News

Police officers were charged by elephants while staking out a suspected cannabis farm, dropping an automatic rifle amid the chaos.

The policemen had been camping outside a plantation in Sri Lanka in the hope of catching the alleged marijuana growers.

But the officers were forced to run for their lives as the animals hurtled towards them.

Police are now searching for the T56 automatic assault rifle in the Lunugamvehera nature reserve, 140 miles south of the country's capital Colombo.

In a statement, police said: "The constables dropped their weapons and fled to save their lives when the elephants charged."

The incident comes as figures show about 50 people are killed in wild elephant attacks each year in Sri Lanka.

However, about 200 elephants are killed each year by farmers who claim the wild animals stray onto their land and destroy crops.

Uva Province Chief Minister Chamara Sampath Dassanayake said he would step down from the Post of Provincial Education Minister with immediate effect.

The Chief Minister said he decided to step down from the post until the investigation into the allegations levelled against him was completed.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) launched an investigation into the incident where the Chief Minister allegedly forced a school principal to kneel before him.

The female principal of a Tamil girls’ school in Badulla was allegedly summoned to the Chief Minister’s house where she was forced to kneel because she had refused to enroll a student recommended by the Chief Minister.

Minister Susil Premajayantha earlier said that the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) would also launch an investigation into the incident.

Source : Daily Mirror

The Special Task Force (STF) Police and the anti-riot squad have been deployed to provide security for Kataragama police and maintain law and order after tensions erupted following the shooting death of a motorcyclist in the city.

Kataragama Police say a large number of people, who hurled stones and attacked the police station after the incident, were arrested.

 Twenty police officers suffered minor injuries as a result of stone attack, and several properties were damaged, Kataragama Police said.

 According to the police 44 men and 13 women were asserted and they were to be produced before the magistrate today.

 Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake said a CID team has been sent to Kataragama to probe the death of a motorcyclist following a Police shooting and one police officer has already been arrested.

 He urged the public to remain calm and maintain peace. Police have been instructed to work with the villagers to quell the situation, he said.

The tense situation arose after a police officer on night patrol opened fire at the motorcyclist after he disregarded an order to stop at a security point on Saturday night.

 A large mob protesting the police shooting blocked the Tissa-Kataragama road burning tires. Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters attacking the police station.

The deceased has been identified as Pathiranage Niroshan, a 25-year-old resident of Nagahahuwa, Kataragama. He was a tractor driver of the Kataragama Pradeshiya Sabha.

 The police constable involved in the shooting was arrested and produced before the Tissamaharama Magistrate. He was remanded until January 30.

Police Special Task Force (STF) officers and the anti-riot squad have been deployed for the protection of Kataragama Police Station and investigations have been launched to apprehend a former local politician and a few others who have been involved in the incident, Tangalle Division Superintendent of Police Laksiri Githal told BBC Sinhala Service.

 Source : Colombo Page

President Maithripala Sirisena said that he would take control of the country’s economy and be responsible for managing the rising cost of living. He made these remarks at an election rally in Kegalle yesterday.

President Sirisena said that although he allowed the United National Party (UNP) to manage the economy for the last three years, he would directly manage the economy through a special economic council headed by him, taking over the responsibility from the UNP.

Ready to fight after elections

The President stated that he will accept the full responsibility of strengthening the national economy of the country by safeguarding local industries, local products and local investments.

He urged local investors to keep investing their capital in Sri Lanka and not overseas, and requested them to join hands to build their motherland.

For a country that is rich in natural resources, the only obstacle that prevents us from becoming a developed nation in the world is the existence of corrupt politics, the President added. He said that he would start his campaign to end the corruption that is prevalent in politics with the local government election on February 10.

Cabinet Reshuffle

A senior official from the Presidential Secretariat who commented on the President’s statement in Kegalle said that the President has decided to go for a cabinet reshuffle as soon as the local government elections are over.

Several portfolios related to the economy would also be taken under the President, the official added.

