Day: 1 June 2022

In a fresh move to scuttle the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, the loyalists of MP Basil Rajapaksa on Monday insisted at the government’s group meeting that bringing about economic stability should be prioritized instead of expending energy on constitutional changes. However, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa emphasized that it should be incorporated into the Constitution. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also spoke for it. Among the MPs who spoke against the 21st Amendment are Chintaka Mayadunna, Sarath Weerasekara and Nalaka Godahewa. They said the government should focus more on addressing economic grievances.…

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ByLakmal Sooriyagoda The Supreme Court today issued an Interim Order directing the CID to place Duminda Silva under the custody of prisons with immediate effect. The Attorney General was directed to assist the CID to implement this interim order while reporting to court the progress of the implementation of the Interim Order. The Court also issued an Interim Order impounding Duminda Silva’s passport. In a historical order, the Supreme Court issued an Interim Order suspending the operation of the Presidential Pardon granted by the President to former parliamentarian Duminda Silva.This…

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By D.B.S.Jeyaraj (This Article was written in July 2021 following the Presidential Pardon given to Convicted Murderer Duminda Silva by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa/It is being re-posted now in view of the historic interim order issued by the Supreme Court suspending the operation of the Presidential Pardon) Arumadura Lawrence Romelo Duminda Silva known as Duminda Silva was the fortunate recipient of a munificent Presidential pardon on Poson Poya day. The convict on death row was released as a result of the Poson Poya pardon. The Legal Prosecution, Judicial Conviction and Presidential…

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By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody – Ruwan Jayakody Important but imperfect. This is how some have described the draft of the proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill (the framers of which are Justice and Constitutional Reforms Minister, President’s Counsel Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and lawyers associated with the latter), which has been presented to the Cabinet of Ministers and the political parties represented in the Parliament, but is yet to be gazetted as it awaits amendments in the form of additions and omissions of text from the aforementioned groups…

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By S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole – Prof S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole I wrote a public letter on 22 April 2022 to the IMF and the Indian government asking them not to support the Sri Lankan government with loans until there is transparency and accountability. My point was that the failed regime had robbed and milked the country so dry that more loans would mean they would rob more and leave us worse off. So, until we have a transparent and accountable regime, no loans please. I stand by that despite Mahinda Rajapaksa’s harangue against…

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Former MP Duminda Silva is to be arrested after the Supreme Court today suspended a presidential pardon granted to him in June 2021 while on death row. The Supreme Court had today issued an interim order suspending the presidential pardon granted to Duminda Silva and ordered his arrest. Duminda Silva was convicted over the murder of Presidential Advisor Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra in 2011. The Colombo High Court sentenced Duminda Silva to death on September 8, 2016 for the murder of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. However, in 2019 when the Gotabaya Rajapaksa – Mahinda Rajapaksa…

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President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has brought Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the Board of Investment (BoI) and the Port City Economic Commission under him through a gazette notice. The gazette specifies the duties and functions of the current Ministries and institutions allocated for each Ministry. Accordingly, a number of State institutions have been taken under the Defence Ministry. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, as the Minister of Defence, will have control over the institutions that fall under the Defence Ministry, including SLT, BoI and the Port City Economic Commission. The Colombo Lotus Tower has…

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By Jehan Perera The 50th day anniversary of the Aragalaya took place in a generally calm manner.  There were special events organized on Saturday, including a march from Independence Square to the Galle Face protest site.  I met a veteran Colombo-based Tamil journalist who was one of those who made the trek, along with his teenage son.  They had come to express their solidarity with the protestors and not to engage in confrontation with the government.  So they did not join the smaller group that decided not to stop at the Galle…

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Prez reminded of promise to enact new Constitution By Shamindra Ferdinando SLPP lawmaker Rear Admiral (retd.) Sarath Weerasekera has declared that he will not vote for the proposed 21 st Amendment to the Constitution under any circumstances. The former Public Security Minister and Colombo District lawmaker said he couldn’t accept the 21st Amendment as it was meant to restore the provisions in the treacherous 19th Amendment to the Constitution enacted in 2015. MP Weerasekera said so at a meeting chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday (30) evening at the President’s House to…

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Read June 1, 2022Online edition News Business Sports Brunch International Videos Gallery Cartoons Print Edition NEWS AG instructs to charge Ven. Gnanasara Thera JUNE 1, 2022 BY NEWS ADMIN0 COMMENTS Charges over allegedly intentionally wounding religious feelings BY Buddhika Samaraweera The Police’s Colombo Crime Prevention Division informed Colombo Fort Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage yesterday (31 May) that the Attorney General (AG) has instructed to file charges under Section 291A of the Penal Code against Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, for allegedly using words that are harmful to…

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