ceylonuk news

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

PAGE 1

10 DECEMBER 2018

Ranil Wickremesinghe takes Resigning from premiership is not a big deal – Mahinda would have faced a situation oaths as the Prime Minister (www.adaderana.lk) Former President Mahinda similar to that of France if it

(www.sundaytimes.lk) UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe took oaths as the Prime Minister at the Presidential Secretariat a short while ago.Mr. Wickremesinghe was sworn in before President Maithripala Sirisena following a religious ceremony.It is reported that the media was barred from covering the swearing in ceremony while only five MPs from the UNP were able to be present at the occassion.It is expected that the swearing in of ministers of the new cabinet will commence tomorrow and conclude on Tuesday

New alliance will be registered as ‘National Democratic Front’ - PM

(www.adaderana.lk) Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that they will form a new political alliance by the name of “National Democratic Front” which will be registered as a political party to contest the next general election.“We contested as the United National Front. Now we will register a new alliance as a political party,” the UNP leader said.He revealed this while addressing the victory rally of the United National Party (UNP) organised at the Galle Face Green in Colombo Wickremesinghe said the new alliance will be called the ‘National Democratic Front’ and that their lawyers are currently preparing the final draft.The Prime Minister said that when the UNP’s Working Committee meets on Friday he will present that proposal to the Working Committee and that he has no doubt everyone will support it.“A massive alliance will be formed to establish democracy. We will safeguard the country with that.”Addressing the UNP supporters gathered at the rally, Wickremesinghe said that they were his strength during the ‘historic 51 days’, from his sacking to reinstatement as PM. The PM said that he bows his head and salutes each and everyone who fought for democracy.“We faced democratic fire. We all controlled the democratic fire. We all extinguished that democratic fire,” he said.

Rajapaksa says that he would not give up the struggle commenced for the sake of the country despite him giving up premiership.He stated this addressing an event held at the Carlton House in Tangalle this morning (16).The President handed over premiership at a time when the country was imposed a heavy debt burden and development did not take place at all, Rajapaksa said.

He commented that the country

were not for them.“We were able to provide subsidies to the public during that short period of time; we cut down VAT and other heavy taxes,” the former President continued.

Rajapaksa said that he gave up premiership realizing the situation that the country would be dragged into, had the power struggle continued any further although he was able to continue to serve as the premier.He emphasized that

(www.adaderana.lk) Sri Lankan bodybuilder Lucion Pushparaj has won the 10th WBPF World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships held in Thailand.The 10th WBPF World Championships is being held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 11th to 17th December 2018.Pushparaj had won gold at 51st Asian Body Building and Physiques Sports

Championship held in South Korea last year.He also represented Sri Lanka at the ‘Mr & Ms Atlas and Fitness Expo’ at the Arlington Convention Center, USA. He placed fourth at that event.Lucion Pushparaj is a

resigning from premiership is of not a concerning issue for him as he had served as both the President and the Prime Minister on prior occasions.

Lucion Pushparaj wins 10th WBPF World Championships

The Prime Minister said that if anyone thought even for a moment that they have no power, at least now they must understand their power.

Wickremesinghe said that he remembered Adolf Hitler because he too came to power with a minority government.

He said that if Hitler had lived through the end of the Second World War, he too would have told the allied nations that he only wants a general election.He charged that Mahinda Rajapaksa’s minority government destabilized the Parliament.

“Democracy was turned into chili powder.”“Should they be in the Parliament or in the kitchen?”The PM questioned as to why they took government power if they only wanted an election as they only needed to present a motion to the House seeking the dissolution of the Parliament.“This was a massive

conspiracy.”Wickremesinghe said that his government will be asking all the political parties as to when they want the general election to be held.He said that none of them have a two-thirds majority in the Parliament and that they will act according to what the parties representing the people say.And now they are trying to espouse racism by claiming the country is going to be divided.Speaking on behalf of the UNF, he said that they want reconciliation and a political solution and that they will work towards this.Wickremesinghe conceded that his government does have shortcomings, but vowed to address them and invited the people to speak about their deficiencies.He requested the public to give them a two-thirds majority power at the next general election to abolish the executive presidency once and for all.

Professional Bodybuilder from FO H + K I TC H EN STA FF R EQU I R ED! Sri Lanka who was awarded .Looking for an exciting career in hospitality/catering?

IFBB Pro status in 2012. Lucion Want to work in a vibrant, trending, award-winning company? won his first major competition The Coconut Tree are looking for front of house and kitchen staff to join our fantastic teams in Cheltenham, Oxford and Bristol! by winning a gold medal in the We are looking for talented, charismatic people who have excellent bar and restaurant/kitche 2014 Mr. Sri Lanka contest.In experience and can work in a fast-paced environment. We pride ourselves on our customer servi dedication and hard workand require someone who is committed and has a drive for excellenc that same year, he also won Managerial positions available. a gold medal in the IFBB Pro Competitive salary and company benefits for the right candidates.

