News

Don’t fiddle like Nero as country plunges into a precipice: Karu J

Published

4 years ago

2021/04/4

(Excerpted from remarks made by the Chairman of the National Movement for Social Justice Karu Jayasuriya at a press conference held at the Janaki Hotel, Colombo on April 1)

If there is any harm or humiliation to our country, it is the real Sri Lankans who suffer the most. That is why we feel great pain when we see what is happening in the country today. But unfortunately, as our country is rapidly descending into a precipice today, all those responsible are playing the fiddle as Nero did when Rome was burning to the ground. Therefore, we urge them at this juncture to open their eyes and look at this great tragedy that is befalling us and not sacrifice the people of the country at the altar of greed for power and wealth. We call for the country to be saved from this ongoing catastrophe with the support of all parties. That is the plea we are making here today.

Our difficulties today are not only within the country; we are in serious trouble internationally too. The resolution on Sri Lanka passed recently at the UNHRC in Geneva makes this clear. Various views on this are being expressed by the government today. Veteran diplomats have a different view and they have expressed it publicly. Opposition political groups are also analyzing the situation and presenting their own viewpoint. But have the rulers of this country correctly understood the seriousness of the problem we face today? Have we managed to preserve the image, honor and dignity of our country?

We are not saying all this wearing tinted glasses. We conducted an in-depth investigation into the possible consequences of the Geneva resolution and also sought advice from international relations experts including eminent diplomats who have served our country in the foreign service. When we look at all that in depth and without bias, we can very clearly say that those responsible have completely failed us. This failure has been displayed not only within the country but also internationally as well. If that process continues at UNHRC, our country could face serious difficulties. No matter what anyone says, this is the truth. In the end, its suffering will be on the backs of the people.

Why did we have to face such a fate in Geneva? The reason is very clear. It is due to our losing in recent times many of the friendly states that once stood up for us; not only in Asia but also in every part of the world there were many friendly nations that supported us. In the past all those countries respected Sri Lanka as a country that pursued non-aligned policies. But many of them have voted against us this time or abstained from voting. While this is hurtful, we have to understand what happened. We must understand the reality and act accordingly. In the modern world, no country can stand alone. We must always stand with our traditional allies.

There is also a further point that we reiterate as the National Movement for Social Justice – that is that the 20th Amendment was a major factor in weakening our country both nationally and internationally. Every institution that was required to act responsibly in the people’s interest has become a puppet of the rulers due to the 20th Amendment.

As a result, the respect of these institutions for democratic principles have eroded. That is why politicians in this country today have been able to shut down certain police units and transfer senior police officers at will. There is no point in running a Police Commission in such a background. Can free and fair elections be expected in a country where Commissions such as Elections, Public Service, Police and the Bribery Commission are run through political allies?

Will the public service be people-friendly? Will the police service function fairly? Will corruption and bribery be eradicated in such a country? Will there be an independent judiciary in a country that makes decisions above the courts especially on the basis of reports obtained using notorious individuals? This situation has contributed not only to the massive decay that is taking place in our country today but also to some of the issues that have been raised in Geneva.

Also, according to social surveys conducted, 81% of the people in this country do not approve of the 20th Amendment. The vast majority of religious leaders representing all religions in this country do not accept it and it must therefore be repealed if Sri Lanka is to be re-energized and democratized. We repeat this consistently. I hope that the government will pay attention.

Another unfortunate incident reported this week was the discovery of toxic coconut oil. The people of this country became aware of this thanks to the media. It does not appear that the law is being enforced against those responsible. Re-exporting coconut oil containing this toxin is not the only solution. The law should be enforced against those who exposed the people to this risk and tried to make money out of it. Such national crimes are not possible without the complicity of politicians and officials who call the shots.

There are reports of large scale corruption and fraud, including the sugar scam. COPE, the Finance Committee and the Treasury have acknowledged irregularities in sugar imports. A thorough investigation is essential and this has been suggested to the President on several occasions. In fact, the sugar fraud is bigger than the Central Bank fraud. At least the money in the bank accounts of the accused in the Central Bank fraud has been seized; but what was embezzled in the sugar fraud is already in the pockets of the fraudsters. The country needs only 650,000 tons of sugar annually with about 50,000 tons produced locally. Today the international price of a ton is around $ 465. Accordingly a kilo of sugar should be around Rs. 96. If our requirement is 50,000 tons per month, why did we import hundreds of thousands of tons and waste our foreign exchange during this difficult time? These are matters that need the attention of the Treasury.

