The Prime Minister stated that the President has challenged all ministers to transparently and efficiently spend the funds allocated to each ministry through the national budget for the benefit of the people, and that the local governments and municipal councils have historically been the nursery grounds of corrupt politics.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing a public gathering held at the Raffles Hotel in Kotte on Tuesday [April 22].

The Prime Minister further stated:

“All 159 of us in Parliament today did not enter through family or financial influence. We are ordinary citizens just like you and individuals who stand among you. Unlike in the past, our members do not behave disruptively in Parliament. When school children visit, there is no need for the Speaker to request their removal that our parliamentary members conduct themselves with dignity, adherence to the law, and political maturity.

This is the kind of Parliament we have always aspired to have. Today, it is you who has made this transformation possible. For a long time, we have not experienced the advantages of an efficient and properly functioning local government. You now have the opportunity to elect representatives who are truly committed to serving you and improving your local institutions.

The event was attended by Arosh Athapaththu, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Municipal Council candidate representing the National People’s Power, along with several other candidates and a large number of local residents.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, stated that the UAE will prioritize the promotion of the energy, tourism, foreign investment and foreign employment sectors while further strengthening its longstanding ties with Sri Lanka.

The Deputy Prime Minister who is currently on an official visit to Sri Lanka accompanied by a high-level UAE delegation made these remarks during a meeting with President Anura Kumara Disanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday (22).

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that this visit aims to further strengthen and expand the strong and longstanding bilateral relations between the two nations, with a focus on achieving mutual economic benefits through deepened cooperation for both countries.

Extending his best wishes on behalf of the UAE and its people to the new administration of Sri Lanka, the Deputy Prime Minister assured the UAE’s full support for the new government’s development agenda.  Furthermore, he praised President Anura Kumara Disanayake’s dedication, efforts and commitment toward rebuilding Sri Lanka, as well as his positive approach toward relations with the UAE.

In response, President Anura Kumara Disanayake emphasized that Sri Lanka has now established an investment-friendly environment. He assured that unlike in the past, the country would not allow the re-emergence of an unstable climate that discouraged investment. The President also stressed that there are now strong legal frameworks in place to protect investments.  The President also briefed the delegation on the government’s steps toward debt restructuring and achieving economic stability. Additionally, he outlined investment opportunities available in port terminal development, port city development, the tourism industry, the energy sector and transportation sector.

President Disanayake further emphasized that the new government’s objective is to position Sri Lanka as the region’s leading investment hub and premier tourist destination.

Among those present at the meeting were Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, Minister of State (UAE) Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh; UAE Ambassador to Sri Lanka. Khaled Nasser Al Ameri, Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs (UAE) . Saeed Mubarak Al Hajeri, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability Affairs (UAE)  Abdulla Balalaa, Deputy Chief of Staff at the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the UAE, Ahmed Burhaima, Director of the Policy Planning Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UAE) Muath Alwari, Senior Media and Content Specialist at the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (UAE) Maitha Al Mansouri, Desk Officer for Asian Affairs and Pacific Department (UAE) Ms. Huda Al Abdali and several other officials.

[PMD]

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Former Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, yesterday (22) said that a genuine effort should be made to ascertain why the first warning regarding Sri Lankan extremists’ direct link with ISIS was ignored by Parliament.

“Those who are harping on Easter Sunday masterminds and grand conspiracies have conveniently forgotten that the alleged link was exposed in Parliament on Nov, 18, 2016, by me in my then capacity as Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister,” Dr Rajapakshe said .

The one-time President of the Bar Association said that he had made that declaration after confirming the developing situation with the then head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI).

Dr. Rajapakshe said that “instead of immediately launching an investigation, the Yahapalana government targeted me.” The former Minister named the then Cabinet spokesman Dr. Rajitha Senarathna as one of the culprits who had publicly dismissed the warning he had issued in Parliament.

“The truth is the top Yahapalana leadership, particularly Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe, lacked the courage to go ahead with an investigation as almost all Muslim MPs, irrespective of the parties they represented, demanded my removal from the Cabinet-of-Ministers,” the ex-MP said.

The former Minister said that his disclosure in Parliament, regarding a group of 32 Muslims, from four affluent families, joining ISIS, also contributed to his removal from Cabinet in late August 2017 after he opposed handing over of the Hambantota Port to China, on a 99-year lease, for USD 1.2 bn.

Rajapakshe alleged that he hadn’t received the backing of any MP though, at one point, John Seneviratne, who represented the Joint Opposition at the Constitutional Council, agreed with him the developing extremist threat was such that Pujith Jayasundera was incapable of handling the situation.

The former lawmaker said that he opposed Jayasundera’s appointment as the IGP, made in April 2016, even before his explosive revelation in Parliament, as the extremist threat was growing.

The President’s Counsel said that following his disclosure in Parliament, the then President called for a briefing from the then Director of State Intelligence Service (SIS) DIG Nilantha Jayawardena. “I was also present at the National Security Council meeting when the SIS Chief declared that there was no basis for my warning. Obviously the President and the Premier accepted the SIS Chief’s assertion.”

The former Minister said that the ongoing Easter Sunday cases, numbering over 40, could be undermined if the powers that be played politics with the issues at hand.

During P CoI proceedings, the inquiry had been told that the police sought the Attorney General’s Department advice regarding Zahran Hashim’s activities, particularly in the East, in June 2017, but the matter was never addressed till the Easter Sunday blasts in April 2017, the ex-MP said.

If police perused media reports, since the disclosure made in Parliament in Nov. 2016, those who opposed the ISIS exposure could be easily identified, he said.

Could the NPP government explain the circumstances the father of two of the seven suicide bombers had been included in its National List at the 2015 general election? the former Minister asked.

Former AG Dappula de Livera, PC, too, should explain why he refused to cooperate with the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) after having called the Easter Sunday attacks a grand conspiracy on the eve of his retirement on May 24, 2021, the former Minister said. “I wanted the police to record his statement as his claim threatened to undermine the entire investigation,” the ex-Minister said, adding that the Easter Sunday carnage could have been averted if major political parties and groups adopted a common stand against extremism.

Rajapakshe pointed out that even after the detection of explosives at Wanathawilluwa, in mid 2019, the Yahapalana government continued to shield extremist elements.