News

A meeting between SLFP Ministers and MP’s with the President are now underway at the Presidential Secretariat.

The SLFP is set to take a final decision if to quit the national government or not after the parliamentary group meeting today. This is despite media reports claiming yesterday that Minister Thilanga Sumathipala had said that the SLFP has made a final decision in this regard and has decided to quit the national government. These claims were later refused by party insiders.

Accordingly, the party is set to announce its final decision today.

Civil society groups are set to move the courts to seek the supreme court's opinion as to if the PM can be removed or not. Currently, there appear to be two schools of thought on the matter.

After results of the recent LG polls the President is said to be of the stance that following serious setbacks faced PM Ranil Wickramasinghe should step down from his post despite obtaining over 30 percent of the vote when the President’s political party gained less than 15 percent of the vote.

However, the PM has refused to step down claiming that he will continue in his position according to the constitution.

Under these circumstances, contradictory legal opinions as to if the President can remove the PM are being circulated now.

 ‘President has no power’ - Lal Wijenayake

According to Senior legal expert Lal Wijenayake after the 19th amendment to the constitution, the President can only appoint the PM but has no powers to remove him.

But on the contrary Senior lawyer, Kalyananda Thiranagama says the President, in fact, has the power to remove the PM if he so wishes.

Section 46 (1) of the 19th Amendment

Section 46 (2) of the 19th Amendment

According to Lal WIjenayake, the Section 46 (2) of the 19th Amendment has removed the President’s power to remove the PM adding that after the PM’s appointment his future lies with the Parliament. 1

"He can be the Prime Minister as long as he can gain the trust of Parliament, and only a resolution can be adopted to change the Prime Minister through a no-confidence motion".

 Confidence of the parliament

However, Kalyananda Thiranagama argues that the situation mentioned in Section 42 (4) of the 19th Amendment "The MP who has the maximum confidence in Parliament should be made the Prime Minister” in reference to PM Wickramasinghe is now past after the recent LG polls.

 According to Thiranagama the President is able to argue that majority of the people have rejected the PM with those close to him itself calling for his resignations. “This can create a doubt if the PM now has the majority confidence of the house” he said.

Thiranagama says this is possible as the PM spoke of national policies on the election trail as opposed to local government policies.

Section 48 (1) of the 19th Amendment

 But Attorney Lal Wijenayake refutes this claim. He says there is not ‘political reason’ to change to government due to a result of an LG poll.

He says in a recent election in India the party led by PM Narendra Modi won with the slightest margin but this does not mean the government must be changed.

The current cabinet is illegal. The President can therefore consider the cabinet as being dissolved.

Senior Lawyer Kalyananda Thiranagama

Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe has informed the President last night (18)that he will not step down from his post unless a no-confidence motion against him can be passed in parliament.

He is said to have told this during a meeting held yesterday at the President’s official residence.

Joining the meeting, General Secretary of the United National Party (UNP) Kabir Hashim has expressed the party stance saying it has no wish for a new PM and the party wants to continue with the good governance government.

 Hints from both parties about crossovers!

Severa SLFP members in favour of good governance will join me : Mujibur Rahman

The UNP says as the party has the majority in the house they will continue with the government as several SLFP members favourable to good governance is set to join them.

According to UNP MP Mujibur Rahman is the SLFP wishes to form a government they will have to show the majority in the parliament he said adding that the UNP has 107 MP’s with the majority of the government needs 113. “There are several SLFP MP’s willing to join us and we will then have many more members than even needed” he said.

Challenge to the SLFP!

He went on to say that the UNP has no issue in continuing the government as it is and only a particuar senior Minister of the SLFP is attemtping to topple the government.

“They want to form a new government but if so they must show a majority” he said adding that they at least must show more number of MP’s than the 107 that supports the UNP" he said while challenging the SLFP.

As the leader of the parliamentary group with the majority support UNP leader Wickramasinghe will remain as the PM he said adding that there is no need for an alternative choice.

"A minister of Sri Lanka Freedom Party recently collected signatures to a letter to announce the withdrawal of his fellow ministers from the government, but all the SLFP ministers have not signed it," he points out.

"In such a situation, I would challenge them to bring a no-confidence motion and win," he said.

Tamil National Alliance :

He also said that no discussion has been held with the TNA to secure the majority of the house. While the media questioned the MP about UNP members not present at the MP meeting he said they had prior commitments and had informed the General Secretary of their inability to attend.

