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SLMC imbroglio: Why sack only five for collective decisions taken by apex body-Dr. Swarnakumar

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The Sri Lanka Orthopaedic Association has questioned the controversial sacking of five members of the Sri Lanka Medical Council by Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi as decisions taken therein were taken with collective responsibility.

Dr V. Swarnakumar in his capacity as the President of the Association, while challenging the ministerial decision, has requested President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s immediate intervention to settle the dispute. In a letter dated Dec 23 addressed to the President, Dr. Swarnakumar has said: “All the decisions made by the SLMC are taken with collective responsibility, either by the entire SLMC or by a majority vote and they are binding on all the members of the SLMC council. Hence, sudden removal of ONLY five members of the council based on the recommendations of this questionable committee is arbitrary and unethical.”

The following is the full text of the letter: “As the main professional body representing all the orthopaedic surgeons in both the state and private sector in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Orthopaedic Association (SLOA) is gravely concerned about the current situation in the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC).

The Sri Lanka Medical Council is the continuation of what was the Ceylon Medical Council established under the medical ordinance 24 of 1924. Its primary purpose is to protect the public/patients’ rights by ensuring a disciplined and ethical practice of its members while maintaining the academic and professional standards of its members.

The truth is that the ordinance that was legislated at a time when there was but a single medical School in existence is woefully inadequate to resolve the issues that are present today; arising from a multitude of local as well as foreign medical graduates and an increasing number of specialties and sub specialties. Compounding this truth is the unfortunate reality of the pervasive influence of politicians and trade unions on almost every single independent institution, in which the SLMC is not alone.

SLOA firmly believes that as the regulatory body for the academic, professional and ethical standards of the medical practitioners, SLMC should be free from all extraneous influences, political or otherwise to carry out their functions independently.

SLOA council notes that the recent termination of the tenure of office of FIVE members of the SLMC, including its President was based on recommendations of a committee appointed by the Minister of Health.

With reference to the above committee report, we observe following key points which we believe are the observations of all the right thinking medical community.

1. The terms of reference of the said committee were of a fact finding nature. We understand that its mandate does not include making recommendations of a punitive nature.

2. All the decisions made by the SLMC are taken with collective responsibility, either by the entire SLMC or by a majority vote and they are binding on all the members of the SLMC council. Hence, sudden removal of ONLY five members of the council based on the recommendations of this questionable committee is arbitrary and unethical.

In the light of above, we, the SLOA urge your Excellency to please intervene early to resolve this matter, so that the SLMC will once again enjoy the trust that the public had invested in it and function as a true independent body with the necessary integrity of a statutory body of its caliber. “



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Sri Lankan among hundreds of foreigners freed from Myanmar’s scam centres

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More than 250 people from 20 nationalities including a Sri Lankan who had been working in telecom fraud centres in Myanmar’s Karen State have been released by an ethnic armed group and brought to Thailand.

The workers, more than half of whom were from African or Asian nations, were received by the Thai army, and are being assessed to find out if they were victims of human trafficking.

Last week Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met Chinese leader Xi Jinping and promised to shut down the scam centres which have proliferated along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Her government has stopped access to power and fuel from the Thai side of the border, and toughened up banking and visa rules to try to prevent scam operators from using Thailand as a transit country for moving workers and cash.

Some opposition MPs in Thailand have been pushing for this kind of action for the past two years.

Foreign workers are typically lured to these scam centres by offers of good salaries, or in some cases tricked into thinking they will be doing different work in Thailand, not Myanmar.

The scammers look for workers with skills in the languages of those who are targeted for cyber-fraud, usually English and Chinese.

They are pressed into conducting online criminal activity, ranging from love scams known as “pig butchering” and crypto fraud, to money laundering and illegal gambling.

Some are willing to do the work, but others are forced to stay, with release only possible if their families pay large ransoms. Some of those who have escaped have described being tortured.

The released foreign workers were handed over by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, DKBA, one of several armed factions which control territory inside Karen State.

These armed groups have been accused of allowing the scam compounds to operate under their protection, and of tolerating the widespread abuse of trafficking victims who are forced to work in the compounds.

The Myanmar government has been unable to extend its control over much of Karen State since independence in 1948.

Thai News Pix Three people released from scam centres walk across a tarmac
The scammers look for workers with skills in the languages of those who are targeted for cyber-fraud, usually English and Chinese [BBC]

On Tuesday, Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation, which is similar to the US FBI, requested arrest warrants for three commanders of another armed group known as the Karen National Army.

The warrants included Saw Chit Thu, the Karen warlord who struck a deal in 2017 with a Chinese company to build Shwe Kokko, a new city believed to be largely funded by scams.

The BBC visited Shwe Kokko at the invitation of Yatai, the company which built the city.

Yatai says there are no more scams in Shwe Kokko. It has put up huge billboards all over town proclaiming, in Chinese, Burmese and English, that forced labour is not allowed, and that “online businesses” should leave.

But we were told by local people that the scam business was still running, and interviewed a worker who had been employed in one.

Chart showing nationalities of rescued workers

Like the DKBA, Saw Chit Thu broke away from the main Karen insurgent group, the KNU, in 1994, and allied himself to the Myanmar military.

Under pressure from Thailand and China, both Saw Chit Thu and the DKBA have said they are expelling the scam businesses from their territories.

The DKBA commander contacted a Thai member of parliament on Tuesday to arrange the handover of the 260 workers.

They included 221 men and 39 women, from Ethiopia, Kenya, the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Nepal, Uganda, Laos, Burundi, Brazil, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Tanzania, Sir Lanka, India, Ghana and Cambodia.

[BBC]

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Sri Lanka and UAE sign agreement to Strengthen Economic and Investment Relations

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Coinciding with the President’s three-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the World Governments Summit 2025, Sri Lanka and the UAE reached an agreement on Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments to strengthen economic and investment relations between the two countries.

The agreement was signed by Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini, UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Vijitha Herath, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This bilateral agreement establishes a secure legal framework to expand investment opportunities in global markets while ensuring the protection of foreign investments.

The purpose of this agreement is to facilitate and strengthen foreign investments between the two nations by ensuring investor rights protection, promoting economic cooperation, and establishing comprehensive investment protection mechanisms, dispute resolution frameworks, and policy structures. This agreement will also contribute to strengthening global economic partnerships and creating opportunities for exploring new investment prospects in Sri Lanka.

This agreement underscores the importance of bilateral economic development and financial stability while demonstrating the commitment of both the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka to strengthening economic cooperation. It aims to foster trade and business expansion in Sri Lanka while promoting a transparent and stable investment environment.

Furthermore, this agreement also highlights Sri Lanka’s commitment to enhancing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and fostering a more attractive investment landscape. By enhancing investor confidence, it is expected to generate new business opportunities and contribute to economic progress as well as reinforce the long-term partnership between the UAE and Sri Lanka, facilitating sustainable investments and advancing trade and financial collaborations between the two countries.

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Adani Green withdraws from controversial renewable energy project in Sri Lanka

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The Hindu has reported that Adani Green has withdrawn from the controversial renewable energy project in northern Sri Lanka, amid persisting controversy and a legal battle over its approval and potential environmental impact.

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