One killed, two critical in Weerakatiya shooting

One person was killed and two others injured after an unidentified group shot at them at Kirimatiyawa Junction in Weerakatiya yesterday morning.

Police Spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekara said the gunmen had arrived in a hybrid car with a T56.

The two victims were travelling in a van while the other was on a motorcycle. The three were admitted to Tangalle Hospital in a critical condition.The two victims travelling in the van, also suspects in a murder case had left Weerakatiya police station, where they were

required to report every Sunday, the Police Spokesman said.

One of the victims in the van succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at the hospital. The third victim, a resident of Weeraketiya, was caught in the cross fire. Police are investigating.

No arrests have been made yet.

MR’s luxury airline kit: A blatant lie

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday said that a luxury cubicle worth USD 4 mn fixed onto aircraft for his use had never been acquired by Sri Lanka.

The former President was responding to a statement issued by Gampaha District UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake.

The following is the full text of statement issued by the former President’s office: "Parliamentarian Ranjan Ramanayake said at a press conference yesterday that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had ordered a luxury cubicle worth four million US dollars to be fixed onto aircraft used by him and that because of the agreement that has been signed, President Sirisena is unable to reverse the order. Mr Ramanayake further stated that it was because of such abuse of power that former President Rajapaksa has had to face various commissions of inquiry today.

During the last presidential election campaign, President Rajapaksa was falsely accused of having ordered a private plane for himself. Now they say fairly truthfully, that this was only a kit to convert a part of an ordinary airliner into a luxury cubicle. These are VIP conversion kits which can be installed after removing several seats in commercial airliners and are supplied free as a complimentary accessory when new commercial passenger planes are ordered. Airbus Industries mentions a value for this conversion kit only to give the customer an idea of the value of the complimentary kit. The customer can’t ask for the money instead of the complimentary accessory.

 Though, Mr Ramanayake said in his press conference that the President of the USA and the Sultan of Brunei also used similar units on their plane that is not true. The American President travels in an official plane and the Sultan of Brunei has many private planes. They don’t travel on commercial airlines fitted with conversion kits.

 It is not correct to say that the government cannot reverse the order for this VIP kit. Any customer can turn down the offer of a complimentary accessory if he does not need it. It seems to be that the present leaders now wish to avail themselves of the comfort of this VIP kit for their foreign travels and are trying to make excuses for accepting it by saying that the agreement prevented them from turning it down. All those who value yahapalanaya principles should ensure that the government flatly refuses to accept this complimentary VIP conversion kit and even if it is sent to Sri Lanka with the new planes, it should be returned to Airbus Industries forthwith."

Senior policemen to be arrested over Thajudeen muder

A former Senior Deputy  Inspector General of Police and three more policemen who were in the rank of Officers-in-Charge in their respective police stations  at the time ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen reportedly died in a  motor car ‘accident’ are to be arrested shortly, top police sources disclosed yesterday.

This follows   the determination by court last Thursday that Thajudeen had been murdered. The Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered the CID to arrest all suspects within 30 days to be produced before court.

Court also directed the CID to arrest any person who had aided and abetted in the murder of Wasim Thajudeen.

The Chief Magistrate who considered all medical evidence placed before court determined that Thajudeen had been murdered though it was earlier reported he had died of burns following a motor car accident. The CID informed court that certain pages in the entries of the Police Information Book had gone missing and it was believed that some persons had tampered with those relevant entry books. CID sources said investigations were proceeding in a speedy manner to arrest all suspects within 30 days.

Wasim Thajudeen was an outstanding national rugger player who started his rugby career at S.Thomas’ College,Mt.Lavinia.

Land belonging to Mahinda's Security Chief searched

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) searched a land belonging to the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Weeraketiya using backhoes yesterday.

A contingent of Special Task Force personnel was deployed around the land. Only CID officials were allowed to enter the land from yesterday morning. CID sources said a court order was obtained to search the land and the land was searched for jewellery, gold and weapons said to have been hidden in this land.

The sources said that the land is belonging to Major Nevil Wanniarachchi who is one of the most closest security officers of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. More than Twenty Special Task Force Personnel have been deployed to assist with the search operation and they have dug-up the land with a backhoes.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate had issued an order to the CID and the Financial Crimes Investigations Division to investigate corruption and fraud allegedly committed by Major Nevile.

The CID recently sought the court assistance to obtain the bank account details of three persons, including Major Nevile Wanniarachchi. The Magistrate ordered to scrutinize their accounts in 32 banks and 47 financial institutions. The FCID and CID earlier informed court that Major Wanniarachchi has allegedly taken over several lands and houses belonging to the Government. Police told court that several cabs belonging to the Maga Neguma project were being taken over by Major Warrniarachchi for his personal use. "It was also disclosed that this Major is running a number of business ventures including a filling station.

Ranjan Ramanayake media briefing On COPE investigations at Sirikotha

A number of former officials of SriLankan Airlines will be brought before the Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) in the near future, COPE Member and Deputy Minister, Ranjan Ramanayake said yesterday (25).

He added, there are agreements entered into by former top administrators that have created serious issues for the government.

"We spoke to the current administrators at the airline and they also admit that former top administrators took a number of irresponsible decisions and were responsible for financial irregularities.

The agreements they entered into are binding and we can't get out of them," he said. The Mahinda Rajapaksa administration had ordered a number of aircrafts from Airbus Industrie, out of which one was to be fitted like the Air Force 1 used by the President of USA, costing millions of dollars, Ramanayake said.

"We don't need that much of aircraft but we can't get out of the agreements because these companies will sue us. Sri Lankan has already made a significant down payment to Airbus," he added.

