Day: 13 December 2015

Three mega road projects to be launched next year, trip to Kandy in 75 minutesBy Damith Wickremasekara Three mega expressway projects, including one to the north through Polonnaruwa and Trincomalee, will be launched next year, officials said yesterday. Funding for the projects estimated to cost US$ 13.4 billion (Rs. 1,900 billion) will come from multiple sources including China, the Asian Development Bank and local avenues, Road Development Authority Director General M.P.K.L Gunaratne told the Sunday Times. He said the expressway to the Central Province will be the first to be…

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By Sujeeva Nivunhella in London Siobhain McDonagh, Senior Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils in the British Parliament, has sought a clarification from Foreign Minister Hugo Swires on how the £6.6m funding the British government has granted to Sri Lanka will be spent. In a letter, the Group has expressed concern over the money allocated for Sri Lanka’s military reforms as the country’s army has been accused of “war crimes”. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils has also expressed their displeasure over the Sri Lankan government’s failure…

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The owner of the Uthayan newspaper, Tamil National Alliance member and parliamentarian E Saravanbavan queried as to why the Government was only investigating the murder of editor Lasantha Wickrematunga and disappearance of cartoonist Pargeeth Eknaligoda and not the attacks on scribes in the North. While addressing Parliament yesterday, he commended the Government’s move to make sound progress on the two incidents but cited that there must also be a concerted effort to investigate incidents of attacks on journalists from the North and East. He said several such incidents had taken…

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by P. Krishnasway Two disgruntled prisoners at the Welikada Magazine prison resumed their third day’s fast last week and more are expected to follow, demanding that the government keeps its promise on their early release, prison sources said. This follows one month after Tamil prisoners in detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) called off their nine-day fast-unto-death, The second fast-unto-death staged by the Tamil prisoners in prisons across the country called off their fast on November 17 on the assurance given by Prisons Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu…

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Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday suggested a compensation scheme for families of journalists and other media persons killed while on duty. Mr. Wickremesinghe speaking during the committee stage budget debate on the allocation for the Ministry of Mass Media and Parliamentary Affairs said a compensation plan would be implemented for 44 media persons, who were killed during the period of the former regime due to political reasons. A majority of them were from the North. The Premier said President Maithripala Sirisena was also supporting the compensation plan which would be…

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A ‘Ransom Mafia’ that came into existence during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure in office ripped off rich business tycoons and other reputed persons. The mafia was peaking during the ethnic war and it made use of defence and security units to flourish. Some Tamil businessmen who feared losing their trade and being branded as ‘Tigers’ had no second thoughts about parting with in millions to appease the mafia. They offered millions to mafia members for the sake of their reputation. That was the only option they had as their complaints were…

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By Camelia Nathaniel The Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), a constituent party of the Tamil National Alliance, had announced earlier that it would not back the 2016 budget in parliament unless the Tamil political prisoners were freed. Leader of TELO and Deputy Chairman of Committees in Parliament, MP Selvam Adaikalanathan had also informed the TNA of his decision. However the  Tamil National Alliance, and its coalition of parties including TELO, backed the second reading of the 2016 budget. In an interview with The Sunday Leader, Adaikalanathan said the 13th Amendment…

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Parliament storms over Thajudeen probe, SLFP in-fighting Siripala-Welgama slanging match : Police bigwigs under probe: CCTV shows Thajudeen escape attempt: The SLFP’s in-fighting reached a new height last week with the party’s top rung leaders lashing out at each other in public over what happened under the previous administration. A heated verbal battle in Parliament between Transport Minister and former Opposition Leader Nimal Siripala de Silva and UPFA Kalutara District MP Kumara Welgama was nothing but a demonstration of the hostile dynamics prevailing within the SLFP, now led by President…

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