One more shameful occurrence must be highlighted. In the 1980s, sugar companies like Hingurana, Kantale, Sevanagala and Pelawatta produced more sugar than they do today. What does that mean? The beautiful country situation painted by politicians today does not exist. High sugar production then was due to the Sugar Importers’ Association, the Sugar Producers’ Association, the Treasury and the Ministry of Trade working in harmony in the national interest. These matters must be brought to the attention of the authorities. It is still not too late to take necessary action.

Today there is a growing interest in environmental destruction in the country. In addition to environmentalists, we see the interest shown by various sections of society as a good omen for the future. Above all, we are happy that school children and young people are enthused on this subject and their commitment is truly fantastic.

But has the government paid proper attention to this subject? Recently, the media quoted the President saying that government officials are responsible for protecting the environment drawing attention to the problem. We must tell the President that there is a powerful political hand behind a lot of environmental degradations. As a result, many government officials, including Government Agents and Divisional Secretaries, are helpless. They have told us about this. If we are to stop this massive destruction, the political pressure exerted on public officials must be stopped. The President can do that.

These are not just our own ideas. We are saying what the majority of the people want. We raise our voices, with no subversive motive, on the basis of confirmed facts adding our own voice to that of the common people. We say this with the utmost sincerity and the responsible authorities must understand that. The country’s future depends on that and we hope that the necessary attention will be paid to these matters.

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News

34 new projects under “Clean Sri Lanka” programme this year

Published

5 hours ago

2025/04/11

Priyan

Under the guidance of President Anura Kumara Disanayake, the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme, implemented as a key government initiative is set to launch 34 new projects this year, and work on many of these projects is scheduled to commence by the end of this April.

In line with this, a one-day workshop was held on Thursday (10) at the “Clean Sri Lanka” Secretariat located in the Lotus Building at the Temple Trees, under the leadership of Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake. The workshop provided technical guidance on preparing project proposals in accordance with the formats required by the Department of National Planning for submission and approval.

The “Clean Sri Lanka” programme aims to foster social, environmental and ethical transformation across the country, with the active participation of all stakeholders. A sum of Rs. 5 billion has been allocated from this year’s national budget for its implementation.

Once the Department of National Planning grants approval for the proposed projects, detailed action plans will be developed in line with prescribed formats. It was agreed that projects deemed ready for implementation will commence before the end of April.

During the workshop, Secretary to the President outlined the government’s expectations and the intended outcomes of the “Clean Sri Lanka” programme.

Senior officials representing the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Ministry of Health and Mass Media, Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation, Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation, Ministry of Digital Economy, Ministry of Urban Development, Construction and Housing, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, Sri Lanka Police, and the Western Provincial Council were in attendance.

Also present were Engineer S.P.C. Sugeeshwara, Additional Secretary to the President (Clean Sri Lanka Programme) and G.M.R.D. Aponsu, Senior Additional Secretary to the President (Finance and Economic Affairs), along with other senior officials.

[PMD]

News

Financial assistance of USD 01 Million for the Disaster-Affected People of Myanmar

Published

5 hours ago

2025/04/11

Priyan

The Government of Sri Lanka has extended financial assistance amounting to USD 01 Million to provide relief to the people of Myanmar affected by the recent earthquake.

The relevant cheque was officially handed over by the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, to the Ambassador of Myanmar to Sri Lanka, Marlar Than Htaik.on Thursday (10) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Despite the prevailing economic challenges in Sri Lanka, the Ambassador of Myanmar expressed her deep appreciation to President Anura Kumara Disanayake and the Government of Sri Lanka for this gesture of solidarity and support towards the disaster-stricken people of Myanmar.

Furthermore, the Ambassador extended her gratitude for Sri Lanka’s decision to deploy relief teams and medical personnel during this difficult time. She also noted that such acts of compassion further strengthen the longstanding religious and cultural friendship between Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

The Ambassador also briefed the Secretary to the President on the current situation in Myanmar following the earthquake.

