Category: Politics

Police fire tear gas to disperse the protest; Wasantha Mudalige arrested 

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Police fire tear gas to disperse the protest; Wasantha Mudalige arrested  AFP: Sri Lanka Police fired tear gas and water cannon on a small protest yesterday to break up the first demonstration since the crisis-hit island nation lifted a state of emergency. This year, an unprecedented economic collapse has often sparked massive anti-Government rallies after months of hardship caused by shortages of essential goods, rolling blackouts and spiralling inflation. The Government has curbed dissent by imposing a State of Emergency giving security forces sweeping detention powers, but the ordinance lapsed overnight.…

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Govt. trying to impress UNHRC – Vigneswaran

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Govt. trying to impress UNHRC – Vigneswaran Tamil Peoples’ National Alliance (TPNA) leader MP C. V. Vigneswaran says President Ranil Wickremesinghe is in a hurry to rope in Tamil MPs w,ith an eye to the upcoming UNHRC session. In a statement after meeting President Wickremesinghe the MP says: “He appeared to be in a hurry to rope in Jaffna MPs to be part of the Government, I suppose to showcase to Geneva! I don’t blame him. The Government has so far ignored its obligations to the UN as per Resolution…

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Tamil Parties Must Urge Full Implementation of 13A

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Tamil Parties Must Urge Full Implementation of 13A D. B. S. Jeyaraj Last week’s article was about the guerilla war fought by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) against the Indian Army in the Trincomalee district. The JVP campaign in Trinco was then led by Kumar Gunaratnam alias “Gemunu”. Gunaratnam later split from the JVP and co-founded the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP). Kumar Gunaratnam alias Kumar/Kumara is currently the leader and general secretary of the FSP.  This week’s article focuses on the Indo-Lanka accord. It was in the aftermath of the…

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Occupy Galle Face ‘aragalaya’ no more

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Occupy Galle Face ‘aragalaya’ no more RanilGoGama’ activists vacate site; pledge to continue fight against Ranil, emergency law/PTA, Executive Presidency  Alleges theft of most tents put up at the location, ‘GotaGoGama’ library taken to Panadura temple   Protestors withdraw writs filed in Court of Appeal seeking prevention of removal of site  BY Dinitha Rathnayake  Protestors of the “aragalaya” (struggle) attached to the “RanilGoGama”, formerly “GotaGoGama”, at the Galle Face – whose protest site at the Galle Face Green was vandalised on multiple occasions, and whose activism led to the resignation of…

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Constitutional amendment: No one can oppose 22A now: Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe

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Constitutional amendment: No one can oppose 22A now: Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe 22nd Amendment will be 19th Amendment Plus and more Ministry of Defence cannot be alienated from President Elections possible only when environment is right SOE was declared unwillingly and will not be kept for long New COPE, COPA members can continue work they were doing Differentiating peaceful protesters from violent elements a struggle Disagree with allegations of double standards in application of law By Asiri Fernando The Government is confident that it can muster adequate support to pass the…

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President puts onus on IMF deal to all parties, MPs

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President puts onus on IMF deal to all parties, MPs Opines program with IMF is the only solution whether people like it or not Recalls when negotiating with IMF, one of the biggest issues is “Government changes and the policies change” Says issue is not the substance but are we prepared to standby and to support IMF agreement Says Parliament could discuss any alternatives and make final decision Warns if MPs not prepared collectively then Parliament must take responsibility for consequences Insists MPs cannot say we are for half and…

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Constitutional reform and economic downturn

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Constitutional reform and economic downturn Media reports say that the draft 22nd Amendment (21st Amendment if enacted) is to be debated in the Cabinet today. They also claim that the current draft is different from the 22nd Amendment prepared under the instructions of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Interestingly, both drafts were prepared by the same Justice Minister and he who justified the earlier draft will also explain the basis for the new draft as well. It is ironic that the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government that enacted the 20th Amendment in October…

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‘One country, one law’ and forgotten manuscripts

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‘One country, one law’ and forgotten manuscripts (Malinda Seviratne – Daily Mirror) That’s politics and not some high minded philosophical predilection. They want a green Sri Lanka, for example, but would cut down all the trees and poison the land, air and water rather than see this government delivering what they are supposedly fighting for.  What Rajapaksa and Premadasa (and other candidates) promised is that there would be a single corpus of laws. In other words, what applies to a Sinhalese would apply to a Tamil, what applies to a…

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Chemical fertiliser ban reversed?

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Chemical fertiliser ban reversed? Agriculture Ministry Secy. says chemical fertilisers will be imported Mahindananda claims no decision to import chemical for paddy, vegetables Shasheendra says 100% organic not possible in one season SJB claims chemical fertiliser ban now reversed By Buddhika Samaraweera- The Morning 22-11-2021 Ministry of Agriculture Secretary Prof. Udith K. Jayasinghe-Mudalige stated yesterday (21) that steps will be taken to re-import standardised, second-generation chemical fertilisers, agrochemicals, and essential plant nutrients required for paddy, maize, vegetables, and other plantation crops, which, if implemented, would appear to signal an abandonment…

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Some observations on Budget 2022

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Some observations on Budget 2022 Dissecting the mixed opinions on Budget 2022 By Sumudu Chamara – The Morning On 12 November, the Government presented what, in economic terms, can be referred to as a recovery Budget, in a context where the country has just started paying attention to and supporting the revival of sectors that did not receive adequate attention last year.  In other words, unlike in the pre-Covid-19 pandemic era, this Budget is expected to ease the economic burden on almost all segments of the society, not only a…

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