Month: October 2018

U.K. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Tuesday that they are watching the situation in Sri Lanka, which plunged into turmoil when its prime minister was replaced with a former president, with a “great deal of concern”. The Foreign Secretary made these comments in response to a question from Conservative MP Sir Hugo Swire at the House of Commons today (30). Swire inquired as to whether Hunt would point out to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena that his recent actions are a direct contravention of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution…

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Internal sources of the Joint Opposition inform that the supporters of Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapakshe have been devastated with the political game pulled by Mr. Basil Rajapakshe, the founder of the ‘Pohottu’ Party, for making Mr. Mahinda Rajapakshe as the Prime Minister using President Maithreepala Sirisena. Accordingly, the sources further inform that the effort, in which Mr. Gotabhaya Rajapakshe worked in effect to present Mr. Mahinda Rajapakshe as the Presidential Candidate acquiring retired Army personnel and businessmen, has been totally drained off. That is because Mr. Basil Rajapakshe has made a…

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Another United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian joined the Maithripala Sirisena – Mahinda Rajapaksa camp today. UNP MP Dunesh Gankanda was sworn in as the Minister of State for Environment before President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat, today.  Since last Friday five UNP MPs have joined Sirisena. (Colombo Gazette)

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The case filed by the Bribery Commission against Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and seven others has been postponed until February 26th, as ordered by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court. The talk of the town is that this case will be closed soon has Mahinda is back in power has the new PM. Eventually all the cases against the members of Mahinda family and his friends will be closed. When the case called before Colombo Additional Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage, the attorney representing the Bribery Commission informed the Magistrate’s Court that an interim order has been…

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There is only a mound of dirt where her home once stood in Keppapilavu village in the country’s northeast; the rest is just dirt, gravel, and broken shards of doors and windows from her demolished home. Sri Lanka’s military occupied thousands of hectares of land during and after the country’s bitter 26-year civil war, which came to a brutal end in 2009 when the military crushed remaining Tamil fighters here in the north. Almost a decade later, rights groups say reconciliation between the country’s majority Sinhalese community and its Tamil minority is…

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by Rathindra Kuruwita & Zaheena Rasheed Sacked prime minister’s party calls for protests as speaker warns of possible violence over parliament’s suspension. Colombo, Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka‘s President Maithripala Sirisena has come under increased pressure to allow legislators resolve a power struggle with his sacked prime minister, amid warnings that the country’s deepening political crisis could devolve into a “bloodbath”. The concern over possible violence came on Monday as legislators loyal to removed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe called on their supporters to converge on Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, to protest against…

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Maithripala-Mahinda alliance has the support of a total of 100 MPs. The UNP had a total of 102 MPs, including the speaker. TNA which is yet to take a decision, has 16 MPs JVP has 6 MPs and that party has decided to support neither side. A SLFP group decides to become independent A group in the SLFP has decided to function independently, without accepting government positions or privileges, say political sources. They say that going by the dark shadows in the past two to three days it is evident…

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On Sunday, the Badulla district MP, Vadivel Suresh met with Mahinda Rajapaksa pledging his allegiance. However, on Monday Suresh also met with Ranil denying his support to Rajapaksa. Next day he joined Mahinda has a minister. UNP defections begin as parliamentarians warn of more to come At least three parliamentarians have now defected from Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party to Mahinda Rajapaksa, as both men vye to control a parliamentary majority and the seat of Sri Lankan prime minister this week.  Following President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to appoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as…

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“The SLFP and the SLPP will eventually succeed in gaining parliamentary approval for their new administration in mid-November”- The Economist By The Economist Intelligence Unit Sri Lanka is set to undergo another period of political turmoil as the country faces a constitutional crisis. The growing tensions and ideological differences within the ruling coalition between the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) came to the fore on October 26th, when the president, Maithripala Sirisena (who is also the leader of the SLFP), announced the sacking of the…