COPE which is headed by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Sunil Handunnetti will continue to investigate financial irregularities and push the Attorney General's Department to take legal action against those who are guilty of abusing public funds.

"For example, we have sent a file on the irregularities which have occurred at Lankaputra Bank, to the Attorney General's Department and have asked them to take necessary steps," he said.

Court orders arrest of suspects in Thajudeen murder

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court today ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to arrest those responsible for the death of Sri Lankan rugger player Wasim Thajudeen, since it appears to be murder.

After announcing the results of the postmortem examination hhent he case was taken up, the Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris instructed the CID to arrest the suspects and produce them before the court.

The additional magistrate stated that Thajudeen’s cause of death has been observed as injuries sustained in the chest area and that a motor vehicle accident cannot be considered as the reason for the death.

He also said that Thajudeen’s death appears to be murder according to information uncovered and ordered that a report be submitted on March 23 with regard to this.

 Senior State Counsel Dilan Ratnayake informed court that investigations into the death are ongoing and that statements have been recorded from 16 witnesses so far.

Thajudeen was found dead on May 17, 2012 inside his car which appeared to have crashed into a wall in Kirulapone.

Yoshitha Rajapaksa further remanded

Son of Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Yoshitha Rajapaksa has been further remanded till March 10, along with 4 others. This decision was taken after the suspects were produced before the Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court, today. They were arrested and remanded on the charge of money laundering

Doctor convicted of killing husband fears deportation to Sri Lanka

The lawyer for a Geraldton doctor who bludgeoned her sleeping husband to death with a mallet after years of abuse says his client believes she will be deported to Sri Lanka once she is released on parole.

Chamari Liyanage, 36, stood trial for murdering her husband Dinendra Athukorala in their home in June 2014, but a Supreme Court jury convicted her of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Liyanage has been sentenced to four years in jail and with time already served, could be released in July.

During the trial the court heard how their five-year marriage was defined by the "worst kind" of escalating sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

Liyanage testified she had tried to leave her husband six times but was trapped in a cycle of abuse with someone who was "a monster".

Her lawyer, George Giudice, said his client would appeal against her manslaughter conviction.

He said she was concerned she would be deported.

"She is a permanent resident and as you know she's a doctor, the story goes that once she's released they'll deport her immediately," he said.

"That's what she believes to be the situation," (abc.net.au)

Lack of match winners may hurt SL -

The Asia Cup 2016 in Bangladesh will make its T20 debut in the 14th edition. The tournament, which is seen as the dress rehearsal for the ICC World Twenty20 in March, has a special place for Sri Lanka, who, along with India, have won the title five times since the inception of the tournament in 1984.

Despite suffering a 2-1 loss at the hands of India in the recently concluded away T20I series, Sri Lanka’s squad for the Asia Cup looks a formidable outfit with the return of the veterans who missed the India series due to various reasons. And the island nation will see this tournament as the perfect opportunity to show the world that they are one of the best despite the retirement of legendary duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, who were part of the 2014 title-winning Asia Cup squad that beat Pakistan in the final.

In-form India, unpredictable Pakistan and giant killers Bangladesh, Sri Lanka have their task cut out; but the five-time champions have the arsenal to take them all the way in Mirpur.

Skipper Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath and Nuwan Kulasekara are all seasoned campaigners, and their comeback will add a lot of strength to the Sri Lankan team. Malinga, who is the highest wicket taker in T20Is with 38 wickets, has been asked to take over the leadership duties from Dinesh Chandimal.

In the absence of Sangakkara and Jayawardena, SL have many young batsman who can help them pull off a surprise in the tournament. The responsibility to lead the batting will be on Tillakaratne Dilshan, who is the most experienced player in the squad. Though not in the same prolific form that made ‘Dilscoop’ famous, the veteran opener may come into his own at the big stage.

Over the last few years, Dinesh Chandimal has been one of their most consistent batsman in Tests and ODIs but he has yet to establish himself in the T20 format. His average is less than 15 in 28 T20I international innings. However, he has the talent and would be hoping to take charge this time around.

Among all, vice captain and all-rounder Angelo Mathews could turn out to be the key man for the Sri Lankans. He is perhaps the most underrated batsman currently and has often bailed his team out of tough situations.

Apart from the trio, the rest of the batting is relatively inexperienced. Shehan Jayasuriya has played just five T20Is, Niroshan Dickwella has also played only two T20Is and couldn’t do much in the three games on India tour.

Dasun Shanaka’s all-round skills can be one of their surprise weapons in Bangladesh, but he was exposed when asked to bowl on batting-friendly tracks in India following the game played on green Pune track.

With batting looking not so great, Sri Lanka possess a good bowling line-up with Malinga and the reliable left-arm spinner Herath back.

They can give any team a run for their money. And with the supporting line-up consisting of Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekera, Thisara Perera and Sachitra Senanayake - they have experience and match winners in their kitty. Much of the bowling unit that had been vital to Sri Lanka’s 2014 World T20 victory remains in place.

Also a word must be reserved for lanky paceman Dushmantha Chameera, who, along with Malinga, gives the Sri Lankan attack pace to rattle the opposition batsmen.

Sri Lanka Squad: Lasith Malinga (Captain), Angelo Mathews (Vice-Captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Niroshan Dickwella, Shehan Jayasuriya, Milinda Siriwardana, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dushmantha Chameera, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Rangana Herath and Jeffrey Vandersay.

