Thursday, March 26, 2015

More elected SLFPers to defy party ban and attend rally in Ratnapura March 25, 2015, 10:27 pm

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More elected SLFPers to defy party ban and attend rally in Ratnapura

March 25, 2015, 10:27 pm

By Dasun Edirisinghe

More than 20 SLFP Parliamentarians would attend the third rally demanding that former President Rajapaksa be made the UPFA prime ministerial candidate, under the theme, ‘The country is in danger and prepare to face the challenge!’ organised by UPFA allies MEP, NFF, DLF and Pivithuru Hela Urumaya at the Ratnapura Sivali grounds today, UPFA Ratnapura District MP Ranjith Zoysa said yesterday.

Zoysa flanked by Ratnapura District MP Janaka Wakkumbura, Colombo District MP Gamini Lokuge, Polonnaruwa District MP Roshan Ranasinghe and several other provincial council and local government members representing the Ratnapura District , said they would definitely bring back former President Mahinda Rajapska at the next general election as the prime ministerial candidate of the UPFA.

The main purpose of today’s rally was to demand that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa be nominated as Prime Ministerial candidate of the UPFA at the forthcoming general election.

MEP Dinesh Gunawardena MP, National Freedom Front Leader Wimal Weerawansa MP, Democratic Left Front leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara MP and Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader Western Provincial Councillor Udaya Gammanpila will address the rally.

Organisers expect tens of thousands of people who voted for former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the January 08 presidential election to attend the rally today.

The first in the series of rallies was held on Feb. 18 at Nugegoda and second was at Kandy on March 06.

The SLFP Central Committee has banned its elected members from attending rallies organised by other parties in the alliance, but Kandy District MP Dilum Amunugama, Kurunegala District MP Salinda Dissanayake, 86 UPFA Provincial Councilors and local government members attended the Kandy rally defying the ban.

It said that arrangements had been made to live stream the rally at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=61DNW8gtBuc and https:www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2jHaiMsE5o.

Petition to appoint Dinesh G. as Opp. Leader To be handed over to Speaker

Former Minister of Cultural Affairs and Member of Parliament for Kurunegala District T.B. Ekanayake told that a document signed by parliamentarians is due to be handed over to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa requesting that Dinesh Gunawardena be appointed as the Opposition Leader in Parliament.

Ceylontoday, 2015-03-26 02:01:00

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Petition to appoint Dinesh G. as Opp. Leader To be handed over to Speaker

By W.K. Prasad Manju

Subsequent to a group of parliamentarians of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) joining the government, he said, Nimal Siripala De Silva has no ethical right to remain further in the position of Opposition Leader in Parliament. Ekanayake also pointed out that more than 50 parliamentarians of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party have decided that Dinesh Gunawardena should be appointed as the Leader of the Opposition.

Parliamentarian Ekanayake said further that a number of members of Parliament... .have already signed the document to be submitted to the Speaker and action will be taken to hand it over to him, as soon as signing of the document is complete.
Several leaders of political parties in the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) have already requested the Speaker that MP Dinesh Gunawardena be appointed as the Opposition Leader, instead of Nimal Siripala De Silva.

Even the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has requested the Speaker to appoint someone from a political party representing the Opposition to the post of Opposition Leader in place of Nimal Siripala De Silva.

INTERIM BUDGET Supreme Court SUSPENDS excise tax

The Supreme Court yesterday issued an interim order staying and suspending the operation of Excise Notification bearing No. 973 published in Gazette Extraordinary bearing No.1901/19 of 13/2/2015 until the final determination of four Fundamental Rights application filed by liquor and beer manufacturers.

Ceylontoday, 2015-03-26 02:03:00

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INTERIM BUDGET Supreme Court SUSPENDS excise tax

By Stanley Samarasinghe

According to the petitioners, Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake on 29 January 2015 presented a budget to...

. Parliament and in the course of the budget speech announced that it was proposed to charge a tax of Rs 200 million a month on liquor and beer manufacturers.
The petitioners further stated that No. 1901/19 of 13/2/2015 Excise Notice 973 has been published announcing that liquor and beer manufacturers to pay Rs 200 million per month.

