News

Father of ‘The Sunday Morning’ Editor Mandana Ismail, Mohamed Sadiq Mathany Ismail passed away last night. He was the husband of Ajantha De Silva, the Father - in - Law of Romesh Abeywickrama and Grand Father of Sharanya Abeywickrama. 

The last rites will be held at the Jawatte Muslim Burial grounds today. The Janaza is located at Lauries Lane, Colombo 4.

The Ceylon Electricity Board will be made a profitable institution and measures will be taken to provide subsidies to the customers, says Minister of Power, Energy and Business Development Ravi Karunanayake.
 
He stated this during a meeting held with the representatives of 58 trade unions of Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) yesterday. Majority of the representatives pointed out that many institutions including the CEB are engaged in undisciplined financial activities.
 
They also pointed out that rendering the supply of electricity services to a private company despite the redundancy of employees causes a huge loss to the government. Accordingly, the Minister had promised to make the CEB a profitable institution and provide subsidies to its customers by making reductions in electricity bills.
 
Minister Karunanayake had also stated that he intends to remove financial and employee anomalies prevailing in the CEB.
 
The meeting, held at the Power and Energy and Business Development Ministry, was joined by the State Minister of Power & Renewable Energy Champika Premadasa, Secretary to the Ministry B.M.S. Batagoda, General Secretary of CEB Employees’ Union Ranjan Jayalal, Secretary of CEB National Workers’ Association Ajith Devapriya and several others. (Derana)

Keshal Jayasinghe has been appointed as the New Chairman of the SELASINE Rupavahini Institute by Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera. 

Jayasinghe is an old boy of Royal College, Colombo. He is also a graduate of San Francisco State University. 

Jayasinghe was previously a coordinating secretary to Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

A group has complained to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Police regarding the October 26 unconstitutional political plot requesting that the conspirators be brought before the law following a proper investigation. 

The complaint has been made by the Purawesi Balaya organization which also submitted a comprehensive document detailing the incident. 

Political critic Gamini Viyangoda, Prof. Sarath Wijesooriya visited the CID representing the organization.

A new committee is to be formed to study cabinet papers put forward by Ministers prior to being presented to the cabinet. According to Minister of Buddha Sasana Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, the committee will be led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe. 

The aim of the committee is to expedite important cabinet papers while also avoiding any clashes with the President, Jayawickrama said. 

The first cabinet meeting for 2019 will be held on January 3 at the President’s Office presided by President Maithripala Sirisena.

Despite the government’s efforts to crack down on ragging two first years students of the Wayamba University have been assaulted by seniors for resisting ragging. According to sources, the students are freshers in the Technology faculty. 

Speaking to the media one student who faced the assault said the seniors had ordered the students to shave, get short haircuts and come in stipulated clothing into university. “We, however, went in normally just like them,” the student said claiming this resulted in the brutal attack.

The victims had also been a part of a group that had organized an anti-ragging awareness campaign in the university. “They said ragging had existed for many years and questioned as to who we were to stop it,” the attacked student said. According to him, President of the Technology Faculty students union had also attempted to snatch his phone as he recorded the incident.

Releasing a statement for 2019 that has dawned, Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Anura Kumara Dissanayake says in 2019 the main responsibility is to set up an administrative system that strengthens democracy instead of continuing with a constitutional dictatorship following the democratic challenges faced by the country in 2018. While hinting that a new political change is the need of the hour he also said the new year would be auspicious if the masses in this country are capable of taking a new political decision in the New Year. “For this, we should be bold enough to look at the society anew and take decisions with new ideas and attitudes after casting away old ideologies and attitudes,” he said. 

Full text of the statement below : 

According to the calendar we all use, the New Year 2019 has dawned. When a year ends and a new year begins, we wish each other ‘Happy New Year’; send New Year cards. Despite this tradition of wishing each other at the dawn of the New Year being continued for ages, it has not gone beyond a mere wish for many of us. In reality, the past years have not been auspicious for a large majority in our society. This was the truth. It is not a question about the honesty of those well-wishers but what is linked to the broader socio-economic-political construction.
We wind up the old year 2018 and enter the New Year 2019 carrying with us the socio-economic-political crises and a number of challenges that have burdened us for 70 long years. The economy of the country that doesn’t create new means has gravely deteriorated. The rulers who have no vision of building the country burden it with more and more debt while the masses are fatigued with the burden of taxes and the cost of living. National assets are further plundered with the greed for ministerial portfolios and prestigious. The defeated former rulers strive hard to prevent legal action being taken against them for plundering public assets during their term. This is what exists as an unholy axis. 

Fraud, corruption, thieving and waste have spread from top to the bottom of the society and the media has reported that Sri Lanka is ranked top in the latest list of the most corrupt countries in the world. Now, would the new year become auspicious when wished with hollow words? This is the factor we all should ponder in the New Year.

Last year ended with a challenge to democracy in the country. As such, we also have, in this New Year, the responsibility of setting up an administrative system that strengthens democracy instead of continuing with a constitutional dictatorship.

However, we need not be pessimistic. There is a path before us to make the New Year auspicious. It is by getting away from the futile socio-economic-political path we have been following and resolving to enter a new political journey. We firmly believe that the new year, as well as the future of our people and the country, would be definitely auspicious if the masses in this country are capable of taking a new political decision in the New Year. For this, we should be bold enough to look at the society anew and take decisions with new ideas and attitudes after casting away old ideologies and attitudes.

This new year dawns with an omen for a new beginning. We wish all Sri Lankans, who are getting prepared to cast aside everything antiquated and futile so that they would think anew to take new decisions, courage and strength and a genuinely auspicious New Year.