Championship held in Oman, The Coconut Tree is a young, award-winning company with our flagship Cheltenham site achie Number one on Trip Advisor, winner of the Taste of Gloucestershire’s People’s Choice Award and Customer Service’ finalist at the Cotswold Life Food & Drinks Awards within its first year! Our sist and later - a silver medal in the in Oxford has followed suit and is THE hottest spot in town! TCT Bristol is our new UK venture, t our story to the city with a whole new team and fresh vibe!

IFBB Asian Championship.

Thilanga Sumathipala not contesting SLC election

winner

AWARDS 2018

FINALIST

winner

RUNNER UP

finalist

winner

winner

I F YO U A R E A TA L E N T E D, E X P E R I E N C E D P R O FE S S I O N A L A N D F EE L YO U’V E G OT W H AT I T TA K E S T O J O I N T H E C R E W T H E N D R O P U S A N EM A I L W I T H YO U R CV T O H R @ T H E C O C O N U T - T R E E. C O M

(www.adaderana.lk) UPFA Parliamentarian Thilanga Sumathipala says that he will not contest the upcoming Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) election.The former SLC President made this announcement during a press conference held in Colombo today (The briefing took place following the handing over of nominations by candidates contesting the SLC election while Sumathipala did not participate in the submitting of nominations.

The candidates contesting for

the top positions in the country’s cricket governing body for the two years from 2019 to 2021 officially handed in their nominations today.“I decided not to contest the Sri Lanka Cricket election and to fulfill the responsibility of my political stream for the country,” Sumathipala said.

UNP to stage victory rally in Colombo

(www.adaderana.lk) A special rally themed ‘Yukthiye Satana’ has been organized to celebrate the verdict issued by the Supreme Court on the dissolution of

Parliament, says the United National Party (UNP).Accordingly, the rally will be held at the Galle Face Green at 1.00 p.m. this afternoonGeneral Secretary of UNP

Parliamentarian Akila Viraj Kariyawasam stated this speaking to Ada Derana

PAGE 2

LANKANEWS

ISSUE 001

10 DECEMBER 2018

Lawful govt. essential before polls: Ranil (www.ft.lk )United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe insisted that only he commanded the majority in the House needed to form a government, reiterating the need to return to the constitutional framework before the country could opt for elections.

“Only the UNF (United National Front) and I can command that majority today,” Wickremesinghe insisted while speaking at a press conference held at Temple Trees flanked

by UNF party leaders, National Union of Workers (NUW) leader Palany Thigambaram, All Ceylon Makkal Congress Leader Rishad Bathiudeen and UNP party seniors.

The ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe spoke to the media after talks with President Maithripala Sirisena held on Monday night failed to make headway in easing the deadlock, with Sirisena refusing to reappoint Wickremesinghe. The UNP leader also emphasised the need to follow the law to ensure the constitutionality of the actions taken, noting that the President could not make decisions based on his preferences.

“A President can’t decide this is what I want. It is a parliamentary government, the Parliament majority decides the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister determines the ministers, so they are all controlled by Parliament,” he said, reinforcing that Sirisena’s move to appoint a new Prime Minister and actions thereafter were unconstitutional. Noting that two recent court decisions upheld their stance on the need to allow for a constitutional process to be followed, Wickremesinghe said that the UNF was ready to face elections provided a lawful government was established. “All we want is for the Constitution to be followed,” he stressed.

“First ensure that there is a legitimate government, legitimate according to the Constitution, and thereafter ensure that all parties have come to a consensus on the date of the elections,” Wickremesinghe noted.

Drawing parallels with leaders such as Hitler, Wickremesinghe warned of the dangers of bypassing the Constitution to achieve political goals, pledging that they would not allow this to happen. “We cannot go beyond the Constitution. Hitler said the people were with him and put the Constitution aside and brought laws to protect his government,” he noted.

“Don’t be like Hitler and some of the other dictators who used referendums and elections and other means of bypassing the Constitution. That we are not ready to do. We are not going to allow anyone to bypass the Constitution.

Within the Constitution, act according to the Constitution and act according to the 19th Amendment which was passed jointly by the UNP, UPFA, TNA and JVP.” Wickremesinghe also noted that his party was ready for elections at any time provided that the process was lawful.

Noting that all parties should agree to hold early elections, the UNP leader said that once a legitimate government was in place Parliament could be dissolved with a two-thirds majority. “All the parties must agree, so we have told the SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) to speak to all parties.

The JVP has already said there should be an election in

President assures solution within week (www.island.lk )The current political crisis would be resolved within a week, President Maithripala Sirisena said, addressing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) convention at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.

The President said that all political leaders and parties should work together to reach a settlement to end the political crisis for the sake of the country, the people and the future generations.

However Sirisena reiterated that he would not appoint UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe Prime Minister.On Monday during discussions with the leaders of the United National Front (UNF) Sirisena told them that he won’t appoint Wickremesinghe even if all 225 MPs signed a petition requesting his appointment as Prime Minister.

“Why did I say this? I have no personal issues with him and its not because we are from different parties. I say this because he is an alien to this country; his vision doesn’t belong in Sri Lanka.