The petitioners were Uvaglen (Pvt) Limited, Acme Lanka Distillers Pvt Ltd, Nippon Expo Pvt Ltd, SLOF Distillers and Blenders.
The Bench, after hearing the submissions of the counsellors, issued an interim order staying and suspending the operation of the excise notification. Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunanayake, Secretary to the Finance Ministry R.H.S. Samaratunga, L.K.G.

Gunawardana, Commissioner General of Excise, D.P.M.V. Hapuarachchi, former Commissioner General of Excise, M.A. Bodaragama, Deputy Commissioner of Excise and the Attorney General had been cited as respondents.
Saliya Peiris appeared for Uvalgen Pvt Ltd instructed by Gowry S. Thavarasa. Sanjeeva Jayawardene PC, Kushan de Alwis PC and Chula Bandara appeared for the other petitioners.

return of Rajapaksa

Will SL see the return of Rajapaksa?

Buzz is on that the former president will try to become premier by contesting the upcoming general elections

Ceylontoday, 2015-03-26 02:00:00

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Will SL see the return of Rajapaksa?

Is former Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who suffered a surprise defeat in the January 2015 presidential election, set to reincarnate as a prime minister? It would appear so, if we go by the moves of the national unity government as well as pro-Rajapaksa elements within the polity. Of course, Rajapaksa, the Grandmaster of political intrigues, kept everyone guessing despite continued speculation in media and political circles.

BY COL. R. HARIHARAN

Even in his interview to The Hindu ten days back he would not directly talk about getting back into the political scene. Instead he has tried to play the 'martyr card' by complaining about the corruption investigation being carried out against some of his family members and associates.

But Rajapaksa kept the speculation alive by saying "I would have just supported this government. But they want to probe, put us in jail, [and] take our passports without any evidence. How can I retire like this? I never said I would retire. At the moment I am taking a rest." So it would be reasonable to conclude he is likely to contest the general election in April 2015.

Of course, with skeletons of corruption tumbling every day from the Rajapaksa and company's cupboard, the former president has to make up his mind fast. There is no doubt corruption and misuse of power by Rajapaksa family and their cronies have damaged the Rajapaksa brand justifying the government investigations. But unless they are proved in a court of law5.8 million voters who supported Rajapaksa will continue to consider him a political martyr than a self-centred autocrat.

Rajapaksa appears to be taking cautious steps to gauge the public mood and reinforce his popular support with Sinhala masses before he jumps back into the political fray. Two rallies organized by his admirers and smaller parties like the National Freedom Front (NFF) were well attended. There are probably more on the anvil. The central theme of the rallies is to persuade Rajapaksa to contest the general election to regain power.

The small parties have a personal stake in Rajapaksa regaining power. If he does not do so, parties like NFF, Labour Party, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, which had benefitted from Rajapaksa's political benevolence may well be left out in political wilderness.

It is significant that neither Rajapaksa nor the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) which he had nurtured for many years participated in the rallies. Apparently this was done perhaps intentionally to add an element of spontaneity to the whole exercise. The ebullient and acerbic NFF leader Wimal Weeravansa is probably the point man in this effort. Of course, he has a personal axe to grind as his wife is facing serious charges of getting a diplomatic passport on false pretexts. Apart from this in the past Rajapaksa had fired pot-shots from his shoulder at some of the inconvenient targets.

Going by this, the pro-Rajapaksa camp's strategy to bring him back to power would probably cash in on latent fears of Sinhala masses and even sections of political parties. Three related themes likely to be included are: Sri Lanka heading for instability without Rajapaksa at the helm, loss of Chinese aid for major projects which could improve employment and development opportunities and revival of Tamil Tigers (with the possible help of India to ginger up Big Brother syndrome) encouraged by the Sirisena government. The participation of Left parties in this effort would come in handy to underplay the anti-minority credentials of the campaign.

19A being fast-tracked
Even as the government contemplated introducing the all important 19th Amendment (19A) to Constitution, the main Opposition party in Parliament the SLFP has joined the government. While this could be Sirisena's tactical move to gain the SLFP support to push through the 19A in Parliament. Though Sirisena leads the SLFP now, the move suits pro-Rajapaksa Trojans within the Party as it can help dilute the government efforts to bring Rajapaksa and his cronies to book on corruption charges.
Evidently unnerved by the possibility of the return of Rajapaksa, the national unity government is rushing the 19A through Parliament. Far from turning the executive presidency to a ceremonial one as promised in the campaign against Rajapaksa, the amendment seeks only to curb certain powers of the Executive President by re-establishing the Elections Commission, the independent Police Commission, the Public Services Commission, and the Constitutional Council. Presumably the two-term curb on the President would also be back.

