News

Chief Govt. Whip urges Catholic priests to beware of Opposition’s sinister plans

Published

5 years ago

2021/11/29

Highway Minister and Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando arrivng to launch of the Road Development authority’s premix plant at Andigamawattte in Katugampola on Saturday.

Highway Minister and Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando says some Opposition politicians have misled the Catholic Church. “I call on all reverend fathers and other members of the clergy not to fall for the opposition conspirators’ tactics and thereby become their cat’s paws. We have seen that they capitalise on the summoning of Rev Fr Cyril Gamini to the CID to spread hate against this government. Fr Cyril Gamini’s visit to CID was to record a statement. He made public statements and the CID wants an official record from him, Minister Fernando said.

He said so addressing a ceremony to mark the launch of the Road Development authority’s premix plant at Andigamawattte in Katugampola on Saturday.

“Rev Cyril Gamini had made statements on the Easter Sunday incidents. The CID is the investigating the Easter Sunday terror attacks and it is natural it has recorded a statement from the Reverend father. Suppose the CID did not do so, then the very same Opposition would have claimed we had prevented the CID from recording his statement.

“During the past two years we had never heard on any occasion the Opposition speaking of anything beneficial to the country. They never helped us reopen the country to enable foreign tourists so that the country would receive foreign exchange. They never spoke of promoting agriculture or industries to help the economy. They never spoke of assisting the government to overcome the challenges of the pandemic. Opposition parties in other countries have extended their support to the governments to face the pandemic and its challenges. We too had such oppositions in this country in the past. In the 1971 insurgency, the then opposition leader JR Jayewardene supported Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s government.

Minister Fernando said that he was thankful to the Chairman and staff members of the RDA for commencing operations at the new premix asphalt plant. “When I visited the premix asphalt plant at Ganepola in January this year, there were heaps of machinery to be auctioned as scrap iron. They had been lying abandoned for years. After inquiries I found that those parts of equipment and machinery left at the mercy of the elements, could be repaired and put back to use. Some workers said that they could repair them. They did so within a couple of months. They spent Rs 28 million to build a premix asphalt plant worth Rs 152 million. Today we opened this new plant with equipment put back to use by our workers. This plant has the capacity to turn out 4,000 metric tons of premix asphalt per month. That means it could supply 48,000 metric tons of premix asphalt per year to our projects in order to complete the 100,000 km road development project envisaged by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour manifesto,” the Minister said.

Also present on the occasion were Secretary to the Ministry of Highways RWR Premsiri, RDA Working Director Chaminda Basnayake and Executive Director Mohomad Zakir.

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Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

16 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

16 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

16 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.