We have a rich history, a

vibrant culture, traditions and religious principles, of

many great sages but this man has not been influenced by any of these. So my decision is clearly a political one.”Sirisena addressed the UNP supporters that had voted for him in 2015 and requested them to understand the reasons for his decision to remove Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister.“I know that most of you hate me. But this happened because Ranil Wickremesinghe destroyed your party. The UNP was a giant under the leadership of D. S. Senanayake, Dudley Senanayake, J.R.Jayewardene, R. Premadasa and D. B. Wijetunga. They felt the pulse of the people, but Wickremesinghe is numb because of the far right

neoliberal ideology that he espouses.The President referred to the Court of Appeal decision to issue an interim order restraining Mahinda Rajapaksa from functioning as Prime Minister till the final determination of the petition of quo warranto, filed by 122 Parliamentarians. “Many felt that a viharadhipathy (incumbent of a temple) had delivered a sermon which should have been best left to a Mahanayake Thera,” the President said.

Despite the perception that Wickremesinghe cared about the plight of the minorities, he brought in a number of acts that stripped away the rights given to Provincial Councils by the 13th amendment. Moreover he betrayed the Tamil people by not carrying out things that could have been easily done for them, the President said.

“He is a stubborn, far right neoliberal bent on destroying the country. I frustrated his attempts at dismantling the nation. Last three and a half years have been a difficult time for me. Fellow cabinet ministers know this.

Aloysius and Palisena further remanded (www.adaderana.lk ) The owner of Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL) Arjun Aloysius and the CEO Kasun Palisena have been further remanded until December 18 by the Fort Magistrate’s Court.

On February 02, the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court named former Central Bank Governor Arjuna

Mahendran, his son-inlaw Arjun Aloysius and Perpetual Treasuries CEO Kasun Palisena as suspects in the CID’s investigation into the bond scam.Aloysius and Palisena were arrested

by Criminal Investigations Department (CID) officers on February 04, who arrived at their respective residences in Colombo

2019. Let’s decide when the date should be, and when there is consensus we will go head; that is all that we have said. First ensure that there is a legitimate government, legitimate according to the Constitution and thereafter to ensure that all parties have come to a consensus on the date of the elections,” Wickremesinghe insisted.

In an apparent reply to the statement made by Mahinda Rajapaksa, who called for an election earlier this week, Wickremesinghe claimed that those who call for elections “without following the Constitution are those who don’t want elections”.“They are hiding under the cover of elections to hang on to the office and now they have been deprived of that office also.” Speaking at the media conference, UNP deputy leader Sajith Premadasa urged the President to restore the pre-October status quo to prevent the country from plummeting further into a crisis. Premadasa also accused the current administration of withdrawing funds for housing projects that were initiated under him while allowing unlimited spending on helicopter rides. Former Health Minister and senior UNP parliamentarian Rajitha Senaratne warned of serious repercussions if the current political crisis was allowed to stagnate, noting that close to 100 medical products were now in short supply in the state health service.

Rating agencies’ downgrading Sri Lanka ‘unwarranted’ - CBSL (www.adaderana.lk ) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) says that the decisions by Fitch Ratings and Standard and Poor’s (S&P Global Ratings) to downgrade Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Rating from ‘B+’ (Stable) to ‘B’ (Stable) are based on “uncorroborated facts” on the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals.

The credit rating agencies downgraded Sri Lanka on Tuesday, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook, after President Maithripala Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered a political crisis.

However, the central bank issuing a statement today said that in spite of the recent developments in the country’s political sphere, an array of measures have been taken by the CBSL and the Government to minimize any potential impact from the recent political developments on the economy, especially with regard to external financing requirements and debt payment obligations.

“It is noteworthy that there has been a favourable adjustment in the

exchange rate during recent days supported by rising foreign currency inflows which would be further enhanced in the upcoming holiday and new year season.” The CBSL said it needs to be further reiterated that Sri Lanka’s banking and financial sector remains resilient to both domestic and external vulnerabilities.

Even though the operating environment is challenging, the banking sector is subject to a stringent supervisory and regulatory framework, the statement said. The commitment of the banking sector to adhere to higher levels of capital and liquidity requirements demonstrates its resilience in facing these challenges, thereby creating a stable outlook for the banking sector. “Given these parameters, the CBSL is of the view that the recent rating actions by Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings are unwarranted,” it said. “Such an action only on the premise of heightened political uncertainty, with no evidence of slippages in macroeconomic policies or fundamentals, cannot be justified.”

Ranil responds to President says he shouldn’t plunge the country into a crisis due to personal issues (sundaytimes.lk) Ranil Wickremesinghe taking to his official twitter handle has said that the President should not plunge the country into a crisis inspite of the personal

issues he has with him.

Mr. Wickremesinghe made this statement following a series of remarks made by President Sirisena at UPFA rally.Whatever President Sirisena’s personal issues

with me may be, he should not hold the people he has been elected to serve to ransom by plunging the country into constitutional chaos through his illegal and immoral actions.