Though the cabinet had approved the abolition of the Executive Presidency, a compromise seems to have to be struck to shelve it for the time being to ward off objections from SLFP which seems divided on the issue. The decision also recognizes the objections of right wing Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a member of the national unity alliance and strong supporter of Executive Presidency. However, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has told 'abolitionists' notably his foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera that there should be a more comprehensive constitutional amendment under the new parliament which will be convened after the next parliamentary election according to the Daily News, Colombo.
So Rajapaksa seems to have scored a small but significant victory even while "taking rest" well before he joins the battle.

want more and more-GIVE - THEN TAKE BACK WITH A WAR

TNA urges President, PM to visit Mullaitivu

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Vanni District Parliam entarianN. Sivasakthy Anandan alleged that properties still under the custody of the Security Forces in the Mullaitivu District were stalling the process of resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons in those areas.

Ceylontoday, 2015-03-26 02:00:00

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TNA urges President, PM to visit Mullaitivu

By M. Sasikumar

He has appealed to President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and government officials to visit the Mullaitivu District to familiarise themselves with the problems there and solve them immediately.
He said, although it has been six years after the end of the war, people were yet to be resettled in certain areas of the Mullaitivu District.

"Hundreds of families remain affected because their landholdings are either held by the military or are taken over by public service institutions.These families currently liveg with their relatives, friends and in rented houses," he said. Lands in Puthukudiyiruppu, Kepapilavu, Kokkilai and Kokkuthoduvai are in the custody of the security forces. Although land deeds were issued to the owners of these lands by former Presidents and divisional secretaries, those deeds had been cancelled and the lands were handed back to the security forces, he said.

He urged that the Commissioner of Lands should take serious action to release all these lands to their owners. " While the 100-day programme is being implemented to ensure a victory in the parliamentary elections, our demands are yet to be met. The current government has not adequately addressed the people's grievances relating to lands, political prisoners, missing persons etc and offered them appropriate solutions" he said.

However, he said he appreciated the government's distribution of land deeds to 4,000 land owners, but the President and Prime Minister should pay a visit to the Mullaitivu District to address the issues of the people there.
The distribution of land deeds was carried out under the guidance of Mullaitivu District Secretary N. Vethanayagan. Northern Provincial Councillors T.Raviharan and Mary Kamala, Land Commissioner Rajapaksa, Additional District Secretary Mohanraj, Karaithuraipattu Divisional Secretary Thireskumar, Northern Land Commissioner Thayananda.

Mangala Traveling To US With A ‘Young Man’ –no need clarification nation know

Traveling To US With A ‘Young Man’ – Mangala Clarifies

March 26, 2015 | Filed under: Colombo Telegraph,News,STORIES | Posted by: COLOMBO_TELEGRAPH

Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera today rejected the news reports that had been published in some news websites, which alleged he had spent time with a young man at a luxurious New York hotel during his recent trip to the US.

Mangala Samaraweera -Minister of External Affairs

Responding to an inquiry made by the Colombo Telegraph, the Minister’s office has sent the following statement, concerning the reports in news sites that claim the ‘young man’ with whom he is having a relationship is his Public Relations Officer, Sameera Manahara.

Following is his statement on the matter:

“The forces of darkness, thought to have been defeated along with the Rajapaksa regime on the 8th of January, are beginning to raise their ugly heads again. A smear campaign against selected members of the Sirisena administration has started, and yet again I too have become a victim of such slander.

Therefore, I place the following facts regarding my recent visit to the United States on the public record.

1. I visited the United States of America for an official visit between the 10^th and 13^th of February. This visit was part of the new government’s strategy to win many of Sri Lanka’s friends in the international community who had been alienated as a result of the Rajapaksa regime’s disastrous foreign policy.

Hotell bill

2. After meeting Secretary of State John Kerry and other senior U.S. officials of the Obama administration during a two and a half day whirlwind visit to Washington D.C., I arrived in New York by train on the early afternoon of the 13^th. I had talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, that afternoon.

