A group of students from Mawatagama Central College in Kurunegala and Sri Koneswara Hindu College in Trincomalee had the opportunity to participate in the “Vision” programme organized by the Presidential Secretariat on Friday  (11), as part of their educational excursion.

This programme is jointly conducted by the Presidential Secretariat, the Ministry of Education and the Communications Department of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, with the aim of educating school children. As part of the programme, the students were also briefed on the “Clean Sri Lanka” initiative and its conceptual importance in promoting environmental consciousness.

Delivering an engaging lecture to the students, Senior Advisor to the President on Science and technology Prof. Gomika Udugamasooriya emphasized the importance of not limiting oneself to a single field of knowledge, but rather exploring all areas through experimentation from a young age. He also highlighted how life’s challenges can be overcome by treating every experience as a subject of inquiry and learning.

Reinforcing the importance of environmental conservation, valuable saplings were donated to the participating schools.

Senior Additional Secretary to the President  K.N.M. Kumarasinghe, Director of the Tri-Forces Coordination Unit of the Presidential Secretariat Air Commodore Asiri Gallage, Assistant Director Major Nadika Dangolla, as well as teachers from both Mawatagama Central College and Sri Koneswara Hindu College.

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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized that this year’s budget has allocated the highest capital expenditure by a government in recent history for development activities, amounting to nearly Rs. 1,400 billion. The President stated that it is the responsibility of both the political leadership and state officials to ensure that these funds are utilized effectively to meet the economic growth targets before the end of this year.

President Dissanayake further stated that the general public, who are not involved, have fallen victim to the choices made by the political authority and state officials, stressing that this situation must not persist.

The President made these remarks on Friday (11) while attending the Matara District Special Coordination Committee meeting held at the auditorium of the Matara District Secretariat.

Highlighting that the government expects an economic growth rate of 5% this year, the President stated that increased state investments will contribute significantly to this growth. He added that the country now has the opportunity to restart its development efforts.

The President advised that if the allocated capital expenditure is not used as intended, the entire development cycle could collapse. He emphasised that everyone must commit to spending the funds effectively. The President also recalled that the country had a history of not receiving the allocated funds for capital expenditure in a timely manner.

During the meeting, the allocations made for development projects in the Matara District under the 2025 Budget at the level of ministries, departments and institutions, along with the progress of the projects that have already been initiated, were reviewed.

Discussions were also held regarding issues in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, health, education, rural road development, land and irrigation, along with potential solutions.

The President paid special attention to the issue of the Nilwala River Salinity Barrier, highlighting the necessity to address the longstanding problems faced by the local community. He directed that a Committee comprising specialists in the relevant fields be established within a month to evaluate previous findings of the investigation reports conducted on this matter and to prepare a report.

The President also highlighted the need for a comprehensive master plan to fully manage the flood situation in the Matara District. He suggested that the Asian Development Bank or the World Bank carry out a renewed study on the matter. In the meantime, he stressed the importance of implementing short-term solutions to address the day-to-day challenges people face until long-term solutions become operational.

Attention was also drawn to the waste management problems in the district and the measures being taken to address them.

The President noted the importance of using currently unused large government buildings in the district for productive development activities. Referring to the Matara Cultural Centre, he mentioned that despite the significant funds spent on its construction, it has not yet been utilised for any effective purpose. He instructed officials to submit urgent proposals to make a final decision regarding the deteriorating structure.

The proposed Polhena Cricket Training School was also a topic of discussion, and the President directed that a proposal be submitted concerning this matter. He guaranteed that measures would be taken to secure Cabinet approval for the project.

The meeting was attended by Co-Chairs of the Matara District Coordination Committee, Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunnetti, Southern Province Governor, Bandula Harischandra and Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Paulraj. Also present were public representatives of the Matara district including Members of Parliament Lal Premanath, Ajantha Gammaddage, Chathura Galappaththi, Arkam Ilyas, L. M. Abeywickrama, as well as government officials including Matara District Secretary, Chandana Tilakaratne.

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) yesterday demanded the immediate public release of all forensic reports, and DNA findings, related to the Chemmani mass grave investigation, warning that symbolic gestures of reconciliation will remain hollow without legal accountability.

In a strongly worded three-page letter to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the party urged urgent action to ensure truth, justice, and international collaboration in the ongoing exhumation process in Jaffna.

The letter, signed by senior party leaders C.V.K. Sivagnanam and M.A. Sumanthiran, raised concerns over the transparency of the current procedures and emphasised the need for independent international forensic oversight. The ITAK also called for the consolidation of legal cases filed in 1999 and 2025 and the return of remains held in Glasgow for further forensic analysis.

