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A mob led by a Buddhist monk has threatened a woman over a saree she wore which allegedly has images of the Lord Buddha has gone viral on social media. The video was shared on social media platforms by vikalpa.org.

The incident had reportedly taken place at a bus stop in Trincomalee where the woman and two others, including a child are surrounded and threatened in the presence of the Police.

The monk is heard saying in the video that if she was not a woman he would have assaulted her.

The video shows the woman then going down and asks for forgiveness saying she did not intend to disrespect Buddhism and that she was not aware that the image printed on her saree was that of the Lord Buddha.

However, the monk refuses to let her go and insist that she is arrested by the Police.

It was reported that she was taken to the Police station where she was later asked to change into another saree before leaving the police station.

A few months back, in a similar scenario, a Muslim woman in Hasalaka was arrested for wearing a dress with images of a ship wheel since it was misunderstood to be images of dharmachakra.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has decided to commence disciplinary action against SLFP MPs S.B. Dissanayake and Dilan Perera considering them to have vacated the party after joining the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

Disciplinary action will be taken against Dissanayake and Perera as well as several other SLFP members who joined the SLPP yesterday (29), SLFP Spokesman, MP Weerakumara Dissanayake said.

Accordingly, disciplinary action will be taken against them for obtaining membership in another political party, and the SLFP will take note that the SLFP members who had joined the SLPP to have left the SLFP.

UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer observes that Sri Lanka has a long history of disappearances evidenced by UN reports and the many national commissions formed to inquire into such allegations over past decades.

Singer made this observation in a press statement issued to mark the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Singer notes that the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) had a colossal task ahead.

“The OMP will need the full support of all relevant State authorities in order to fulfill its very challenging mandate. Only with long term sustained efforts it could provide answers and relief to the suffering of many thousands, and thus contribute, along with other institutions, to the commitments of the Government to advance the right to truth, serve justice, provide reparations and guarantee that no such crimes will occur in the future. The UN stands ready to continue supporting the government of Sri Lanka in the fulfilment of this commitment.” Singer stressed.

The UN was encouraged by Sri Lanka’s ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2016 and particularly by the establishment of the Office of Missing Persons in 2017.

“Today we are reminded of all the families, across the country, that are still looking for answers to the whereabouts and fate of their disappeared loved-ones and accountability for the perpetrators of these crimes.” Singer said.

“Today we stand up for the rights of the victims of enforced disappearances and their relatives.”

In 2010 the UN General Assembly declared that the date of 30 August would be observed as International Day of Enforced Disappearances. Enforced Disappearances are heinous crimes and the UN marks on this date its solidarity with victims and to express deep concern about the continuation of enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the world, as well as harassment, ill-treatment and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances or relatives of persons who have disappeared.

Reports publicized by some media outlets of an alleged plot to assassinate Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential hopeful, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa has been refuted by the Sri Lanka Police.

The Police Media Spokesperson’s Office issued a release denying claims about an assassination plot yesterday (29).

The Sri Lanka Army on August 18th had arrested a Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) serving at the Palai Hospital named Sinnaiya Sivaruban over alleged connections to terrorist activities and was transferred to the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) in Jaffna for interrogation.

Based on the information revealed during the interrogation, four more suspects – Sinnamanie Kaneswaran, Iraththinam Krishnarasa, Mohansundaram Sinnathurai, and Vinyagamoorthy Nejilan – were arrested. Interrogations have also revealed a stock of weaponry hidden in Jaffna.

Two more suspects – T. Nimalaraj, and Ruban Jathusanj – were also arrested based on the revealed information on Wednesday (28).

Meanwhile, several newspapers had reported yesterday (29) that the main suspect Sivaruban had also confessed to the TID on a conspiracy to assassinate the Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa.

However, the Police have stated that these reports were false and that none of the seven suspects including Sivaruban had made such a statement or a confession to the Police or any other official of an assassination plot.

The first official discussion between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the presidential hopeful of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), Gotabaya Rajapaksa was held on Wednesday (28) night.

The meeting took place at Rajapaksa’s official residence.

The discussion has focused on the ongoing talks between the SLFP and SLPP to form a political alliance and the forthcoming presidential election.

The SLFP delegation has discussed the areas that have been agreed upon by the SLFP and SLPP during those discussions.

It has also been agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the SLFP and Rajapaksa if the two parties agree to work together at the presidential election.

The SLFP was represented by party General Secretary MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, General Secretary of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Mahinda Amaraweera and SLFP Treasurer MP Lasantha Alagiyawanna.

President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) to expedite investigations on the Central Bank’s Treasury bond scam in 2015.

The President had made these remarks during a meeting with the officials of the PCoI probing the bond scam, the President’s Media Division said.

The President has said the delaying of the bond scam investigations was an impediment to implementing justice.

At present, four interim reports have been handed over to the President and the remaining reports are expected to be handed over to the President by December.

The United National Front (UNF) leaders have reached a consensus on the draft Constitution of the proposed political alliance – the Democratic National Front (DNF).

The UNF leaders have not yet reached an agreement on the presidential candidate.

Dr. Senaratne noted that consensus on the alliance constitution was reached on Tuesday (27).

