News
Govt. delegation yet to leave for Moscow, absence of Ambassador worrisome
Lankan soldiers of fortune ‘trapped’ on Russia-Ukrainian front:
By Shamindra Ferdinando
A high level delegation that included Secretary Defence Gen. (retd.) Kamal Gunaratne is yet to leave for Moscow two weeks after the government announced the move in response to growing reports of ex-Sri Lankan military personnel taking up assignments with the Russian military.
State Foreign Affairs Minister Tharaka Balasuriya on Monday (27) said that they were awaiting the required appointments. The lawmaker said so in response to The Island query.
State Minister Balasuriya told a media briefing at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC), on May 16, that instructions were received from President Ranil Wickremesinghe to dispatch a team comprising the Defence Secretary, a Foreign Ministry official and a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Moscow to look into the matter.
The State Minister estimated the number of Lankan ex-servicemen there between 600 and 800.
State Defence Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon told the PMC briefing on the previous day, the ex-servicemen taking up mercenary role had been discussed at the National Security Council chaired by President Wickremesinghe.
Sources asserted that the absence of a Lankan Ambassador in Moscow since May Day couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Professor Janitha A. Liyanage, who had been on her third extension, left Moscow in the last week of April, sources said, adding that the Ambassador’s responsibilities were placed on a relatively junior career diplomat.
The Island learns that Ambassador Liyanage had received three extensions beginning Oct last year after Russia declined to accept Sri Lanka’s nominee and subsequent move to appoint a career diplomat, too, didn’t materialize, as she declared her inability to take up the challenging appointment.
Prof. Liyanage succeeded Prof. M.D. Lamawansa in Oct 2021 after the latter requested to return to Sri Lanka to assume duties as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Peradeniya. Lamawansa had been President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s first choice as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Moscow. He took up the appointment in January 2020 with a concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Moldova and Republic of Uzbekistan.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry, following consultations with relevant authorities, has decided to send a retired senior career foreign service officer to Moscow as Charge d’affairs. Sources said that an experienced officer was needed, especially against the backdrop of ex-servicemen joining the Russian military. Several of those personnel had been killed and scores believed to be wounded in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with families of the ex-military making representations to the Russian Embassy in Colombo as well as the UN in this regard.
Sources asserted that the delegation, led by Secretary Defence, would go ahead with the planned visit in spite of the appointment of a Charge d’affaires in place of a full time Ambassador.
Others said that the ex-servicemen’s issue could have been addressed successfully much earlier if the government took tangible measures immediately after the media disclosed the secret route to the Ukrainian front. Russia sent in the Army in February 2022 after repeated Ukrainian provocations.
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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kalutara, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura
The National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide early warnings to the districts of Kalutara, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura effective from 0400hrs on 12th June 2026 to 0400hrs on 13th June 2026
Accordingly,
LEVEL I [YELLOW] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Palindanuwara in the Kalutara district, Doluwa in the Kandy district, Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ayagama, Ratnapura, Godakawela, Kalawana and Nivitigala in the Ratnapura district
News
Wife, counsel seek regular access to ex-Spy Chief Sallay held under President’s detention order
Wife of former State Intelligence Chief Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Suresh Sallay has asked CID Director retired SSP Shani Abeysekera to allow her, her family members and lawyers to visit her husband in the National Hospital, Colombo. Sallay’s counsel has also written to Abeysekera, asking for permission to visit the former spy held on a detention order signed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The text of Manori’s letter: “I respectfully request your assistance in granting me, and my daughter or alternatively my son, permission to visit my husband, Rtd. Major General Suresh Sallay, who is currently at the National Hospital, Colombo.
“As you are aware, my husband is presently engaged in a fast-unto-death campaign. His physical condition and emotional well-being are of deep concern to our family. During this difficult period, the presence and support of his immediate family are extremely important to him.
“I firmly believe that regular visits from me with our daughter or our son would help uplift his spirits, provide him with much-needed emotional strength, and may encourage him to reconsider continuing this course of action. Family support can play a vital role in preserving his mental and emotional health while he remains hospitalised.
“In view of these exceptional circumstances, I kindly request that permission be granted for either me and my daughter or my son to visit him daily during the period of his hospitalisation.
“I would be most grateful for your compassionate consideration of this request.”
“The text of the counsel’s letter: “I write in my capacity as Counsel for Rtd. Major General Suresh Sallay, who is presently under detention and admitted to the National Hospital, Colombo.
As you are aware, Major General Sallay has embarked on a fast-unto-death campaign, giving rise to serious concerns regarding his physical and mental well-being. In these circumstances, it is imperative that I be granted reasonable and regular access to my client during his hospitalisation.
As his legal representative, I have a professional obligation to monitor his condition and obtain instructions from him so that I may accurately apprise the relevant courts of his health status and any developments affecting his rights and welfare. Effective legal representation requires continuous communication with my client, particularly in light of the grave circumstances presently confronting him.
I also wish to respectfully highlight that Major General Sallay has placed explicit trust and confidence in me as his counsel. Indeed, I was the first person he contacted following his arrest.
Given the trust he reposes in me, I believe I am uniquely positioned to engage with him constructively and persuade him to discontinue this campaign and instead place his confidence in the legal remedies and judicial processes available to him.
For these reasons, I respectfully request that I be granted permission to visit my client on a daily basis during the period of his hospitalization.
Such access would not only facilitate the discharge of my professional responsibilities but may also contribute meaningfully towards safeguarding his health and encouraging a resolution through lawful and institutional means.
News
CIABOC summons Yoshitha over his participation in British Navy training programme
Yoshitha Rajapaksa, who served as a Lieutenant in the Sri Lanka Navy, has now been summoned to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption next Tuesday (16) for questioning over his participation in a Royal Navy training programme in the United Kingdom outside established procedures.
The Commission is expected to record statements in relation to several complaints received regarding his recruitment and subsequent service in the Navy after he enlisted on December 14, 2006.
According to sources, the investigation focuses on allegations concerning the educational qualifications considered at the time of his enlistment, as well as foreign training opportunities he is said to have received while in service, which are suspected to have been granted in violation of due process.
The Bribery Commission has launched the inquiry under the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act, officials said.
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