Connect with us

News

Lankan immigration on the hunt for Scotswoman who documented protests

Published

on

ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka’s Immigration and Emigration Department is attempting to track down Kayleigh Fraser, the Scotswoman who documented the country’s anti government protests.Fraser was ordered to leave the island on or before Monday August 15 after officials cancelled her visa. She and her lawyer had filed a writ petition against her deportation with the Supreme Court, which was dismissed on the grounds that she was not being deported, only had her visa cancelled.

“The learned State Council submits that the impugned document ‘X4’ is not a deportation order as claimed by the petitioner and she confirmed that no deportation order has been made up to date by the authorities against the petitioner,” a court document shared by Fraser said.

Immigration officials stated that the police and SSD were on the lookout for Fraser.

“Her visa was cancelled on August 15, so we are looking to put her in a detention camp until she can get a ticket to leave the country,” the official told EconomyNext, confirming that Fraser was not getting deported but that her visa was cancelled.

“Legally we cannot give her a grace period, but on a humanitarian basis, we can give her the time to get a ticket,” the official said.

Fraser had used her social media to share pictures and videos of the anti-government protests in front of the Presidential Secretariat, and has been vocal against state sanctioned violence against protestors.

“Given what I have witnessed here in Colombo – the chemical weapons attacks on protestors, the government instructing the military to beat and torture protestors, the arbitrary arrests and blackmailing of prominent faces from the protests, intimidation tactics and threats etc – I should not be surprised at what has happened today,” she said, speaking to the Daily Record, a Scottish tabloid.

There were no reports of chemical weapons being used against any protestors in Sri Lanka, and it is unclear whether Fraser was erroneously referring to tear gas which was used to disperse crowds.Fraser also called out media channels who she claimed had attempted to misrepresent peaceful protests as violent.

“It became very clear to me early on that this was not being reported. There was no international coverage on what was happening, and the media here were very much trying to say that it was violent, but that is the absolute opposite of what I saw,” she said over social media.

“What I saw was a beautiful union [of people] coming together in absolute unity. It was a beautiful movement and I’ve never seen anything like that in my life and that kept me coming back.”

However, Sri Lanka’s authorities maintain that the arrests so far have been legal and that violence did occur on the part of some protestors, though activists and some civil society groups disagree. On May 09, after supporters of then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa launched an unprovoked attack on peaceful protestors in Colombo, a wave of retaliatory mob-violence erupted across the country which saw the residences of some parliamentarians torched to the ground. One government MP was killed.

Authorities say many of the arrests so far have been of protestors who had violated court orders or had illegally occupied government buildings.Fraser continues to post on her social media.



Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest News

Expedite the cleaning of Colombo’s canals and drainage systems within the next two weeks – PM instructs officials

