News

JVP threatens to lay siege to House till present Parliament is dissolved as per people’s demand

Published

4 years ago

2022/06/1

JVP trade union wing leader and former MP K. D. Lalkantha on Monday said that the day to end people’s struggle, demanding change, will soon be announced.

Addressing a public rally in Thambuttegama, Lalkantha said that his party had been in discussion with many other parties, trade unions, religious and civil society leaders, artistes, intellectuals and lawyers to decide on the next phase of the struggle.

“That date will soon be announced. It will be the date that ends the ongoing people’s struggle. It will be a day of parliamentary sitting. When all these MPs go there we will surround it and close down all the roads demanding that they pass a motion to dissolve the current parliament. We get them to pass it. With that we can get the next election and it would end this struggle.”

Lalkantha said that when the date was announced, setting a deadline for the current Parliament to decide its own dissolving.

“I am telling the MPs now to get ready to vote in keeping with the people’s wishes. People know that the rulers are engaged in enacting a drama hoping for a miracle to save them. For example, look at the Deputy Speaker election fiasco. Ranjith Siyambalapitya resigned from the Deputy Speaker post. When there was an election to fill the vacancy, he contested and won. The following day he resigned again. By enacting such dramas, they waste our money. We have to end this. I can assure the 225 MPs that there would be a day that you would not be able to come out after going to Parliament without voting for a motion to dissolve Parliament,” he said.

Lalkantha said that putting an end to the prevailing political culture, restoring political stability and finding solutions to the problems of people could not be done without a general election. “There is a need to get a new government. People now know who the thieves in MPs’ garb are. They will no longer fall for the tricks of those who robbed this country and put them in misery. If the government says it does not have money to conduct an election, then we promise to get public sector workers to be on election duty voluntarily. Many public sector organisations have expressed their willingness to do election duty free of charge.

“The present government will not last long. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, too, will have to go.

“The Galle Face strugglers should add to their list of demands an election to put an end to the 74-year-long rotten political culture. They should get ready to change the venue from the old Parliament premises to the new Parliament premises. The people’s struggle will come to an end there with winning an election. We have to get these MPs to dissolve this parliament, or there will be no future for the next generation of this country,” Lalkantha said. (SI)

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Geneva takes up Sallay’s case and govt. ignores opportunity to answer accusations

Published

8 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

Suresh Sallay

The government has chosen not to respond to questions raised by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the detention of retired Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay in connection with the ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested the ex-official in late February this year. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers have jointly raised the issue on 20 July, 2026.

Drawing attention of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to what they called alleged arbitrary detention of Sallay, former Director General of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and former Director of Military Intelligence (DMI), under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), as well as allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in custody, resulting in the grave deterioration of his health, and imminent risks of retaliation through further torture and ill-treatment resulting in irreparable harm, should he be released from hospital and returned to custody, the UN sought the government explanation with a 60-day period.

The UN has stated: “This communication, and any response received from your Excellency’s Government, will be made public via the communications reporting website at the 60 days mark. Should your Excellency’s Government respond within 60 days, both the communication and the response, may be published before the 60 days mark. The communications and responses

will also be made available in the subsequent periodic report to be presented to the Human Rights Council.”

In the absence of the government’s response, the UN posted the letter, dated 20 July, 2026, addressed to President Dissanayake. The full letter can be accessed https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=31125

News

Section of wartime KKS High Security Zone vacated to facilitate economic development in the area

Published

8 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

The Army, last week, vacated an area, within the wartime high security zone in the Jaffna peninsula. The Defence Ministry said that an extent of 187.56 acres of land, belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, has been released by the military. The released land, located in Grama Niladhari Division J/233, Kankesanthurai West, within the Valikamam North (Tellippalai) Divisional Secretariat Division, had been utilised by the Sri Lanka Army since the middle of 1997.

The release of the 187.56-acre extent forms part of the initiative to make State land available for the proposed investment zone in Kankesanthurai, thereby facilitating future investment and economic development in the area.

News

Lawyer lodges complaint against Govt. Printer, Media Ministry Secy.

Published

9 hours ago

2026/10/5

Thilina Walpola

A complaint has been lodged with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau against the Government Printer and the Secretary to the Ministry of Media regarding the online release of falsified documents bearing a forged Speaker’s certificate.

Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri has lodged a complaint with the Colombo Fraud Investigation Bureau requesting legal action against the Government Printer of the Department of Government Printing (No. 118, Dr. Danister de Silva Mawatha, Colombo 08), Prasanna Jayaratne, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media (Asidisi Medura, 163, Kirulapone Mawatha, Polhengoda, Colombo 05), Dr. Anil Jasinghe.

The complaint alleges the commission of offences by forging and uploading falsified documents online using a forged Speaker’s certification, failure to perform statutory duties, and misappropriation of public property.

The complaint states that a copy of the English translation of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was downloaded and printed from the official website of the Government Printing Department (www.documents.gov.lk), which operates under the Ministry of Mass Media. On its outer cover and on page 1, the text “certified on 25th of September, 2026” is inscribed inside brackets.

The complaint pointed out that the Speaker has certified an English translation. Under Articles 23, 79, 83, and 80 of the Constitution, Parliament enacts laws and the Speaker certifies bills strictly in the Sinhala and Tamil languages; under the Constitution, therefore the Speaker cannot apply such certification to an English translation.