News

Hakeem points to sinister side in govt’s Rehabilitation Bill

Published

3 years ago

2023/01/19

By Saman Indrajith

SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem said yesterday that the Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill had been drafted in such a manner as to enable the government to detain those who went against its political agenda.

Participating in the second reading stage debate on the Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill, Hakim said the government had indicated its intentions to abuse this law meant for rehabilitation against the people who would not toe the government’s line.

“The cat jumped out of the bag when some government MPs spoke of their intention to pass this law. This bill has been determined unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In the recent history of this country, the Supreme Court has not determined a bill was unconstitutional in its entirety, other than this. When the bill was drafted some defence ministry persons had inserted certain sections to the bill to enable vague interpretation of the law to take in and detain persons in the name of rehabilitation whether these persons are drug addicts or not.

“Globally, including in Sri Lanka, it has been identified that the compulsory rehabilitation is counterproductive when it comes to drug rehabilitation. The rehabilitation of drug addicts should be done by the medical personnel, but here the new law provides for the military to rehabilitate them. Where in the world are drug addicts rehabilitated by the military? We pointed out these factors at the consultative committee stage and asked the committee not to rush into passing this without rectifying these discrepancies. There seems to be some haste by the government to pass this law.

“Substance abuse is a rampant problem in this country. This has to be addressed by a curative process not through a punitive process. This cannot be done by compulsory rehabilitation. How many times people who had been sent to Kandakadu and Senapura centres for rehabilitation, broke away and ran out. It is because the torture that takes place there and the hard labour that they are subjected to. The military personnel who run these centres are sometimes so insensitive and apply various punitive measures. That has to be regulated.”

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SAARC journalists meet in New Delhi

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

President of SJF Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi hands over a memento to Dr Alok Kumar Mishra Joint Secretary of the Association of Indian Universities

Members of the South Asian Journalists Forum have gathered at the University of New Delhi for a two day conference themed ‘Peace and Co-operation’.

Journalists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are attending the conference hosted by the University of Delhi in collaboration with the India Chapter of SJF, and will deliberate on how the media can act as a catalyst for regional stability and mutual coexsistence.

A tree plantation campaign was also held at the Ghandi Bhawan premises of the University to mark the event and symbolize growing regional ties.

The Sri Lanka delegation is led by President of SJF’s Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi.

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Governor of Gujarat met with Sri Lanka PM to discuss exposition of Devnimori Relics

Published

10 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

The Governor of the of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Thursdy [February 05] at the Parliamentary Complex to discuss the arrangements related to the exposition of the Devnimori Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought to Sri Lanka under the patronage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.

These sacred relics of Lord Buddha were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Until now, these relics had never been taken outside India. As a result of discussions held between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka have been granted this rare opportunity to venerate these sacred relics.

The exposition of the relics is being held for a period of seven days, from February 05 to February 11, at the Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo. Discussions were held between both parties regarding the arrangements related to this event.

The discussion was attended by Samar Nanda, Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture; Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka; Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation; along with several others.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

News

INS GHARIAL makes port call in Colombo

Published

17 hours ago

2026/02/6

Priyan

The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL made a port call in Colombo for operational turnarounds on 04 Feb 26. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions.

Commanded by Commander Gaurav Tewari, INS GHARIAL is a vessel with a length of 124.8 meters.

During this visit, ten (10) Bailey Bridges, brought by ship, through the coordination of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, will be handed over to the Disaster Management Center. These bridges will provide temporary transportation links while bridges damaged across the island by adverse weather conditions are repaired.

The crew’s itinerary features scheduled goodwill activities with the Sri Lanka Navy, alongside visits to several tourist attractions across the island.