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Sri Lanka no longer a functioning state – Karu

Published

5 years ago

2021/12/3

Sri Lanka is no longer a functioning state because of the shortcomings in the administration and the continuous changes in policy decisions, former Speaker and the President of the National Movement for a Just Society, Karu Jayasuriya said yesterday addressing a press conference.

Jayasuriya said that the only thing that the country had got right in the last year was the vaccination drive that has put Sri Lanka in a better position than other countries in Asia to tackle COVID-19.

“We are pleased that the President has taken immediate steps to look into the accidents related to LP gas by appointing an expert committee. This is a timely intervention. If the advice of intellectuals were similarly sought to resolve other issues faced by the country, the problems that have cropped up in the agriculture and other sectors would have not arisen,” he said.

Jayasuriya said that experts in the agriculture sector are of the opinion that there will be a large-scale (about 30%) drop in production as many farmers have given up farming due to lack of fertilizer. However, importation of rice is not a solution to this problem, he said.

“Can a country not able to import medicines, milk powder, sugar and other essentials due to the lack of foreign exchange, afford to waste foreign reserves on the importation of rice? In addition, about 1000 containers of food items at the port are stuck due to lack of dollars. We must make our management systems stronger to face the looming forex crisis,” he said.

The people are facing severe food shortages and the cost of living has skyrocketed. There are a large number of people in the country who cannot afford to have three meals a day, he said.

The former Speaker insisted that had the President taken necessary advice from intellectuals before introducing the fertilizer ban, the chaos the country is currently facing today would not have arisen. The government needs to understand that listening to experts is a very important factor in governance. The farming families today are in a very helpless state and that they are deeply frustrated and angry at the current regime, he said.

“It is with regret that one must point out that our country was not invited to the Summit for Democracy to be held in the United States. This can be considered as a great dishonour to Sri Lanka. As we have repeated many times before, it is an honour for our country to be recognised in the democratic world. This is an essential element in attracting investors and boosting trade. However, it will be difficult to earn that recognition and respect once again until the democratic mechanism functions in a proper manner,” he said.

Jayasuriya added that one of the reasons why the country was not invited to the summit is that at present the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka is not functioning as new members had not been appointed. In the recent past, the Human Rights Commission in our country has been highly recognized internationally.

“In the past the members were independent from political parties. At that time they were selected by the members of the Constitutional Council. Therefore, we should not be surprised that Sri Lanka was not invited to the Democratic Summit. We request that these errors be rectified without delay. Meanwhile the killing of prisoners in Police custody has also brought our country into disrepute. Therefore it must be noted with great regret that the ‘One country, One Law’ policy has still not been implemented in Sri Lanka. In a country where this concept is correctly implemented, veteran artists like Ranjan Ramanayake would not be in prison. We hope the above matters will be brought to the notice of the relevant authorities,” he said.

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Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation

Published

1 hour ago

2026/09/14

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.

The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.

Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.

Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.

News

CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process

Published

4 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.

Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.

The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.

Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.

Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.

Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.

The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.

Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.

The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.

The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.

SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.

Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.

The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.

News

GMOA: Countrywide cadre revision not done since 2015

Published

4 hours ago

2026/09/14

Thilina Walpola

Dhammika

The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.

GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.

Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.

(SF)