SLFP response :

Senior Deputy Chairman of the party and Labor Minister WDJ Seneviratne has said that they have the strength to form a new government with a group of MPs from the combined opposition and United National Party.

According to the local government election results, a new scenario for Sri Lankan politics was created, and accordingly, the president will be empowered under the 19th amendment to appoint a new prime minister and a new cabinet to change the prime minister's position he said.

UNP members joining us : WDJ Seneviratne

 While saying the new government will be formed with the help of the JO he said the SLFP is able to get the majority.

The internal rift between the President and the Prime Minister over the local government elections has been resolved by noon today, reports reaching isis.lk confirmed.

Accordingly, Ranil Wickremesinghe has agreed to continue his term as the Prime Minister. He has also agreed for Cabinet reshuffle.

It is reported that Susil Premajayantha and a few other SLFP MPs are scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow and announce their decision of joining the opposition after failing miserably in their attempt to garner enough votes to make Nimal Siripala De Silva the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, it is also reported that the President has requested the Ministry of Law and Order be handed over to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka in the Cabinet reshuffle.

It is also reported that several foreign missions have advised the President and the Prime Minister to work together and to continue the good governance government.

Sri Lanka is looking to negotiate with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development of the World Bank to obtain USD 115 million as part of financing the accelerated solid waste management project, estimated to cost USD 274 million.

Cabinet approval was granted last week for the proposal put forward by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs. It was also decided to hold discussions with the IBRD to obtain necessary funding.

The project will be implemented by the Megapolis and Western Development and Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministries.

The Sri Lankan government on Friday (16) released 109 of the 136 Indian fishermen who were arrested on charges of poaching in the country’s territorial waters. The released fishermen are likely to be repatriated in the coming days.

These fishermen were arrested by Sri Lanka’s naval agencies after Pongal (mid-January). After being produced in courts, they were remanded in judicial custody and lodged in Sri Lankan prisons.

Four fishermen were released on February 9 on humanitarian grounds when the son of one of them died in Mandapam due to a sudden illness. These fishermen were repatriated on February 10.

As many as 109 fishermen were released on Friday. Fishermen activist U Arulanandam of the Alliance for Release of Innocent Fishermen in Pamban said 30 fishermen had been released by a Point Pedro court while the rest of 79 fishermen had been released by a Kytes court. “Twenty seven fishermen from Tamil Nadu are still lodged in Mannar and Jaffna prisons,” he said.

Minister of Regional Development Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka and Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment, Welfare and Kandyan Heritage, Ranjan Ramanayake appear to be aiming at the Law & Order Ministerial portfolio prior to the impending cabinet reshuffle.

Speaking to the media yesterday the minister said he could show quick results in apprehending wrong-doers if he is appointed as the minister of Law and order.

"I will show results in six months if I am given the portfolio of Law and Order," he said. According to sources, the Minister is said to be one of the frontrunners to be appointed as the new Minister of Law & Order.

There is a strong support to make Field Marshal Fonseka the next Law and Order minister with responsibilities over the police, sources said adding that both the president and the prime minister favoured the idea.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayake has also said he too will work towards arresting wrong-doers quickly if he is at least appointed as the Deputy Minister of Law and Order.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that the joint opposition is prepared to offer its full support to get the required two thirds majority in Parliament needed to abolish the executive presidential system, sources from the UNP headquarters in Sirikotha said.

It is reported that a powerful businessman with close personal ties to both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa had acted as the messenger.

However, a senior official from Sirikotha, when inquired about the possibility of an agreement between the Prime Minister and the former President to bring a motion of impeachment against President Maithripala Sirisena, dismissed such claims stating that they are ‘baseless’.

 Mahinda spoke to me – Ranil admits

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe admitted that he received a phone call from former President Mahinda Rajapksa during the press conference held yesterday (16), at the Temple Trees.

Rajapaksa had asked Wickremesinghe whether there was any truth to the rumours going around in Parliament that suggested that he was going to vacate the post of Prime Minister. Wickremesinghe had responded saying that those rumours were incorrect and that there is no such move in the offing.

Question - Did the former President call you?

Answer - He spoke to me last Monday.

Question - Minister Rajitha Senaratne had said that the former President had telephoned you and told you not to quit the post of Prime Minister. However, the former president said that it was a lie. Can you confirm whether you spoke to the former president?

