News
Cardinal: Bridge project poses danger to sovereignty and Independence of Sri Lanka
The Catholic Church has opposed the proposed India-Lanka land bridge connectivity project, warning that it will endanger Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and independence.Colombo Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, speaking to the media at Ruwanwella on Friday, said that if implemented, the project would make Sri Lanka part of Tamil Nadu.
“Our history is full of instances where invaders came from South India from time to time to capture parts of this country to rule them. On each occasion, the Sinhala kings had to mobilise armies to get rid of them and liberate those areas. Now, the government in power is proposing to build a land bridge connecting Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. This certainly would end up with this country becoming a part of Tamil Nadu,” the Cardinal said.
The Cardinal’s criticism of the bridge project came days after President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s announcement that a pre-feasibility study for a land connection between Sri Lanka and India had been completed, and a full feasibility study would be conducted in the near future. The President said so when he met Rev. Dr. Fidelis Lionel Emmanuel Fernando, the Bishop of Mannar, Diocese of Mannar, at the Mannar Bishops House on 16 June, according to a statement issued to the media by the President’s Media Division subsequent to the visit.
The Cardinal said: “Who needs this bridge? It is clear that the idea has been mooted following a request from foreigners not because of a request from the people here. This government is resolute in carrying out all directives coming from outside without thinking whether they are good or bad for us. We must be careful not to carry out what is not beneficial to us. Otherwise we will end up in a worse crisis than what we already have. We must not do anything that harms our sovereignty and independence.”
Meanwhile, the Indian media have reported that in July 2023, during a visit to India, Wickremesinghe discussed the development of a land bridge between the two countries in a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The proposal for land connectivity had come from Sri Lanka, New Delhi at that time.
Creating land connectivity across the Palk Strait, which is as narrow as 25km (15 miles) at certain points, would provide India access to ports like Trincomalee and Colombo. This initiative aims to fortify the millennia old relationship between the two neighbouring countries. The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, serves as a rich fishing ground for both countries. Incidents of fishermen from both nations being arrested for inadvertently trespassing into the waters are common.
Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.
Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.
The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.
Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.
For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.
During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.
The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.
Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.
(PMD)
It has been reported that Attorney at Law Rakitha Rajapakshe, the son of former Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged links with the underworld.
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