Veteran journalist Jatila Wellabada (56), a former Chief Editor of Lakbima and Irudina newspapers passed away yesterday.

He was working as a Consultant (News) to the Independent Television Network (ITN) at the time of his death. His journalism career began as a reporter for the Divaina newspaper in 1984. He soon gained a reputation as a political analyst, columnist and editorialist.

He was appointed as the Chief Editor of the Lakbima Daily in 2002, a post which he held for 10 years. He then became Chief Editor of the Irudina Sunday newspaper. He also headed the Front Page and Savana websites.

An old boy of Ananda College, Colombo, Wellabada received journalism training from several prestigious foreign institutions. He functioned as a member of the Panel of Judges of the Journalism Awards of Excellence for several years and as the Secretary of the Editors Guild of Sri Lanka. He was also a lecturer at Sri Jayawardhanapura and Kelaniya Universities.

He is survived by his wife Priyadharshani and two children. His remains are at his residence near the Raja Maha Viharaya, Kelaniya. The funeral will take place at 5 p.m. on January 24 (Wednesday) at the Pilapitya Cemetery, Kelaniya.

Think Tank, Verité Research says that the ban on the sale of liquor to women by the Finance and Mass Media ‘within the premises of a tavern’ by the Cabinet is unconstitutional.

The Minister of Finance and Mass Media issued a notification on January 10 amending the Excise Notification No. 666 of December 31, 1979, removing the ban on the sale of liquor to women ‘within the premises of a tavern’. This was subsequently revoked by the Cabinet.

According to Article 12(1) of the Constitution, it states that ‘all persons are equal before the law, and are entitled to the equal protection of the law’. Moreover, article 12(2) states that ‘no citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of…sex.’ Therefore, acts that discriminate against women on the grounds of their sex violate their fundamental rights and are thereby unconstitutional. Article 16(1) of the Constitution states that ‘all existing written law and the unwritten law shall be valid and operative notwithstanding any inconsistency with the preceding provisions of this Chapter’ (emphasis added). Article 16(1) only applies to the written and unwritten law enacted prior to 1978. Thus any law that is enacted today must be compliant with the fundamental rights chapter of the Constitution, and cannot discriminate on the grounds of sex.

Verité Research further states that the Cabinet’s decision, therefore, discriminates women on the grounds of their sex.

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong will arrive in Sri Lanka today on a three day official visit at the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena.

The Singaporean Premier will be received at the Presidential Secretariat on the morning of January 23 with an official Guard of Honour and gun salute that will be followed by official bilateral discussions with President Maithripala Sirisena.

A Free Trade Agreement between Sri Lanka and Singapore will be signed following bilateral talks, the Foriegn Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

During the visit, Prime Minister Lee will also meet Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and discuss economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

The visiting Prime Minister is scheduled to attend a Business Forum in which leading businesspersons and investors from both Singapore and Sri Lanka will be present.

Sri Lanka and Singapore established diplomatic relations in 1979 and enjoy a strong and robust bilateral relationship that has been built on mutual understanding, respect and people-to-people contacts. An official visit of a Singaporean Prime Minister to Sri Lanka takes place after 13 years.

Meanwhile Traffic on several roads around Colombo will be restricted today in view of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to Sri Lanka. According to the Police, the Prime Minister will travel from the Bandaranaike International Airport to the Shangri La Hotel in Colombo at 4.20 p.m. during which time the following roads will be restricted to traffic:

Roads extending from the Kelani Bridge, Baseline road, Bandaranaike junction, Orugodawatta, Ingram junction, Borella junction, D.S. Senanayake junction, and Horton Place will be closed at the time the Prime Minister’s motorcade passes through.

Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Flower Road and Galle Road up to the Shangri La Hotel will also face road closures during these times.

‘Pohottuwa’ stalwart Basil Rajapaksa has declared that he will defeat former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in the Attanagalla electoral seat while going on to erase her mark from the political arena. The politician is said to have made these claims while meeting several Joint Opposition (JO) of the Gampaha district.

