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Emergency may cost SL GSP Plus, warns GL

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By Rathindra Kuruwita

Emergency regulations were against the Constitution of the Sri Lanka SLPP founding Chairman Prof. G.L Peiris told the media yesterday. That would boomerang on Sri Lanka in the United nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva soon, he warned.

Prof. Peiris said that due to the Emergency regulations approved by Parliament on Wednesday, the government could now ignore any laws that are inconsistent with them, Prof. Peiris said, adding that only the Constitution could not be overruled. Emergency regulations took precedence over all other laws that guaranteed the freedoms and rights of the people. People did not realise the gravity of it. Sometimes a country had to declare a state of emergency but that had to be done after careful deliberation,” he said.

Prof. Peiris added that there was no need to declare a state of emergency given that the normal laws are more than enough to protect the lives of the people and property.

“This is probably a ruse to accomplish ulterior motives. That’s why I voted against it,” Prof. Peiris said, noting that within 24-hours of Ranil Wickremesinghe becoming President, the protesters at Galle face had been attacked and the attack had been condemned by more than 100 medical specialists.

“They have said that there were people who were seriously injured but acess to medical aid had been delayed. The Police Spokesman said they didn’t use powers given to them under Emergency laws. I would like to tell him that what was done could not be justified in a civilised country,” he said.

Prof. Peiris added that Sri Lanka needed the support of the international community. The developments in Sri Lanka had been condemned by many countries and international organisations.

“As a former Foreign Minister, I know that we will have to go to Geneva in a month. Emergency laws are always a big issue. This can also lead to the country losing the GSP + concession,” Prof. Peiris said.

If this happens, this will have a devastating impact on foreign earnings. Remittances, tourism and imports have been our lifelines, he said.

Meanwhile, MP Dullas Alahapperuma said that if he had become the 8th executive president of Sri Lanka, he would have taken steps to abolish the executive presidency.

“I would have been the 8th and last executive president. We were clamouring for an all-party government, not a government comprising of crossovers.”



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Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation plague most schools, say Principals

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By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakkone and Chaminda Silva

Around 500 schools across the country lack access to safe drinking water for students, Piyasiri Fernando, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Principals’ Association, has said.

Fernando told The Island that a significant number of schools did not have facilities to store water properly. He said many schools lacked sanitary facilities.

Fernando also noted that in some schools in the Eastern, North Central, Uva, North Western, and Central provinces, as well as in approximately 20% of schools located near coastal areas, there are no proper toilet facilities. Despite the issuance of circulars specifying the number of toilets to be built, based on the number of students, some schools still did not have sanitary facilities as per those guidelines, the Secretary of the Principals’ Association said.

According to the School Census -2023 (2024) conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics there were 3,882,688 schoolchildren, 830,021 in National Schools and 3,052,667 in Provincial Schools.

Out of 10,096 schools, 1,506 have 1-50 students, 1,638 have 51-100 students and 2,128 have 101-200 students. Only 67 schools have 3,001-4,000 students, while only 33 have more than 4,000 students. 3,117 or 30.9 percent schools have fewer than 10 teachers.

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Julie meets Namal at SLPP HQ

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Rajapaksa and Kariyawasam with Ambassador Chung

US Ambassador, Julie Chung, visited the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) office on Friday (14) for discussions with party representatives.

Ambassador Chung arrived at the SLPP Headquarters around 10:00 a.m. and engaged in talks for over an hour and a half. Her visit followed a request by the SLPP to meet her.

During the meeting, she held discussions with SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, former Members of Parliament Sanjeewa Edirimanne, C.B. Ratnayake, and Jayantha Ketagoda, as well as current MP D.V. Chanaka. Milinda Rajapaksha, an advisor to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was also present.

The visit comes amid calls from SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa for an investigation into USAID fund recipients in Sri Lanka.

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Speaker agrees to probe allegations of ‘unethical funding’ by USAID

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Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne

By Saman Indrajith

Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne informed Parliament on Friday (14) that he intended to take necessary action regarding requests made by MPs concerning allegations over USAID funding in Sri Lanka.

He made this statement in response to a question raised by Opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, who sought a clarification on the matter.

Jayasekara noted that SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa had sent a letter to the Speaker calling for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate reports about unethical USAID funding in the country. He questioned whether such a committee would be formed and the matter formally examined.

In response, Speaker Wickramaratne confirmed that he was planning to take appropriate action on the issue.

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