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DMI involvement bared in parliament

Published

9 months ago

2025/08/1

Prez urged to remove Maj. Gen. Jayasekera from Defence Ministry

The SJB has called for an investigation into Deputy Defence Minister Maj. Gen. (retd.) Aruna Jayasekera’s declaration in Parliament that a small group within the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) was involved in 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

Maj. Gen. Jayasekera, who was the Eastern Commander at the time of Easter Sunday carnage and subsequent blasts at Sainthamaruthu in the East also in April 2019, should come clean, top SJB spokesman Mujibur Rahman told The Island.

Rahman asserted that the Deputy Defence Minister’s declaration could be considered as the much anticipated breakthrough the NPP government expected. “We expect the CID to question the Deputy Minister on his claim,” Colombo District lawmaker said.

When The Island pointed out that accusations had been made against the DMI as well as one of its former heads the then Brigadier Suresh Sally regarding Easter Sunday carnage, MP Rahman emphasised that the latest allegation was made by a fellow retired senior officer who had served as the most senior officer in the East at that time extremists planned the attacks.

The government proscribed the National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) over the Easter carnage.

Pointing out that during the initial investigations the CID recorded Maj. Gen. Jayasekera’s statement regarding the Sainathamaruthu incident where 16 persons perished on April 26, 2019, lawmaker Rahman urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who holds the defence portfolio in addition to being the Commander-in-Chief of armed forces to move Maj. Gen. Jayasekera out of the Defence Ministry. “Let the Maj. Gen. be shifted to facilitate the investigation,” MP Rahman said, warning the NPP of dire consequences of its failure to restore public faith in the investigation.

Maj. Gen. Jayasekera of the Gemunu Watch served as Eastern Commander from Nov 24, 2018 to Oct. 14, 2019. Jayasekera retired four days later.

The CID would it difficult to probe the retired officer as long as he served as the Deputy Defence Minister, the MP said, adding that since the last presidential election conducted in Sept 2024, Jayasekera on six occasions functioned as the Acting Defence Minister during President Dissanayake’s foreign visits.

If Maj. Gen. Jayaskera hadn’t told the CID of the alleged DMI link to Easter Sunday carnage when he was questioned in 2019, it would be of pivotal importance to establish actually when got to know about the conspiracy, MP Rahman said.

The NPP accommodated Maj. Gen. Jayasekera on its National List in recognition for his contribution to their parliamentary and presidential election campaigns last year.

MP Rahman said that retired Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne and retired SSP Shani Abeysekera who had been assigned to the CID at the time of Easter Sunday carnage were brought back by the NPP to serve as Secretary Public Security Ministry and Director, CID, respectively.

Recalling Leader of the House Minister Bimal Rathnayake disclosed that they were brought back on a request made by the Archbishop of Colombo Rt. Rev. Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, a claim swiftly denied by the Catholic Church, MP Rahman questioned whether lapses on the part of Seneviratne and Abeysekera, too, contributed to the overall security failure. Like Jayasekera, Senevirathna and Abeysekera, too, campaigned for the NPP, the SJB spokesman said.

Referring to a recent statement attributed to Rev. Cyril Gamini Fernando, the spokesman for the Catholic Church, lawmaker Rahman said that the priest is on record as having said that Maj. Gen. Jayasekera’s continuation as the Deputy Defence Minister could undermine the credibility of the investigations. The Church has expressed the belief that the government makes an appropriate decision on the issue at hand.

Lawmaker Rahman said that the NPP was yet to explain the circumstances how JVP National List nominee at the 2015 parliamentary elections wealthy spice merchant Mohamed Yusuf Ibrahim’s two sons turned out to be NTJ suicide bombers. One of them attacked Cinnamon Grand while the other blasted himself alongside alleged ringleader Sahran Hashim at Shangri-la.MP Rahman said that the NPP was in a bind. The top leadership was obviously struggling to cope up with the situation as difficulties mount on the other fronts, the MP said.

By Shamindra Ferdinando ✍️

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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Kurunegala and Ratnapura

Published

2 mins ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued Landslide Early Warnings to the Districts of Kurunegala and Ratnapura effective from 16:00 hrs on 23.04.2026 To 16:00 hrs on 24.04.2026

Accordingly,

Level 1 landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Rideegama in the Kurunegala district and Kuruwita, Kalawana, Ratnapura, Nivithigala, Pelmadulla and Eheliyagoda in the Ratnapura district.

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and Ampara and Batticaloa districts

Published

2 hours ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
Issued at 12.00 noon 23 April 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 23 April 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:
The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
• Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
• Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
• Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
• Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
• For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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Compensation payments and reconstruction activities related to the Ditwah relief measures must be expedited with special attention at the district level – PM

Published

12 hours ago

2026/04/23

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasized that compensation payments and reconstruction activities related to the Ditwah relief measures must be expedited with special attention at the district level. She further stated that all necessary allocations have already been made to Provincial Councils and instructed that the progress of disaster damage assessments and reconstruction efforts be closely monitored at the provincial level.

The Prime Minister made these remarks at a discussion held on Tuesday (21) at Temple Trees under her patronage, aimed at informing Chairpersons of District Coordination Committees and public representatives from disaster-affected districts, in order to accelerate the implementation of the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” programme. The discussion focused on expediting disaster relief and compensation payments, as well as the swift restoration of infrastructure damaged by the disaster.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Rs. 500 billion has been allocated for damages caused by the Ditwah cyclone, and that all relevant development activities must be completed before the end of 2026. The Prime Minister also instructed officials to pay special attention to resolving issues at the local level that are causing delays in compensation payments.

Senior Additional Secretary to the President, G.M.R.D. Aponsu, stated that the estimated cost for reconstruction following the Ditwah cyclone is approximately USD 3.4 billion. Accordingly, funds have been allocated for compensation across several sectors including housing and social infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, fisheries, industry and livelihoods, and irrigation. He further noted that 99% of the Rs. 25,000 allowance has already been disbursed, while 95% of the Rs. 50,000 resettlement allowance has been paid. Compensation for fully and partially damaged houses is still ongoing, and 99% of temporary relief centres have been closed.

Additionally, attention was drawn to several other measures, including providing Rs. 25,000 to affected schoolchildren, paying Rs. 1 million as compensation for each deceased individual, compensation for children who lost one or both parents, support for persons with disabilities affected by the disaster, compensation for agricultural losses, and expediting resettlement of displaced families. Measures such as allocating land for new housing construction and accelerating the issuance of reports from the National Building Research Organization were also discussed.

Focus was also placed on the reconstruction of affected schools, hospitals, and daycare centres, improving the accuracy and speed of data collection at the local level, and accelerating infrastructure development.

The event was attended by Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna, Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government Dr. Chandana Abayarathna, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne, Deputy Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperatives R.M. Jayawardena, Deputy Minister of Education Dr. Madhura Senevirathna, Members of Parliament, Chairpersons of District Coordination Committees, Chief of Staff to the President and Commissioner General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi, Additional Secretary to the President Jayantha Bandara; and officials of the Prime Minister’s Office.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]