News
Bishops oppose ‘one country, one law’
Lankan bishops have urged the government to give up its plan of introducing a “one country, one law” concept in the island nation and called for drafting a new constitution.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month appointed a presidential task force comprising 13 members under the chairmanship of hardline Buddhist monk, Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera to study the concept and prepare a draft law.
The decision was in keeping with an election slogan of Rajapaksa in 2019 when he was elected president with overwhelming support from the country’s Buddhist majority.
According to an extraordinary gazette notification issued by the president, the task force is required to submit reports to the president once a month and the final report on or before Feb. 28, 2022.
Bishop J. Winston S. Fernando, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka, has urged the repeal of the gazette notification for the appointment of the task force.
In a statement issued on Nov. 2, the prelate called the leaving out of Tamil, Hindu, Catholic and other Christian minority groups from the task force a lost opportunity.
He further pointed out that “to appoint a person without considering any past records to the chair of the presidential task force is [adding] an insult to injury.”
Ven. Gnanasara Thera is known for his anti-Muslim stance and his Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) was implicated in anti-Muslim riots in 2013.
“The appointment has been made without any consultation of the legislators and it is a disregard for the legislature,” said Bishop Fernando.
He strongly emphasized that the gazette notification “should be repealed and a new constitution should be drafted to ensure that all the citizens are treated equally before the law.”
Muslim organizations too have issued a joint statement strongly condemning the appointment of Ven. Gnanasara Thera as its chairman. It has been signed by 24 leading Muslim organizations.
A hardliner, Ven. Gnanasara Thera was sentenced to a six-year prison term for contempt of court last year after shouting at a judge for holding him guilty of accosting the wife of missing journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.
However, he was accorded a presidential pardon within a few months of starting the prison term.
Opposition groups and analysts also criticized the decision of the government.
Jesustoday.lk, a news website, said that “one country, one law” is likely to be a dangerous slogan that will erase diversity and make the will of the majority the only law.
“All citizens should be equal before the law. This is not what is hidden in the slogan,” it said.
The news website further pointed out that the controversial monk heading the task force “has issued hate speeches to a significant number of people in this country.”
SJB MP Harin Fernando said the appointment of someone like Ven. Gnanasara Thera exposes the political interests of the government.
“The task force is governed by someone who has been indicted by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday attacks,” alleged MP Fernando.
Ven. Gnanasara Thera maintained that he hoped to exchange views with all political parties, religious and civil society organizations. “The aim of this task force is to build the environment for all including Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu and Muslim to live together under one law and country,” he said.
Sri Lanka has witnessed strong opposition by nationalist groups in recent years to attempts to introduce Sharia law in the country, saying it would promote Muslim extremism.
The campaign gained further impetus after the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks on churches blamed on the extremist Islamic group National Thowheed Jamaat. (UCAN)
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 01 Jan 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended 11 Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, off Kovilan of Kareinagar, Jaffna.
The Northern Naval Command spotted a group of Indian fishing boats engaging in illegal fishing, trespassing into Sri Lankan waters. In response, naval craft of the Northern Naval Command were deployed to drive away those Indian fishing boats from island waters off Kovilan.
Meanwhile, compliant boarding made by naval personnel resulted in the seizure of one Indian fishing boat and apprehension of 11 Indian fishermen who continued to engage in illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters.
The seized boat (01) and Indian fishermen (11) were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Myliddy, Jaffna for onward legal proceedings.
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Tri-Forces donate LKR. 372 million, a day’s pay of all ranks to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund
Members of all ranks from the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force have collectively donated a day’s basic salary to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was established to restore livelihoods and rebuild the country following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Accordingly, the total contribution made by the Tri-Forces amounts to LKR. 372,776,918.28.
The cheques representing the financial contributions were handed over on Wednesday (31 December) at the Presidential Secretariat to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
The donations comprised LKR. 250 million from the Commander of the Army, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo; LKR. 73,963,879.71 from the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and LKR. 48,813,038.97 from the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe.
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, was also present on the occasion.
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking an 11.57 percent increase in electricity tariffs for the first quarter of 2026, citing an estimated revenue shortfall and additional financial pressures, including cyclone-related damages.
According to documents issued by the PUCSL, the proposed tariff revision would apply to electricity consumption from January to March 2026 and includes changes to both energy charges and fixed monthly charges across all consumer categories, including domestic, religious, industrial, commercial and other users.
Under the proposal, domestic electricity consumers would face increases in unit rates as well as fixed monthly charges across all consumption blocks.
The CEB has estimated a deficit of Rs. 13,094 million for the first quarter of 2026, which it says necessitates the proposed 11.57 per cent tariff hike. The utility has noted that any deviation from this estimate whether a surplus or a shortfall will be adjusted through the Bulk Supply Tariff Adjustment (BSTA) mechanism and taken into account in the next tariff revision.
In its submission, the CEB said the proposed revision is aimed at ensuring the financial and operational stability of the power sector and mitigating potential risks to the reliability of electricity supply. The board-approved tariff structure for the first quarter of 2026 has been submitted to the PUCSL for approval and subsequent implementation, as outlined in Annex II of the proposal.
The CEB has also highlighted the financial impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which it said caused extensive damage to electricity infrastructure, with total losses estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Of this amount, Rs. 7,016.52 million has been attributed to the first quarter of 2026, which the utility said has a direct bearing on electricity tariffs.
The CEB warned that if external funding is not secured to cover the cyclone-related expenditure, the costs incurred would need to be recovered through electricity tariffs in the second-quarter revision of 2026.
Meanwhile, the PUCSL has said that a decision on whether to approve the proposed tariff increase will be made only after following due regulatory procedures and holding discussions on the matter.
By Sujeewa Thathsara ✍️
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