Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a protest near the Parliamentary Roundabout by a group of local councilors now representing the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
The protesters demanded the government to hold the local council elections and asked if the government was scared to hold the election in view of its 'sure defeat'.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna is the breakaway group of the SLFP Joint Opposition. More than 2000 former local councilors took its membership recently.
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) would present a special report to Parliament after obtaining a full report from the Auditor General on the massive scam related to rice importation in 2014/2015, COPE Chairman and JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti told Parliament yesterday.
Participating in the third reading debate on budget 2017 under the expenditure heads of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Handunnetti said Lanka Sathosa had purchased only 46,698 MT locally produced rice in 2014 and 2015, but it had imported 275,693 MT of rice.
He said Rs 18,597 million had been spent on importing these rice stocks. That figure included the amount spent on imported rice, demurrage charges at the Port, state and private warehouse charges, insurance cost and legal expenses, he said.
The farmers were staging street protests, unable to dispose of their produce, Handunnetti said. The government at that time was boasting of self-sufficiency in rice and that it had stopped rice importation. The local farmers’ paddy was not purchased as the warehouses were full. The former ruler boasted that he hailed from a farming family, Handunnetti said.
He said the loss the government had incurred by selling those imported rice stocks below cost amounted to Rs. 2,359 million. "The financial loss of this scam is no less than that of much talked about the Central Bank Bond sales."
Handunnetti, revealing full details of the rice importation scam said, the Cabinet approval had been obtained on July 31, 2014 to import 50,000 MT of rice in several lots with each being 5,000 MT. However, the entire stock had been ordered at once on September 14, 2014 from Indian United Foods Company at a cost of Rs. 2,843 million, he said.
"Then another stock of 100,000 MT costing Rs 5,913 was ordered from an Indian company ‘ACP Industries’ on October 17. We would like to question the connection of former Economic Affairs Minister Basil Rajapaksa with this company. This is a chemical manufacturing company. This purchase did not have the Cabinet approval. The tender procedure had not been followed. Lanka Sathosa was informed of the move only after the order was made. Fifty four container stocks of rice imported by this company are still there in warehouses."
Handunnetti said former Minister Johnston Fernando had imported another stock of 60,000 MT of rice costing Rs 3,714 million without Cabinet approval on November 28, 2014 when the Presidential Election was nearby. Yet, another stock of 25,000 MT was imported from Bangladesh under an exchange programme between the two countries.
"These stocks of rice were imported using Letter of Credits issued by the People’s Bank and BoC. This is also public money. Some of these loans are not settled even as of now," he said.
Leader of the House, Lakshman Kiriella, told Parliament yesterday that the unknown caller, referred to as 'Sir', by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) could have been anyone, including even a former teacher of the IGP.
The leader of the House was responding to a question raised by Chief Opposition Whip MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who inquired as to who IGP Pujith Jayasundara was referring to as 'Sir' while answering a mobile phone call during an event which was widely aired over the media recently. Adding that a similar question was raised on Thursday (1) as well, he demanded that the Minister of Justice disclose to the House the identity of the caller.
"A certain 'Sir' ordered the IGP to desist from apprehending Dishan Wickramaratne Gunasekara. It was aired by the media.
The Parliament has the right to know what the truth of the matter is. Dishan Gunasekara was the former Basnayake Nilame, a close relative of the high class families of the former regime and also the former Acting Director and Chairman of the Ceylon Mineral Sands Corporation. There are several cases against him before the FCID. From what I understand, the 'Sir' the IGP referred to could only be the Minister in charge of the Police or the Prime Minister.
We want to know who ordered the IGP not to arrest Dishan Gunasekara. The relevant Minister should reveal to the House who was behind that phone call."
The Leader of the House then responded that it was up to the Opposition to decide on how to interpret the situation.
"This is the interpretation of opposition member concerning that incident, it could be either right or wrong. He could have been saying 'Sir' to his school teacher. Even now we call our teachers 'sir" the Leader of the House opined.
Private bus operators have called off their strike last night after President Maithripala Sirisena agreed to meet them to discuss their demands, private bus trade trade unions confirmed.
The strike by private buses and 21 threewheeler unions around the country left the public stranded at deserted bus stops and depots yesterday.
The protest against the increase in fine to Rs.25,000 for seven traffic offences includes driving without a license, drunk driving and speeding.
Railway Unions and the Sri Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Associations (SLPBOA) held discussions with President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday night with both unions promising to call off the strike but the next day, the private buses defied SLPBOA Chairman Gemunu Wijerathna go ahead with the strike.
Wijerathna was not available for comment despite several attempts to contact him.
The government in response has increased the number of Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses operating on the roads.
SLTB Chairman Ramal Siriwardena speaking to the News said
“As soon as I heard of the possible strike, I released a circular cancelling all leave and calling back all to report to duty. We are constantly monitoring the situation and while we can’t guarantee that there is no inconvenience caused, we are trying to minimize disruptions,”he said.
