news
Ten lawyers complain to Bribery Commission against PCoI that probed political victimisation

By Saman Indrajith
Ten lawyers yesterday complained to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption against the Presidential Commission of Inquiry that looked into the incidents of political victimisation under the previous government.
The lawyers alleged in their complaint that the PCoI had exceeded its mandate and thereby caused waste of public funds. The complaint was lodged under the provisions of the CIABOC Act No 19 of 1994.
The President appointed the Presidential Commission to investigate the incidents of political victimisation alleged to have taken place from Jan 08, 2015 to Nov 16, 2019.
The PCoI acted in a manner exceeding its mandate and thereby caused a loss of public funds, the lawyers have alleged. As per the gazette giving it the mandate, the PCoI was entrusted with the task of investigating the incidents of political victimisation of persons of categories of public sector officials, state sector corporation officials, members of armed forces and the members of the Police. However, the PCoI had gone beyond its given mandate by widening its scope to provide relief to persons of alleged political victimisation including Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, who does not belong to any of the aforementioned categories. The Commission exceeded its mandate to recommend relief for some other politicians as well, the lawyers have complained.
The attorneys-at-law who lodged the complaint are Senaka Perera, Namal Rajapaksa, Tambiah Jeyaratnarajah, Sainool Latufi, Achala Seneviratne, Hemantha Wickramasinghe, Upali Ratnayake, Ashoka Wijewardena and Chula Adikari.
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Cardinal: Was there any link between passage of 20A and Easter Sunday probe outcome?

… stands by his claim of foreign involvement
By Norman Palihawadana
Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith yesterday said that there could be a connection between the outcome of the probe into the Easter Sunday attacks and the enlisting of Muslim MPs’ support for the passage of the 20th Amendment.
The Cardinal said: “The leader of a Muslim political party voted against the 2Oth Amendment. But his MPs voted for it. The brother of Rishad Bathiudeen too was released around the same time. These are questionable developments. These events could be part of a deal.”
The Cardinal reiterated that international forces were behind the Easter Sunday attacks and that he did not believe that there had been any local political group directly involved in the Easter attacks.
Addressing the media yesterday, the Cardinal said that the remarks he made on Sunday had been misunderstood. He stood by his claim that international forces had been behind the attacks, he said.
“However, some people claim that I said a local political group was behind the attack. I have always maintained that there are international forces that use religious and ethnic extremists such as Wahabists to create conflicts. I was referring to such groups.”
The Cardinal added that only a small group of Muslims was involved in extremism.
The Archbishop also said that former President Maithripala Sirisena believed that taking action against extremists like NTJ leader Zahran Hashim would create unnecessary issues.
“Something along these lines is also in the PCoI on Easter Sunday attacks. The report also implies that the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was lenient in dealing with growing extremism in Sri Lanka.”
The Cardinal urged the government to protect the country and ensure that there would be no repeats of incidents like the Easter Sunday attacks.
The Archbishop of Colombo requested all religious leaders to work on rebuilding trust among all communities.
news
AG appeals to Supreme Court against granting of bail to Ravi, others

The Attorney General yesterday appealed to the Supreme Court against bail for former Minister Ravi Karunanayake and seven others indicted in the bond case by the Colombo Special High Court Trial-at-Bar.
The eight accused were arrested and remanded over the bond scams. Later, they were released on bail.
The court warned that if the accused attempted to exert influence on the witnesses, by any means, bail would be revoked and they would be placed on remand until the end of the trial.
news
26 more coronavirus cases detected in Jaffna Tirunelveli market area

Another 26 COVID-19 cases had been detected on Sunday, from the Tirunelveli Market in Jaffna, which was the epicentre of the recent outbreak in the town, Dr. A. Kethiswaran, Regional Director Health Services told the media yesterday.
The market and its surroundings had been reopened on April 11 following a 19-day lockdown. However, 378 PCR tests were conducted after the Sinhala and Tamil New Year and 26 of them proved positive.
Dr. Kethiswaran warned last week that there might be a spike in COVID-19 cases in Jaffna after the New Year celebrations.
A large number of COVID-19 cases had been reported in Jaffna in the past few weeks. Thus, the people should adhere to health guidelines. If people did not follow the guidelines, there would be a spike in cases and then some places would have to be lockdown, he warned.
“It’s too early to say whether we have to close the area down. We are monitoring the situation,” DR. Kethiswaran said.
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