News
Talks on 13A: Dullas criticises Ranil’s strategy
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The Rajapaksa-Wickremesinghe administration pretends to be pushing for devolving more power, having postponed the Provincial Council and local governmenet elections, says Freedom People’s Congress (FPC) leader Dullas Alahapperuma.
The former minister said so on Thursday (27) commenting on the All-Party Conference (APC) convened by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the previous said.The APC was a complete failure, the Matara District lawmaker alleged.
“We were told that the APC was mainly convened to discuss reconciliation. A lot of our MPs were of the view that we should not attend the APC. We took part because, at the end we felt we must express our opinion at this meeting to discuss reconciliation. However, we were not expecting much because we felt that the President really had no intention of genuine reconciliation,” he said.
Alahapperuma said that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is already implemented and that the president doesn’t need to keep discussing the 13A periodically.
“Even most of the Tamil MPs were skeptical,” he said.
The devolution of power was the main topic of Wednesday’s discussion; however, MPs were only given the agenda when they arrived at the presidential secretariat.
“I told the President some political parties didn’t attend the meeting because they are suspicious of his intents. That the government will portray their participation for political advantage,” he said.
Alahapperuma said the lowest unit of devolution is the local councils and that the Wickremesinghe administration has postponed the elections in an unconstitutional manner.
“The government has violated the rights of over 15 million eligible voters. Meanwhile, provincial councils have been made defunct for years. And without holding elections and allowing people to vote in people they like, Wickremesinghe is holding APCs on power-sharing,” he said.
Provincial Councils were established to allow Tamil-speaking minorities to have a say in how their areas are administered, Alahapperuma said.
“But the councils have been defunct for years. Who made these institutions defunct? The 2015-2019 administration in which Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Prime Minister. This was done through Provincial Councils. Elections (Amendment) Act No 17 of 2017. This was a two page amendment to allegedly increase women’s quota at provincial councils. 38 amendments were added to this act in the committee stage. To the two page act and to get two thirds support to pass the bill, the government dragged the vote for four hours,” he said.
By allowing this to happen, former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya added a blot to his political career, Alahapperuma said.
“The vote was dragged to do various deals with MPs who were on the fence. Then the government had to appoint a delimitation committee because the elections law changed. They dragged their feet in appointing the delimitation committee. Provincial Councils have now been defunct for five years,” he said.
Alahapperuma said that Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the biggest constituent of the government, has openly opposed the full implementation of the 13th amendment. “Wickremesinghe says one thing. The Prime Minister says something else, and head of the SLPP Mahinda Rajapaksa says something else. How do we trust what their real intentions are,” he said.
Alahapperuma said that there was a belief that devolution of police powers would be discussed. However, everything ended in a very open-ended and vague manner.
“Our demand was to hold provincial council elections first and make these institutions functional. Most representatives had the same idea. Why are we even discussing giving police and land powers to a council now run by a direct representative of the President?” he said.
The General Manager of Railways has announced that the following special train services will operate during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year period.
1. From Colombo Fort to Badulla – departing Colombo Fort at 1930 hrs on 11th, 12th, 19th and 20th April
2. From Badulla to Colombo Fort – departing Badulla at 1750 hrs on 11th, 12th, 19th and 20th April
3. From Galle to Anuradhapura – departing Galle at 0400 hrs on 12th and 13th April
4. From Anuradhapura to Galle – departing Anuradhapura at 1500 hrs on 12th and 13th April
5. From Colombo Fort to Galle – departing Colombo Fort at 120 hrs on 10th, 11th, 15th and 20th April
6. From Galle to Colombo Fort – departing Galle at 0610 hrs on 11th, 12th, 16th and 21st April
7. From Colombo Fort to Galle – departing Colombo Fort at 1330 hrs on 12th and 13th April
8. From Colombo Fort to Kankasanthurai [Intercity Express] – departing Colombo Fort at 0530 hrs on 11th and 18th April
9. From Kankasanthurai to Colombo Fort [Intercity Express] – departing Kankasanthurai at 1350 hrs on 11th and 18th April
10. From Beliatta to Colombo Fort – departing Beliatta at 0825 hrs on 12th, 13th, 18th, 19th and 20th April
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya visited Hamburg, Germany, focusing on strengthening vocational education and economic partnerships between the two nations. During her visit, she participated in the 102nd East Asia Friendship Dinner, met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and engaged in high-level discussions on investment, education, and economic reforms.