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

PAGE 3

The practical effect of imposing restrictions on dissolution of Parliament

(www.island.lk )The rallying cry of the UNP, the JVP TNA and their allied political parties is that after the introduction of the 19th Amendment, Parliament cannot be dissolved under any circumstances until the lapse of four and a half years, and the only way it can be dissolved before that is for Parliament itself to pass a resolution by a two-thirds majority, making a request to that effect to the President. We have to bear in mind that the UNPJVP-TNA argument is that Parliament cannot be dissolved under any circumstances – despite repeated defeats of the budget, despite repeated rejection of the statement of government policy and repeated passage of no-confidence motions against the government. In all such instances, only the government will stand dissolved and not Parliament.

After each such event it is the President who will have to form new governments. Thus, even though drafters of the 19th Amendment claimed that their intention was to reduce the powers of the President, they have ended up making the President more powerful than he ever was under the original 1978 Constitution.

One has to keep in mind the fact that under the proportional representation system, it is only in 1989 and 2010 that any single political party or coalition has got a clear majority in Parliament. At all other Parliamentary elections in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2015, the winning party did not receive a clear majority in Parliament. Even though the 2004 Parliamentary election was won by the party backed by the incumbent President, even then the UPFA failed to get a clear majority in Parliament. We saw much the same thing happening at the 2015 Parliamentary elections. Because of this factor, one has to provide for the possibility of a government losing a vote on the budget, a vote on the statement of government policy and losing a no confidence motion. It is now being argued that Parliament cannot be dissolved even if such events take place.

If an incumbent government loses a vote on the budget, a vote on the statement of government policy or a noconfidence motion, what that will mean is that the leader of the party that won the most number of seats in Parliament will no longer be eligible to hold the position of Prime Minister in that Parliament. What then is the President supposed to do? He can then call the leader of the political party that led the campaign to defeat the government in Parliament to form a new government.

However, the political forces that came together to defeat the incumbent government may not necessarily unite to form a government. That is very real possibility in Sri Lanka even at present with the JVP saying that they will not support a government formed by the UNP and even the TNA making their support conditional - which means that there is the very real possibility that they may withdraw that support if they are not satisfied. When a government falls in such circumstances, since Parliament still cannot be dissolved, the President will have to cobble together a government with whoever is willing to join and continue till it is possible to dissolve Parliament and let the people decide.President vested with enhanced powers Throughout this process, the President will be the central figure around which everything revolves. Thus, contrary to the claims being made that the 19th Amendment reduced the powers of the executive presidency, what they have done in actual fact is to increase the power and importance of the Presidency by blocking the dissolution of Parliament.

According to the elections schedule, parliamentary elections take place a few months after a presidential election and the likelihood is that it will be the President’s political party that gets the most number of seats in parliament as well. Thanks to this argument that Parliament cannot be dissolved, if the President loses public support and support within Parliament as well, it will still be he who is required to cobble together a government and continue in power!We must remember what happened to Chandrika Kumaratunga in 2001. After a hung parliament was elected at the 2000 parliamentary election, within a few months, President Chandrika Kumaratunga lost the tenuous majority she had managed to muster in Parliament in 2001. Then she was forced to call a general election and her party lost and the UNP formed a Cabinet. But now as is being argued by the UNP-TNA-JVP combine, even if a situation like 2001 manifests itself, the President will still have a to cobble together a government from somewhere and continue. All

of us who lived through the events of 2001 know that would have been an impossible demand to meet at that time.

Presidents tend to lose popular support very fast during their second term and there could be situations where as in 2001, nothing that a President does will induce parliamentarians to form a government with him or her for fear of the voter’s wrath. What happens then? This is why no one who has any commonsense will draft a constitution that makes it impossible to dissolve parliament. Dissolving Parliament and allowing the people to decide is the only way in which a political deadlock could be resolved. In 2001, CBK had no option but to dissolve parliament and to allow the people to decide and, that is what preserved democracy in this country. Under the provisions of the constitution before the 19th Amendment, parliament could resolve to dissolve itself with a simple majority. So if the incumbent President loses public support and the support of Parliament, the parliamentarians opposed to the President could pass a resolution requesting the President to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections. Now after the 19th

amendment, an unpopular President can carry on regardless because parliament cannot vote to dissolve itself without a two-thirds majority – an impossible target in practical terms. Thus Parliament has been weakened and the hand of the President strengthened infinitely.There are other dangers too. Just picture the scenario that may take place after the next presidential election next year. A new president will be installed in power by December next year.

A few months later, a parliamentary election will be held.

Each of the newly appointed institutions will have four and a half years to five years in office. Both parties will enjoy security of tenure because the President will not be able to dissolve parliament without a two-thirds majority in parliament and Parliament will not be able to impeach the President without a two-thirds majority. In these circumstances, it is the President who will have the upper hand because he is the authority that appoints the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and in doing so he has unfettered discretionary power. He can appoint as Prime Minister anybody who ‘in his opinion’ is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament. Likewise, in appointing Ministers, Articles 43, 44 and 45 of the Constitution even after the 19th Amendment clearly Indicates that it is the President who has the final say in appointing and assigning subjects to Ministers, State Ministers and Deputy Ministers.

The subjective selection of the President is still paramount in making these appointments. At the present moment, due to Supreme Court rulings, the President also has the power to appoint as Ministers any of the 225 MPs in Parliament.