New Year is for change. Let’s make change happen!

Following the devastating tsunami that has reportedly killed over 400 people in Indonesia Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe has written to Indonesian President Joko Widodo to express his condolences. 

Wickramasinghe said he was sorrowed by the news of the tsunami that led to the loss of life and infrastructure in the country while expressing his solidarity with Indonesia and extending his condolences to the families of the victims.

A New Navy Commander was appointed yesterday by President Maithripala Sirisena following the retirement of Vice Admiral Sirimevan Ranasinghe. According to sources Ranasinghe had not requested a service extension in a bid to make way for other top-ranking officers. 

Accordingly, President Sirisena appointed Vice-Admiral Priyal De Silva as the new Navy Commander yesterday. The new navy commander will commence his duties from 1 January 2019.
 
Rear Admiral Priyal de Silva, served as Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy prior to his appointment will be the 23rd Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy. Meanwhile, Ranasinghe received a promotion to the rank of admiral following his retirement in honour for his service.

The government has urged transport regulatory institutions to take necessary action immediately in order to pass the benefits of the recent oil price reduction to the people. 

This request was made by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera when he addressed parliament last week.

As a result of the price formula introduced by the Government, the price of petrol and diesel has been reduced by Rs.30 and Rs.20 per litre respectively when compared with the last price increase on 10th of October 2018.

Therefore, the Government noted that the bus fares and the charges in the transport sectors such as, three wheelers and school vehicles should be reduced proportionately in order to pass the benefits of the global fuel price reduction to the people. 

The Private Bus Owners Association had agreed to reduce bus fair by 4.2 percent but many observers noted that this was not a fair reduction as the government had decreased the fuel prices substantially over the last month and a half.

Accordingly, the Government expects the regulatory institutions which are responsible for the transport sector would take necessary action to ensure that the benefits of the fuel price reduction are passed on to the passengers.
 
At the same time, fisheries and other transport sectors should also pass on the benefit of fuel price reduction to the people as the production and transport costs of such sectors have declined following the decrease of diesel price. This would create a tendency of reducing the prices of goods and services thereby helping to cut the cost of living effectively.

The global prices of crude oil were continuously on the rise in the recent past and consequently the fuel prices in Sri Lanka too increased until October 10th. The fuel price in Sri Lanka was increased for the last time on October 10th and at the that time the global price of a barrel of crude oil was reported as US$85.

However, global price of crude oil was continuously reduced from the month of November 2018 and the average global price of crude oil is currently reported as US$58 per barrel.

The Commonwealth congratulating Sri Lanka's reinstated Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe commended the Premier and other political stakeholders for defending the democratic process and upholding the rule of law and the constitutional framework.
 
"I commend you and other political stakeholders for your steadfastness in defence and support of the rule of law and the constitutional framework," the Secretary-General of Commonwealth Patricia Scotland, QC said in a congratulatory message to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
 
The Secretary-General welcomed the peaceful resolution of the political crisis in Sri Lanka and offered the Commonwealth's steadfast support to Sri Lanka to improve political reconciliation, progress constitutional reforms and entrench the rule of law.

The National Peace Council noted that as president Maithripala Sirisena has taken over 3 ministries and has actively participated in governance by vetoing ministerial appointments, appointing commissions of inquiry, and directing the Grama Shakthi development programme, among others,  and therefore in this context, he should not appoint former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who belongs to his party, as opposition leader.

Full Text of Statement:

"Speaker Karu Jayasuriya has made an initial announcement in parliament that the new Leader of the Opposition would be former president Mahinda Rajapaksa of the SLFP/UPFA.  However, this has been challenged by the TNA whose leader R Sampanthan previously held the position and who has not been removed from this position.  This has led to a situation where there are currently two Leaders of the Opposition similar to the situation of Sri Lanka having two Prime Ministers in the recent past!  

The National Peace Council believes that the position of opposition leader cannot be ignored by those who are concerned with political morality and adherence to traditions, conventions and the rule of law.
 
We note that President Sirisena holds three important cabinet ministries for himself, these being Defence, Mahaweli Development and Environment.  In addition, he has taken a fourth to himself, which is the former Ministry of Law and Order dealing with police and amalgamated it with the Defence Ministry.  By taking these ministries to himself President Sirisena has entrenched himself and SLFP/UPFA policies within the government. 
 
It can also be seen that President Sirisena is actively participating in governance by vetoing ministerial appointments, appointing commissions of inquiry, and directing the Grama Shakthi development programme, among others.  The appointment of former president Rajapaksa who belongs to his party as opposition leader in this context is a contradiction in terms.  In these circumstances a legal question arises whether the SLFP/UPFA can, or ought to, be given the Leader of the Opposition’s position.
 
It appears that the idea of governance of many in the polity is to find loopholes in the law and use political power to get their way. This can be seen in the denial of Mr Rajapaksa and other SLFP/UPFA parliamentarians that they obtained membership of the SLPP.  They were publicly televised accepting such membership shortly after President Sirisena’s abortive dissolution of parliament on November 9 which was ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.  In legal terms, verbal statements are taken as evidence of contract between parties and thus leaders ought to be bound by their statements for which they can be legally sued or made responsible.
 
The National Peace Council believes that the judiciary needs to be called on to look into the legal aspects of the conflict and ways of ending it. It is essential that politicians in general and leaders in politics in particular should be held accountable for the actions and assertions they make if the people are to have confidence in governance.  The judiciary seems to be the only institutional vehicle in the polity at the present time that can ensure this level of democratic accountability. Failure to do so will be tantamount to a denial of the aspirations of all Sri Lankans who wish to have a stable government at the dawn of another New Year."