News
Govt. under fire for scrapping joint military exercise with Pakistan off Trincomalee
Former Navy Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, said that the National People’s Power (NPP) government owed the public an explanation regarding Indian media reports of the cancellation of joint naval exercise involving SLN and PNS (Pakistan Navy Ship) Aslat off Trincomalee.
Weerasekera, who also served as the Public Security Minister during Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s presidency, asked whether the recently signed MoU on defence cooperation with India paved the way for New Delhi to interfere in bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Acknowledging that the MoU on defence cooperation hadn’t been signed at the time Sri Lanka cancelled planned naval exercise off Trincomalee, the former parliamentarian said that the issue at hand should be examined also taking into consideration the one year ban imposed on foreign research vessels on 01 January, 2024, bythe then President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Weerasekera contested Colombo district at the last parliamentary polls on the SLPP ticket but couldn’t retain his seat.
That was meant to bar Chinese research vessels from visiting Sri Lanka, ex-MP Weerasekera said, urging the government to explain its stand on the ban imposed by Wickremesinghe. Referring to government statements that dealt with foreign research vessels late last year, the former Minister said that the government couldn’t keep silent on this issue.
We would like to know the status quo with regard to foreign research vessels, Weerasekera said.
Responding to The Island queries, the former lawmaker, who once served as Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Security, said that the government was yet to table the MoU on defence cooperation with India in Parliament. In fact, none of the MoUs that had been signed with India on 05 April were presented to Parliament yet and the Opposition should pressure the government to reveal the contents, the former Colombo district MP said.
Pointing out that the government had done away with the SOC on national security when the Parliament, in consultation with the UNDP, restructured the SOC system, thereby accommodated the vital subject under SOC on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection, Weerasekera emphasised that the Opposition should vigorously take up this issue.
Dr. Najith Indika heads the SOC on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection. Former Minister Weerasekera said that Pakistan was one of the few countries, along with China and Russia, that always backed Sri Lanka at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council over the years.
Weerasekera said that the Sri Lanka-India defence cooperation MoU was yet to be taken up at the SOC level.
Weerasekera alleged that India was taking advantage of the situation as it tightened its grip on the government. The former Minister said that the government seemed to have meekly succumbed to Indian pressure and caused irreparable damage to long standing ties with Pakistan. Sri Lanka couldn’t, under any circumstances, forget the unprecedented support provided by Pakistan throughout the war against the LTTE, Weerasekera said.
Among the armaments that had been provided by Pakistan were multi-barrel rocket launchers that were deployed in the northern and eastern theatres during Eelam War IV, especially in the aftermath of the LTTE laying siege to the Jaffna peninsula after the fall of the vital Elephant Pass and was threatening to storm the last bastion in the North.
The former Minister said that Sri Lanka paid a huge price to bring the war, initiated by India, to an end.
Meanwhile, top SJB spokesman Mujibur Rahman said that the NPP should be ashamed to ask MPs to seek MoUs signed with India through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Parliamentarian Rahman said that he was quite surprised and disappointed by the position taken by Health Minister and Cabinet spokesman, Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, that those who wanted the MoU on defence cooperation should do so through the RTI Act. “This is nothing but a joke. The Cabinet spokesman’s current stand is contrary to what the JVP has been saying over the years.”
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Family sources have confirmed that the interment of singer Latha Walpola will be performed at the General Cemetery Borella on Wednesday (31 December).
In an environmental initiative commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Sri Lanka Navy, the Western Naval Command organized a cleanup programme at Galle Face Beach on Saturday (27 Dec 25).
The programme focused on the removal of substantial solid waste littering the beachfront, including accumulated plastic and polythene debris. All collected wastey was systematically disposed of utilizing methods designed to safeguard the sensitive coastal ecosystem.
Demonstrating a strong commitment to the cause, the cleanup effort saw the participation of the Commander Western Naval Area and a group of over 200 naval personnel.
Sri Lanka’s environmental protection framework is rapidly eroding, with weak law enforcement, politically driven development and the routine sidelining of environmental safeguards pushing the country towards an ecological crisis, leading environmentalists have warned.
Dilena Pathragoda, Managing Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), has said the growing environmental damage across the island is not the result of regulatory gaps, but of persistent failure to enforce existing laws.
“Sri Lanka does not suffer from a lack of environmental regulations — it suffers from a lack of political will to enforce them,” Pathragoda told The Sunday Island. “Environmental destruction is taking place openly, often with official knowledge, and almost always without accountability.”
Dr. Pathragoda has said environmental impact assessments are increasingly treated as procedural formalities rather than binding safeguards, allowing ecologically sensitive areas to be cleared or altered with minimal oversight.
“When environmental approvals are rushed, diluted or ignored altogether, the consequences are predictable — habitat loss, biodiversity decline and escalating conflict between humans and nature,” Pathragoda said.
Environmental activist Janaka Withanage warned that unregulated development and land-use changes are dismantling natural ecosystems that have sustained rural communities for generations.
“We are destroying natural buffers that protect people from floods, droughts and soil erosion,” Withanage said. “Once wetlands, forests and river catchments are damaged, the impacts are felt far beyond the project site.”
Withanage said communities are increasingly left vulnerable as environmental degradation accelerates, while those responsible rarely face legal consequences.
“What we see is selective enforcement,” he said. “Small-scale offenders are targeted, while large-scale violations linked to powerful interests continue unchecked.”
Both environmentalists warned that climate variability is amplifying the damage caused by poor planning, placing additional strain on ecosystems already weakened by deforestation, sand mining and infrastructure expansion.
Pathragoda stressed that environmental protection must be treated as a national priority rather than a development obstacle.
“Environmental laws exist to protect people, livelihoods and the economy,” he said. “Ignoring them will only increase disaster risk and long-term economic losses.”
Withanage echoed the call for urgent reform, warning that continued neglect would result in irreversible damage.
“If this trajectory continues, future generations will inherit an island far more vulnerable and far less resilient,” he said.
Environmental groups say Sri Lanka’s standing as a biodiversity hotspot — and its resilience to climate-driven disasters — will ultimately depend on whether environmental governance is restored before critical thresholds are crossed.
By Ifham Nizam ✍️
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