The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has directed the Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera to cancel an internal transfer of a senior official.

Sources said that the CIABOC intervened as the female official to be transferred is a key witness in the ongoing investigation into the conduct of suspended Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne. The CIABOC has asked the Secretary General to delay the transfer until the conclusion of its investigation.

CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint against Kularatne, who himself complained against Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne over corruption and irregularities.

The female official’s transfer was to take effect on 20 April.

The United Nations has urged Sri Lanka to deliver concrete results after long-running investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners.

The UN’s top envoy to the country, Marc-Andre Franche, said survivors and families of victims were still waiting for answers, despite multiple probes and renewed political pledges following the formation of a new government in September 2024.

“Public commitments by the government to pursue justice are important and must be welcomed,” he said, as the nation marked seven years since the bombings on Tuesday.

“But what matters now is results,” he said at a remembrance service in Colombo.

Ven. Bhante Gunaratana, Chief Sangha Nayaka for North America has requested all Sri Lankans to support the second phase of the International Walk for Peace scheduled to begin in Sri Lanka this week.

The following is the text of a statement issued by Ven. Bhante Gunaratana: “As a distinguished assembly of Venerable monks embarks upon the second phase of the International Walk for Peace across our beloved island, I respectfully and earnestly implore all Sri Lankans to lend their wholehearted support to this sacred endeavor in a spirit of collective unity and boundless goodwill.

Sri Lanka has, throughout the ages, been a civilisation profoundly shaped and enriched by deep-rooted spiritual traditions. In this significant moment, let us draw sustenance from those timeless and enduring values, and respond to one another, and to this noble mission with kindness, patience, and heartfelt compassion.

We humbly and respectfully request that you receive the Venerable monks with the utmost reverence and dignity, extend every possible assistance along their journey, and engage with this sacred undertaking in an abiding spirit of harmony, goodwill, and mutual understanding.

May this auspicious occasion serve as a profound opportunity to strengthen the bonds of trust, fellowship, and goodwill that unite all communities across this nation.

Through the practice of patience, the cultivation of compassion, and the observance of respectful and virtuous conduct, may we as one people collectively contribute to the healing of wounds long borne and to the realization of an enduring and lasting peace.”