When the President and Parliament both have 4 to 5 years of their tenure left, the President’s power will be at its peak. After the next Presidential elections in December 2019, and the Parliamentary elections that will follow in a few months, what the new President will get is in fact a harem of 225 MPs who he can use at will. So long as the President and parliament have four three, two, or even one full year of tenure left, he will be able to offer Ministries

and other perks to attract MPs from any party to form a government. If the dissolution of Parliament before the lapse of four and a half years is not allowed, the political party system is going to be the main casualty. The political party will become merely a vehicle to get into Parliament.

Once you are in parliament, you are a free agent deciding to sit in government or in opposition as your own needs and fancies guide you.

We have to bear in mind that serving as a Minister is not a case of leaving one’s political Party, it is a case of serving one’s country at the behest of the President who wields the sovereign people’s executive power! Or at least that is how it’s portrayed. We have already had a taste of this in the past. When Mahinda Rajapaksa became President in November 2005, he inherited a minority government in parliament. So he took some MPs from the UNP and cobbled together a government and went forward and the UNP was crying foul saying that he was destroying political party system in the country. What the 19th Amendment has done is to institutionalise that situation for all perpetuity. Due to the proportional representation system, the likelihood is that except in rare instances, the political party winning the election will not have a clear majority in Parliament or will have only a slim majority. It is at this stage that the entire Parliament becomes the President’s harem. In 1994, the PA which had 105 Members in Parliament formed a government. In 2001, the UNP which had 106 MPs and in 2004, the UPFA which had 105 MPs formed governments.

Today, however, in the event where no political party gets a clear majority in Parliament, the tendency will be for the President to take the initiative to start making ‘kottu rotti’ governments taking a little bit from here and a little bit from there. Since Parliament cannot be dissolved, the President may end up making ‘kotthu roti’ governments more than once. Providing there is at least a year of tenure left, there will be many MPs who will betray their voters and political parties to gain office which, if he remains subordinate to his party hierarchy, he may never gain in his lifetime. When it comes to the tail end of the tenure of Parliament and of the Presidency when it will no longer be possible to attract MPs with the lure of office, he will end up doing a solo lap with the Ministry Secretaries and no Cabinet.

Possibility of 113 man ministerial teams Another issue that will arise if Parliament cannot be dissolved is that the MPs will have security of tenure and everyone will be extracting the maximum pound of flesh for their support of any government. When the stability of tenure of an MP increases, the stability of governments formed with the participation of such MPs decreases in direct proportion because MPs make all kinds of demands to extend their support to a government formed even by their own party. We have seen backbenchers ganging up to make demands under all governments. We have seen back bench MPs holding separate press conferences under all governments. It is not for nothing that the power of dissolution became an integral part of the Parliamentary tradition. The Parliamentary system cannot function without it. The possibility of dissolution and the prospect of having to face the people at an election is one of the key incentives to remain loyal to one’s political party and to continue to support it in Parliament.

This is why no country in the world that has a parliamentary form of government (except Norway, as the former President pointed out in his recent speech) has ever sought to prevent Parliament from being dissolved until the end of its tenure. Such a restriction does not empower Parliament – it empowers the person who is cast with the responsibility of forming governments and continuing till it is possible to hold an election. If the power of dissolution is removed for four and a half years, that will be an open invitation to the MPs elected to sell themselves to the highest bidder during that four and a half years. The bidder will of course always be the President. Even though the 19th Amendment purports to have reduced the powers of the president it has actually enhanced those powers by creating a situation where after a parliamentary election, the president can do anything he likes in Parliament disregarding all political party boundaries. Someone may say that blocks have been put in place to prevent the President from dissolving Parliament to prevent him from abusing that power.

5 page

PAGE 4

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

ISSUE 001

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

No president will dissolve Parliament without carefully considering matters, because if he dissolves Parliament and his party loses the ensuing Parliamentary election that will undermine his legitimacy and end his political career.

The president himself is elected and the dissolution of Parliament will affect him and his political party as well.

So dissolution will in practice rarely be overused or abused.

But when it comes to forming and dissolving cabinets, the president can do that as often as he likes with little or no consequences because the President as the head of the executive and Cabinet can continue to rule the country through the ministry secretaries despite frequent changes of ministers. We heard of such a one man show being run by

10 DECEMBER 2018

President Premadasa. What the 19th Amendment has done in effect is to create the legal framework necessary to make the Premadasa style one man show the norm in Sri Lankan politics.According to the provisions of the 19th Amendment, when a national government is formed, parliament can decide to appoint any number of ministers. A national government is defined as a government formed ‘between the largest political party in parliament and other parties’.

It does not say how many political parties have to join a national government – it could be just the party that gets the most number of seats in Parliament plus one other party and together they can decide to appoint if necessary a total of 113 cabinet, state and deputy ministers. Thanks to

PAGE 5

the party system it was possible to have at least a few MPs who would function as backbenchers. But with it not being possible to dissolve Parliament despite repeated defeats of the budget, or repeated rejection of the statement of government policy and repeated passage of no confidence motions against the government, the tendency will be for the President to appoint all 113 MPs necessary to maintain a bare majority to some kind of office, to keep them happy and to minimize the possibility of defections.

