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‘Justice for all’ calls for broad democratic movement to protect people’s rights
Good governance lobbyist “Justice for All” on Sunday called for fresh initiatives to urgently form a broad democratic movement mobilising the people of the country for a truly meaningful regime change in the near future.
In a statement the organisation said the broad democratic movement can eventually build a robust and inclusive democratic alliance between the politically awakened citizens, political parties and the civil society movements.
“Such a broad democratic coalition is urgently necessary to play the leading role in bringing deep democratic reforms back to the country’s immediate political agenda. Such a coalition will also be best suited to the task of mobilising the people of the country for a truly meaningful regime change in the near future,” the statement issued jointly by A.M. Faaiz, Bhavani Fonseka, Shanakiyan Rasamanikam, M.A. Sumanthiran and Jayadeva Uyangoda said.
In its statement titled “An Independence Day of Reflection, Reckoning and Reform”, the group said Sri Lanka is yet again at crossroads when marking 75 years of independence. A spiraling economic crisis has resulted in over 9 million fellow citizens slipping into poverty, with over 30% of families’ food insecure and 56,000 children facing acute malnutrition.
These startling figures are in the context of shortages of essential items, rising prices and continuing power cuts impacting the most vulnerable communities and exposing Sri Lanka’s deepening inequalities.
Despite the hardships faced by so many in Sri Lanka, the Government of President Ranil Wickremasinghe marked independence with pomp and pageantry reportedly costing Sri Lanka nearly Rs. 200 million, funds that could have been used to meet basic needs of Sri Lankans. Such extravagance must be juxtaposed to the Government’s claim of financial difficulties to hold the Local Government election.
Further, Sri Lanka is yet again confronted with renewed repression. 4th of February dawned with reports of brute force used by the police and thugs against those who participated in a peaceful and non-violent Satyagraha in Colombo and attempts to prevent protests in other parts of Sri Lanka. Such tactics are not new to Sri Lanka, with victims of violence, minorities, critics and political opponents having faced violence and intimidation for decades with no prospect of genuine reckoning. Despite Sri Lanka’s history of repression, the few months of Ranil Wickremasinghe’s presidency has witnessed new levels of repression including attacks on peaceful protesters, the use of national security and counter terror laws to target protests and protesters, creation of a High Security Zone in Colombo, intimidation, harassment and surveillance.
The post-independence period continues with the divide and rule policy, creating ethnic and religious cleavages and producing ethno-nationalism. This has sustained and reproduced root causes of the conflict, contributing to rising intolerance and violence with no genuine efforts at a political solution and reconciliation.
Despite a clear call for political reforms and a system change in Sri Lanka by the citizens since March last year, the authoritarian and militarised governance model continues under the new president, sustaining entrenched corruption, cronyism, nepotism and impunity.
These trends exacerbate the already existing crisis in governance, democratic decay, and the loss of people’s trust in the political class. Coupled with the sharpening economic and social crises, is a growing despair, anguish and loss of hope among the people. Hundreds of Sri Lankans are leaving the country every week in search of economic security and a better future abroad.
Amidst such a context, socio-economic and political reforms that work towards an inclusive, plural and peaceful Sri Lanka are urgently required. Reforms at a system change that reflects the demands of the people must be initiated. Such reforms should entail strengthening democratic institutions and processes in order to rectify the major deficiencies of Sri Lanka’s existing system of representative democracy, governance and politics which the citizens protest movement have highlighted.
This calls for fresh initiatives to form a broad democratic movement that can eventually build a robust and inclusive democratic alliance between the politically awakened citizens, political parties and the civil society movements.
Such a broad democratic coalition is urgently necessary to play the leading role in bringing deep democratic reforms back to the country’s immediate political agenda. Such a coalition will also be best suited to the task of mobilising the people of the country for a truly meaningful regime change in the near future.
The Armed Forces Remembrance and Poppy flower celebration Day commemoration ceremony was held on 16th of November 2025 at the Cenotaph War Memorial at Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.
