News

Group led by Karu seeks to resurrect Yahapalana constitutional proposals

Published

10 months ago

2025/02/13

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Chairman of the Public Representations Committee on Constitutional Reforms (PRCCR) Lal Wijenayake yesterday (12) said that former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, in his current capacity as the Chairman of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ), intended to initiate a dialogue with the National People’s Power (NPP) government to explore the possibility of advancing the constitutional proposals unveiled during the Yahapalana administration.

The Cabinet, headed by President Maithripala Sirisena, appointed the PRCCR on 22 Dec., 2015.

Attorney-at-law Wijenayake said that they recently discussed the constitutional proposals that were available for the NPP government’s consideration. “Having met at Jayasuriya’s residence, we reached consensus that the former Speaker should write to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in this regard,” Wijenayake told The Island.

Noting that President Dissanayake serves as the leader of both the Janatha Vimukthi Peremuna (JVP) and the NPP, Wijenayake emphasized that Premier Dr. Harini Amarasuriya had been a member of the PRCCR. Therefore, the NPP government could comfortably handle the constitutional proposals prepared following a countrywide public consultations at the onset of Yahapalana administration (2015-2019), the civil society activist said.

Wijenayake explained the current status of their efforts in response to The Island queries. According to him, the NMSJ Chief has called another meeting later this month to pursue the matter. Pointing out that some felt that the government should entirely focus on post-Aragalaya economic recovery process, the new administration couldn’t afford to keep the constitutional solution on the backburner, Wijenayake said.

The Public Representations Committee consisted of S. Winston Pathiraja (Secretary), Faisz Musthapha, Prof. A. M. Navaratna Bandara, Prof. M. L. A. Cader, N. Selvakkumaran, S. Thavarajah, Kushan D’Alwis, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Dr. Kumudu Kusum Kumara, Sunil Jayaratne, Dr. Upul Abeyratne, Themiya L. B. Hurulle, S. Vijesandiran, M.Y.M. Faiz, Mrs. M. K. Nadeeka Damayanthi, Ms. Kanthie Ranasinghe, S. C. C. Elankovan, and Sirimasiri Hapuarachchi.

The Wijenayake-led PRC handed over a report that contained the entire set of proposals to Yahapalana Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe on 31 May, 2016.

Karu Jayasuriya served as the Speaker of the Yahapalana government and was a key supporter of that constitutional process that received the backing of the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council.

Wijenayake said that in the wake of the November 2019 presidential election, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed a nine-member committee, headed by Romesh de Silva, PC, to formulate a new draft Constitution. That effort was discarded after Aragalaya forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office, Wijenayake said, urging all political parties represented in Parliament to examine their proposals with an open mind. “Let us stop playing politics with the constitution making process. We should be genuinely interested in formulating a Constitution that would meet the aspirations of all communities,” Wijenayake said.

Wijenayake, who is a member of the NPP’s Executive Committee, said that during the presidential and parliamentary election campaigns references were made to the PRCCR’s proposals.

Responding to another query, Wijenayake emphasized that in spite of the successful conclusion of the conflict the country couldn’t achieve true national reconciliation for want of a new Constitution that was acceptable to the people.

Former SLPP National List MP Gevindu Cumaratunga accused Jayasuriya of promoting Yahapalana constitutional proposals that had been roundly rejected by the people at the presidential and parliamentary polls in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Cumaratunga emphasized that the proposed new Constitution should reflect the actual situation on the ground or post-2009 position. Asked to explain, the former parliamentarian said that the government shouldn’t, under any circumstances, promote a federal agenda in the guise of enacting a new Constitution.

Wijenayake noted that at the time the PRCCR formulated those constitutional proposals those who now represented the main Opposition SJB were members of the UNP. In the Yahapalana Parliament the JVP had only six MPs though the Marxist party-led NPP consisted of 159 MPs in the current Parliament.

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News

Financial contributions received for ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

14 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

The Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, established to provide relief and support to communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah, continues to receive financial contributions on a daily basis.

Accordingly, the Containers Transport Owners Association made a financial contribution of Rs. 1.5 million, while the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers contributed Rs. 1.35 million to the Fund.

The respective cheques were formally presented to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday (19).

The occasion was attended by W. M. S. K. Manjula, Chairman of the Containers Transport Owners Association, together with Dilip Nihal Anslem Perera and Jayantha Karunadhipathi.