Coach: Graham Ford

Strengths: Experienced bowlers

Weakness: Lack of match winners

Internet disconnected in over 2,000 schools in sri Lanka

Internet facilities of more than 2,000 government schools countrywide had been disconnected due to non-payment of bills, a teachers’ union said yesterday.

General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin told The Island that altogether about 2,700 schools had been provided with internet facilities under the School Net Connection project for the use of students, especially those studying Information Technology as a subject.

Stalin said that the schools had to pay Rs. 7,000 – Rs. 9,000 as Internet charges monthly. The entire IT sections of schools had been paralysed due to disconnection of Internet facilities, he said. "We have brought the situation to the notice of Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and he promised to solve the problem within two weeks," the unionist said, adding that Minister also promised to reduce internet charges to Rs. 1,500 and allow more data than under the previous package after discussing with the Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Harin Fernando.

The teacher unionist said that students could not wait for two more weeks to solve the problem and the minister had so far not taken action.

Stalin said the government was promising education development based on IT, but it couldn’t provide uninterrupted Internet access to schools which had not experienced no such problems previously.

He said the government should find out why the bills had not paid.

"We are also against the project called School Software Management System which was implemented by the Ministry as there are several lapses in the project," Stalin said.

He said that at present English language was being taught in government schools, but students could not speak English when they left school and precautions should be taken to prevent a similar situation from occurring as regards IT as well.

Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam was not available for comment.

Sicille Kotelawala further remanded

Sicille Kotelawala wife of prominent businessman Lalith Kotelawala, further remanded until 27th of April by the Colombo High Court today (23). She was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport, while returning to Sri Lanka on the 4th of February.

Shooting in Peliyagoda

Two persons, including a teenager, were admitted to hospital after being shot by assailants at Poranukotuwatta, Peliyagoda last night.

Police Media Unit stated that Peliyagoda Police commenced investigations into the incident after being informed of the shooting. Initial inquiries have revealed that the shooting had been motivated by a long-standing dispute and had been carried out by two assailants.

However, the gunmen had missed their intended target, and their shots had instead struck two persons who were nearby. The victims have been identified as area residents aged 21 and 14 years. They are currently receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital.

The two assailants have been identified and Peliyagoda Police are conducting investigations to arrest them.

Deputy Min.Ramanayake makes ‘astrological revelations’

Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare Ranjan Ramanayake contacted former royal astrologer, Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena, via phone and allowed the media to listen in to the conversation

A branch was opened in Tissamaharama with the arrival of Mahinda Rajapaksa, stated Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena, opening the dialogue between him and the deputy minster

“You are not aware of the money in the Lankaputhra Bank?” questioned the Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare,Ranjan Ramanayake who added that on various transactions, an individual named D.D. Upul had obtained 76 million rupees from that.And many persons from Hambantota have obtained 50 to 60 million from Galle while Salinda had also obtained 50 Million in that manner.

“I know” said Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena stating that during the latter stage there was a chairperson who came from Bank of Ceylon and this person “didn’t like working here because they had to make provisions according to the orders from above”.

The deputy minster charged that “they gave loans worth 67 millions rupees to those who worked as astrologers to the former president”

CID collects fresh evidence for Thajudeen’s case

According to information from unofficial sources, the Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is presently gathering some new evidence in relation to the murder of ruggerite Wasim Thajudeen, before going overseas to have the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage examined, Attorney-at-Law representing the Thajudeen family, A. Sathar M. Misbah said.

It was recently revealed at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court that although a month had elapsed since Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris gave the order (on January 7) to the CID to send video copies of the CCTV camera footage containing stills of the assailants of Thajudeen to the Laboratory of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States of America or the Forensic Video and Surveillance Technology Laboratory of British Columbia’s Institute of Technology in Canada or the Directorate of Forensic Services of the Metropolitan Police Service of the New Scotland Yard in London, England (all three institutions were suggested by the University of Colombo School of Computing {UCSC}.

The plaintiff has the prerogative to decide which one of the institutions they want the video evidence analyzed by and inform the Court of such), for further examination and analysis and to obtain a report, the footage and copies of the videos are still languishing in a safe drawer at the judiciary.

“The order has been given by the Magistrate and the Ministry of Law and Order has given the approval for the foreign involvement and travel, and the necessary allocations have also been made.
Yet the footage is still at the Court. We do not know what the reason behind this is but unofficial sources state that the Homicide Unit of the CID is gathering other evidence, upon the collection of which, they will go ahead. The four or five Officers of the Unit involved in this case will spend a week or 10 days abroad.
Currently, they do not want to break the trend that is there in the investigation. The CID has to produce a suspect or suspects. A Captain Tissa is also being looked into. Phone calls made by various people to various people and the times of the calls are being looked at. Telecommunications service provider and mobile network operator, Dialog is also cooperating.

The CID cannot and does not want to divulge any details about the new evidence, as the evidence is crucial, integral, closely monitored and must be secretive. When the case is next taken up on February 25, the CID will explain why there is a delay,” he explained.

Captain Tissa Wimalasena was a soldier in the Army who later served as a personal driver and security guard of former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The CCTV camera footage collected by the CID from the scene of the crime on 2012 May 17 was sent to the UCSC for a more detailed analysis of the data, and subsequently a report and copies of the videos were produced to the Court by the UCSC on January 4 this year.

Chief Registrar of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, Chamila Wickremathunge said that when such an order is given by a Magistrate, the Court productions (in this case kept in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court Number 3) should rightfully be sent for the relevant purpose.

She added also that the process and procedure followed in such an event could be explained only if the writer of this article arrived at the Court premises during work hours and identified himself.

MINISTRY SPAS centre rubbed off

The government will ban any new unit set up by ministers under their respective ministries which are not listed in the gazette which recognizes institutions and units under those ministries, top government sources disclosed to us.

