News
Dullas: SL foreign service involved in flesh trade?
By Saman Indrajith
Dissident SLPP MP Dullas Alahapperuma, taking part in the ongoing Budget debate in Parliament on Saturday, demanded to know whether Sri Lanka’s Foreign Service was engaged in the flesh trade; some Sri Lankan embassy officials were allegedly involved in a racket where female job seekers were forced into prostitution overseas, he said.
“The victims may have gone abroad on visit visas, but they were under the protection of the Embassy, and the question is whether our foreign service is engaged in the flesh trade,” Alahapperuma said.
SJB Puttalam District MP Hector Appuhamy told Parliament that a suspect, who was behind the racket, where Sri Lankan women were sold as sex slaves in Oman, had been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport on arrival from Dubai. “All information about the man must be made public so that more women will not fall prey,” Appuhamy said.
State Minister of Foreign Employment Jagath Pushpakumara said that the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau could not take responsibility. “These women have gone to Oman on visit visas. They have not been registered in the Bureau. They have gone there on their own. This is not a problem for which our Ministry should be held responsible. It is up to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to look into it,” the Minister said.
MP Appuhamy said that the problem was that the Lankan women were being sold as sex slavery.Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said that the government would investigate the matter, and a special team had been dispatched to look into the complaints of the sex slave ring, in Oman, and swift action would be take on the receipt of their report. “The President has paid special attention to this situation. This is a national issue and as result of the steps taken, the relevant groups have been arrested,” the PM said.
Members of the South Asian Journalists Forum have gathered at the University of New Delhi for a two day conference themed ‘Peace and Co-operation’.
Journalists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are attending the conference hosted by the University of Delhi in collaboration with the India Chapter of SJF, and will deliberate on how the media can act as a catalyst for regional stability and mutual coexsistence.
A tree plantation campaign was also held at the Ghandi Bhawan premises of the University to mark the event and symbolize growing regional ties.
The Sri Lanka delegation is led by President of SJF’s Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi.
The Governor of the of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Thursdy [February 05] at the Parliamentary Complex to discuss the arrangements related to the exposition of the Devnimori Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought to Sri Lanka under the patronage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.
These sacred relics of Lord Buddha were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Until now, these relics had never been taken outside India. As a result of discussions held between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka have been granted this rare opportunity to venerate these sacred relics.
The exposition of the relics is being held for a period of seven days, from February 05 to February 11, at the Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo. Discussions were held between both parties regarding the arrangements related to this event.
The discussion was attended by Samar Nanda, Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture; Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka; Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation; along with several others.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL made a port call in Colombo for operational turnarounds on 04 Feb 26. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions.
Commanded by Commander Gaurav Tewari, INS GHARIAL is a vessel with a length of 124.8 meters.
During this visit, ten (10) Bailey Bridges, brought by ship, through the coordination of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, will be handed over to the Disaster Management Center. These bridges will provide temporary transportation links while bridges damaged across the island by adverse weather conditions are repaired.
The crew’s itinerary features scheduled goodwill activities with the Sri Lanka Navy, alongside visits to several tourist attractions across the island.
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