Published

on

By

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has instructed officials to expedite the cleaning of canals and drainage systems to ensure the proper flow of rainwater in anticipation of increased rainfall in the coming period. She directed that the cleaning work be completed within the next two weeks and continued regularly thereafter.
The Prime Minister made these remarks on Tuesday (13 October) while attending the Colombo District Coordinating Committee meeting held at the District Secretariat auditorium in Narahenpita.
During the meeting, officials from Divisional Secretariats, the Department of Agrarian Development and the Provincial Irrigation Department highlighted the challenges they face in cleaning drainage systems and canals. They also explained the difficulties arising from the shortage of technical officers and the preparation of plans and cost estimates. The District Coordinating Committee also reviewed the development programmes scheduled to be implemented in the Colombo District in 2026.
Officials presented details of projects under four key areas: rural road development, community empowerment, disaster management and the promotion of a sports culture. Accordingly, the 2026 Rural Road Development Programme is scheduled to be implemented in three phases. Under the first phase, road development activities will be carried out in the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Colombo, Thimbirigasyaya, Kotte, Homagama, Padukka and Kesbewa. The second phase will cover Kesbewa, Maharagama, Dehiwala, Ratmalana, Moratuwa and Kolonnawa. Officials also reported that several projects initiated in Thimbirigasyaya, Kolonnawa and Seethawaka under the 2025 programme have already been completed.
Under the national Praja Shakthi programme aimed at eradicating poverty, an allocation of Rs. 1,117.53 million has been made for 2026. Of this amount, Rs. 1,108 million has been allocated to 13 Divisional Secretariats, with the balance earmarked for special projects. The programme provides equipment to support agriculture, freshwater fisheries and small-scale enterprises. Under disaster mitigation projects, river-cleaning activities and the development of access roads are being undertaken in Homagama, Seethawaka and Maharagama. An allocation of Rs. 4 million has been made to develop school and public sports grounds as part of efforts to foster a sports culture. In addition, allocations of Rs. 300,000 each have been provided for 39 Divisional Secretariat Divisions, with sports ground development activities being carried out in Dehiwala, Maharagama, Homagama and Thimbirigasyaya. Officials further stated that the development of temples, sports grounds and court buildings is being undertaken through the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs,  the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, and the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Justice.
Under the decentralised capital budget for the Colombo District, a total of 281 projects have been approved, with 184,775 beneficiary families identified. The total allocation for these projects amounts to Rs. 217.38 million, comprising Rs. 180 million in allocations for Members of Parliament and Rs. 37.38 million in allocations for National List Members of Parliament. The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs. 217.03 million.
An assessment of the physical progress of the 281 approved projects revealed that estimates are being prepared, or remain to be prepared, for eight projects, while estimates have been completed for five projects. Quotations have been called for 21 projects, nine projects are at the evaluation stage, and contracts have been awarded for 17 projects. Work has commenced on 51 projects, or they have reached up to 25% completion. Nine projects have achieved between 25% and 50% completion, seven projects between 50% and 75%, and 17 projects between 75% and 99%. A further 93 projects have been physically completed and are awaiting payment, while 44 projects have been fully completed both physically and financially. In terms of financial progress, expenditure on the projects stands at Rs. 21.647 million, with an additional Rs. 0.334 million spent on administrative costs, bringing the total expenditure to Rs. 21.981 million.
Members of Parliament Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi and Samanmali Gunasinghe, local government representatives, Colombo District Secretary Ginige Prasanna Janaka Kumara, and a number of state officials attended the meeting.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

Continue Reading

News

Cabinet approves redrafting of State Assets Management Act

Published

on

By

Approval has been granted at the Cabinet meeting held on 22.07.2024 to publish the draft bill of State Assets Management Act in the government gazette notification and thereby present it to the Parliament for its concurrence.

However, the draft bill couldn’t be passed in Parliament as a result of the Parliament being dissolved in the month of October 2024.

Thereafter, the draft bill was subject to further inspection by a
committee appointed which comprised of officials and authorities on the subject.

The said Committee has recognized the amendments to be made and a fundamental draft has been prepared including the proposed amendments.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to suspend further activities regarding the draft bill of State Assets Management Act published in the extraordinary gazette of 02.08.2024, and to direct the Legal Draftsman to prepare a draft bill based on the fundamental draft prepared by the subject specialists’ committee.

Continue Reading

News

Cooperative Employees Commission Act No. 12 of 1972 to be amended

Published

on

By

Considering the compliance of the Cooperative Societies’ operations with the concurrent socio – economic circumstances as well as the changes in the common law, the requirement of amending the Cooperative Employees Commission Act No. 12 of 1972 has been recognized.

A fundamental draft including proposed amendments based on the experience gained by that Commission as well as the opinions and proposals of Cooperative societies, their director board members, cooperative employees and other interested parties has been prepared.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative development to provide instructions to the Legal draftsman to prepare a draft bill to amend the Cooperative Employees Commission Act No. 12 0f 1972, based on the said fundamental draft.

Continue Reading

Trending