All of the above in varying combinations will be the direct consequence of preventing the dissolution of Parliament until the lapse of four and a half years or the passage of a resolution requesting dissolution with a two-thirds majority.

Thames Buddhist Vihara - London Annual Kathina Ceremony 2018 36th Consecutive Community Day Celebration

The Annual Kathina Ceremony of Thames Buddhist Vihara was held on Sunday 28th October 2018 at Temple Hall. This was the 36th consecutive Kathina Ceremony or Community Day (Sangha Day) Celebration held by Thames Buddhist Vihara Community.This year The Kathina Ceremony was mainly sponsored by Mr. Rohitha Thebuwanage, Mrs. Thanuja Koralagamage, Adhi Thebuwanage & Chanu Thebuwanage together with all the members of the Thames Buddhist Vihara. A large gathering of Venerable monks representing Buddhist Temples in UK graced the ceremony.

Over 300 hundred devotees, representing cosmopolitan member families of TBV Community, participated.

This year The Kathina Ceremony of TBV brought many multi-cultural people together as one family. Everyone inspired the happy, peaceful and uplifting atmosphere of the ceremony. The local community admired the rare experience of attractively pious cultural activities related to the ceremony such as Kathina Procession. Children of the Dhamma School put lots of effort with overwhelming enthusiasm in participation. It was a very educational and joyful opportunity for them to experience the typical Buddhist Culture.The ‘Katina robe’ was taken in the Procession (Srilankan tradition) along the entire length of Dulverton Road, led by the Troupe of young drummers, Sunday School pupils, clad in stunning, elegant and ceremonial garments. Residents of the neighborhood, who were informed about the event beforehand, gathered along the route to enjoy the Pageant.The ceremony was held in

the graceful presence of over 15 Venerable Buddhist Monks representing leading Buddhist Temples in the United Kingdom. Among them were Most Venerable Dr.Witharandeniye Kassapa Maha Thero OBE (Head Monk of Birmingham Buddhist Maha Vihara), Most Venerable Tawalama Bandula Maha Thero (Deputy Head Monk of London Buddhist Vihara), Most Venerable Aheliyagoda Dhammapala Maha Thero (Acting Head Monk Of Thames Buddhist Vihara), Most Venerable Akurala Samitha Maha Thero (Head Monk of Letchworth Dhamma Nikethanaya), Most Venerable Mathugama Palitha Thero (Head Monk of Cambridge Buddhist Vihara), Most Venerable Wanduraba Kassapa Nayake Thero (Head Monk of Heathrow Athula Dassana Vihara), Most Venerable Sooriyawewa Kusala Thero (Deputy Head of Letchworth Buddhist Vihara), Venerable Alpitiye Hemaloka Thero (Kingsbury Buddhist Vihara), Venerable Karagammanwala Upali Thero (Deputy Head Monk of Stock On Trent Buddhist Vihara), Venerable Rathnapure Nandaloka Thero (Stock On Trent Buddhist Vihara), Venerable Wiharagama Kusala Thero (Deputy Head of Leicester Dharmasoka Buddhist Vihara), Venerable Hokandara Pangawansa Thero (London Buddhist Vihara), Venerable Hasalak Sirivimala Thero ( Leicester Dharmashoka Buddhist Vihara).Ven. Kohukumbure Siridhamma (Deputy Head of Thames Buddhist Vihara) extended a very warm welcome to all the Venerables and

everyone else attending the Ceremony.

Most Venerable Thawalama Bandula Maha Thero administered the five precepts to mark the beginning of the ceremony. Most Venerable Dr Witharandeniye Kassapa Maha Thero OBE delivered dhamma talk in Sinhala explain the significances of the day by dedicating the Kathina Dana. Venerable Viharagala Kusala Thero conducted the Buddha Pooja. Most Venerable Akurala Samitha Maha Thero delivered a Dhamma Talk in English explaining the significances of the traditional spiritual ceremony to the modern world and highlighted the credentials of Venerable Siridhamma & Venerable Amitha as a rare skilful monk from whom the community can be benefited immensely.

Most Venerable Mathugama Palitha Thero conducted the punnanumodana (sharing of merits). The assembly of the Monks, by common consent, elected Ven. Dombawala Amitha, to be the worthy recipient, of the ‘Katina’ robe.