This follows the detection of a Spa set up by a prominent minister under his ministry under the guise of a physical health exercise centre where young women have been employed as ‘Therapists’ and their salaries being paid by ministry funds.

Sources at the ministry confirmed the existence of that Spa and disclosed that the centre was being managed by the minister’s wife. ‘These young girls brought from a distant district which the minister represents are paid more than the manager of the Spa’, they noted.

They said that plans were afoot to open a branch of the Spa in that district  at the cost of the ministry under the guise of expanding the project to provide public health services like massages, physical exercises and therapeutic treatment.

The Nations learns that the issue is to be taken up at cabinet level after President Maithripala Sirisena returns to the country after his official overseas visits to Germany and Austria as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken serious note over waste of public funds under ministries for unwanted projects.

Last week, the Premier warned  ministries not to waste public funds and utilize budgetary allocations to deliver results for the benefit of the public.

Girl arrested with Magic Mushrooms

A haul of dangerous drugs including Magic Mushroom was taken into police custody following a raid conducted by Police in Narahenpita area yesterday.

Police have found 27 packets of Magic Mushroom, 42 containers of Propolis (a dangerous drug) and 16 g of hashish. The value of these drugs was estimated to be about Rs 250,000, Police Media Unit said.

A 21-year-old woman who was present at the scene was also taken into police custody.

The suspect revealed that Magic Mushroom was brought to Sri Lanka from United States of America (USA). Foreign women were used for this purpose, she said.

The suspect has been handed over to Narahenpita Police for further investigations.

Rajitha Senaratne to fly Singapore for medical check-up

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne will leave for Singapore tonight for a medical checkup on medical advice, the minister’s spokesman said.  

 The minister was earlier admitted to a private hospital in Colombo where the doctors had advised him a period of bed rest. “However, the minister is scheduled to participate in a seminar in India on Monday and therefore it was advisable to visit a hospital in Singapore on the way to India,” spokesman Nipun Ekanayake said. He said it was only a part of the minister’s regular medical check-up.

Field Marshal motivates national cricketer

Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka was a surprise visitor to the Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters yesterday where the Sri Lanka Cricket Executive Committee chaired by president Thilanga Sumathipala held a meeting with the Sri Lanka national team bound for the Asia Cup and World T20.

The Field Marshal was invited by Sumathipala to address and motivate the team ahead of the two mega events where Sri Lanka will be defending their titles.

He held informal discussions with the national team players and its support staff in overcoming challenges. During the discussions the Field Marshal shared his experiences as the former commander of the Sri Lanka Army where his tactics paved the way to winning a long standing war against terrorism in the North and East. At the conclusion of the discussions the players expressed their gratitude to the Field Marshal for the insight that he provided. 

Sri Lanka T20 captain Lasith Malinga presented the Field Marshal with a team T-shirt and invited him to come and watch the matches. The Field Marshal in reply said that he will be watching Sri Lanka play in the final of the World T20 and the Asia Cup wearing the T-shirt.

Please don't allow anyone to ruin the hard earned good governance to the country

Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga extending a letter to the Minister of Sports has requested him not to allow anyone to ruin the hard earned good governance to the country.

A response letter to the Minister of Sports titled 'Illegal sports election and the unsolicited behavior of the Director General of Sports during the Cricket Election period', the Minister Ranatunga has further described he would be a witness in any case filed against Director General of cricket over his unsolicited behavior during the 2016-2018 cricket election time.

Minister has also expressed his regrets over the Sport Minister for not making his stance on the transparency of the cricket election process which finished violating and misinterpreting the 13,14,15 articles in Sport regulation and 11(F) (V) in the Cricket Act. He has also criticized the Sports Minister's effort of over appreciating DG of Cricket by hiding his faults.

"The illegal behavior of DG of Cricket has ruined not just the Cricket election, but the election processes in Sri Lanka badminton, Hockey, Volleyball, Rugby, Cycling and Physical Fitness. We never expected such kind of complicated election under government towards the good governance. I kindly request you never protect these kinds of corrupted persons anymore.

You should have carried out an investigation through an independent expertise committee, against the DG of Cricket when the allegations were filed against him during the cricket election period. You have failed to take any action against him and it demonstrates invisible ties between you and corrupted officials.

The existing unity government between the President-Prime Minister towards good governance was a hard earned to the country and we faced lots of practical challenges and risks on our way. However, some people who worked against the President and the Prime Minister's efforts towards establishing good governance and who laughed at their efforts are today, ruining the good governance by holding Minister posts heads seats in the government.

Hon. Minister of Sports, the section 15-2 in the Sports regulations has given the authority to the Minister of Sports to remove officials from their position if it had been proved their disqualification to the appointed to the position through an election for National Sport Committee.  So, I request you to take same actions against disqualified persons. 

As well, I urge you to carry out a proper investigation against the DG for his biased conduct during the cricket election period. I will be a witness before the investigation committee. 

If the investigations confirmed his disqualification to the post, I request you to take legal actions against them and cancel their appointments while granting concessions to the aggrieved parties.

It is my responsibility to make the President and the Prime Minister acknowledged about the matter which happened during the good governance regulations of the government", the Minister further mentions in his letter.

The copy of the letter extended to the Minister of Sports Dayasiri Jayasekara by the Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga has been attached with the release. 

Mahinda Rajapaksa at PRECIFAC

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) today (18) to give a statement on the non-payment of outstanding bills to ITN for the political advertisements during the 2015 Presidential Election campaign.