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On 8th of January 2015, 62 Lakhs of people of this country got together as a common front to re-establish democracy in the country and to re-establish peace and reconciliation. We rallied together, against corruption, fraud and thuggery, and at the same time to economically develop this country. 8th of January 2015 all the political parties and the forces including Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha maha Thero and other priests, Civil society as well as former President Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga got together and made Maithreepala Sirisrena the President of this country. Thereafter, I was…

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by Jehan Perera The dismissal of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe following the withdrawal of the SLFP headed by President Maithripala Sirisena from the government alliance has become yet another source of instability within the polity. It has also caused international ripples with the governments of many countries publicly expressing their concerns and the UK issuing a travel advisory to its citizens to be careful when travelling to Sri Lanka in the near future. Therefore the sooner this crisis is resolved the better it will be for the country. It is…

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By S. I. Keethaponcalan – Dr. S. I. Keethaponcalan President Maithripala Sirisena became part of yet another political coup within five years. In the first coup, he parted ways with the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to become the common candidate of the opposition parties headed by the United National Party (UNP) in 2014. His shift, then, was considered as “traitorous” by Rajapaksa and his loyalists.  The present one unfolded when he appointed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister on October 26, 2018. This move surprised almost everyone I know in Sri Lanka. Maithripala Sirisena…

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On October 26, Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. This sudden challenge to Sri Lanka’s regime blindsided some political observers and members of the international community. To those for whom the political upheaval matters the most, however, it came as no surprise. Mahinda Rajapaksa was feared by political opponents, his critics and the Tamil-speaking people on the island during his ten-year reign between 2005-2015. Under his rule, activists, journalists and politicians with opposing views were harassed, intimidated, abducted…

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The unexpected political turnover occurred the last 26 caused the conversation of switching parties in the blink of an eye. Accordingly, many conversations carried out in relate to the separated sets of MPs and Ministers on to Maithree and Ranil groups. Especially, rather controversial news bulletins have surfaced about characters that are likely to be attached to President Maithreepala Sirisena and Mr. Mahinda Rajapakshe from the United National Party. United National Party Badulle District Parliamentarian Wadiwel Suresh was one amongst the characters specially mentioned. Mr. Wadiwel Suresh had met Mr.…

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The US Department of State has called on President Maithripala Sirisena to reconvene Parliament, in consultation with Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, and allow representatives of the people to fulfil their responsibilities. In a statement, the Department of State said it would continue to follow developments in Sri Lanka with “great concern”. “We urge all sides to refrain from intimidation and violence,” the statement added. This follows Opposition R. Sampanthan’s request to Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to convene Parliament with immediate effect and allow the legislature to perform its legitimate functions. Speaker Jayasuriya, sending a letter…

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 On the 16th of November 2018 when the parliament is called Mahinda or Ranil will have to prove who has got the 113 or more MP’s support and one of them will be the undisputed NEW Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. If Mahinda Wins – Maithiri will be treated like a dummy for double crossing Mahinda in the 2015 Presidential election and will be forced to quite politics in 2020 (May use the common excuse ”Due to health problems”) If Ranil Wins – Maithiri will face a NO Confidence motion…

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https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/10/27/sri-lanka-new-prime-minister-puts-rights-grave-risk (New York) – Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision on October 26, 2018, to appoint former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister has raised fears about a return to past abusive practices in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The sudden announcement to sack Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, which he contends violates parliamentary processes and the constitution, was made without informing parliament or the cabinet. “Rajapaksa’s return to high office without any justice for past crimes raises chilling concerns for human rights in Sri Lanka,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The…

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The main opposition Tamil National Alliance says that in the battle for the Prime Minister’s post, its support will go to the party which will make two key promises on the national question.A TNA spokesman said Opposition and TNA leader R. Sampanthan spoke to Prime Ministers Ranil Wickremesinghe and Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday and conveyed the message that the TNA was not interested in protecting or promoting individuals but its interest was in finding a solution to the national question. The party would support whichever government that would give an assurance…

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