Venerable Dombawala Amitha thanked everyone for helping to make this year’s ceremony a great success. The Ceremony arrangements and temple decorations were not possible without the earnest support of all the parents of dhamma school children. Venerable Amitha shared heartfelt gratitude and blessings with them all.Venerable Amitha shared the blessings with those who offered Atapirikara, Robes, Monks’ gift items and other donations. Their support greatly counted for the success of the ceremony.May the Blessings of this greatest meritorious deed fulfil, without exception the aspirations of all, and lead to the everlasting happiness Nibbana! May all be secure, well and happy with Noble Blessings of the Triple Gem!Photographs by: Mr. Gihan Jayathilak Report by: Ven. Dombawala Amitha

Kathina Ceremony - 2018 at Jethavana Buddhist Vihara, Birmingham

Offering of Annual Kathina Robe for the monks at Jethavana Buddhist Vihara in Birmingham was held with the participation of venerable monks from several temples in the U.K and Sri Lanka along with a great gathering of devotees on the 28th October 2018. The ceremony had been gracefully organized under the guidance of the Most Venerable Keppetiyagoda Gunawansa Nayaka Thero, the head of both Jethavana Vihara in Birmingham and Sri Sambuddha Vihara in Liverpool and the Chief Sanghanayaka for Great Britain. Ven. Keppetiyagoda Gunawansa Nayaka

Thero, Ven. Mapalagama Soratha Thero and Kahawanugoda Wimaladhamma Thero had observed the rainy retreat at the Vihara premises this year.The ceremony was started with the offering of Buddha Puja at 11.15 am. There were 18 Venerable monks at the ceremony representing several Sri Lankan temples in the United Kingdom namely Ven. Pidiville Piyatissa Nayaka Thero, the head monk of Manchester Ketumati Buddhist Vihara with Ven. Galpottayaye Pemananda Thero and Ven. Dewunnewe Upali Thero. Ven. Theldeniyaye Amitha Thero, the head monk of Nottingham

Shanthi Buddhist Vihara with Ven. Anamaduwe Wimalajeewa Thero and Ven. Nepalaye Suwachaseela Thero, Ven. Kaluaggala Saranasiri Thero from Leeds Buddhist Vihara, Ven.Thissapura Sugatharathana Thero and Ven. Meewellewe Pannathissa Thero from Liverpool Sri Sambuddha vihara.

Ven. Pelwaththe Dhammananda Thero, the head monk of Bristol Buddhist Vihara with Ven. Monaragala Sumedha Thero and Ven. Dewalegama Pannyananda Thero, together with the monks residing in the temple namely Ven. Mapalagama Soratha Thero, Ven. Kahawanugoda

LANKANEWS

PAGE 6

Heavy traffic at Town Hall due to protest

ISSUE 001 10 DECEMBER 2018 UNP says President has no right to instruct Ministry Secretaries Others say otherwise

(www.adaderana.lk ) Lotus Road in Colombohas been temporarilyclosed (www.island.lk ) The UNP yesterday said that be a Cabinet for traffic due to the President had no power to instruct or order of ministers theprotest march secretaries to Ministries and that such attempts to administer byuniversity students. would be unconstitutional.ssuing a press release MP the republic.

Severe traffic congestion and former High Court judge, JC Alawatuwala said According to the has been reported within that the President met government officials and no-Confidence the Town Hall area in military and given them instructions. motions passed Colombo due to a protest “The Constitution has not given any authority to the in Parliament and march by a group of President to order, direct or instruct secretaries to the interim order university students.The protest march organised by the Inter University the ministries. And by meeting them and influencing issued by the court of appeal, there is no Cabinet.

Students’ Federation (IUSF) commenced from near the University of the them, President Maithripala Sirisena has violated Therefore, Sri Lanka no longer has any authority Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo at around 1.30 p.m.The protesters the constitution.”According to article 52 (2) only that can instruct the ministry secretaries,” he are marching towards the Presidential Secretariat to handover a letter the line minister can direct the Secretary to his said warning ministry secretaries that by following against the alleged repression of students at the Rajarata University and the ministry and other officials, Alawatuwala insists.

President’s orders they would be violating the South Eastern University.

“The Constitution also states that there should Constitution.Ealier yesterday, President Sirisena directed the officials to continue their work to ensure been given,” he said. “The President can’t appoint Mahinda the assistance of the Ministry Secretaries.The President that the public was not inconvenienced. “Continue your Rajapaksa the Prime Minister again. However, can reappoint could function with the Ministry Secretaries as he had duties and ensure no breakdown in public services,” the the ministers who were in the previous Cabinet.”Senior appointed them, he added.The Senior lecturer said there President instructedHowever former Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa lecturer at the Law Faculty of the Colombo University Dr. was a case filed in the Supreme Court with regard to the Rajapakshe, PC told The Island on Monday that President Prathiba Mahanamahewa also echoed the sentiment stating constitutional crisis in the country and the Appeal Court Maithripala Sirisena could either appoint a new Prime that this was the first time that an Executive President of exercised the jurisdiction to seek an opinion from the Minister and a Cabinet or carry on without them. “The Court Sri Lanka had received an opportunity to govern the country Supreme Court on the matter.He said the Appeal Court of Appeal has given the interim order based on the idea that with the Ministry Secretaries sans a Cabinet.Mahanamahewa injunction didn’t allow Ranil Wickremesinghe to function as the Mahinda Rajapaksa and his cabinet lost a no- confidence said due to the interim injunction of the Appeal Court, the Prime Minister either and the interim injunction debarred motion in parliament. But the order does not mean that Prime Minister and the Cabinet are non- functional and the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and its staff from functionin the Cabinet stands dissolved, only an interim order has as a result the President had to run the government with

Another ex-LTTE cadre arrestedother over killing of two cops last Friday LTTE cadres were arrested by a special police team police had recorded

( www.island.lk ) Another former LTTE cadre was arrested in connection with the killing of two police personnel last Friday in Vavunativu, a one-time LTTE stronghold.