Champika Ranawaka speaks on unauthorized occupants in the Thotalanga

The demands of the unauthorized settlers who have already been given houses will not be entertained, Minister of Megapolis and Western Development Patali Champika Ranawaka, informed the Thotalanga protestors yesterday.

In a discussion held with representatives of the Thotalanga settlers who held demonstrations blocking the Japan Lanka Friendship Bridge on Monday evening, the minister said that the authorities will give a one month grace period to the residents who were living on rent in the houses of the original owners, to vacate the premises. "The owners of the houses would have already been awarded a house, but since the current occupants were living on rent they have now no houses. The police and the authorities are now engaged in identifying these families and those who are yet to receive houses will also be allowed to stay temporarily ," Minister Champika Ranawaka told the News.

The discussion was held yesterday at the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry in Battaramulla.

The Minister highlighted that the policy is to allocate a house for a house, not a house for each family living in the settlement.

"Their demand that each family should be given temporary housing is unfair. They were allocated a house for each house they had. We cannot do anything if there were more than one family living in the house. We have allocated houses taking into consideration the size of the original houses they owned," Ranawaka said.

Those who have been settled there by the UDA on a transits basis and the others who have rented houses from the third party will be identified and allowed to remain for another month, while all others are to vacate immediately.

Addressing the media yesterday at the Ministry, Minister Ranawaka said that the removal of unauthorized occupants in the Thotalanga area was done in a fair and justifiable manner. He said the residents have been given adequate notice to move into the houses they were allotted.

Some of the protesters who made comments to the electronic media are the owners of two housing units provided by the government. According to the standard procedure followed by the UDA, two houses had been given to the persons whose houses were more than 700 square feet while owners of smaller houses have all been allocated a 400square feet house.

The government has already provided houses for all the families living in unauthorized constructions in Thotalanga area apart from the 35 families who have temporally been settled by the government.

Minister Ranawaka said that the keys of the houses were gifted to the house owners at a function held on January 12, 2016 and informed them to move away from the temporary shelters by January 31 this year.

"We also informed the families who are in rented houses to shift to a new place before December 31 last year. We provided houses only for the owners of these illegal dwellings. But on Saturdays and Sundays people just come and put up shanties with the intention of getting the ownership of this state owned land. The situation became worst last weekend as a large number of persons came there to claim the said land. So we had to take immediate measures to control this situation," said the minister.

He also said that the present government is dedicated to provide houses for all shanty dwellers and uplift their living standards.

"We will never let any person or a group to intervene and sabotage this effort," he stressed.

Addressing the media, Urban Development Authority Director General Nayana Mawilmada said that under the Urban Regeneration Project, the UDA aims to develop the Colombo city area under a proper plan by taking back all the underutilized lands in the area.

"We have identified that around 68,000 slums occupying 900 acres are scattered on government land. Measures have already started to provide permanent houses to these illegal dwellers. We have already built 5000 houses and the constructions of 11,000 houses have already been started.

Increase in underworld activities in Sri Lanka

The recent events show an unpleasant increase in underworld activities. In some cases Buddhist monks are involved. 

Under the Mahinda regime ruling party politicians were considered to be above the law and were suspected for underworld connections. In one case, a British national was killed and his Russian girlfriend was sexually abused in public by a group led by a local politician, even the British royal family had to intervene to push the Mahinda regime to arrest the suspects and after one year the long arm of the law reached the culprits. Now the ruling party politicians are being arrested, not for underworld activities, but for taking the law into their hands to settle violent disputes as in the case involving the Colombo District UNP Parliamentarian Hirunika Premachandra.

However, when it comes to the Police there seem to be delays because it took more than five days for the Police to carry out the order issued by the Embilipitiya Magistrate to arrest an ASP, an OIC and several other Police Officers, in connection with the death of a youth during a clash with the Police in Embilipitiya. 

Then the question arises whether the Police are working with an under-world organization, because the Police have not given any reason for not following the Magistrate's order immediately. If the suspects were not connected to such latent power then they would have used even minimum force to apprehend them if there was any protest. There are very important things to discuss. One main matter to ponder on is the public image of the Police; that it is independent of political power and underworld pressure. When one says political influence one has to take political terror of oppositional

politicians too!

Recently we saw several incidents in respect of contempt of Court involving oppositional political terror. The General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena, Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera and several other monks were remanded, for their alleged unruly behaviour within and outside the Homagama Magistrate's Court. Like in that instance, the law enforcement agencies should act diligently and apprehend those responsible without delay. Instead some media reported with the introduction of a heroic picture for the culprits. After that event the Sinha-Le movement came out with much vigour. In fact, the creatively designed Sinha-Le logo started appearing on vehicles since late November last year. Though many began to wonder about this newly emerging possibly ultra-nationalistic movement, it had no attraction plus or minus. After the Homagama incident, most importantly the minorities started worrying.

The democratic revolution

After the democratic revolution, minorities were enjoying assuming racism will be curbed following the end of the Mahinda regime. There was a period where it appeared that racism had come to an end. In fact, the emergence of Sinha-Le (Lion Blood) took place, as far back as 2010 when a primarily designed website appeared on internet, but with less or no attention. We were told that the owner-designer of the website was from Kurunegala, but was trying hard to get the branding popular among the Sinhala Buddhist populace, with no success.