3. I also met the Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, before departing from the hotel at around 6.30 pm to fly to New Delhi for the state visit of President Sirisena to India.

4. All hotels used during my official visits are booked by the relevant missions. And I have mentioned to the relevant officials not to book ostentatious and extravagant hotels like the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and the Dorchester in London where members of the Rajapaksa regime resided during their travels.

5. Having known the schedule in advance it is also a mystery why two nights were booked by the Sri Lankan mission in New York.

6. On my official trips abroad I take one member of my personal staff from the Minister’s Bureau. They travel economy class unless upgraded complementarily by the airline. During this visit the Public Relations Officer, Sameera Manahara, travelled with me .

7. Manahara was also my Public Relations Officer at the Ministry of Ports and Aviation between 2004 and 2007. During my seven years in the Opposition he was one of my principal coordinators and campaign managers.

8. Manahara is the happily married father of a beautiful baby girl.

was no meaning in having an Opposition leader whose own MPs were holding ministerial positions in the government

Anger of UPFA Ratnapura elected reps boils over national govt.

March 25, 2015, 10:36 pm

By Kamal Bogoda

UPFA Ratnapura District MP Janaka Wakkumbura said yesterday that there was no meaning in having an Opposition leader whose own MPs were holding ministerial positions in the government.

Addressing a press conference at Abhayaramaya in Narahenpita Wakkumbura said that it was wrong for the UPFA members to accept ministerial portfolios in the new government.

"The so-called 100-day programme is in a shambles. It seems that our colleagues who accepted ministerial portfolios in the new government will have to whitewash the current regime and they will be employed to justify he failure of the 100-day programme," he said.

Wakkumbura and Ratnapura District UPFA MPs, Provincial council and local authority members had met former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the same venue earlier in the day.

A large number of UPFA MPs were ready to ensure that a new opposition would replace the current one in Parliament, Wakkumbura said.

He said that UPFA supporters had been assaulted, harassed and sacked from their jobs by the UNPers soon after Maithripala Sirisena became the President. "So, how can we join such a government? Who will dare to support the UNP to form a national government when our supporters are subjected to numerous harassments?"

The MP said that at the grassroots level the people and electorates were demanding that former President Rajapaksa be fielded as the UPFA prime ministerial candidate at the forthcoming general election.

Rantapura District MP Ranjith Zoysa: "We are organising Ratnapura rally on Thursday not for anyone else, but for our leader Mahinda Rajapaksa. We all will attend it. We also call upon Ratnapura people to attend this meeting in their numbers." Zoyza said that Parliament had become a mockery as there was no clear division between the government and the Opposition. Polonnaruwa District MP Roshan Ranasinghe and Colombo District MP Gamini Lokuge also addressed the media.

3 petitions against 19A filed in SC

Three petitioners filed petitions challenging the 19th Amendment to the Constitution Bill yesterday (25) in the Supreme Court (SC).
Attorney-at-Law Gomin Kavinda Dayasiri, Western Provincial Councillor, Udaya Prabath Gammanpila and L.P.I. Perera of Gangodawila, Nugegoda are the three petitioners who filed petitions under terms of Article 121 of the Constitution.

Ceylontoday, 2015-03-26 02:00:00

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3 petitions against 19A filed in SC

By Stanley Samarasinghe

In his petition, Provincial Councillor, Gammanpila requested the Court to determine clauses 1-54 of the Bill and declare that it requires the support of two-thirds of Parliament and must be approved by the people in a referendum. Attorney-at-Law Dayasiri, in his petition requested the Court to declare that Article 14A(1) and (2) and the powers of the President sought to be amended and repealed or replaced requires the votes of 2/3rd of Parliament and the approval of the people in a referendum.

Article 33 sought to be amended or repealed or replaced requires a vote of 2/3rd of Parliament and the approval of the people in a referendum and to make a declaration that Article 70(1) be amended or repealed or replaced requires votes of 2/3rd of Parliament cast in favour and the approval of the people in a referendum. L.P. Ivan Perera in his petition requested the Court to determine that Clause 2 of the Bill is inconsistent with Article 10 of the Constitution and cannot be enacted into law unless by the people in a referendum in addition to a two-thirds vote in favour of Parliament.

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