News
Sumanthiran slams Gota’s policy statement saying we’ve become a nation of beggars
TNA MP MA Sumanthiran slammed President Rajapaksa’s policy statement saying that two thirds of the country’s foreign exchange problems created in the last 15 years was under the watch of his brother’s government.
The country continues holding out a begging bowl and “waits for somebody to come and give us our next meal. We really don’t know where it’s coming from or how we will pay for it.”: Excerpts of his speech:
The president’s was a listless policy statement with no policy stated and a few issues identified but no answers given. Nothing to get excited about requiring a three-day debate.
He was right when he identified one issue when he said “the more serious challenge we face today in economic management is a current foreign exchange problem”. That we all know and then he says “today we are encountering the climax, of a problem for which a number of governments have failed to provide a lasting solution”. He rightly doesn’t blame just the last government, he blames a number of previous governments and if you go back for two more governments in the past, those were the governments headed by President Mahinda Rajapakse.
So he has fairly laid the blame for the crises that the country faces today. If you take the last 15 years, two thirds of that was the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse. And says that they failed to provide a lasting solution. But as I said, he identifies the issue, he lays the blame on the shoulders of someone else, his own brother, but doesn’t provide a solution or direction.
A policy statement of a government is one that gives a direction, one that points in a particular way to give the people confidence. One that says this is the path that we will tread, this is how we intend tackling these issues. While he makes the statement, we are told by text messages that another 500 million US dollars has been put into our begging bowl.
It’s like a daily existence now for this country. We hold a bowl ad wait out there, and someone has to come and give us the next meal. That is the level to which the country’s finances have come to. We really don’t know where our next month’s supplies are going to come from. Or how we will pay towards that.
When the country is facing such an enormous challenge, all that the president has to say is just this one paragraph two sentences, one identifies the problem, the other lays the blame on someone else’s shoulder.
He started his speech by rightly identifying the fact that there are different members in this House, elected by different people with different mandates. So he said right at the beginning of his speech. But as he went along he probably forgot how he recognizes this House. Because when it came to the people of the North and the East, he said something that was opposite to how he started this speech.
And this is very very serious, I quote the president when he said “we regard governments prime responsibility towards reconciliation as providing such facilities to these people without discrimination;” this is talking about the people in the North and the East, it is an insult to the people who’ve been struggling and fighting for their dignity to be treated as equals in this country. That’s far more important than what he identifies here as facilities.
They haven’t been fighting for facilities, they have been fighting for their equal citizenship right, their right to self-determination, their right to self-rule, for share of powers of governance, and for the president to reduce all of that to a level of saying, “you know that there are basic facilities that are necessary, that is what will bring about reconciliation” says much about what he understands the National Problem to be.
Then he says therefore I urge the members of Parliament representing the people of the North and East of this Parliament to set aside various political ideologies at least temporarily and support the government’s effort to improve the living conditions of the people of those areas. Having recognized that we have different mandates from our people, he says set aside your ideologies even temporarily. what does he mean by ideologies? I read the Sinhala and Tamil texts it should have been translated “policies” – your party policies.
Our party policy is a mandate we have received from our people. And that is a consistent mandate that we have received for which we serve our people. We don’t listen to others who tell us how we serve our people. We listen to our people and the mandate that they give us. So it is not for even His Excellency the President to tell us to lay aside the mandate that our people have given us, and to join him in providing basic facilities.
The Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology has issued an advisory at 11.30 pm on 05 January 2026 regarding a low pressure area over South-east Bay of Bengal Sea area.
The low-level atmospheric disturbance in the Bay of Bengal, to the southeast of the Sri Lanka has intensified into a low-pressure area.
Hence, showery condition over the island, particularly
in the Northern, North-Central, Eastern, Uva and Central provinces is expected to enhance from January 8th.
The Meteorological Department is constantly monitoring the behavior of the system.
The general public are requested to be attentive to the future forecasts and bulletins issued by the Department of Meteorology in this regards.
Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath yesterday (05) told a media conference at his Ministry that the UN should deal with the US for violating international law.
Herath, who is also a senior member of the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) party’s National Executive Council, in addition to being a member of the JVP politburo, emphasised that member states couldn’t violate UN Charter and international laws.