The competition for Sinhala chauvinist leadership within the Sinhala Buddhist community during that time was a bit high, mainly as it was just after the defeat of the LTTE. One writer said: "The vociferous Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) was gaining momentum under the 'unsung' State patronage; thus new movements like Sinha-Le were not picking up, even within the cyber space. Though repeatedly denied, BBS had an undeclared honeymoon with the then Mahinda regime. At least the mere silence by the State when non-Buddhist establishments – predominantly of Muslims were attacked in several cities of the country was a clear sign of this undisclosed marriage. No arrests were made, no action taken against these unlawful acts of the BBS. In contrast the social media was full of pictures of the BBS leadership with the former Defence Secretary and the movement had a free hand to do anything, as it wished."

The problem is that such organizations still have power to frighten not only the media, but also the Police in certain areas. However, the independence of Police from such terror is very essential in maintaining law and order in the country. The Police are an inseparable apparatus in safeguarding democracy. In a bourgeoise democracy, we are told that, the people do not have anyone to turn to other than the police in times of emergency and disaster. Therefore, the public image of the Police is essential in maintaining law and order in such a democracy. If there is a situation where people do not respect the Police and do not accept it is independent, it would be very difficult for the Police to carry out their duty.

CID To Investigate 2012 Deaths Of Two University Students

The IGP ordered the CID to investigate the death of two university students at Imbulgoda Junction on September 27, 2012.

The two students, Janaka Bandara Ekanayake from Matale and Sisitha Priyankara from Colombo 15, died during a march from Kandy to Colombo by university students, demanding 6 percent of GDP for education.

At the time, the deaths were said to be a result of an accident.

Ekanayake was a student of University of Kelaniya and Priyankara was a student of the University of Ruhuna.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in lawyer’s cloak

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in lawyer’s cloak leaving Colombo High Court after the conclusion of yesterday’s hearing into his second son, Yoshitha’s case.Rajapaksa took oaths as an Attorney-at-Law in the 1970s. He practiced as a lawyer till 1994 and thereafter for a brief period from 2001.

SLPA seeks Interest and Business Proposals to develop Colombo Port's ECT

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) seeks Interest and Business Proposals from interested parties for the development process of Colombo Port's East Container terminal (ECT). The decision has also obtained the Minister's approval at a Cabinet meeting held last week. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has also been appointed as transaction adviser to the Colombo Port's East terminal project by the Cabinet decision.

The constructions of Colombo Port's East Terminal (ECT) have already completed in 400 meters out of 12,000 proposed. However currently the SLPA is handling bulk cargo vessels operations in constructed area and is being received extra income. The terminal helps to reduce the container traffic in other terminals at the Colombo port.

The second deep-water terminal in the Colombo Port Expansion Project is the East Container terminal. It has been planned to commence terminal operations as joint venture arrangement with a shipping line or a private terminal operator with 51% of Equity owned by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.

A closer look of Sarath N. Silva

In the year 1999, then-president Chandrika Bandaranaike hand-picked retired Judge Sarath N. Silva to the post of Chief Justice. The appointment came under scrutiny from the international and local fora, as two petitions were being examined in the Supreme Court against him.

Over the years, he aligned himself with a number of leaders. Most recently during the 2015 general election, he pledged his support to Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Speaking on the retired Chief Justice, Attorney-at-Law Karunaratne Herath stated that Sarath N. Silva pledged his support to Mahinda Rajapaksa after it became clear that he would not receive the post of Prime Minister under the current government. He added that Sarath N. Silva joined Mahinda Rajapaksa with the hope that he will be made Chairman of the new party.

Retired Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva participated in a meeting of local government representatives convened by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday February 14.

Today, February 15, the Leader of the Democratic Left Front Vasudeva Nanayakkara was questioned by journalists on Sarath N. Silva’s support for the joint opposition, given that he had opposed the former president in the past.

Responding to the question, Vasudeva Nanayakkara noted that the decision must be made by the former president himself. He stated that Silva, who has joined Mahinda Rajapaksa now, had opposed him in the past and rejoined on several occasions.

The Leader of the Democratic Left Front also noted that the retired chief justice has on earlier occasions aligned himself with former president Chandrika Bandaranaike and also Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka as well.

Veteran journalist and political analyst Victor Ivan gave a more direct view on the retired chief Justice, highlighting Silva’s time when he was subject to inspection by police for being with a woman in a car parked near the Diyawanna Oya. The veteran journalist noted that in truth, at that time, the country’s chief justice did not have his pants on.

Daughter arrested for keeping 87- year- old mother in kennel

Ududumbara Police, on a tip off given by residents yesterday arrested a daughter who kept her 87- year- old mother in a kennel adjoining her palacious house.

Police inspected the cage where the mother was kept and found that she was suffering from skin infection due to the unhygienic environment.

Later, she was admitted to the Medamahanuwara Hospital. Police said that her daughter has neglected her for years while she was staying in the second floor of the house with her child.

The 87- year - old woman has not received food regularly. The daughter who was arrested by the Police is reportedly running a canteen at a local hospital. Investigations into this incident are being conducted under the directive of Teldeniya SP C.W. Rajapaksa.

Mahinda lied about the party chairmanship- SB

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa gave up the SLFP chairmanship over personal issues, or not because he loved this country nor the party, Minister S. B. Dissanayake says.

The observation was made at a press conference held in Colombo this afternoon (15).

The Minister claimed the former President had to give up party chairmanship amid corruption and fraud investigations initiated aiming his (Mahinda Rajapaksa’s) family members. 

“It’s a big lie if Rajapaksa says that he gave up the chairmanship because he loves this country and the party,” he added.

However, the former President yesterday stressed he gave up the chairmanship of the SLFP since he had no intention to see the party split. “He (President) got the chairmanship from me using executive powers,” Rajapaksa said.