As a Guest of Honour at the German Asia-Pacific Business Association (OAV) annual gathering, Prime Minister Amarasuriya addressed an audience of business leaders and dignitaries, emphasizing Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and its potential as a growing investment destination. She highlighted the contributions of over 160 German companies in Sri Lanka and invited further collaboration in trade and business.
In her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education, the Prime Minister delivered a keynote speech at the ’German-Asian Forum on Vocational Education & Training.’ She acknowledged Germany’s decades-long support in Sri Lanka’s vocational education sector and stressed the importance of modernizing vocational training to align with industry demands. Additionally, she visited ITECH vocational school and German research hubs such as NXP Semiconductors and DESY, discussing collaboration in IT and technology-driven industries.
During her discussions with President Steinmeier, Prime Minister Amarasuriya reiterated Sri Lanka’s commitment to economic stability, social protection, and national unity. She also attended a business roundtable, where she engaged with German companies and government representatives on economic expansion, digitalization, and sustainable development initiatives.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany, Varuni Muthukumarana, and senior embassy officials.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Attorney-at-Law Senaka Perera on behalf of the Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (Guarantee) Limited has asked Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya to inquire into the death of Sathsara Nimesh soon after he was admitted to the Mulleriyawa mental hospital by Welikada police on the night of April 1.
In a letter dated April 3 addressed to the IGP, the lawyer said that the victim’s mother Lekamwasam Liyanage Samanthi, who visited Welikada police station the following day, thad been old that her son made a bid to commit suicide at the police station. Quoting the victim’s mother the lawyer said that the clothes worn by Nimesh at the time he was taken into custody by Welikada police were found within the premises.
Responding to queries, the human rights activist said that Nimesh had been caught by a group of people at Nawala road, Welikada around 7.30 pm-8 pm on April 1. Alleging that Nimesh who had been undergoing training at a private hospital as a caregiver was acting suspiciously, the group called in the police on 119 emergency line and handed him over to the police, Perera said, urging the IGP to ensure that the police followed laid out procedures when dealing with suspects.
The Attorney-at-law said that the victim’s mother had visited Mulleriyawa hospital and was able to speak with a doctor who had been present at the time Nimesh was brought there. The doctor had told her that her son was barely alive at the time he was brought in. Perera alleged that Welikada police made an attempt to allude that Nimesh was mentally unsound. If the police had been genuinely concerned about Nimesh in case he was experiencing sudden difficulty, they should have rushed him to the National Hospital, Perera said.
Acknowledging the need to deal firmly with those who are on the wrong side of the law, the rights group said that the police couldn’t adopt Gestapo-style strategies.
The National People’s Power (NPP) government couldn’t turn a blind eye to what was going on regardless of the change of government in last Sept. There had been at least two recent deaths in police custody, Perera said, referring to an incident in the Kotahena police area in the third week of February this year.
Police shot dead two persons arrested over the killing of Shashi Kumar in a mobile phone shop at Kotahena. Police claimed that law enforcement men had to open fire when the suspects made an attempt to grab a weapon from an officer while being taken to a hideout to recover hidden guns.
Lawyer Perera said that police should be ashamed to repeat a blatant lie often used by them though they knew no one accepted that.
Political parties represented in parliament should take up this matter vigorously, he said, urging the government to put an end to custodial deaths, he said. The lawyer pointed out that the Supreme Court, too, has intervened in the matter and the issue was taken up at the highest level.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Special Train Services during Sinhala and Tamil New Year
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