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The World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Sri Lanka had revealed that the post attributed to Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne as WHO Vice Chairman, was not based on individual performances but a post attributed to the country, the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) said.

GMOA Secretary Haritha Aluthge said Minister Rajitha Senaratne was misusing his Vice Chairmanship position for political gains.Rajitha has been flattered that he was granted this position because of a special service rendered to the health sector.

Senaratne was also awarded with Suwapathi Kirula to coincide with his WHO Vice Chairmanship.

GMOA lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Office of the WHO asking it to clarify on what grounds the WHO had spent over Rs. 1.5 million for the felicitation ceremony organised when Minister Rajitha Senaratne was awarded with the “Suwapathi Kirula” title.

Dr. Aluthge said the WHO Representative in Colombo has not yet responded to us in this regard. However, expressing his views on this matter to an English Newspaper, he has said the post was not based on individual performances.

The WHO Representative has also said that the WHO posts are rotated and offered to the countries based according to their locations,” Dr. Aluthge added.

(Daily Mirror)

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) informed court today that there was no evidence to prove the allegations made against Dr. Shafi Shihabdeen, the doctor attached to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital.

OIC of the CID Gang Robberies Branch IP Nishantha Silva made the submission to the Kurunegala Magistrate Court when the case was heard today,The Sunday Morning quoting CID sources said.

The doctor had been accused of illegally sterilizing several women during operations he had conducted, preventing them from being able to give birth again.

However, the family of the doctor has denied the allegations made against him.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has recorded statements from over 750 people with regards to allegations made against Dr. Seigu Siyabdeen Mohamed Saafi.

The United National Party (UNP) has expressed opposition against the move to implement the death penalty adding that it was not a sign of a civilised country.

Issuing a press release, the ruling party noted that neither the UNP nor the United National Front (UNF) would endorse the implementation of the punishment.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who has been a staunch critic of the death penalty even before his entry into mainstream politics, reiterated that the UNP is against the resumption of the death penalty at a press briefing held yesterday. For Minister Samaraweera, the issue is also a matter of political legacy. In 1956, it was his father Mahanama Samaraweera who moved draft legislation to suspend the death penalty, soon after SLFP Founder S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s coalition Government was elected to office.

The UNP said it would uphold former party leader and first Sri Lankan Executive President J.R. Jayawardena's decision to abolish the death penalty on a matter of principle.

“The death sentence was abolished by late President J. R. Jayewardene and it was continued by late President R. Premadasa and D. B. Wijetunge. Even President Chandrika Kumaratunga continued this policy,” the party said.

The release proceeded to note that the 'good governance' government had taken a decision to ban the death penalty and had even voted in favour of a moratorium against it at the UN recently.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa made a brief visit to Sri Lanka this morning while on his way to Osaka, Japan to attend the G20 Summit.

He was accompanied by a delegation of 20 members. They were welcomed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister Arjuna Ranatunga.

The President was hosted to tea at the VVIP lounge at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).

After refueling, the special plane carrying the South African President and the delegation left for Japan at around noon.

The European Union has criticized Sri Lanka's move to resume executions, saying it will send the wrong signals to the international community and investors. It said it will monitor Sri Lanka's commitments to international conventions upon which hinges a preferential trade deal with the country.

The EU, releasing a statement on Thursday said that Sri Lanka's planned executions would directly contradict the country's commitment to maintain a 43-year moratorium on death penalty at the U.N. General Assembly last year.

Sri Lanka has a lucrative market access to the EU through the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus. The concessions were withdrawn over alleged abuses immediately after a long civil war, which ended in 2009. President Maithripala Sirisena's government took steps toward reforms and commitments on human rights to secure the program back on being elected to office in 2015.

But Sirisena said this week he had signed the death warrants for four drug convicts and they would be executed soon. Sri Lanka last executed a prisoner in 1976.

"The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and a degrading punishment, and the EU unequivocally opposes its use in all circumstances and all cases," the EU statement said. "While the Sri Lankan authorities have cited the need to address drug-related offences, studies show that the death penalty fails to act as a deterrent to crime."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka is a proof that the country is safe, Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said.