Bail application filed on behalf of Yoshitha

Bail Applications were filed at Colombo High Court on behalf of five individuals including Yoshitha Rajapaksa, arrested for  alleged involvement in money laundering at Carlton Sports Network.

Through the bail applications, the lawyers of the five suspects have challenged the decision by the Kaduwela Magistrate to deny bail to them. The applications will be taken up for support on February 17.

Yoshitha Rajapaksa and the others were arrested on January 30

Four Navy Rugby players suspended

Four Navy Sports Club players have been suspended by the Sri Lanka Navy for wearing wrist bands that said "YOO7" during a match with Army at the Dialog Rugby league encounter yesterday (14).

The wrist bands have been worn by the players in order to express their solidarity with son of former President Mahinda Rakapaksa and former Navy SC captain Yoshitha Rajapaksa who has been remanded over allegations of fraud.

The four players have been suspended from the Navy squad until investigations are being carried out into the incident, stated Navy Spokesman Akram Alavi.

Letter of Demand sends Letter of Demand to Wijedasa

Danuna Tilakaratne, son-in-law of Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, today (13) sent a Letter of Demand (LoD) to justice minister Wijedasa Rajapakse, it was revealed at a media briefing.

The LoD is against Danuna’s bank accounts being still in the minister’s custody, although courts had acquitted him in the Hicorp case and ordered the release of his passport.

Danuna told the media that since the time he had sent the minister a letter, requesting the release of the money, Rajapakse has summoned a media briefing and tarnished his image by alleging black money was in these accounts and that it should be investigated as to whether it was the commission money Fonseka had received during the period he was the Army commander.

Rajapakse continues to sling mud at him, without responding to his request although three months had elapsed, Danuna said, adding that the Rs. 88.6 million in these accounts was neither commission money nor black money.

He said he had earned the money cleanly, being a consultant to a satellite company in the US.

A Rs. 25 million compensation would be sought at courts after sending a LoD to the justice minister within 14 days for the insulting remarks he had made, Danuna added.

Politician Who Forced Teacher To Kneel Down Invited As Chief Guest

he Ceylon Teachers' Union calls on the Education Ministry to hold an inquiry into an incident where the politician who forced a teacher to kneel down at Nawagaththegama Navadya School was invited to the same school as a chief guest.

Former UPFA Provincial Council member Ananda Sarath Kumara was invited to the school as the Chief Guest of the sports meet yesterday, the Union said.

The whole teaching sector has been forced on its knees by this gesture shown to the politician, CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said.

Ananda Sarath Kumara was given a suspended prison term for his action. The teacher who faced the incident has obtained a transfer to another school.

MR opens new political office

The new political and public relations office of Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was opened at Nelum Mawatha, Battaramulla this morning (12)

Vijayakala denies refusing to hoist national flag

State Minister of Child Affairs Vijayakala Maheswaran today categorically rejected as “completely untrue” reports claiming that she refused to hoist the Sri Lankan national flag at a function in Jaffna.

Speaking to Ada Derana, the State Minister said that neither was she invited to hoist the national flag nor did she refuse to do so.

She charged that such news is being created to espouse racism and blamed certain “racist” MPs in parliament over the issue.

Maheswaran stated that she would deliver a statement in Parliament in the near future regarding the controversy.

Various newspapers and websites had reported that the UNP Jaffna District MP had refused to hoist the national flag at an event held on Monday (8), which she had attended as the chief guest.

Girl sexually abused in children’s home

KANDY – The warden of a Children’s Home and her husband were arrested by Talatuoya police following complaint that a ten-year-old girl had been sexually abused.

The girl had been at the home since her mother left for a job abroad following a break-up of her family.

Talatuoya police after inquiring into the complaint of the aunt of the girl took the warden and her husband into custody on Wednesday.

According to the complaint lodged by the victim’s aunt the husband of the warden of the children’s home had sexually abused the victim several times since November 2015.

Wild elephant kills man in Ambalantota

A 38-year-old died after being subjected to a wild elephant attack in Ambalantota police division last night, Police Media Unit said.The deceased was a resident of Ambalantota, Police added. His remains are placed at the morgue of Ambalantota Hospital. The post mortem examination is to be conducted today.Ambalantota Police is carrying out further investigations into the incident.

Govt. attempts to cover up the reality of Geneva resolution

The President and Prime Minister have given the UN Human Rights Commissioner an assurance that last year’s UN Human Rights Council resolution against Sri Lanka will be implemented, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said today (11).

Issuing a statement, he said that having accepted the Geneva resolution, the government is now adopting various strategies to convince the public that it will not be harmful to the country. 

“There is now an attempt to portray this UNHRC resolution as a great diplomatic victory for Sri Lanka. But in reality, it was a great betrayal comparable to the Kandyan Convention of 1815,” it said.

The statement added, ‘The President and Prime Minister have given the UN Human Rights Commissioner an assurance that last year’s UN Human Rights Council resolution against Sri Lanka will be implemented. This UNHRC resolution was accepted and co-sponsored by the Sri Lankan government and passed by the UNHRC without a vote. The UNP led government accepted the Geneva resolution with the same carelessness with which they entered into the ceasefire agreement with the LTTE in 2002. Though our Ambassador in Geneva tried to negotiate different terms, that was deliberately stopped by the government which insisted on accepting the US sponsored resolution just as it was. There is now an attempt to portray this UNHRC resolution as a great diplomatic victory for Sri Lanka. But in reality, it was a great betrayal comparable to the Kandyan Convention of 1815.