 ITAK said that more than 65 skeletons, including those of infants, have already been recovered—pointing to the scale of atrocities allegedly committed in the area.

The party stressed that forensic transparency, proper victim identification, and prosecution of perpetrators are essential for genuine national healing and justice.

Full text of the ITAK letter: “We write on behalf of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi to express profound concern regarding the ongoing exhumation at Chemmani. We urge urgent and decisive action to uncover the truth, ensure forensic protocols meet internationally recognised standards, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Chemmani has come to represent Sri Lanka’s unresolved legacy of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings extending into the mid-1990s. In 1998, Lance Corporal Somaratne Rajapakse convicted for the rape and murder of Tamil schoolgirl, Krishanthi Kumaraswarny, and family members, revealed at his sentencing hearing that between 300 and 400 Tamil civilians had been buried there. This disclosure prompted excavations in 1999 that yielded fifteen skeletons, two of which were identified as disappearances from 1996. Despite forensic confirmation of assault and execution prosecutions stagnated and no meaningful justice was delivered to the day.

“In early 2025, during redevelopment work at the Chemmani Ariyalai Siththuppaaththi Hindu crematorium in northern Jaffna human skeletal remains were uncovered, prompting the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court to formally declare the site a mass grave and order a court-supervised excavation under judicial supervision. As of today, approximately 65 skeletons including infants and children had been exhumed in two phases, accompanied by personal artefacts such as a school bag, toy, bangles, sandals and fragments of clothing. All remains are held at the University of Jaffna for forensic examination.

“These excavations, along with several other mass graves in the Tamil areas of the North and East, constitute clear evidence of war crimes and a genocidal campaign against the Tamil population in this country, a grave history that must be acknowledged in full.

“Truth seeking must serve as the foundation of any transitional justice process. Hundreds of families continue to seek answers, more than sixteen years after the war ended in 2009. These families are asking an imperative question about the fate of their missing loved ones

“The silence of successive regime is not merely a political failure but a grave moral one. Every year without truth undermines the possibility of national healing and closure. The fifteen bodies removed in 1999 are connected to the same criminal context as the current discoveries. However, the pending case in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court relating to that excavation has not been formally integrated with the present investigation. These must now be treated as part of a single criminal transaction. Only consolidation of both investigations can enable meaningful account ability,

Sri Lanka’s limited domestic forensic capacity and the history of opaque handling of mass graves make transparent protocols and credible international oversight indispensable Chain of custody must be documented meticulously

“Independent forensic experts of recognised international standing should be engaged to oversee excavation, identification and analysis. Interim and final reports must be publicly disclosed to victims’ families, civil society, international observers and the wider public.

“It has come to light that the fifteen bodies exhumed in 1999 were reportedly transferred to the University of Glasgow for analysis. To date, successive Sri Lankan governments have taken no meaningful steps to repatriate those remains, identify the victims or facilitate their proper last rites. Those remains must be urgently returned to Sri Lanka so they may be re-investigated under the same internationally monitored protocols applied to the current Chemmani excavation contributing but unified and coherent truth-seeking process.

“The earth at Chemmani is speaking again. Over forty skeletons, including infants, have emerged with personal artefacts that painfully affirm their civilian status and innocence. Yet many perpetrators remain at liberty. Symbolic gestures of reconciliation ring hollow without real legal action.

“We therefore respectfully but firmly urge Your Excellency to implement the following without delay:

1. Consolidate the legal cases related to the 1999 and 2025 exhumations into a single judicial and forensic inquiry under the Colombo and Jaffna Magistrate’s Courts.

2. Engage independent, internationally respected forensic experts to oversee all stages of the investigation, ensuring forensic integrity and public trust.

3. Publicize all interim and final forensic reports, DNA profiles and identification results, and facilitate access for victims’ families, civil society and international observers.

4. Repatriate the remains excavated in 1999, currently believed to be held in Glasgow, to they may be examined under the same protocols and returned to their families with dignity.

5. Allocate significantly enhanced financial and logistical resources to ensure that the current excavation is completed under international standards; hundreds of families continue searching for missing loved ones, and without truth and accountability, reconciliation remains a facade. Concurrently take steps to prosecute those responsible for these heinous crimes, which is essential for national healing.

These actions are essential to uphold Sri Lanka’s moral and legal obligations and to chart a credible path toward truth and justice.We remain ready to support constructively in facilitating these measures and ensuring their timely implementation.”