News
Govt. to bring in new law to ‘promote religious harmony’
The Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious, and Cultural Affairs is drafting a new law to promote religious harmony, Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka has said.The Minister said that the new laws would require all religious institutions in Sri Lanka to register with the state.
Wickramanayaka said this would allow the government to track and monitor religious activities, and to intervene, if necessary, to prevent religious conflict.By registering religious institutions, the government would be able to better understand the religious landscape of Sri Lanka, and to take steps to prevent religious conflict, he said.
The Minister said new legislation was necessary due to various issues associated with the management of religious institutions.He would have a bill drafted to promote religious coexistence and maintaining peace to the Cabinet within the next few weeks, the Minister said.
Ministry Secretary Somaratne Vidanapathirana said that the proposed Bill would require owners and administrators of religious institutions to register their temples, mosques, Kovils, churches, and other places of worship.
The Ministry has already registered Buddhist temples and Catholic churches across the country, Vidanapathirana said The decision to register religious institutions had arisen from the need to address the increasing number of such establishments, with concerns raised about potential hidden agendas or associations with political ideologies, Vidanapathirana said.
It has been reported that former Inspector General of Police (IGP) C.D. Wickramaratne has been found dead at his residence in Athurugiriya this morning (17)
it is suspected that he may have taken his own life.
A heated argument broke out between Jaffna District MP Archchuna Ramanathan and Fisheries Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar during the Kilinochchi District Coordination Committee meeting held yesterday (16).
A video footage of the incident shows the MP and the Minister engaging in a heated verbal exchange, following which a physical confrontation appeared to develop when the Minister attempted to grab files reportedly in the possession of MP Ramanathan.
“If you lay a hand on me, I’ll lay a hand on you too… got it?” Ramanathan is heard telling the Minister during the exchange.
Police and officials present at the meeting intervened to prevent the situation from escalating further.
The circumstances that led to the confrontation were not immediately clear.
Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has filed an intervening petition before the Court of Appeal in connection with a petition filed by former head of the State Intelligence Service, Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, challenging his arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act over investigations into the Easter Sunday terror attacks.
The Cardinal has sought permission from the court to make submissions in relation to Sallay’s petition and requested that it be dismissed.
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