The people should once again be reminded about what exactly has been undertaken by accepting this resolution. In operative paragraphs 1, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 12, the present government has accepted the report of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights which said that war crimes including the killing of civilians, torture, and the deliberate starvation of people had been committed by our armed forces and they have agreed to set up a war crimes tribunal manned by foreign judges, prosecutors and investigators and funded directly from overseas to try our war heroes for these alleged crimes. Furthermore they have agreed to remove through administrative action members of the armed forces who are suspected of having committed war crimes but against whom there isn’t enough evidence to place before the war crimes tribunal. They have also agreed to make amendments to the Public Security Ordinance and to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

In operative paragraphs 16, 18 and 20, the government has undertaken to devolve power in order to bring about a political settlement Sri Lanka and to do everything undertaken in the resolution under the supervision of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR). It should be borne in mind that the OHCHR that has come in for  heavy criticism by the UN Human Rights Council itself. The UNHRC passes every year (with more than a two thirds majority) a resolution calling upon the OHCHR to end the domination of that office by Westerners and to reduce its dependency on Western funds. The government has thus agreed to place Sri Lanka under the supervision of an institution that is facing criticism by the UNHRC itself for its Western bias.

Having accepted the Geneva resolution, the government is now adopting various strategies to convince the public that it will not be harmful to the country. We saw the President and Prime Minister in recent days expressing to the international media what seemed to be contradictory views on the participation of foreign judges in the proposed war crimes mechanism. But this was just a drama for public consumption.  It became clear from the President’s Independence Day speech that there is no difference in the stands taken by him and the Prime Minister on the Geneva resolution. The President not only endorsed the decision of the government to implement the Geneva resolution but also accused those opposed to it of misleading the public. He further said in his Independence Day speech that the implementation of the Geneva resolution will only result in promoting democracy, reconciliation and respect for our armed forces. Subsequently, on 6 February the Daily Mirror reported that the SLFP had officially announced at a press conference that the UNP and the SLFP had jointly agreed on the implementation of the Geneva resolution.

The war was won by an SLFP government led by me. It is a matter of profound regret to me that our party has been subordinated in this manner to the UNP which tried to sabotage the war effort at every turn. Many would recall the manner in which the UNP even tried to stop the war by defeating the government at the budget vote in 2007. When that did not work, members of the UNP ridiculed the war effort by saying among other things that ‘any ox can fight a war’ and that ‘while claiming to be advancing on Alimankada the army was actually moving towards Pamankada’. It is not surprising to see such people now trying to exact revenge from those who won the war.

However, I am profoundly saddened to see that a section SLFP has also joined the UNP in this great betrayal. The UNP may be deriving a great deal of satisfaction by thus getting a section of the SLFP which won the war to underwrite every traitorous they commit. I call upon the people of Sri Lanka to unite and resist this attempt by the government to betray the country and our war heroes.”

Colombo port achieves historic growth in daily TUEs handling volume

The Port of Colombo has recorded its first ever highest daily container handling volume to 22, 422 TUEs on Tuesday (09) February 2016, Sri Lanka Ports Authority(SLPA) revealed yesterday.

However the previous highest volume 22,186 containers were reported by SLPA on 28 of April 2015 volume.The recorded containers volume was received to the port from 22 vessels while 10 of them had been operated under SLPA.

The data further shows 9, 875 TUEs handled at Colombo port out of total 22,422 TUEs has been carried out by SLPA.

Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranatunga said that he was to introduce overall development plan to three terminals to carry out their operations towards the development of Colombo port.

 He said the plan would be developed while keeping the uniqueness of the (Jaya Container Terminal) JCT terminal operates under SLPA.

 “Colombo port operations are carried under three terminals while the JCT run under SLPA. Other two terminals are owned by the private sector. We hope to introduce a strategic business plan for all these terminals to carry out their business operations towards the development of Colombo port. We will highly consider about the uniqueness of JCT operations when develop the strategy to boost the operations of the port. The contribution of our employees and the team was paramount to achieve the set targets. We hope to continue our progress,” the minister said.

                        

The data further shows during January 2016, the TUEs handled at Colombo port by SLPA increased to197, 228 TEUs by pointing to a positive change of 3.6% against same period of 2015. Minister said the changes in the administration of SLPA boosted the development process of Colombo port. 

Yoshitha further remanded

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's second son Yoshitha Rajapaksa and  four other suspects arrested on alleged financial irregularities at the Carlton Sports Network were further remanded until February 25 by Kaduwela Magistrate’s courts today (11).

The other suspects include former CSN CEO Nishantha Ranatunga and former CSN Chairman Rohan Welivita.

The five suspects including former President’s son Yoshitha Rajapaksa were arrested on January 30 and remanded till 11 February, after being presented before the Kaduwela Magistrate by the police.

The Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) questioned the second son of the former President, Yoshitha Rajapaksa at the Navy Headquarters regarding the reported financial irregularities on January 30.

Warrant issued against Dilshan

A warrant has been issued against Sri Lanka's former cricket captain - Tillakaratne Dilshan.

The order has been made today (10) by the No. 09 Magistrate Court in Colombo after taking up a case filed against Dilshan for failing to pay the monthly maintenance fee of Rs. 20,000 and the insurance of his child from his previous marriage.

The case has been filed by Dilshan's former wife - Nilanka Withanage.

Dilshan had failed to make an appearance at the court today and his lawyer informed the court that his client is currently overseas to attending a cricket tournament.

However, the magistrate ordered to issue a warrant against the cricketer after lawyers of the aggrieved party had proved that Dilshan had was indeed in Sri Lanka.

Last year, an official from the Finance branch of Sri Lanka Cricket has revealed in courts that Dilshan has earned a staggering Rs. 150 million from playing cricket during the period 2012 /2013.