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The President’s Media Division (PMD) has yesterday (22) clarified comments attributed to President Maithripala Sirisena in a media release issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo following the High Commissioner’s meeting with President Sirisena on Tuesday (20).

The PMD issuing a statement noted that the said meeting took place at the request of the Pakistani High Commissioner and during which he briefed the President about the recent developments with regard to India’s abrogation of Section 370 and annulling of Article 35A of the Constitution of India.

“The President gave a patient hearing to the Pakistan High Commissioner’s views and stated that both India and Pakistan have excellent friendly relations with Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka’s interest is to see the growth of regional cooperation and friendship,” the statement noted.

“The President did not make any other comment on the issues pertaining to India and Pakistan,” the PMD added.

President Maithripala Sirisena has informed the Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday (20) to postpone the signing of the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact to January next year.

Sources in the government said the President has also said he would study the Compact and make his observations to the Cabinet in a week.

The Cabinet had met at around 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday (20) and the proposed MCC Compact had been discussed at length.

When several ministers had pointed out the importance of signing the agreement as soon as possible, the President has said it was better to postpone it till January.

Accordingly, a final agreement was reached on the signing of the MCC Compact deal.

What's in the Compact?

The Board of Directors of the MCC has approved a five-year, US$ 480 million Compact with the Government of Sri Lanka aimed at reducing poverty through economic growth. The Compact seeks to assist the Sri Lanka Government in addressing two of the country’s binding constraints to economic growth: (1) inadequate transport logistics infrastructure and planning; and (2) lack of access to land for agriculture, the services sector, and industrial investors.

The compact will be composed of two projects: a Transport Project and a Land Project.

The Transport Project aims to increase the relative efficiency and capacity of the road network and bus system in the Colombo Metropolitan Region and to reduce the cost of transporting passengers and goods between the central region of the country and ports and markets in the rest of the country.

The goal of the Land Project is to increase the availability of information on private land and underutilized state lands or all land in Sri Lanka to which the Government is lawfully entitled or which may be disposed of by the Government (“State Lands”) in order to increase land market activity. The Land Project would increase tenure security and tradability of land for smallholders, women, and firms through policy and legal reforms.

A leader without conflict with US

Meanwhile, sources also said that the US government is also of the view that the signing of an agreement that has been subjected to much controversy should not be done ahead of a decisive election.

However, political and social media activists claim that it would only be a Sinhala Buddhist leader who would have the strength to sign such an agreement with the US.

A political analyst and writer, Kusal Perera recently pointed out that the US will not be able to get the controversial Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed by this government.

“It could be done only by a Sinhala Buddhist leader who has the full support of the military. The agreement was signed by Gota in March 2007 as Fifth Columnist. Therefore, there would not be a conflict of interest between the US and Sri Lanka if such an individual become the Head of State,” Perera has opined.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is looking at holding separate discussions with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and its presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

General Secretary of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), MP Mahinda Amaraweera says that arrangements are being made to hold these separate discussions as soon as possible.

Amaraweera explained that separate discussions will be held with Gotabaya since he was not an official member of the SLPP.

According to him, Gotabaya has been extended an invitation to join the SLFP as it would also be the best way to get the SLFP’s support.

Amaraweera noted that the SLFP’s intention was to bring victory to the country and not focus on any individual.

“Therefore there’s a necessity for a common policy framework for the country and such a document is currently being prepared,” he said.

Referring to the SLFP’s stance on the United National Party (UNP), Amaraweera said the SLFP has not taken any decision to hold discussions with UNP on a political alliance.

The New York-based global rights organisation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) on says the appointment of Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva as Sri Lanka Army Commander negates all the Government’s pledges toward accountability, reconciliation, and reform.

The HRW said President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a general whose forces have been credibly accused of war crimes as the Commander of the National Army, confirming the fears of those like Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who, back in March, supported the United Nations Human Rights Council’s extension of its 2015 resolution on Sri Lanka.

The extension, which Sirisena and other top officials openly opposed, seeks justice and accountability for violations committed during the 26-year civil war that ended in 2009.

“The sad reality is, then, that there are those who oppose any measure to achieve accountability and reconciliation, because they don’t want justice,” HRW quoted Minister Mangala Samaraweera. “They want victor’s justice.”

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Investigation on Sri Lanka documented laws of war violations committed by the Silva-led 58th Division in the conflict that could amount to war crimes.

The Elections Commission (EC) has decided to seek the Attorney General’s (AG’s) advice on the filling of the parliamentary seat that has fallen vacant following the demise of United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Salinda Dissanayake.

The Election Commission initially instructed the Kurunegala District Returning Officer to submit the elections list for the vacant seat.

However, as a number of parties have made written requests regarding the post, the Returning Officer had forwarded the nominations to the Elections Commission.

The Director General of the Elections Commission Saman Sri Ratnayaka in turn has said the list has been referred to the Attorney General’s Department for advice.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has informed the General Secretary of the UPFA to submit a nomination for the national list slot that has fallen vacant by the resignation of MP Shantha Bandara.

Following Dissanayake’s demise, UPFA National List MP Bandara, who is next in line in the Kurunegala District elections list, resigned from the National List slot to re-enter parliament through the Kurunegala District list.

