FSL assures legal backing for them

Families of those sentenced to death by the Three-member Gampaha High Trial-at-Bar, over the killing of SLPP MP Amarakeerthi Atukorale, and his police bodyguard, met a senior official of the Presidential Secretariat, yesterday (23), to seek backing for their move to appeal against the verdict.

Having made representations, they addressed the media, outside the Presidential Secretariat, where they declared their intention to move the higher court against the decision.

The SLPP MP and his security officer were killed by an Aragalaya mob on 09 May, 2022, at Nittambuwa. The same day Aragalaya mobs unleashed violence against the then government MPs across the country, torching dozens of their properties.

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday said that they would help the families of those sentenced to death to move court against the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar decision. Responding to The Island queries, FSP spokesman Pubudu Jayagoda said that their representatives had already met the families and necessary work was being done to move the Supreme Court. Twenty three persons were acquitted and four handed six-month prison terms, suspended for five years

Jayagoda said that one of the HC judges differed in the ruling. Asked whether they received backing from any other political party and groups that had been involved in the 2022 protest campaign to defend those who had been found guilty, Jayagoda said such support was lacking.

The JVP/NPP played a significant role in the violent protest campaign that forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down. Pointing out that the Attorney General, too, was appealing against the court decision on the basis that the number of persons sentenced to death should be much higher, Jayagoda said that the Nittambuwa incident couldn’t be examined in isolation without taking into consideration the SLPP goon attack on Galle Face protesters on 09 May, 2022. (SF)

Power sector is once again facing mounting turbulence, with trade unions alleging serious irregularities in coal procurement and warning that ongoing restructuring efforts could trigger far-reaching consequences for the country.

Kosala Abeysinghe, President of the Ceylon Electricity Board Technicians’ Union, said the energy sector is being pushed towards “a dangerous and avoidable crisis” at a time when the nation is still navigating a fragile economic recovery.

Abeysinghe alleged that a “coal scam” has created serious concerns within the sector.

“There are grave questions surrounding the coal procurement process,” Abeysinghe said. “If these irregularities are not immediately investigated and rectified, the financial burden will ultimately fall on the people of this country.”

Coal-fired generation remains a critical pillar of Sri Lanka’s electricity supply. Any disruption in procurement or pricing mismanagement has the potential to increase generation costs and impact consumer tariffs.

“This is not just about a tender or a contract,” he stressed. “It directly affects electricity tariffs, supply stability and the economic wellbeing of millions of citizens.”

Abeysinghe also voiced strong opposition to what he described as an “irregular and unstructured” restructuring of the power sector. According to him, reforms are being carried out without adequate technical consultation or stakeholder consensus.

“The restructuring process appears to be moving forward without a clear, transparent and technically sound framework,” he said. “Weakening the institutional strength of the power sector in this manner could create long-term vulnerabilities.”

He further emphasised that the unfolding situation goes beyond trade union interests.

“This is not merely a labour issue,” Abeysinghe said. “It is a national issue. The stability of the electricity supply underpins every household, every business and every industry in Sri Lanka.”

Warning of possible escalation, he noted that trade unions are prepared to consider further action if their concerns are not addressed.

“We do not wish to inconvenience the public,” he added. “However, we cannot remain silent if decisions are being taken that endanger the country’s energy security.”

With electricity supply forming the backbone of Sri Lanka’s economic activity, the allegations and warnings are likely to intensify scrutiny over the management and future direction of the energy sector in the coming days.

by Ifham Nizam

The Communist Party (CP) has urged the NPP government to take tangible measures to save as many as 1,400 in the MAS factory at Thulhiriya.

The Central Committee of the CP has warned the government of dire consequences unless remedial measures are taken immediately. The following is the text of the CP statement: “We strongly condemn the decision by the MAS Group to close its Methliya Kreeda garment factory in Thulhiriya, a move that will displace approximately 1,400 workers. The Party warns that this closure is a stark indictment of the failed neoliberal economic policies that continue to devastate Sri Lanka’s industrial base.

Reports indicate that the Amalean-owned conglomerate plans to shift the entire operation to India, expanding its footprint of 16 overseas facilities. While MAS has suggested it may offer alternative employment to some redundant workers at other facilities, the CPSL views this as an inadequate response to the systemic de-industrialisation of the local economy.

This closure is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a terminal disease: neoliberalism. We are witnessing the replication of a historical tragedy. The very land at Thulhiriya, originally the site of a massive textile complex gifted to the Sri Lankan people by the German Democratic Republic (former East Germany), was stripped of its potential by the privatisation mania of the J.R. Jayawardene regime. Now, the remaining garment operations are being dismantled to feed the profit margins of Indian operations, leaving Sri Lankan workers to bear the burden.

The Party wishes to highlight the bitter irony of the situation, noting that the sprawling complex, once a symbol of industrial cooperation complete with worker housing, was reduced to empty shells following the privatisation push.

The Communist Party of Sri Lanka calls upon the government to:

1. Reject the logic of privatization, recognize that the closure of the Methliya Kreeda (sports-wear) factory exposes the “dead-end” of relying on private capital to safeguard national interests and worker livelihoods.

2. Intervene immediately, halt the removal of assets and machinery from the Thulhiriya facility.

3. Rehabilitate the factory as a public asset, take immediate steps to reopen the factory under a viable public ownership model, integrated as a strategic component of the national garment industry supply chain.

4. Guarantee employment, ensure that all 1,400 workers retain their livelihoods, either through the rehabilitation of the Thulhiriya plant or through guaranteed state-supported employment in the sector.

The workers of Thulhiriya, who have powered the garment industry for decades, cannot be cast aside for the short-term profit of a corporation moving to India. The government must choose: serve the people or serve the market. We demand a new path, one of national production, public ownership, and the defence of the working class.”