Senior Additional Secretary to the President, Roshan Gamage, along with officials from the Embassy of Myanmar, Winh Wint Khaus Tun and Ms. Lei Yi Win, were also present at this occasion.

[PMD]

News

Indo-Lanka MoUs unlikely to be tabled in Parliament any time soon

Published

16 hours ago

2025/04/11

Thilina Walpola

Ali Sabry

…of seven SOCs only one constituted so far

Sri Lanka’s controversial MoU on Defence Cooperation with India was unlikely to be taken up any time soon in Parliament in spite of the House Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection that has been assigned defence, authoritative sources told The Island.

Of the seven SOCs only one was activated with the recent election of Dr. Najith Indika, MP, as the Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice, and Civil Protection of the Tenth Parliament.

The inaugural meeting of the current parliament was held on 21 Nov., 2024.

Sources said that the parliament had met for the last time yesterday (10) before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holiday. It is scheduled to meet again on May 8.

The UNDP that has financially backed the establishment of the SOC system to help strengthen the role of the parliament recently reached a consensus with the government to reduce the number of SCOCs from 17 to seven. The Island, in writing, asked for the UNDP’s reaction to the operation of SOCs but had not received a response at the time this edition went to press.

The SOCs have the power to examine any Bill, except the Bills defined in Article 152 of the Constitution, Treaty, Reports including the Annual and Performance Reports relating to the institutions coming under its purview or any other matter referred to the Committee by Parliament or any Committee or a Minister relating to the subjects and functions within their jurisdiction.

Sources said that out of the seven SOCs only one had been activated during the past five months though the government and the Opposition agreed to share the leadership of them.

Accordingly, it was agreed that the government would appoint chairpersons to four SOCs –– Economic Development and International Relations, Health, Media and Women’s Empowerment, Science, Technology and Digital Transformation and Governance, Justice and Civil Protection .

It was also agreed that the Opposition would appoint chairpersons to the SOCs on Infrastructure and Strategic Development, Education, Manpower and Human Capital, and Environment, Agriculture and Resource Sustainability to the Opposition.

India and Sri Lanka on April 5 signed six MoUs on HVDC interconnection for import/export of power, cooperation in the field of sharing successful digital solutions implemented at population scale for digital transformation, defence cooperation, multi sectoral grant assistance for Eastern province, health and medicine and pharmacopoeia cooperation. In addition to them, India, Sri Lanka and UAE signed a tripartite MoU cooperation in development of Trincomalee as an energy hub.

The Island asked Ali Sabry, PC, who served as foreign minister during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenure as the President (July 2022 to Sept 2024) whether the seven MoUs had been discussed during that period. We also asked him whether those MoUs should have been discussed at SOCs before finalisation.

Sabry said: “Most of the MOU to my knowledge were discussed except the one on Defence Cooperation, which I am unaware of. General procedure is the relevant line ministry prepares the initial draft and gets the input from the Foreign Ministry and goes for stakeholder consultation of all ministries and agencies involved. Then the President’s Office grants its sanction and with the approval of the AG, it goes before the cabinet of ministers. With Cabinet approval, the government could sign the MOU.”

Sabry said that he was of the opinion that once the government signed a particular MoU, it should be placed before the parliament. “MOU’s are generally not legally binding and only signify the desire to work together. If the signed MoUs were to be implemented, then they have to be followed by agreements or laws.”

He emphasised the pivotal importance of transparency in the whole process. The ex-minister said: “I think transparency is crucial in these matters. Concealment leads to speculation and assumption of the worst. The MOUs should be tabled in Parliament for public information. Discussion at the relevant SOCs would have been helpful. There are growing fears fueled by lack of information in the public domain. This is a private comment, not to be attributed to me.

Asked whether MoUs, particularly the ones on defence and energy had to be approved by the Attorney General, the former minister said that the AG has to advise the MoUs compatibility with the Constitution. “But Article 157 of the Constitution does not apply; the 2/3 majority stipulated there envisages only investment treaties.” Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath assured Parliament on April 8 that the AG had cleared all seven MoUs and none of them were inimical to the country.

By Shamindra Ferdinando