News
SF warns LTTE threat not over
By Saman Indrajith
Sparks of terrorism were still surfacing from the smoldering ashes even though the political leaders boasted in air-conditioned rooms that they had ended the war, former army commander and SJB Gampaha District MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka said in Parliament yesterday.
Participating in the third reading debate on the budget 2021 under the expenditure heads of the Ministry of Defence, Field Marshal Fonseka said that a former female LTTE cadre had been captured with a bomb the previous day. “Boasting in air-conditioned rooms that we have defeated terrorism would not ensure safety and security. Thorough investigations must be conducted into incidents such as the arrest of the woman with a bomb.
It is illegal to commemorate the LTTE dead. The LTTE is a banned organisation so it is illegal to commemorate the LTTE terrorists killed in the war. Our MP Mano Ganeshan has spoken in favour of the LTTE Maveerar Commemoration. That is wrong.”
The former war-winning Army Commander said that he had thought out of the box to win the war. “When I commanded 200,000 officers and men during the war, I did not give place to the talented, instead I removed the mediocre so that it allowed the talented to come forward. We managed to change our fighting methods such as stretching the 400 metre frontline to 15 km. Such thinking is needed to ensure that safety and security is intact.”
“The Burevi cyclone should have come several more days early so that there would have been no Maveerar commemoration. It exactly hit the areas from where we swept away the Maveerar ceremonies years back. I do not like people getting affected but those who talk of the Maveerar day arouse racism here. It must be stopped.”
The Colombo Stock Exchange (GL 12) has contributed LKR 25 million to the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund.
The cheque was handed over to the Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake by the Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange, Dimuthu Abeyesekera, the Chief Executive Officer Rajeeva Bandaranaike and Senior Vice Chairman Kusal Nissanka at the Presidential Secretariat.
News
Karu argues against scrapping MPs’ pension as many less fortunate members entered Parliament after ’56
Former Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressing concerns over the proposed abolition of MPs’ pensions.The letter was sent in his capacity as Patron of the Former Parliamentarians’ Caucus.
In his letter, Jayasuriya noted that at the time of Sri Lanka’s independence, political participation was largely limited to an educated, affluent land-owning elite. However, he said a significant social transformation took place after 1956, enabling ordinary citizens to enter politics.
He warned that under current conditions, removing parliamentary pensions would effectively confine politics to the wealthy, business interests, individuals engaged in illicit income-generating activities, and well-funded political parties. Such a move, he said, would discourage honest social workers and individuals of modest means from entering public life.
Jayasuriya also pointed out that while a small number of former MPs, including himself, use their pensions for social and charitable purposes, the majority rely on the pension as a primary source of income.
He urged the President to give due consideration to the matter and take appropriate action, particularly as the government prepares to draft a new constitution.The Bill seeking to abolish pensions for Members of Parliament was presented to Parliament on 07 January by Minister of Justice and National Integration Dr. Harshana Nanayakkara.
Five suspects, including former Minister Johnston Fernando and his two sons, who were arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), were further remanded until 30 January by the Wattala Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The former Minister’s , sons Johan Fernando and Jerome Kenneth Fernando, and two others, were arrested in connection with the alleged misuse of a Sathosa vehicle during Fernando’s tenure as Minister.
Investigations are currently underway into the alleged misuse of state property, including a lorry belonging to Lanka Sathosa, which reportedly caused a significant financial loss to the state.
In connection with the same incident, Indika Ratnamalala, who served as the Transport Manager of Sathosa during
Fernando’s tenure as Minister of Co-operatives and Internal Trade, was arrested on 04 January.
After being produced before the Wattala Magistrate’s Court, he was ordered to be remanded in custody until 09 January.The former Sathosa Transport Manager was remanded on charges of falsifying documents.
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