According to him, the SLTB has increased the number of buses deployed from 5,300 to 6,100 by using some of the long distance buses for short distance transport.
Despite such efforts however, the SLTB was falling short of the demand as the majority of transport in the country is run by private buses,“Either way, we only run 1,000 buses while there are 4000 private buses,”the SLTB Chairman said.
The protest also took a violent turn yesterday as protestors started to pelt stones at SLTB buses which were operating during the strike.
According to news reports, close to 20 buses were damaged. “Two school children were injured due to the pelting of stones but we have asked for police protection at all bus depots,”Siriwardena said.
Transport Ministry Secretary Nihal Somaweera speaking to the News said the demands of the unions were ‘unjustifiable’.
“We have had several discussions with them up to Thursday but they will have to respect rules. The SLTB is operating in full swing and we have made arrangements to have them running so in the next couple of days too,”he said. He added that despite union warnings to continue the strike indefinitely, it was not likely to continue given the losses to their income they would face each day.
The Lotus Road Roundabout at Fort was closed off yesterday due to around 1,000 thre wheelers from 21 unions being parked on the road. They also blocked the main Colombo-Negombo main road causing severe congestion.
“They are now asking us to not overtake from the left, and then there is also a rule that we cannot overtake from the right. How will we overtake cars and get to our destination sooner? This is what our passengers expect from us,”Pradeep Kumara from the Thotalanga Threewheeler Drivers’
Association who had parked his vehicle at Lotus Road said.
He added that it was unfair to increase the fine for speeding as they had no option but to speed. Ajim who is also a three wheel driver from the Thotalanga stand said these problems were due to a lack of national policy with regard to the Three wheeler industry,
“We know that overtaking from the left is wrong but then at least let us overtake from the right. When buses were asked not to overtake from the right, Gemunu went on strike and got private buses exempted. This is unfair,”Ajim said.
The three wheel drivers were insistent that they would continue to strike until their demands are met.
Military Spokesperson, Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne said the Defence Ministry Secretary through the Office of Chief of Defence Staff, requested that the military remain on standby in the case where police would require any assistance to control the situation. The new fine system however will only come into effect once the necessary amendments to the Motor Traffic Act are made. In addition, the Attorney General and Parliament would need to approve of the new structure.
Meanwhile, employees in several government institutes were allowed to leave an hour and a half early yesterday due to the private bus and three wheel driver’s strike yesterday.
The courts, public administration, urban development authority and several other ministries followed suit.
It was also reported that attendance in schools and other private institutes were also greatly reduced due to the strike.
Meanwhile, two SLTB buses were damaged on Thursday and Wednesday as stones were pelted at them at two separate locations in the Trincomalee area, said the police.
The first attack was on the bus from Trincomalee to Tangalle on Wednesday night with the front most window on the left broken but no passengers were hurt, Police sources said.
The second attack was on a bus at the Trincomalee Marathadiya junction yesterday morning. A side mirror was broken. The attack was launched when the bus which had travelled from Colombo to Trincomalee was on its way back. The Trincomalee police believe that both attacks were carried out by the same group.
A special meeting is to be arranged between President Maithripala Sirisena and US President-elect Donal Trump soon in Washington D.C with the objective of furthering closer ties between the two nations, said US Vice President-elect, Mike Pence in a telephone conversation with President Sirisena on Thursday night.
According to the Presidential Media Division officials, Vice President-elect Mike Pence informed President Sirisena that they will work towards arranging a visit by President Sirisena to Washington DC for a meeting with Trump. During the conversation, President Sirisena conveyed his best wishes to the new Administration under the leadership of President-elect Donald Trump. The conversation focused on measures for strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the United States in the future.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence informed President Sirisena that they will work towards arranging a visit by President Sirisena to Washington DC for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump.
The objective of both countries is to ensure the progress of relations between the two countries based on common values of democratic governance and Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the middle of Asia. Cooperation directed at securing the safety of sea lanes, countering drug smuggling and working together in disaster management as partners was also discussed.
The effects of the strike action by private buses and three-wheelers were felt across the country.
However, the Sri Lanka Transport Board and Sri Lanka Railways continued their operations in order to meet the transportation requirements of the general public.
The SLTB said that it deployed a total of 6100 buses for operations today, Friday, December 2. However, public transport services in several areas were obstructed, damaged and even attacked at times.
Private bus operators and three-wheeler drivers in the Negombo town marched towards the Galkanda Railway Crossing in Negombo this morning.
They then demonstrated on the Chilaw – Colombo Main Road, while the train plying from Fort to Chilaw was forced to stop at the Galkanda Station. As the demonstrators continued to remain at the location till this evening, the Railways Control Room decided to restrict train operations.
Thereafter, police obtained a court order to remove them from the tracks.
A clash broke out between the three-wheeler drivers who did not take part in the strike action, and those who did, at the Chilaw town this morning.
At around 05:10 this morning, stones were hurled at a SLTB Bus plying from Kuliyapitiya to Kurunegala at the Kithawala area.
