News
Sumanthiran: President has reneged on promises
President Ranil Wickremesinghe was adept at causing rifts in political parties, TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said in a television interview on Friday.The MP also said that the Tamil political parties had met the President earlier this week.
“During the meeting, I told the President that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had promised India three times that he would fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. President Rajapaksa said that he would make devolution meaningful. When Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister, between 2015 and 2019, he also agreed to go beyond 13A,” he added.
MP Sumanthiran said he told the President that both the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the United National Party (UNP) are together now.
“Therefore, I told him that the two parties could agree to implement the 13A. Then, he said he was not Ranil Rajapaksa and he was Ranil Wickremesinghe, and he was not aware of what Mahinda Rajapaksa had promised. He also said he had presented the best solution to the problems faced by the Tamils and that the Tamil political parties have them,” Sumanthiran said.
However, there was no such proposal in existence, Sumanthiran said. The President started discussions with Tamil parties in December 2022 and said that he would fully implement 13A, Sumanthiran said. “He asked us to propose amendments to the 13A. I have presented some amendments. He agreed to consider them. There were about three meetings in January 2023. Talking about police powers, Wickremesinghe said that it could be devolved after some administrative reforms. However, he hasn’t not done anything to fulfil his promises. When we met him this week, we were told 13A would be amended but without police powers. That was his proposal. Then we said that we had agreed to go beyond 13A and now he was trying to give less. We told him that we were not agreeable to his proposal,” Sumanthiran said.
The Tamil parties had been compelled to meet Wickremesinghe as he invited them before leaving for India. If they had not done so, India would not have been happy.
“Unfortunately, Ranil wasn’t ready. The President gave us a draft on establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in January 2023. We discussed it with Ministers Ali Sabry and Wijeyadasa Rajapakse. The TRC will allow people to come and tell their stories, but nothing will come out of it. We said we would not support the TRC. We told the President so. Everything he has done so far has been ticking boxes for the international community.”
MP Sumanthiran went on to say that India usually invited any Sri Lankan president for a state visit within one month of his or her assumption of duties. Gotabaya assumed duties in November 2019 and within a week he was invited to come to Delhi. However, Wickremesinghe had been in power for a year before being invited by India, Sumanthiran said.
“Sri Lanka tried to get an invitation several times. I think the Indians delayed the invitation because the President had not kept his promises to India, which isn’t happy because the government allowed a Chinese ship to come to Hambantota. So, he had to fulfil several things before India extended an invitation. The Indian Central Government is also under pressure from Tamil Nadu to solve the problems of Tamils here,” MP Sumanthiran said.
Wickremesinghe was a Cabinet Minister in the government that signed the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, the ITAK MP said. Therefore, he must be keen to implement 13A.
(RK)
News
Sun directly overhead Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon today (07)
The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.
The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (07) are Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon.
By Norman Palihawadane
The CID recently found that former SLPP Deputy Minister Premalal Jayasekara, better known as ‘Choka Malli’, had left for Thailand when the Supreme Court imposed an overseas travel ban on him last Friday.
The CID discovered that Jayasekara had left Sri Lanka on August 31, while authorities were taking steps to enforce the travel restriction imposed by the Supreme Court. The Department has subsequently informed the Attorney General’s Department of the development.
The Supreme Court last Friday ordered Jayasekara, and two other men, to appear before court on October 21, and imposed a ban on their overseas travel.
The orders were made as the Supreme Court considered an appeal challenging the acquittal of the three men in connection with the 2015 murder of Shantha Dodangoda, also known as D.G. Sunil Perera.
The appeal was filed by Dodangoda’s wife against a decision of the Court of Appeal to acquit and release Jayasekara and the two other accused, who had previously been convicted and sentenced to death by the Ratnapura High Court.
Dodangoda was killed in a shooting in Kahawatta town, in the early hours of January 5, 2015, while a group of people were putting up decorations for an election rally in support of then common Opposition presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena.
Two others, Karunadasa Weerasinghe and Mohamed Ilfan, were seriously injured in the shooting.
Following the incident, the Ratnapura High Court convicted Jayasekara, former Chairman of the Kahawatta Pradeshiya Sabha Wajira Darshana de Silva, and former Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council member Nilanta Jayakody, sentencing all three to death.
The Court of Appeal subsequently acquitted the three men and ordered their release.
The victim’s wife later challenged the acquittal before the Supreme Court.
The appeal was taken up before a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Gihan Kulatunga.
During the proceedings, Deputy Solicitor General Janaka Bandara requested that the court impose overseas travel restrictions on Jayasekara and the other respondents.
The Supreme Court subsequently ordered all three to appear before the court on October 21 and imposed travel bans on them.
President’s Counsel Nalin Ladduwahetty, President’s Counsel U.R. de Silva and President’s Counsel Anuja Premaratne appeared for the respondents. President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris represented the aggrieved party.
Police sources said that the discovery that Jayasekara had already left for Thailand, on August 31, has raised concerns over the timing and enforcement of the travel ban.
Sources said that the CID had notified the Attorney General’s Department and was taking further action in relation to the development.
By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon
The number of deaths from dengue fever in Sri Lanka has risen to 73 this year, with 96,228 cases reported across the country so far, according to the Dengue Control Unit.
The latest figures indicate that dengue continues to pose a significant public health concern, with 737 new cases recorded during the first four days of September alone.
Dengue infections peaked in July, when 29,964 cases were reported, according to the latest data. June recorded the second-highest monthly total, with 21,533 cases, while 10,155 cases were reported in August.
Earlier in the year, 8,590 cases were recorded in May and 7,866 cases in January.The Western Province remains the worst-affected area, accounting for more than half of all dengue cases reported nationwide. A total of 50,851 cases have been recorded in the province, representing 52.84% of the country’s total.
The Southern Province has recorded 13,950 cases, followed by the Central Province with 8,818 cases and Sabaragamuwa Province with 7,925 cases.
Sun directly overhead Galle, Angulugaha, Imaduwa, Telijjawila, Yatiyana and Tangalle about 12.08 noon today (07)
Showers above 50 mm are likely at some places in the Uva and Eastern provinces.
Harshitha’s composed knock seals Sri Lanka’s semi-final berth
‘Choka Malli’ slips out of country before travel ban
Dengue death toll rises to 73
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‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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