'Chandrika is inciting Maithri against us' Basil is said to have said claiming that if she continues to be in politics there will be no political future for him and his supporters. According to sources, he had also admitted to pitting five teams from Attanagalla to defeat her while advising the MP’s to go to Attanagalla and work against her.

With Attanagalla being a Bandaranaike stronghold since 1948 Basil is said to spending the most for the campaign in Attanagalla a leader of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna told ISIS news.

The Former SLFP party organizer of Gampaha and former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has returned to active politics during this election to ensure SLFP wins. However, she is also said to have announced she will retire from active politics after this election.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that regardless of the challenges, the unity government will continue until 2020.

While noting that persons involved in corruption and malpractices in the past were trying to change the Good Governance government, the Premier said that they will never be able to realise their goal.

“The Wanni Hathpaththuwa Development plan will also be launched this year,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister was speaking at a UNP election rally at Nikaweratiya town yesterday.

The Premier said the Sinharaja Range Development project too would come into operation soon. He said the Wanni Hathpaththuwa development plan would be implemented through the Wayamba Development Ministry.

“If the large area reserved in Galagamuwa for an elephant habitat proved insufficient to tackle the wild elephant menace causing undue pressure on the people of Wayamba, more elephant zones will have to be demarcated to find a solution to it. Tourist Zones could be developed around such elephant zones,”the Prime Minister added.

The Prime Minister who promised to provide necessary funding for dredging neglected tanks and reservoirs in the Wayamba, said that drip irrigation systems too should be developed in the region.

Source : Daily News

Two members of the same family were found killed yesterday morning at their residence located in the Mount Pleasant Watta, Wakwella belonging to the Poddala Police division. The victims had been attacked with a sharp object the Police said.

The victims have been identified as siblings 75-year-old Jayanama Jagoda and 65-year-old Namini Jagoda. Suspects regarding the murder are yet to be identified. Poddala Police are investigating.

The European Union is said to have questioned the Sri Lankan government regarding not complying with conditions agreed when receiving GSP+ such as the scrapping of the Prevention of Terrorism Act among many others.

According to sources the EU had addressed the issue during the EU - Sri Lanka joint committee's 21st meeting in Colombo this week.

Two months earlier in a similar manner the discussion was brought up by a visiting EU delegation to South Asia who expressed their displeasure that the Prevention of Terrorism Act had not been repealed while no internationally accepted alternative legislation was introduced either as promised by PM Ranil Wickramasinghe.

The European Union has urged the Government of Sri Lanka to "speed up" the necessary mechanisms, as promised at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) to ensure justice for violations of human rights, including war crimes

Source : Radio Gagana

The Government will stop imports of motor vehicles below Euro IV emission standards and those without airbags, Anti-locking Braking System (ABS) and three-point seat belts from 1 July.

Issuing a statement, the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media yesterday said that importation of motor vehicles below Euro IV emission standards or its equivalent and those that do not comply with the following safety standards would totally be prohibited effective from 1 July.

Imports of vehicles which do not carry air bags for driver and front seat passenger, Anti-locking Braking System (ABS) standards and three-point seat belts for driver and passengers travelling front and rear seats, except the middle seat, will not be allowed into the country, the Ministry said.

It was revealed that having considered the representations made by motor vehicle importers and manufacturers for a lead time to make required adjustments to comply with the proposed emission standards and safety measures, the Ministry had decided to postpone the implementation of the Budget proposal on introduction of emission standards and safety measures from 1 July.

As this rescheduling of the implementation is made based on industry representations, the dealers, importers and manufacturers are strictly advised to refrain from establishing any Letter of Credit (LCs) for import of motors vehicles which do not comply with the specified standards and safety standards with an estimated arrival date after 1 July.

Further details on the implementation of the new standards for vehicles, including the types of vehicles, will be notified by the respective implementation agencies shortly, the Ministry said.

Source : Daily FT