"Prime Minister Modi came to Sri Lanka and it is the proof that Sri Lanka is safe. He visited churches in Sri Lanka. He was cordial and comfortable and what is a better proof of safety than that," Amaratunga has told the ANI.

Modi paid a stopover visit to Sri Lanka earlier this month on his way back to India from the Maldives.

Amaratunga's statement came after over two months of deadly Easter Sunday attack which targeted eight locations, including three churches, killing more than 250 people.

Talking about the impact of the terror attack which took place on April 21 in Sri Lanka, he said, "Sri Lanka is the same as was before the blast. However, our intelligence was quick enough within 10 days to apprehend who supported ISIS criminals who destroyed churches and hotel in Sri Lanka."

Negating the impact of ongoing emergency in Sri Lanka, the minister said the reason the total removal of travel advisory by countries is because of the emergency.

"Emergency has no danger to tourism. We needed to investigate the people behind the attacks. In 2-3 days emergency will be removed. The movement in the city is normal as it was before April 21," he added.

The minister also discussed tourism incentives for Indians by releasing a package including tickets and hotels at a heavy discount rate of almost 50-60 per cent.

Amartunga assured that Sri Lanka is safe and secure. He stated that 4,500 Indians in 2018 amounted to 19 to 20 per cent of the arrivals to the country and said India is number 1 in terms of tourist arrivals.

Billionaire and global business icon Sir Richard Branson has publicly weighed in on Sri Lanka’s intention to enforce the death penalty.

Joining a chorus of concern coming in from all over the world, Branson has expressed his concern in writing to the government of Sri Lanka and publicly tweeted for the world to see.

With over 12 million followers on twitter, Branson’s tweet on this issue is sure to generate awareness and concerns throughout the globe.

(AFP) - Maithripala Sirisena said he has completed formalities to end a 42-year-old moratorium on the death penalty which he has said is needed to clamp down on a rampant narcotics trade.

“I have signed the death warrants of four. They have not been told yet. We don’t want to announce the names yet because that could lead to unrest in prisons,” Sirisena told reporters at his official residence.

He did not say when the executions would be carried out, only that it would be “very soon”.

An official in Sirisena’s office said the president wanted the hangings to be a powerful message to the illegal drugs trade.

Sirisena said there were 200,000 drug addicts in the country and 60 percent of the 24,000 prison population were drug offenders.

His remarks came a day after Amnesty International said it was “alarmed” over media reports of preparations to resume executions.

“Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena must immediately halt his plans to resume executions…,” Amnesty said in a statement.

Sirisena in February announced the country would carry out the first executions in decades, saying he had been inspired by President Rodrigo Duterte’s strongarm campaign in the Philippines.

The president has also appealed to human rights organisations not to pressure him.

Criminals in Sri Lanka are regularly handed death sentences for murder, rape and drug-related crimes but since 1976 their punishments have been commuted to life imprisonment.

The country however currently has no executioner.

The justice ministry said more than a dozen people had been shortlisted to fill the vacancy, but no formal appointment has been made.

While Sri Lanka’s last execution was more than four decades ago, an executioner was in post until his retirement in 2014. Three replacements since have quit after short stints at the unused gallows.

Sri Lanka’s implementation of the death penalty will cause the United Kingdom (UK) to reconsider its engagement on security issues, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said in a statement.

Reports emerged this week that president Maithripala Sirisena had signed the execution warrants of four drug convicts. The reports have drawn international criticism from states and rights groups.

“Sri Lanka voted in favour of a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty at the UN General Assembly just six months ago,” the FCO highlighted.

“A reversal of this policy would be a regressive step that would harm Sri Lanka’s international standing and its reputation as a tourist destination and growing centre for business. Implementation of the death penalty will inevitably make it more difficult for the UK to cooperate on law enforcement issues, including on counter terrorism, and will require us to review our technical assistance programmes on relevant policing, defence and other security issues,” The Foreign Office said.

The UK had raised their concerns at the highest levels of the Sri Lankan government, the statement said.

