News
Diana gets new diplomatic passport; Oshala cries foul
Dual citizenship controversy:
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Attorney-at-Law Chameera Dinesh Gallearachchi has warned Controller General, Department of Immigration and Emigration, I.S.H.J. Illukpitiya, that the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Corruption or Bribery (CIABOC) will be moved against him unless he arrested British passport holder Diana Gamage, MP, over the violation of the Immigrants and Emigrants Act No 20 of 1948 as amended. The lawyer asked that she be deported unless she produced a valid visa to stay here.
Gamage received the appointment as State Minister for Tourism from President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently.
Lawyer Gallearachchi, in a letter dated 20 Dec. 2022. addressed to the Controller General, has questioned the circumstances Diana Gamage obtained two Sri Lankan passports, bearing nos 5091386 and Ol 5654784 on January 24, 2014 and August 07, 2018, respectively, while retaining her British passport. The one issued in 2018 has been categorized as an official passport.
The Counsel for civil society activist Oshala Herath, pursuing legal measures against the rebel Samagi Jana Balawegala (SJB) lawmaker, has sought an explanation regarding the issuance of two Sri Lankan passports to Gamage, who used British passport bearing no 521398876.
Referring to relevant records, maintained at the Immigration and Emigration Department, Herath has asked how British passport holder Diana Gamage continued to live here, without renewing/obtaining a new visa. According to the lawyer’s complaint to the Immigration and Emigration Chief, the visa, issued to Gamage, had lapsed on July 16, 2015 and, thereafter, there was absolutely no evidence to suggest issuance of a fresh valid document.
Herath, the former presidential media aide, during the Yahapalana administration, and failed UNP candidate, at the 2020 general election, told The Island that the recent enactment of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution should compel the Parliament to take tangible measures to remove, not only dual citizens, but foreigners, as well. The Parliament couldn’t continue to turn a blind eye to the issue at hand, particularly against the backdrop of reportage of the British passport matter.
The SJB accommodated Diana Gamage on its National List in appreciation for her, and her husband, Senaka Silva, allowing the breakaway UNP faction, led by Sajith Premadasa, to contest through their party. They also allowed the re-registration of the party as Samagi Jana Balawegala.
The lawyer has also raised Diana Gamage having two birth certificates ,bearing nos 6553 and 4683, on the basis of documents submitted to obtain two Sri Lankan passports, in 2014 and 2018.
On behalf of Herath, lawyer Gallearachchi has requested that the MP be dealt with in terms of the Immigration and Emigration Act, including overstaying visa, and recovering the two Sri Lankan passports.
Meanwhile, Herath has also lodged a complaint with the CIABOC over the inordinate delay, on the part of the Immigration and Emigration Department, to take action, in spite of a lengthy CID investigation that proved the accusations beyond doubt. In spite of the disclosures, pertaining to the issuance of Sri Lankan passports, in 2014 and 2018, and the outcome of the CID investigation being reported to Court, the incumbent Immigration and Emigration Controller issued a diplomatic passport, bearing no D 5659363 to lawmaker Gamage.
Herath has asked how the incumbent controller ignored a letter dated Dec. 15, 2021 written by his predecessor U. V. Sarath Rupasiri, addressed to Defence Secretary, Gen. Kamal Gunaratne, regarding Diana Gamage’s status that she was not a Sri Lanka citizen, hence couldn’t be issued a passport.
Lawyer Gallearachchi has written to Immigration and Emigration Chief, in the wake of Colombo Chief Magistrate, Nandana Amarasinghe, temporarily lifting the travel ban imposed on Diana Gamage for a period of five days.
The Magistrate made this order, subsequent to a request made by President’s Counsel Sarath Jayamanne.
The Magistrate ordered the temporary lifting of her travel ban on two sureties of Rs.200,000 each.
The SJB recently moved Court against its own National List MP over the issues in hand.
President’s Counsel Sarath Jayamanne appeared for the State Minister.
The price of oil has fallen to levels not seen since before the Iran war as traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route gradually resumes.
Global benchmark Brent crude briefly fell below $72.48 (£55) a barrel, the price it was at the day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, before edging up to $73.23.
Energy prices have been on a wild ride since Iran responded to the strikes by effectively closing the strait, a critical waterway for oil and gas shipments.
The cost of crude has been moving sharply lower since the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 17 June which set out a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme and other measures to end the war.
Representatives from the two sides met in Switzerland last weekend for talks to end the war, which resulted in the US partially lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has risen significantly since the MOU was signed, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Its latest data suggests 284 vessels have made the transit from 18 June, the day after the deal was signed, although that is is still well below the pre-conflict average of some 138 crossings each day.
The ships passing through the waterway in recent days include those carrying crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), fertiliser and other goods, Kpler told the BBC.
The US and Iran had also formed a “communication line” to prevent misunderstandings “with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz”, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement on Monday.
There has been a “tremendous shift” with far more ships using the strait in recent days, said Dimitris Maniatis, the chief executive of Marisks, a maritime risk advisory firm working with ships stuck in the region.
A limited number of ships can cross a northern passageway with the permission of Iranian authorities, he said.
The US navy has also provided guidance for vessels to travel through a southern route that is safe from mines and other obstacles that has been laid out since the war, Maniatis said.
But the number of ships crossing the strait is still below levels seen before the war, when it was used by more than 100 ships a day.
Hundreds of ships still appear to be waiting in the Gulf.
Fuel prices at the pump rose sharply when the Iran war began, and now the focus is on how quickly they will fall.
“On the back of the lowest oil price since before the Iran war started, drivers should see the average price of petrol fall below 150p [a litre] in the next week or so,” said Simon Williams, head of policy at UK motoring group the RAC. He added the price of diesel “ought to go back under 160p.
Petrol peaked at 159.53p a litre on 28 May, according to the RAC, while diesel has fallen from a high of 191.54p on 15 April.
The average price of regular gasoline in the US has dropped to around $3.93 a gallon after reaching $4 a gallon in April, its highest since 2022, but is still well above pre-war levels.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into major energy companies, accusing Shell, ExxonMobil and other firms of “gouging” drivers by not reducing fuel prices even as oil costs fell.
“Oil prices have come down so much and we are not seeing anything at the pump by comparison the way they should be,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry in the US, said fuel prices “don’t move in lockstep with crude oil”.
British energy firms have faced similar accusations of unfairly hiking petrol prices since the Iran war.
The UK competition watchdog said last month that there was no widespread evidence of this, adding that average profit margins were “broadly unchanged” between February and March
(BBC)
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)
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