Two passengers were injured and were admitted to the Kuliyapitiya District Hospital.Stones were also pelted at an SLTB luxury bus plying from Negombo to Colombo on the expressway, early this morning in Negombo.
An SLTB bus from Kataragama to Colombo was attacked with stones in Tangalle on Thursday night.
Another SLTB Bus came under a stone attack in Thalaramba while operating from Tangalle to Trincomalee.The driver sustained injuries.”Two persons came in a motorcycle. They attacked the bus with a stone causing damage”, he said.
An SLTB bus operating from Kalmunai to Colombo was pelted with stones in the Warakapola , Randawadunna and Warellawatte areas.
As SLTB buses continued to be attacked with stones since Thursday night, buses were provided with police and army security.
Chairman of SLTB, Ramal Siriwardena said that the IGP and DIG (traffic) Palitha Fernando held discussions, and that following discussions with the Secretary of Defence, Military Security was requested to areas where it was not possible to provide police protection. Therefore the general public need not have any fear over minor incidents, he said. “We will continue bus operations “, he stressed.
Pakistan hero in their 1992 World Cup triumph, Wasim Akram, recalled fond memories of touring Sri Lanka as a Test cricketer and claimed the future is bright for country’s cricket during a media briefing at SLC headquarters at Maitland Place, Colombo yesterday.
Former great Aravinda de Silva, who heads SLC’s Cricket Committee, had requested Akram’s services to conduct a workshop for the national cricket team, SLC coaches and fast bowlers. Akram is expected to do a couple of more stints next year as well.
"I first toured Sri Lanka in 1986 with Pakistan Under-23 team. I have happy memories here of lovely places and people. Sri Lanka is heaven on earth," Akram said addressing the media briefing.
"What I look for in a fast bowler is pace and swing. There’s no point in changing the action after someone has played at top level. Changing action should happen when someone is under 16," Akram noted.
Elaborating further on the ability to swing the ball, he said, "Pace alone is not going to do you any good. Often you play on slow wickets in Asia and you should be skilful as a bowler to outsmart the batsman. The idea is to fox out the batsman. You need to have back-up plans.
"Sri Lankan cricket is in good hands. There are couple of very good fast bowlers who have pace at your under-19 level. Now the important thing is to teach them to swing the ball," Akram, known as Sultan of Swing, said.
"You have some great guys working hard for your cricket. There’s Chaminda Vaas, there’s Aravinda and Sanath Jayasuriya, as Chairman of Selectors."
Commenting on the upcoming tour of South Africa, Akram was confident that the Sri Lankans will do well. "You guys have a good chance in South Africa. Just believe in yourselves."
Akram took 414 Test wickets at 23 and 502 wickets in ODIs, also at 23. He raised the standards playing against Sri Lanka as he averaged 21 in Tests with the ball against them and an even impressive average of 20 in ODIs.
"As I walked into the SSC, some old memories flooded in. My 400th wicket was taken in this ground. I remember I took a five-wicket haul and scored 70 odd runs in that Test match.
"I also remember guys like Aravinda and Arjuna smashing me all over the park. It’s tough for a fast bowler here as it’s hot and humid. Aravinda is one of the true greats of the game," Akram added.
Akram earned the admiration of Sri Lankans as he travelled to Colombo together with several team-mates to be part of joint India – Pakistan team that played a friendly match at RPS ahead of the 1996 World Cup after Australia and West Indies pulled out citing security concerns.
SLC chief Thilanga Sumathipala called Akram, ‘a friend of Sri Lanka’.
"We are sitting down and planning what I can do here next year. Karachi is just two and half hours away from Colombo. So I can come here at the drop of a hat," Akram further said.
Aravinda addressing the media briefing pointed out that Akram was a great example as he represented his country for two decades putting up with serious injuries.
"Every time when a journalist asks me who was the toughest bowler I played against, I say it was Wasim Akram. It was a huge challenge playing against Wasim."
"Physios and trainers these days say a bowler should not bowl more than a certain amount of overs due to the fear of injury. But if you ask Wasim, when you are a fast bowler you will have niggles. Injuries are part and parcel of the game. I remember getting as many as 18 injections on my groin so that I could play a game. So it’s tough life. I remember Arjuna once played with a broken hand against medical advice and won us a Test match," Aravinda said. Eight of Aravinda’s 20 Test centuries were against Pakistan.
Akram endorsed Aravinda’s thoughts. "When you are a fast bowler, you will have niggles. You can’t pull out saying it’s hard. There will be stiffness on the shoulder, hamstring and so on. You have to play with pain. You have to be mentally tough and be prepared for the challenge. Once you bowl a spell, everything will fall back to normal."
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews thanked SLC for the opportunity. "We are honoured and privileged to have Wasim here. We thank SLC for bringing him down. I am glad he will come back and work with our fast bowlers."
Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford echoed similar sentiments. "It was a fantastic interaction. Nothing like getting face to face with a legend of the game."