Answer - He spoke to me last Monday. He was in Parliament at that time. He inquired whether there was any truth to the rumours spreading in Parliament about me vacating the post of Prime Minister. I told him there is no such thing and that even at this moment, I am engaged in some official work at the Prime Minister’s Office the Parliament. We discussed some other details after that.

Question - There were continuous allegations levelled against you stating that you had some kind of relationship with former President Mahinda Rajapakse while protecting him along the way.

Answer - I will not protect anyone. I know Mahinda very well. There is no other connection other than talking about things. I was able to speak to any Parliamentarian when I was Opposition Leader, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the House.

A total of 50 unemployed youth in Jaffna, including rehabilitated former LTTE combatants, has joined the Sri Lanka Army under the militarized category and reported for non-military duties on Thursday at the Security Force Headquarters in Jaffna (SFHQ-J), Ministry of Defence said.

The new initiative was launched by Major General Darshana Hettiarachchi, Commander, Security Forces - Jaffna (SF-J) in close coordination with the Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation and other state officials in Jaffna with the blessings of the Commander of the Army who pioneered the project in the peninsula when he was the Jaffna Commander.

The new recruits are to be employed at the Sri Lanka Army Farm inside the Palaly Army Cantonment where a massive coconut cultivation project is now underway to grow 100,000 coconut trees, to be in parallel with the ongoing national drive for tree planting.

 It is reported that the Criminal Investigation Department is facing many impediments with regard to the arrest of suspects connected to the killing of senior journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga.

Although the CID has already identified a top ranking official of the Army Intelligence and other officers, they are being obstructed by a powerful person connected to the executive branch of the government.

A retired Senior DIG of Police and the then Crime OIC of the Mount-Lavinia Police have already been arrested and remanded in connection to the murder.

(Ravaya)

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday will keep unscrupulous recruitment agents, who exploit job seekers to the UAE, away from the recruitment sector.

Signed in Abu Dhabi by Nasser Bin Thani Al Hamli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and Thalatha Athukorala, Sir Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Employment, the MoU aims to foster cooperation in the labour and manpower fields, WAM reported.

It has an annexure of a protocol agreement that will facilitate the process for approving and recruiting domestic workers.

Al Hamli lauded the close relations binding the two countries in labour-related fields, emphasising that the MoU paves the way for a new stage of cooperation and ensure a balanced and effective management of the contractual work cycle of employees.

The MoU will regulate the activities of recruitment agencies working in both countries and ensure transparency and legal compliance in Sri Lankan workers’ recruitment.

The Sri Lankan Minister said the MoU indicates both nations’ keenness to bring transparency in all stages of recruitment and employment.

Under the protocol on domestic workers, the recruitment of Sri Lankan domestic workers will strictly be done in accordance with the laws and regulations, which are enforced in both countries. Only recruitment agencies registered at the ministry are able to process employment applications for domestic workers that have been submitted by employers, said the WAM report.

As many unregistered agents work in the recruitment sector, the MoU will help prevent them from exploiting the job seekers, a top Sri Lankan diploma told Gulf News on Sunday.

“Unscrupulous agents often cheat job seekers as they give bogus promises,” said Sulaiman Jiffry Mohideen, the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the UAE.

This causes many issues such as contract substitution [an original contract made in Sri Lanka substituted by another one upon arrival in the UAE] and related problems, he said.

A recruitment agency in the UAE has to register with the Sri Lankan Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) for recruiting people from Sri Lanka.

Whenever many complaints are raised against an agency, the embassy blacklists that entity, the envoy said. He said such punitive actions are possible against registered agents only.

As the MoU envisages the presence of registered agencies only in the recruitment sector, it will make it easy to control them, the ambassador said.

Leader of the United National Party Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the party will undergo a major restructuring programme in a bid to build a new generation of future leaders.

The Prime Minister made these remarks at a press conference held at the Temple Trees yesterday (16).

When questioned by a journalist about the prevailing situation in the party due to his long tenure as the UNP leader, the Prime Minister responded by reiterating that reforms would be implemented within the party to enable a new generation to take over the leadership.

The Premier emphasized that the current unity government would continue to administer the country while protecting the January 8th mandate.

In response to a question raised by the BBC on statements calling for his resignation, the Prime Minister said that he would continue to function as the Prime Minister according to the Constitution.