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RW: Final settlement with Tamils in a few months
Sri Lanka open to all navies A final settlement with the Tamils and the Northern population of the country would be reached within the next few months, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said at the first ever graduation ceremony of the National Defence College in Colombo on Wednesday night.The President added that he was currently having discussions with the Tamil MPs to achieve that goal.Wickremesinghe also said Sri Lanka was open to the navies of all countries.
“If navies want to come, we have no problem. They helped in the anti-piracy operations. But we don’t want a level of rivalry which will affect the security and the peace of our area. Whatever it be that we will not join any big power or take sides, we will stay out of it. And that’s why we want to ensure that the big powers and the rivalry don”t need to certainly lead to conflict in the Indian Ocean. That’s one thing we can’t afford.”
President Wickremesinghe also noted that the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean had made Sri Lanka the “punching bag.” He said there were around 17 ports operated by the Chinese in the Indian Ocean and all of them were commercial ports. He stressed that Hambantota Port was also a commercial one.
The President said in the port of Darwin, Australia the Chinese ports are operating side by side with a port that Australian and the US forces used for training. “We don’t have that. We don’t allow anyone to come and train here, but we do have our southern command of the navy. We have a divisional headquarters of the army and we have a detachment of the Air Force. But none of them are involved. They only ensure that this is a commercial port and no less.”
Emphasising that Hambantota was a commercial port, and a reflection of Sri Lanka’s strategic importance, Wickremesinghe said many people had come to absurd conclusions. The President said he hoped that the next agreement Sri Lanka has with China would not cause such speculation and it was only about debt reduction for Sri Lanka. He added that the Indian Ocean region should be opened to all to ensure freedom of navigation for commercial viability, Wickremesinghe added that Sri Lanka would not join any military alliances and did not want the problems of the Pacific coming into the Indian Ocean. He urged the countries in the Indian Ocean region to come together to maintain stability of the region.
“It is important for commerce to carry on. We have to remember that bulk of the petroleum supply and energy supply to the world goes through the Indian Ocean. A large amount of shipping goes through the Indian Ocean. We don’t want this to be an area of conflict and an area of war.”
President Wickremesinghe highlighted the importance of safeguarding the security of India and other neighbouring countries. “When it comes to the security of Sri Lanka, we are of the view that in looking after the security of Sri Lanka, we must also ensure that nothing adverse happens to the security of India. That we have been committed to, and we will go ahead with it. There will be no movement out of it. That’s why we work with India on the Colombo conclave, on the trilateral security arrangements and many other fields, especially outside the military field of piracy, of human trafficking, of drugs. All those are useful ways in which we cooperate with India and the other island states. Then we also value our friendship with Maldives, those small islands, and we know how important the Maldives is.”
The President also said that Sri Lanka should not allow any other country to use it to attack third parties.
ECONOMYNEXT –International assistance for forensic analysis of the remains unearthed at the Chemmani mass grave will be sought when the need arises, Sri Lanka’s Minister of has Justice said after opposition legislators urged the government to seek help.
“We have spoken to embassies, we have made all the local finances necessary for excavation. But when it comes to DNA analysis, depending on the type and nature we will definitely have to go for internationally recognised places,” Harshana Nanayakkara said in response to a query in Parliament.
Nanayakkara said that request for international expertise is dependant on the direction the courts give on what needs to be done, after which they will decide which agency best suits the proceedings.
The minister also recognised that local expertise is lacking in the forensic department, and the need to train local staff with the help of international experts.
Opposition MPs argued that the present need is direct help in forensics from international entities, rather than the longer term need to train the staff on analysis.
Currently, the investigation is in the excavation and exhumation stage, conducted by archaeologist Raj Somadeva and his team.
The existence of the Chemmani mass grave was first brought to light in 1998, during the trial of the rape and murder of schoolgirl Krishanti Kumaraswamy.
In February 2025, construction workers found remains near the Sinthupathy Cemetery, and following investigations ordered by the Learned Magistrate, the mass grave was discovered.
412 bodies have been discovered, with 409 bodies recovered as of 23 June 2026. According to the Office on Missing Persons, this is the 17th recorded mass grave in Sri Lanka.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $57.4 million financing package to help Sri Lanka expand access to affordable clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a large-scale rooftop solar aggregation and virtual net metering programme.
The financing comprises a $35 million concessional loan, $16.9 million in grants from the European Union and $5.5 million from the Japan Fund for the Joint Crediting Mechanism. With additional contributions from implementing agencies, the total estimated cost of the project is $80.5 million.
Under the Rooftop Solar Aggregation and Virtual Net Metering Project, two state-owned utilities — Electricity Distribution Lanka (Private) Limited and Lanka Electricity Company (Private) Limited — will introduce a scalable model to collect electricity generated from large rooftop solar installations and allocate the benefits virtually among eligible consumers.
The initiative will allow consumers to access solar power benefits without having to install individual rooftop solar systems.
ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Shannon Cowlin said the project would broaden access to affordable renewable energy while strengthening the resilience and inclusiveness of the country’s power sector.
She said the initiative would also support grid modernisation and digital transformation, while creating employment opportunities and encouraging greater participation of women and youth in the clean energy sector.
The project is expected to benefit micro, small and medium enterprises and community organisations that face financial or space constraints in installing their own rooftop solar systems. Through a social compensation mechanism, eligible groups will receive reductions in electricity costs under the virtual net metering system.
The programme will support around 25 megawatt-peak of rooftop solar capacity while strengthening distribution networks, improving digital capabilities and preparing the national grid to accommodate higher levels of distributed renewable energy.
A dedicated training facility will also be established under the project to develop green skills, enhance women’s participation in the sector and build technical expertise in advanced low-carbon technologies.
The Colombo High Court on Friday ordered that proceedings in the case filed against 11 defendants, including former Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran and former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, over alleged irregularities in the Central Bank bond auction be taken up again on July 22.
The case was called before Colombo High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratne, who informed court that the Trial-at-Bar bench appointed to hear the matter had not been properly constituted.
Accordingly, the judge directed that the case be recalled on July 22 for further proceedings.
The Attorney General has filed indictments under the Public Property Act against 11 accused, including Mahendran, Karunanayake, Perpetual Treasuries Limited and its directors Arjun Aloysius and Geoffrey Aloysius.
The accused have been charged over alleged irregularities connected to a Treasury bond auction conducted by the Central Bank in March 2016.
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