UNF leader, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Deputy Leader Minister Sajith Premadasa, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Minister Rauff Hakeem, Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Minister Mano Ganesan and others had attended the meeting.

Dr. Senaratne further said a committee had been formed under his leadership to formulate the principles and policies of the new alliance.

He further explained that it was agreed that the General Secretary of the new alliance will be appointed by the United National Party (UNP) while the party headquarters will be a neutral venue.

As for the presidential candidate, Dr. Senaratne said that several names have been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate of the alliance but the final candidate has not been picked.

According to Dr. Senaratne, external political parties, minority groups and civil organizations will be consulted before the naming of the Presidential candidate of the new alliance.

Sri Lanka should be transformed to a place where people would like to stay rather than leave for greener pastures, Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawake said.

He added that the Presidential candidate of the alliance led by the UNP will have to work towards this end by making a pledge before the people.

As much as 15 percent of the country’s population is settled down in foreign lands as the Sri Lankan ‘Diaspora’, he told at a meeting of professionals and officials recently.

Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development strives make Sri Lanka a better place for them to support whenever that country needs external support.

Sri Lanka should therefore encourage those Sri Lankans working abroad to return with experience, capital and better management techniques, he stressed.

Over 2.5 million Sri Lankans have left the country for foreign employment during the past ten years.

Of this, 51,000 are professionals including doctors, engineers and accountants who climbed the ladder of social status benefitting from free education .

In Sri Lanka, over 25,000 doctors and 53,000 professionals are serving in the public sector.

Though the country had the target of increasing its growth rate to above 8% in the medium, as the World Bank has predicted in its Development Update for 2019, the expected growth in the next three year period will be around 3.5%.

This cannot be raised unless the country gains from those who had left for overseas some time back, the Minister added.

Legal Secretary of the United National Party (UNP) President’s Counsel Nissanka Nanayakkara says the UNP Constitution notes that a presidential candidate cannot be named until an election is declared.

Nanayakkara has made this observation in response to the ongoing debate on the potential presidential candidate of the UNP.

According to Nanayakkara, the UNP Constitution has noted that the presidential candidate can be named only after the Elections Commissioner has issued notices to submit nominations for the presidential election and there is no power to make a decision before such an event.

The presidential candidate is to be selected by a nomination board appointed by the UNP Working Committee, he has further stated.

Explaining further, Nanayakkara has said that once the nomination board names a presidential candidate, the Working Committee must approve the nomination.

The UNP Constitution including the provisions on selecting a presidential candidate was drafted by the late President J. R. Jayewardene.

Sri Lanka’s state run Technical, Vocational Education Training (TVET) sector, is now poised to receive its largest project funding in its history.

Once agreements are finalised, a US$ 50 million facility is set to spawn a fully-fledged Ocean University in Sri Lanka.

Also nine new hi-tech training facilities across the country, modelled on the lines of the ground-breaking and ultra-modern South Korean backed KTEC Training Centre unveiled in Orugodawatte recently .

Nine more new centres will be established similar to recently launched Korea-Sri Lanka National Vocational Training Institute in Orgodawatte with South Korean funding.

This was stated by Minister of Industry, Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen in Gampaha in the presence of State Minister Buddhika Pathirana, former President Chandrika Kumaratunge, Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training Karunaratne Paranavithana, Minister of Transport Arjuna Ranatunga, and South Korean Ambassador in Sri Lanka Heon Lee.

The GTC, launched exactly 20 years ago, has been modernised by a US $4.5 Mn South Korean loan funding which is part of the second phase of the two stage US $26 Mn project (the first stage was the Korea-Sri Lanka National Vocational Training Institute launched on 21 August in Orugodawatte).

A fully-fledged Ocean University will be built at a cost of US $ 50 Mn and the construction work will begin in the coming weeks.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is to record a statement from Minister Ravi Karunanayake following an order by the Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayarathne.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate has directed Karunanayake to appear before the CID to record a statement on the allegation of providing false evidence to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PcoI) probing the Central Bank Treasury bond scam.

Accordingly, Karunanayake has been ordered to appear before the CID within the next two weeks.

The directive comes soon after President Maithripala Sirisena instructed the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to expedite investigations on the 2015 bond scam at a meeting held at the President’s Secretariat on Wednesday (28).

Sirisena at the meeting said the delaying of the bond scam investigations was an impediment to implementing justice.

Relevant government officials have been directed by President Maithripala Sirisena to immediately identify the lands in the Northern Province that could be released for civilian occupation without causing a threat to national security.

The President issued these directives yesterday (28) at a meeting convened under his patronage to discuss the issue of releasing military occupied land in the North.

Sirisena noted that the government had taken many steps to return private and state lands that were occupied by the military at the time the war ended, back to its original residents during the past five years.

Accordingly, relevant government officials were directed to make necessary arrangements to identify the lands in the North that could be released without causing a threat to national security and to hand over a report on the matter to the Northern Province Governor by October 1st.

However, the President further noted that military installations were necessary to ensure national security and that the Easter Sunday attacks in April were a clear reminder of the fact.

He explained that authorities should therefore take steps to release the lands that would not threaten national security and to compensate the owners of private lands currently occupied by the military that cannot be released.