved in Galagamuwa for an elephant habitat proved insufficient to tackle the wild elephant menace causing undue pressure on the people of Wayamba, more elephant zones will have to be demarcated to find a solution to it. Tourist Zones could be developed around such elephant zones,”the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister who promised to provide necessary funding for dredging neglected tanks and reservoirs in the Wayamba, said that drip irrigation systems too should be developed in the region.

Source : Daily News

Two members of the same family were found killed yesterday morning at their residence located in the Mount Pleasant Watta, Wakwella belonging to the Poddala Police division. The victims had been attacked with a sharp object the Police said.

The victims have been identified as siblings 75-year-old Jayanama Jagoda and 65-year-old Namini Jagoda. Suspects regarding the murder are yet to be identified. Poddala Police are investigating.

The European Union is said to have questioned the Sri Lankan government regarding not complying with conditions agreed when receiving GSP+ such as the scrapping of the Prevention of Terrorism Act among many others.

According to sources the EU had addressed the issue during the EU - Sri Lanka joint committee's 21st meeting in Colombo this week.

Two months earlier in a similar manner the discussion was brought up by a visiting EU delegation to South Asia who expressed their displeasure that the Prevention of Terrorism Act had not been repealed while no internationally accepted alternative legislation was introduced either as promised by PM Ranil Wickramasinghe.

The European Union has urged the Government of Sri Lanka to "speed up" the necessary mechanisms, as promised at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) to ensure justice for violations of human rights, including war crimes

Source : Radio Gagana

The Government will stop imports of motor vehicles below Euro IV emission standards and those without airbags, Anti-locking Braking System (ABS) and three-point seat belts from 1 July.

Issuing a statement, the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media yesterday said that importation of motor vehicles below Euro IV emission standards or its equivalent and those that do not comply with the following safety standards would totally be prohibited effective from 1 July.

Imports of vehicles which do not carry air bags for driver and front seat passenger, Anti-locking Braking System (ABS) standards and three-point seat belts for driver and passengers travelling front and rear seats, except the middle seat, will not be allowed into the country, the Ministry said.

It was revealed that having considered the representations made by motor vehicle importers and manufacturers for a lead time to make required adjustments to comply with the proposed emission standards and safety measures, the Ministry had decided to postpone the implementation of the Budget proposal on introduction of emission standards and safety measures from 1 July.

As this rescheduling of the implementation is made based on industry representations, the dealers, importers and manufacturers are strictly advised to refrain from establishing any Letter of Credit (LCs) for import of motors vehicles which do not comply with the specified standards and safety standards with an estimated arrival date after 1 July.

Further details on the implementation of the new standards for vehicles, including the types of vehicles, will be notified by the respective implementation agencies shortly, the Ministry said.

Source : Daily FT

Uva Province Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake said he would step down from the Post of Provincial Education Minister with immediate effect.

The Chief Minister said he decided to step down from the post until the investigation into the allegations levelled against him was completed.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) launched an investigation into the incident where the Chief Minister allegedly forced a school principal to kneel before him.

The female principal of a Tamil girls’ school in Badulla was allegedly summoned to the Chief Minister’s house where she was forced to kneel because she had refused to enroll a student recommended by the Chief Minister.

Minister Susil Premajayantha earlier said that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) would also launch an investigation into the incident.

Source : Daily Mirror

The Bribery Commission yesterday filed a fresh case against former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and two others.

The Commission has withdrawn its previous case where he was named for allegedly committing a Rs. 53.1 million fraud while importing sports equipment during last Presidential Election.

In the new case, the Bribery Commission has named Nalin Ranjeewa Fernando as the third suspect. He had been named as a witness in the previous case.

When the case came up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Lal Ranasinghe Bandara, the third suspect, Fernando was noticed to appear before the court on.

Meanwhile, former Minister Aluthgamage and another official were ordered to be released from the previous case.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption had filed a corruption case in Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court against former Sports Minister, Joint Opposition MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage, and another official at the Sports Ministry, over a Rs. 53.1 million fraud said to have taken place when importing sports equipment to the sports clubs.

Senior State Counsel Asad Navavi with Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption Deputy Director General (Legal), Ganga Heiyanthuduwa appeared for the prosecution.

Source : Daily News

President Maithripala Sirisena said that he would take control of the country’s economy and be responsible for managing the rising cost of living. He made these remarks at an election rally in Kegalle yesterday.

President Sirisena said that although he allowed the United National Party (UNP) to manage the economy for the last three years, he would directly manage the economy through a special economic council headed by him, taking over the responsibility from the UNP.

Ready to fight after elections

The President stated that he will accept the full responsibility of strengthening the national economy of the country by safeguarding local industries, local products and local investments.

He urged local investors to keep investing their capital in Sri Lanka and not overseas, and requested them to join hands to build their motherland.

For a country that is rich in natural resources, the only obstacle that prevents us from becoming a developed nation in the world is the existence of corrupt politics, the President added. He said that he would start his campaign to end the corruption that is prevalent in politics with the local government election on February 10.

Cabinet Reshuffle

A senior official from the Presidential Secretariat who commented on the President’s statement in Kegalle said that the President has decided to go for a cabinet reshuffle as soon as the local government elections are over.

Several portfolios related to the economy would also be taken under the President, the official added.

Colombo Fort Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne yesterday ordered the Land Registrars of Attanagalla and Colombo to stop the sale or the transfer of ownership of the properties in Dompe and Borella purchased in the name of former Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga.

The FCID sought court’s permission to issue an order directing the Land Registrars to prevent the identified properties from being sold to another party.

On last Thursday (18) the FCID informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate that it had traced properties worth Rs.94 million belonging to Udayanga Weeratunga.

The FCID informed court that they were able to trace seven acres valued at Rs.40 million in the Dompe area. A land and apartment in Colombo valued at Rs.25 million and Rs.29 million have also been traced.

The FCID revealed these facts after filing a further report regarding the alleged financial fraud that is alleged to have taken place in procuring seven MiG-27 ground attack craft for the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF).

Source : Daily News

Think Tank, Verité Research says that the ban on the sale of liquor to women by the Finance and Mass Media ‘within the premises of a tavern’ by the Cabinet is unconstitutional.

The Minister of Finance and Mass Media issued a notification on January 10 amending the Excise Notification No. 666 of December 31, 1979, removing the ban on the sale of liquor to women ‘within the premises of a tavern’. This was subsequently revoked by the Cabinet.

According to Article 12(1) of the Constitution, it states that ‘all persons are equal before the law, and are entitled to the equal protection of the law’. Moreover, article 12(2) states that ‘no citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of…sex.’ Therefore, acts that discriminate against women on the grounds of their sex violate their fundamental rights and are thereby unconstitutional. Article 16(1) of the Constitution states that ‘all existing written law and the unwritten law shall be valid and operative notwithstanding any inconsistency with the preceding provisions of this Chapter’ (emphasis added). Article 16(1) only applies to the written and unwritten law enacted prior to 1978. Thus any law that is enacted today must be compliant with the fundamental rights chapter of the Constitution, and cannot discriminate on the grounds of sex.

Verité Research further states that the Cabinet’s decision, therefore, discriminates women on the grounds of their sex.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is due to undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka on the invitation of Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena from the 22 – 24 of January, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Prime Minister Lee is scheduled to have bilateral discussions with President Maithripala Sirisena. The two leaders are set to sign several MoUs at the Presidential Secretariat.

PM Lee will also call on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and is expected to meet Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan during his visit.