Recent news reports in the media quoting an opposition Parliamentarian to the effect that the People’s Bank is to be privatized is completely false and misleading, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said today.

Samaraweera said that certain political parties and trade unions affiliated to those parties had alleged that the government is set to privatize People’s Bank citing financial difficulties to infuse capital.

"But there is no truth in these allegations and the government categorically dismisses this claim of privatization as false and misleading the people made with ulterior motives," he pointed out.

"It is understood that this baseless allegation is made following the proposal made by the Ministry of Finance to amend the People’s Bank Act No 29 of 1961 enabling the Bank to increase the authorized capital and the debentures to strengthen the financial stability and effectiveness of its operations. Once this amendment is passed in Parliament, the employees and depositors can get these securities and there is no intention to issue equity securities to outsiders," Finance Minister said.

"The Budget 2019 speech made by me as the Minister of Finance in Parliament had proposed on the needs to develop capital markets beyond bank financing. Therefore, I wish to emphasize that the attempts on the part of political parties to portray that the government is trying to privatize People’s Bank is a malicious attempt to hide their political bankruptcy. There is no attempt on the part of the government or the Ministry of Finance to privatize People’s Bank as stated in the media," Samaraweera said.

The Bribery Commission has filed a case in the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar against former Minister and SLPP stalwart Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Sathosa Chairman Nalin Fernando for causing loses amounting to Rs 53 million to the government.

According to the Bribery Commission, the fraud had occured while purchasing 14,000 carrom boards and 11,000 checker boards during Aluthgamage's tenure as Sports Minister.

The Marawila Magistrates’ Court yesterday ordered the Chairman of the Wennappuwa Pradeshiya Sabha to appear before Court on Friday (28) over a written request made by him asking the police to temporarily ban Muslim merchants from taking part Dankotuwa Sathi Pola (weekly fair).

The Magistrates’ Court issued the order after the Dankotuwa Police acted swiftly to avert communal tensions caused by the SLPP-controlled Pradeshiya Sabha’s move to exclude traders of one community.

According to Police, Wennappuwa Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman K.V. Susantha Perera had given a letter to the OIC of Dankotuwa Police Station, Thilina Hettiarachchi, asking him to temporarily ban the Muslim traders at Dankotuwa weekly fair. The PS Chcairman’s letter went viral on social media.

Police sources said that OIC Thilina Hettiarachchi and officers of the Dankotuwa Police, on advice by higher officers, has gone to the Courts to seek judicial guidance on this sensitive matter.

Asked about the letter Wennappuwa PS Chairman Susantha Perera admitted that he had given such a letter of request to the Dankotuwa Police.

“I asked them to temporarily remove Muslim traders from taking part in the Dankotuwa weekly fair in order to prevent possible escalation of clashes in the area, so as to prevent a bigger crisis,” he claimed. “I made this request in response to various public complaints and concerns communicated to me verbally as well as in writing,” he said.

“I can show the media if they are interested, a large number of petitions I have received which will explain the current situation in flux,” he said.

“My decision is temporary. I have arranged a meeting on the 10th with religious leaders of all faiths, the monks and political leaders to discuss the matter,” he said.

He further said that after Easter Sunday bombings, the Muslim traders did not turn up at Dankotwa Sathi Pola until the police asked them to come and that there are many sections that have become agitated about it.

One petition calling for the exclusion of Muslim traders that was signed by a large number of persons says that it is an issue of ensuring “Sinhala dominance” in the Dankotuwa Pola.

The Dankotuwa Police said that it was ready to ensure security and peace at the Pola. Wennappuwa PS Opposition Leader Shirone Fernando (UNP) told the Daily News that his party fully opposed the ‘ban’ move as one that would disrupt ethnic relations and worsen the situation. JVP district coordinator Ajith Gihan also stated that the ‘ban’ move was a racially motivated one and aimed at causing communal tensions. He said that the JVP fully opposed the move by the PS chairman. Meanwhile, SLPP members defended their chairman’s ‘ban’ move as one that was “temporary” and was meant to avoid communal tensions. (Prasad Purnimal)