News

Opposition calls for declaration of a ‘state of disaster’

Published

5 years ago

2021/05/12

SJB MPs Thalatha Atukorale, Eran Wickramaratne, Dr. Harsha de Silva and Kabir Hashim addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s office on Monday

The main Opposition party, the SJB, on Monday called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to summon an all-party conference on managing the evolving COVID-19 crisis quickly.

Addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s office in Colombo, senior SJB MP Kabir Hashim, urged the government to heed the advice of medical experts and seek broad consultation to better manage what they termed as the hour of national crisis.

The SJB was prepared to help Hashim said. “We the SJB urge the Government to call an all-party conference to effectively manage the COVID-19 crisis. We must first save the public.”

MP Hashim said that prioritising economic revival and political interest over the health and well-being of the public was a failure on the part of the government and contributed to the transmission of the virus.

SJB Colombo District MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said: “I think the time has come for the government to call an all-party meeting and decide on how to obtain the assistance of the Opposition, but on the condition that decisions are made only on the advice of experts and not on political grounds.”

MP De Silva said that as medical experts had indicated that the coming weeks could see a public health emergency, the government should consider declaring a ‘state of disaster’ under the Disaster Management Act and allow the formulation of a more inclusive decision-making body. “Medical experts are pointing out that there is a disaster looming. The public is in danger.”

Dr. de Silva said that under the Disaster Management Act, the government could establish a Disaster Management Council, made up of the President, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, selected Ministers, Governors of the Provinces and five members of the Opposition. He reiterated that the Opposition was ready to help the government.

SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne said that the projections by the health experts were gloomy and immediate action had to be taken to arrest the situation.

He called on the government to appeal to friendly countries, the international community, and the UN to get mobile field hospitals, critical medical equipment and boost oxygen capacity as soon as possible.

“This will be a test of the government’s diplomacy. There is a need for 600,000 AstraZeneca vaccines. The amount is nothing compared to the millions of vaccines needed by some countries. Those who got the first dose are awaiting the second.”

Wickramaratne maintained that had the government heeded expert opinion and the views of the Opposition last year, a vaccine shortage would not have arisen. “We are six months behind the rest of the world in responding to the pandemic. This government has completely failed to control the COVID-19 outbreak. We have been telling them from the beginning that the task forces it has set up are not led by specialists. The government opened up the country at a time it should have remained closed.”

MP Wickramaratne said that the present infection rate was very high, and added that according to the data models they had seen the infection rate may reach 4,000 in the coming weeks. “When that happens, there may be a need for additional 10-12 ICU beds a day. Already ICU beds are scarce. This capacity needs to be increased.”

SJB Ratnapura District MP Thalatha Atukorale said that the government could not pass the blame for the rapid spread of the virus on to the public.

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CEYPETCO Fuel prices increased from midnight today (21)

Published

26 mins ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight today (21).

Accordingly,

Auto Diesel – Rs. 382 (increased by Rs. 79)

Super Diesel – Rs. 443 (increased by Rs. 90)

Petrol 92 Octane – Rs. 398 (increased by Rs. 81)

Kerosene – Rs. 255. (increased by Rs. 60)

Petrol 95 Octane – Rs. 455 (increased by Rs. 90)

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued for Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts

Published

7 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre Issued at 12.30 p.m. 21 March 2026, valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 21 March 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Galle, Matara, Kaluthara and Rathnapura districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:

 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.

 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.

 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.

 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.

 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

News

Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport

Published

12 hours ago

2026/03/21

Priyan

Sri Lanka’s president says his government turned down a request from the United States to land two US combat aircraft at a civilian airport earlier this month.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that Washington had requested permission for the aircraft to land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4 to 8.

The request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran.

“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti”, Dissanayake told lawmakers. “We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality”, he added to applause.

The US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked widespread concern globally, as Iranian missile and drone attacks across the wider Middle East have sent energy prices soaring and fuelled fears of a widening conflict.

US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Washington’s allies to show more support for the war, slamming NATO countries as “cowards” for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has essentially shuttered the critical Gulf waterway amid the war, forcing leaders around the world to scramble to try to offset the effects on their economies and energy supplies.

Amid the turmoil, many countries have refused to get directly involved in the war while calling for urgent de-escalation.

On Friday, Switzerland announced that it would halt any weapons exports to the US that could be used in military operations against Iran, citing its longstanding policy of neutrality.

“The export of war materiel to countries involved ⁠in the international armed conflict with Iran cannot be authorised for the duration of the conflict”, the Swiss government said.

Sri Lanka’s president also cited his country’s neutrality in the decision to deny the US request to land the two aircraft at Matalla airport earlier this month.

Dissanayake said he had received another request that same day, on February 26, from Iran to seek permission for three naval vessels to make a goodwill visit to Sri Lanka.

“With two requests before us, the decision was clear,” he said, noting that the government denied both to avoid taking sides as signs of escalating conflict emerged.

“Had we said ‘yes’ to Iran, we would have had to say ‘yes’ to the US, as well”, Dissanayake added.

In early March, Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian crew off IRIS Dena after it was torpedoed by a US submarine off the country’s coast, killing at least 84 people.

Days later, Sri Lanka evacuated more than 200 crew members from a second Iranian vessel, IRIS Bushehr, after the ship requested assistance from Colombo.

[Aljazeera]