Representing the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers were Deshan Rajapaksa, Samudika Perera and Devshan Rodrigo handed over the cheque.

News

UNICEF representatives and PM discuss rebuilding schools affected by the Disaster

Published

14 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

A meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and a delegation of UNICEF representatives was held on Saturday, (December 20) at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister explained the measures taken by the Government to ensure the protection of the affected student community and to restore the damaged school system, as well as the challenges encountered in this process.

The Prime Minister stated that reopening schools located in landslide-prone areas would be extremely dangerous. Accordingly, the Government is focusing on identifying such schools and relocating them to suitable locations based on scientific assessments.

The Prime Minister further noted that financial assistance has been provided to students affected by the disaster, enabling parents to send their children back to school without an additional financial burden. Emphasizing that school is the safest place for children after their homes, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the school environment would help restore and improve students’ mental well-being

The Prime Minister also highlighted that attention has been given to several key areas, including the relocation of disaster-affected schools, restoration of school infrastructure, merging and operating certain schools jointly, facilitating teaching and learning through digital and technological strategies, and providing special transportation facilities. She emphasized that the Government is examining these issues and is committed to finding long-term solutions.

The UNICEF representatives commended the Government’s commitment and the initiatives undertaken to restore the education sector and assured their support to the Government. Both parties also discussed working together collaboratively on future initiatives.

The meeting was attended by the UNICEF representatives to Sri Lanka Emma Brigham, Lakshmi Sureshkumar, Nishantha Subash, and Yashinka Jayasinghe, along with Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Director of Education Dakshina Kasturiarachchi, Deputy Directors Kasun Gunarathne and Udara Dikkumbura.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

NMRA laboratory lacks SLAB accreditation

Published

16 hours ago

2025/12/22

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Sanjeewa

Drug controversy:

“Setting up state-of-the-art drug testing facility will cost Rs 5 billion”

Activists call for legal action against politicians, bureaucrats

Serious questions have been raised over Sri Lanka’s drug regulatory system following revelations that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority’s (NMRA) quality control laboratory is not accredited by the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB), casting doubt on both the reliability of local test results and the adequacy of oversight of imported medicines.

Medical and civil rights groups warn that the issue points to a systemic regulatory failure rather than an isolated lapse, with potential political and financial consequences for the State.

Chairman of the Federation of Medical and Civil Rights Professional Associations, Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said the controversy surrounding the Ondansetron injection, which was later found to be contaminated, had exposed deep weaknesses in drug regulation and quality assurance.

Dr. Sanjeewa said that the manufacturer had confirmed that the drug had been imported into Sri Lanka on four occasions this year, despite later being temporarily withdrawn from use. The drug was manufactured in India in November 2024 and in May and August 2025, and imported to Sri Lanka in February, July and September. On each occasion, 67,600 phials were procured.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the company had informed the NMRA that the drug was tested in Indian laboratories, prior to shipment, and passed all required quality checks. The manufacturer reportedly tested the injections against 10 parameters, including basic quality standards,

pH value, visual appearance, component composition, quantity per phial, sterility levels, presence of other substances, bacterial toxin levels and spectral variations.

According to documents submitted to the NMRA, no bacterial toxins were detected in the original samples, and the reported toxin levels were within European safety limits of less than 9.9 international units per milligram.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the credibility of local regulatory oversight had come under scrutiny, noting that the NMRA’s quality control laboratory was not SLAB-accredited. He said establishing a fully equipped, internationally accredited laboratory would cost nearly Rs. 5 billion.

He warned that the failure to invest in such a facility could have grave consequences, including continued loss of life due to substandard medicines and the inability of the State to recover large sums of public funds paid to pharmaceutical companies for defective drugs.

“If urgent steps are not taken, public money will continue to be lost and accountability will remain elusive,” Dr. Sanjeewa said.

He added that if it was ultimately confirmed that the drug did not contain bacterial toxins at the time it entered Sri Lanka, the fallout would be even more damaging, severely undermining the credibility of the country’s health system and exposing weaknesses in health administration.

Dr. Sanjeewa said public trust in the health sector had already been eroded and called for legal action against all politicians and public officials responsible for regulatory failures linked to the incident.

by Chaminda Silva ✍️