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FUTA on appointment of new IGP

Published

4 years ago

2023/03/22

Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) in a statement issued to the media yesterday said that the new IGP should be someone who believes that the Police serve the people and not the government or its minions.

The statement under the title ‘Appointment of the Inspector General of Police’ signed by FUTA General Secretary Rohan Laksiri said that FUTA reminds “the President and the Constitutional Council that any attempt to subvert the prescribed process and to appoint a person who does not have a clear and untarnished record, will only further erode the diminished public confidence in the Police, and this in turn will inevitably lead to further loss of faith in the rule of law.”

Full text of the statement: “The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) expresses its deep concern regarding both the process and criteria of selection of the new Inspector General of Police (IGP), who will be appointed with effect from 23 March 2023, as well as the potential subversion of the constitutional process for partisan gain in relation to this appointment. FUTA joins other professional bodies such as the Bar Association of Sri Lanka in reiterating that the relevant constitutional provisions should be followed to the letter and spirit in order to ensure the legality and credibility of the head of the Police Department in Sri Lanka. We trust that we need not remind both the Executive President (who is required by Article 41C of the Constitution to recommend a suitable candidate for the post of IGP) and the Constitutional Council (whose approval is required for appointment) the extent to which the conduct of the police impacts on public life.

“At the outset, FUTA emphasizes the clear necessity that the next Inspector General of Police be an officer whose service in the Police has been exemplary, and who has been selected through the transparent procedure anticipated by the relevant constitutional provisions. The nomination and appointment of a misfit to the position will surely lead to the people questioning the legitimacy of the Constitutional Council (especially of those representing civil society) itself and further deepen the existing distrust of the Government.

“FUTA emphasizes that it is imperative that prospective candidates for this crucial position should not have ongoing criminal or fundamental rights cases against them in the Sri Lankan courts. Nor should they have any serious blemishes in their service record. They should not be identified with any particular political dispensation or regime. In a context where the Police is already tarnished by its recent record of partisanship, violence and repression of legitimate public dissent, it is all the more important that the new IGP should not be seen as a lackey of the current or previous government. We call on the Constitutional Council to publicize the criteria used to approve the nominee of the President to the post. The people have a right to know.

“It is widely accepted that the conduct of the Police in stifling free expression and legitimate protests during the last year is unconstitutional and totally unacceptable. FUTA has special cause for concern in this respect because of the March 7 and 8, 2023 incidents, in which university premises were invaded by the Police using excessive, even brute, force and allegedly deploying para-military goons. At this critical juncture, the country needs a head of the Police who is thoroughly professional, impartial and respectful of the fundamental rights of its citizens. The new IGP should be someone who believes that the Police serve the people and not the Government or its minions.

“In this overarching context, FUTA reminds the President and the Constitutional Council that any attempt to subvert the prescribed process and to appoint a person who does not have a clear and untarnished record, will only further erode the diminished public confidence in the Police, and this in turn will inevitably lead to further loss of faith in the rule of law. Sri Lanka cannot now, more than ever before, afford to disregard the people’s demand for transparency, accountability and humanity in its Police force, if the country is to emerge from the multiple crises it is facing at present.”

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Ranawaka accuses govt. of using JVP cadres and police to suppress political opponents

Published

7 hours ago

2026/10/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

… reminds AKD led over 560 protests during Yahapalanaya

Former Yahapalana Minister and United Republican Front (URF) leader Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday (19) alleged that the JVP, which carried out over 560 protests during the 2015-2019 period, was now bent on preventing the Opposition from exercising its democratic right to protest.

Recalling the declaration made by the JVP at the height of the violent protest campaign in July 2022 that it would set the Parliament ablaze, the former parliamentarian lashed out at the JVP-led administration for using the police excessively to curb political opposition. Ranawaka said this while addressing the media at the former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office .

Commenting on the protest campaign launched by the Maha Sangha, demanding presidential pardon for General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Ven. Galagotaatte Gnanasara, the ex-Colombo District lawmaker alleged that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake used a combination of police, investigative units and JVP cadres to break up the monks’ protest. The government went to the extent of compelling the JVP/NPP-run Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) to deprive the peaceful protesters of basic toilet facilities, he alleged.

The government’s actions proved that only those with prior approval from JVP Pelawatte headquarters could launch protests in Colombo, its suburbs or in the provinces. The police have become a political tool in the hands of the JVP, the ex-Minister said. (SF)

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Six killed as speeding bulker crashes into vehicles, shop in Akurana

Published

7 hours ago

2026/10/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

By SK Samaranayake

Six people were killed and seven others injured when a speeding bulker lorry carrying cement and concrete ploughed into several vehicles and a shop on the Kandy-Jaffna A9 road at Kurugoda, Akurana, yesterday (19).

Four of the victims, two women and two men, died on the spot in the accident which occurred around 10.30 am, according to Alawathugoda Police.

Police said the bulker, travelling at high speed from the Matale direction, collided with three three-wheelers, two motorcycles and two lorries before veering off the road and crashing into a commercial establishment.

Five of the injured were rushed to the National Hospital of Kandy, where hospital sources said two remained in critical condition.

The bodies of the four victims were placed at the Akurana Hospital, where two others, who suffered minor injuries, were also receiving treatment.

The driver of the bulker was arrested by the Alawathugoda Police Traffic Division and is to be produced before court.

Investigations are being conducted under the supervision of Central Province Senior DIG Lalith Pathinayake.

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Prof. Peiris, summoned by CIABOC, appeals for Ven. Gnanasara’s release

Published

7 hours ago

2026/10/20

Sahan Weerasooriya

G.L. Peiris

By Shamindra Ferdinando

owledging that there had been an administrative lapse on the part of the President’s Office in 2019 when Maithripala Sirisena granted presidential pardon to Ven. Gnanasara Thera, Convener of Janathawadi Joint Opposition Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday (19) urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to rectify whatever those shortcomings and release the General Secretary of Bodu Bala Sena.

Addressing the media at the former President Ranil Wickrekmesinghe’s Flower Road Office, Prof. Peiris emphasized that it was not fair to hold Ven. Gnanasara accountable for lapse or technical fault of others at the Presidential Secretariat during President Sirisena’s tenure.

Prof. Peiris was flanked by UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena and United Republican Front (URF) leader Patali Champika Ranawaka.

The fresh appeal was made on behalf of Ven. Gnanasara in the wake of President Dissanayake and JVP heavyweight Anura Kumara Dissanayake ruling out fresh presidential pardon for the monk. Minister Lal Kantha declared that the government couldn’t under any circumstances meet the continuing monks’ protest demanding Ven. Gnanasara’s release. President Dissanayake dismissed repeated appeals for Ven. Gnanasara’s release when he addressed the NPP really in Badulla.

Sirisena granted presidential pardon in May 2019 even before he completed a year of his six-year term of rigorous imprisonment for contempt of court during proceedings of the media personality Prageeth Ekneligoda’s 2010 January disappearance in the Homagama Magistrate’s court.

At the onset of the regular weekly briefing, Prof. Peiris said that he would report to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) today (20) morning as requested by the commission. “The CIABOC wanted to record my statement regarding a meeting I chaired at the ministry after the conclusion of the war in 2009 pertaining to an ongoing investigation.”

Commenting further on the imprisonment of Ven. Gnanasara, the former parliamentarian said that President Sirisena intervened following a spate of requests made on behalf of BBS General Secretary by the Mahanayakes, Anunayakes and other Maha Sangha.

The Supreme Court on 10 September, 2026 rescinded the presidential pardon granted in late May 2019.