However, an argument was presented by some parties that Bandara despite being the next in line to parliament under the Kurunegala District list, is not eligible to fill the vacancy created by Dissanayake’s demise since he was already an MP appointed through the National List.

Hence, there are now two vacancies in the UPFA list – 1 National List slot and 1 Kurunegala District slot.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) are to hold a decisive meeting this week, said United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Dullas Alahapperuma.

Accordingly, the discussion is to take place between President Maithripala Sirisena and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Alahapperuma however refrained from mentioning the date when the discussion would take place.

He noted that focus during the meeting will be on the forthcoming presidential election.

Alahapperuma further noted that the SLPP’s broad political alliance will be formed before the announcement of the presidential election and that the name of the new political alliance would be officially announced when the alliance is being formed.

Another township development project improperly planned by the Urban Development Ministry when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was holding the post of secretary was being completed in a sluggish manner.

The Kottawa, Kaduwela and Kadawatha Township Development Component (3K) had been commenced as a sub component of the Greater Colombo Urban Transport Development Project.

According to the Loan Agreement, the Project should have been completed 31 May 2015.

However, functions which were planned to be carried out under the Project had not been properly performed within the due period, government audit inspection revealed.

As such, this Project is being implemented at present on Treasury provisions without obtaining loans.

Accordingly, expenditure necessary for the staff and administrative purposes had to be incurred from the Consolidated Fund at present due to non-completion of the Project within the due period.

Therefore, a sum of Rs.43.4 million had to be spent therefore from the Consolidated Fund by the end of the 2017/2018 year under review.

Even though salaries for the staff of the Project had been computed erroneously and a sum of Rs.1.91 million had been over paid, the sum so overpaid should have been recoverable.

Moreover, the Project was being completed in a sluggish manner.

Parliament was yesterday (21) informed by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP S. Sritharan that his house in Kilinochchi was raided by the Police and military.

The Police and military had raided Sritharan’s property yesterday (21) claiming they were looking for hidden weapons when the MP was in Colombo to attend parliament.

The TNA MP has noted that the raid was carried out based on false information and that it was a threat to his life.

He has called on Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to intervene in the matter and ensure his privileges as a parliamentarian are safeguarded.

The Speaker in turn has requested State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardena to look into the matter.

The Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) has handed over a report submitted by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to the Attorney General (AG) on the position of the investigations on the murders of Sri Lanka rugby player Wasim Thajudeen and Editor of The S0unday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge and four other high profile cases.

The Police Media Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara yesterday (22) said the report was handed over to the Attorney General.

The Attorney General last Friday (16) in writing instructed the Acting IGP to expedite the conclusion of police investigations into six high profile cases including the murders of Wickrematunge, 17 aid workers in 2006, Thajudeen and the abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr, the abduction and disappearance of 11 Tamil youths.

The Attorney General had instructed the Acting IGP to conclude investigations into the cases without delay and to submit the completed files to the Attorney General’s Department for the filing of charges.

The Acting IGP then directed the CID to submit a full report on the high profile cases referred by the Attorney General.

United National Party (UNP) MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka says that the United National Party (UNP) should learn a lesson from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) with regard to making a decision on the presidential candidate.

Fonseka made this observation in Peliyagoda yesterday (21) responding to reports that he was now making comments in support of SLPP presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Field Marshal MP said that he only meant to point out that the decision of the SLPP to nominate a candidate who gives priority to national security was commendable

He further said that UNP leader, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has the right to be the presidential candidate according to the UNP constitution and that he did not accept any decision to nominate party deputy leader, Minister Sajith Premadasa as the next presidential candidate.

The Department of Co-operative Development under severe political pressure has failed to recover outstanding loans and interest granted to co-operative societies during the Rajapaksa regime.

Theses cooperative societies are still managed by members of Sri Lanka Podujana Party headed by Mahinda Rajapksa.

According to a recent government audit query, loans totalling Rs.818.62 million had been granted to co-operative societies by the Co-operative Development Fund and Co-operative Surplus Fund.

These funds are coming under the purview of the Department of Co-operative Development and out of them, loans and interest thereon amounting to Rs.618.01 million and 208.94 million respectively had been outstanding by 31 December 2017.

Only loan installments and interests thereon amounting to Rs.1.73 million and Rs.9.06 million respectively had been paid by societies who had borrowed money in the year under review (2017/2018).

The Department of Co-operative Development had not taken adequate measures for the recovery of outstanding loans and interests thereon.

Even though it had been mentioned according to the Action Plan that loans amounting to Rs.20 million are granted, loans had not been granted to any co-operative society after July 2015.

United National Front (UNF) Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka says that the United National Party (UNP) has till August 31st to resolve its internal issues.

Ranawaka also noted that the issues that had existed with regard to the forming of the UNP-led alliance - Democratic National Front (DNF) - were resolved at the party leaders’ meeting last Saturday (17).

Therefore, the alliance is now a go, but the UNP had to resolve its issues to move forward.

According to Ranawaka, the UNF leaders hope to announce the new alliance and their candidate before August 31 and launch the DNF’s presidential election campaign.

Ranawaka has further noted that any party in the alliance including the UNP can nominate a candidate and that the leadership council of the alliance will have to approve the nomination.

“That is how it is in the constitution. Everyone agrees with that. That is why it is called an alliance,” the Minister said.