The Cenotaph War Memorial has been built in memory of war heroes from Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) who were killed in action during World War I and World War II.
It was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens.
This monument is one of the oldest and most significant war memorials in Sri Lanka, and the national commemoration ceremony is held here annually on Remembrance Day (the Sunday closest to November 11).
During the event, the Prime Minister laid a wreath of poppies at the War Heroes’ Memorial and paid floral tributes in remembrance of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives.
The main purpose of this annual commemoration was to honour and remember all war heroes who have sacrificed their lives for the protection of the motherland from the period of the First World War to the present and to recognize their noble cause.
Poppy Day has been commemorated in Great Britain since 1919 to remember the members of the armed forces who died in the First World War, with the poppy becoming the main symbol of remembrance.
The poem “In Flanders Fields”, written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae after witnessing the poppies that had grown on the graves of fallen soldiers on a battlefield in Belgium, played a significant role in establishing the poppy as an eternal symbol of remembrance.
Later, Ms. Moina Michael, who served as a secretary at the American Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), further strengthened the significance of the poppy by initiating the sale of poppies and directing the proceeds towards the welfare of the families of war heroes.
The Poppy Day commemoration in Sri Lanka was organized in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemen’s Association and the Armed Forces.
The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Retired) Aruna Jayasekara, Secretary of Defence Ministry Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Sampath Thuyacontha, Tri-Forces Commanders, retired Tri-Forces Commanders, foreign diplomats, as well as the Chairman, Secretary, and a large number of members of the Sri Lanka Ex-Servicemen’s Association.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A one-and-a-half year delay in completing the East Container Terminal (ECT) of the Colombo Port has caused massive losses, with the Chinese contractor demanding a staggering Rs 4,227 mn in compensation.
According to a statement issued by M. Jayalath Perera, Director Legislative Services / Director Communication (Acting), Parliament of Sri Lanka, the Cabinet approved the contract, worth Rs. 40,272 mn, in November, 2021, and the relevant agreements signed in the following month.
The project, which was scheduled to be completed by the first week of January 2025, is now due for completion in July, 2026.
The issue transpired at a recent meeting of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), chaired by Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera, to discuss the Auditor General’s Reports for the years 2022 and 2023 and the current performance of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
However, the Parliament refrained from naming the contractor and mentioning specific reasons for the delay.
Pointing out that due to the 548-day delay the contractor has claimed Rs. 4,227 million as compensation, Dr. Samaraweera called for a comprehensive report, containing all relevant particulars, to be submitted to the Committee. The COPE examined the performance of SLPA on 10 September and 13 November.
COPE members Dayasiri Jayasekara, S.M. Marikkar, Sujeewa Senasinghe, MKM Aslam, (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, (Dr.) S. Sri Bavanandarajah, Lieutenant Commander (Rtd.) Prageeth Madhuranga, Thilina Samarakoon, Samanmali Gunasingha, Sunil Rajapaksha, Chandima Hettiarachchi, and Dinesh Hemanta participated in the meeting held on 13 November.
State-run China Harbour Engineering Company secured the contract, in late 2021, from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government, after continuous protests backed by port unions affiliated to the SLPP, the UNP and the JVP/NPP against a tripartite agreement involving India, Japan and Sri Lanka to develop the port.
Sources pointed out that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government tried to go ahead with a “memorandum of cooperation” (MoC) signed with India and Japan to develop the ECT, located just next to the USD 500 million Chinese-run Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT). (SF)
Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) has disregarded recommendations made by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), in 2023, to reduce funds allocated to provide food for the SLPA employees.
This transpired when the top SLPA management appeared before COPE to facilitate the examination of the Auditor General’s Reports for the years 2022 and 2023 and the current performance of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
Responding to concerns raised by the COPE, the SLPA management claimed that measures have now been taken to reduce expenses and that a competitive tender procedure has been introduced to minimize costs.
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