Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that politics is not something separate from development and it shapes every choice we make in governance, while addressing the 60th anniversary commemoration of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, Brighton. during her official visit to the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister and the accompanying delegation arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport at 8.00 p.m. Sri Lanka time on Monday [18 May], commencing the official visit to the United Kingdom.

The delegation was warmly received at Heathrow Airport by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Nimal Senadheera, together with the Special Representative to the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom and former British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Richard Wildash, along with other diplomatic officials.

On the following morning, the Prime Minister arrived at the University of Sussex in Brighton, where she was received by Professor Anu Joshi, Director of the Institute of Development Studies, Professor Mick Moore, and senior representatives of the University of Sussex.

Addressing the public event, the Prime Minister reflected on the relationship between politics, governance, and development, drawing from Sri Lanka’s recent political and economic experiences. She emphasized the challenges of balancing governance, economic recovery, social protection, and institutional reform while responding to public expectations and maintaining democratic accountability.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the government’s ongoing policy focus on recognizing paid and unpaid care work as a central component of the national economy, particularly the contribution and challenges faced by women within the care sector.

During the visit, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya is also expected to address a session at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies at the University of Oxford, followed by an interactive discussion with scholars and students.

During the visit, the Prime Minister is also expected to meet senior representatives of the United Kingdom government, including Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, and Bridget Phillipson, the Secretary of State for Education of the United Kingdom. She is also expected to meet Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

The government was committed to fulfilling the aspirations of war heroes who liberated the country, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said yesterday, addressing the 17th National War Heroes’ Commemoration Ceremony held in Battaramulla.

The members of the security forces had made a tremendous contribution towards bringing relief to the people and their sacrifices had to be honoured not only with remembrance but also through action to rebuild the nation, President Dissanayake said, stressing that everything possible had to be done to ensure that the people would not suffer due to conflicts again.

Praising the armed forces for the role they played in disaster response and national emergencies, the President said the government was working hard to strengthen the country’s international standing while ensuring the rule of law and judicial independence.

Sri Lanka belonged to all communities and there should be no division along ethnic lines.

President Dissanayake added that the government’s focus was to prevent the recurrence of conflict and to build a democratic society where equality before the law was guaranteed and all citizens had equal opportunity regardless of status.

Environment Minister Dhammika Patabendi yesterday sounded a strong warning over the rapid destruction of elephant habitats in the Hambantota region, declaring that the proposed Hambantota Elephant Management Reserve was no longer an option but an urgent national necessity to prevent a deepening environmental crisis.

Addressing a media briefing convened to create public awareness on the reserve, Dr. Patabendi said decades of political interference, illegal land grabs, deforestation and unplanned development had pushed Sri Lanka’s elephant population and rural communities into a dangerous confrontation.

“Sri Lanka is witnessing an environmental tragedy unfold before our eyes. Forests are shrinking, elephant corridors are being blocked, and wild elephants are being forced into villages and farmlands in search of food and water,” the Minister said.

He stressed that the Hambantota region had become one of the country’s most critical human-elephant conflict hotspots due to aggressive land conversion and irresponsible exploitation of natural ecosystems.

“The elephant is paying the price for human greed and shortsighted planning. If we continue to destroy forests in the name of development without ecological discipline, the consequences will be catastrophic not only for wildlife, but also for people,” he warned.

Dr. Patabendi said the proposed Elephant Management Reserve would serve as a scientifically managed buffer to protect vital elephant corridors, regulate land use, and reduce deadly encounters between elephants and humans.

He noted that Sri Lanka continued to record alarming numbers of elephant and human deaths annually, describing the situation as a “national environmental emergency.”

“Human-elephant conflict is no longer merely a wildlife issue. It is directly linked to food security, rural safety, water resources and ecological stability. The country cannot continue to address this crisis with temporary fences and political rhetoric,” he said.

The Minister also took aim at illegal encroachments and destructive activities within sensitive forest areas, warning that strict action would be taken against those responsible for environmental destruction.

“There are organised attempts to exploit forest lands for private interests while ignoring the irreversible damage caused to biodiversity and ecosystems. Such actions cannot be tolerated any longer,” he said.

Dr. Patabendi stressed that sustainable development could not be achieved at the expense of forests and wildlife, adding that environmental conservation must become a central pillar of national policy rather than an afterthought.

Environmentalists said Sri Lanka’s elephant population was increasingly under pressure due to shrinking habitats, fragmented migration routes and expanding human settlements.

The Minister called on politicians, state institutions and the public to support long-term conservation measures instead of promoting short-sighted solutions driven by vested interests.

“We have reached a decisive moment. Either we protect these ecosystems now or future generations will inherit a country stripped of its forests, wildlife and ecological security,” he warned.

The Environment Ministry is expected to initiate further scientific consultations and stakeholder discussions before moving ahead with the reserve’s implementation framework.

By Ifham Nizam