The Minister said so when The Island sought the government’s position on the abduction of legally elected Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a lightning raid carried out amidst heavy air strikes on that country. We raised the issue at hand pointing out that there were persistent allegations regarding US and Indian interventions in the 2022 regime change operation here and that the NPP finalised defence agreements with Washington and New Delhi.
Minister Herath said that Sri Lanka backed the ongoing UN Security Council bid to deal with the developing situation in Venezuela.
Herath was flanked by Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra and Deputy Tourism Minister Prof. Ruwan Ranasinghe.
Minister Herath said that the UN Security Council was scheduled to take up this issue today. The US is one of the five members of the UN Security Council.
In terms of the UN Charter, UN members are to refrain from the “use of force” against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Another permanent member of the UN Security Council, France, broke ranks with the Western block to condemn US action. France unequivocally declared that the US operation was a “violation of sovereignty.
Minister Herath didn’t respond to the query whether he discussed the issue at hand with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
While pointing out that Sri Lanka had been subjected to foreign interventions, The Island sought the position the JVP in respect of US President Donald Trump threatening to move against Mexico, Cuba and Colombia as the party always took a strong stand against US actions. Declaring that his response would be for the government and not the JVP, Minister Herath said that there was a way to deal with situations through the UN.
Minister Herath strongly defended recently signed agreements with India and US pertaining to defence. Stressing that both agreements were beneficial, Minister Herath pointed out that they weren’t defence agreements but security cooperation arrangements.
The US and Sri Lanka signed a Defence Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in November 2025, formalising defence cooperation under the State Partnership Programme (SPP) with the Montana National Guard. The MoU with India was signed in April, 2025. It was among seven MoUs.
Referring to devastating Cyclone Ditwah, the Minister said that India provided material support under the MoU signed in April whereas the US provided 10 helicopters to the SLAF recently.
Responding to a query on US-Sri Lanka tariff negotiations, Minister Herath said that about 95% of the negotiations have been finalised.
At the onset of the briefing, Minister Herath and Deputy Ministers Prof. Ranasinghe and Arun Hemachandra explained how the tourism sector and expatriate Sri Lanka work force contributed to the national economy.
Referring to Central Bank figures, they declared that tourism had brought in USD 3.2 bn whereas expatriate workers contributed USD 7.19 bn up to November last year. Once the Central Bank made available December figures it could reach USD 7.8 bn, they said. Tourism and expatriate work force together brought in as much as USD 11.6 bn, they declared, expressing hope 2026 would definitely be better.
Although the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah caused concerns that it may cause a significant drop in tourist arrivals, a steady flow of visitors paved the way for a comfortable 15% increase in arrivals by end of 2025, they said.
Minister Herath said that the government was happy that the country recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals this year.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath yesterday said that the government would announce its decision on the ban on foreign research vessels entering Sri Lankan waters.
Addressing the media at the Foreign Ministry, Minister Herath, in response to a query, said that they were in the process of addressing the issue.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a moratorium on the entry of foreign research vessels during 2004. Although the NPP government, in December, 2004, declared its position would be made known soon, the decision was not taken during last year. Wickremesinghe took that decision under intense Indian and US pressure to deny entry of Chinese research vessels (SF)
Cuba says 32 Cuban fighters killed in US raids on Venezuela
Venezuela’s abducted leader, Nicolas Maduro, and wife appear in NYC court
Showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in Uva province and in Nuwara-Eliya, Matale, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa and Ampara districts
Advisory for low pressure area over South-east Bay of Bengal Sea area
US raid on Venezuela violation of UN Charter and intl. law: Govt.
Ban on foreign research vessels: FM promises decision within two months
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News1 day agoPrivate airline crew member nabbed with contraband gold
-
News3 days agoHealth Minister sends letter of demand for one billion rupees in damages
-
News6 days agoLeading the Nation’s Connectivity Recovery Amid Unprecedented Challenges
-
Opinion5 days agoRemembering Douglas Devananda on New Year’s Day 2026
-
Latest News1 day agoCurran, bowlers lead Desert Vipers to maiden ILT20 title
-
News6 days agoDons on warpath over alleged undue interference in university governance
-
Features1 day agoPharmaceuticals, deaths, and work ethics
-
News1 day agoBellana says Rs 900 mn fraud at NHSL cannot be suppressed by moving CID against him