The suspect, 40-year-old Kadiramathambi Irajakumaran alias ‘Kannan’, is a resident of Vavunativu.Police found the bodies of two policemen, 35-year-old father of one Walpita Gamage Niroshan Indika Prasanna, a resident of Udugama, Galle and 29-year-old Ganeshanwaran Dinesh, a resident Periyanilawane, Kalmunai, with hands tied behind their backs and shot through their heads at close range.

They were attached to Vavunativu police.Previously two

(www.island.lk ) The Chinese Navy has sent at least eight submarine missions since 2013 in the Indian Ocean Region that occasionally closed in on Indian waters, reaching up till Colombo and Karachi, India’s DNA stated.

According to intelligence reports accessed by this paper, each of the missions lasted around a month. Backed by a regular ship, the deployments included nuclear as well as non-nuclear submarines.The reports identified an alternating trend of sending a conventional submarine and a nuclear sub to follow it.Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said on Monday that the most recent of these deployments was in October when a Chinese submarine was in the Indian Ocean Region for a month.“There are six to eight

Chinese ships in the Indian Ocean Region at a time. This includes an anti-piracy escort force of three ships in the Gulf of Aden,” he said.Last year, 12 Chinese naval units were operating in the Indian Ocean Region. These included Luyang class III destoryers, as well as Chongmingdao, the Chinese Navy’s sumbarine supporet for one of the submarines that was later docked in Karachifor replacement, sources said.

The increased frequency of Chinese vessels docked in Karachi and “unusual” activities of their naval units in the Indian Ocean is being closely watched, Navy sources said.

Referring to China and Pakistan, Admiral Lanba said that for the Indian Navy, there is no two-front threat, but there was peril on

(www.adaderana.lk) The Permanent High Court Trial-atBar has decided to hear the case against former Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and 6 others over the D.A. Rajapaksa Museum on a daily basis starting from the 22nd of January 2019.The case was taken up before judges Sampath Abeykoon (President), Sampath Wijeratne and

(dailynews.lk )Motorcyclist had succumbed to his injuries after the motor bike which he had ridden was collided with a rear side of a lorry which was parked on the road side of the Hadapaangoda junction.According to the police media spokesperson’s office, the accident had occurred yesterday morning at Ingiriya-Paadukka main road close to the Hadapaangoda junction.

investigating the killing of two policemen at Vavunathivu in Batticaloa last week, police said. The two suspects were identified as Ajanthan, a former member of the Jayanthan Brigade and Rasanaygam Sarvananthan, anex-member of the Charles Anthony Brigade.Ajanthan was taken into custody in Batticaloa and Sarvanthan at Kilinochchi. Later Sarvananthan was brought to Batticaloa for questioning.

He is a former leading intelligence operative of the LTTE. He was recently in Batticaloa to organise a ceremony to commemorate the LTTE leaders killed in the war.The

one front — the Indian Ocean Region.

Indian Navy’s satellites, maritime surveillance aircraft and ships have been keeping an eye on the Chinese vessels in the region.Responding to a question about China increasing its firepower, Admiral Lanba said, “By 2050, we will also have 200 ships and 500 aircraft and we be world-class navy.”

The government has approved induction of 56 new warships and six submarines to boost Indian navy’s operational capabilities.

India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, Vikrant, has entered its final phase of construction and is likely to begin sea trials in 2020.“Induction of Vikrant will provide a significant fillip to the Navy’s blue-water capability, increasing the reach and impact

Champa Janaki Rajaratna.

Attorneys representing both the plaintiffs and defendants informed the court that they have received the relevant documents pertaining to the case.The case was filed by the Attorney General against the former Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and six others for allegedly misappropriating Rs 49 million of state funds to build the D.A. Rajapaksa Memorial Museum.

Land Reclamation and Development Authority’sformer

It was also divulged that the victim was admitted to the Government Hospital in Horana. The motorcyclist was identified as “Hetti Mudiyanselage Sunil Arunasiri” a 42-year-old and a permanent resident in Aluthgedera, Wadaawa, Wadaakada. The postmortem related to the dead body was to be carried out by the Government Hospital in Horana

statements from nine former LTTE cadres and all of them were released after recording their statements by last evening.

The investigations are being conducted by a joint team of police, intelligence and CID officials

(www.dailynews.lk ) If there is anything to clarify about law and order and the judiciary, all including journalists should put their questions to UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake, because he can predict as to what happens in the judiciary, MP Rohitha

of carrier-borne strike forces, both as a means of deterrence as well as during combat operations,” he said.

The Navy Chief said that finally, after 10 years since Mumbai 26/11 attacks, the process of installing automated identification transponders on around 2.5 lakh fishing boats had been started as a measure to boost maritime security.

Chairman Prasad Harshana de Silva, formerDirectorBoardmembers Badrawathie UdulawathieKamaladasa,Suddammika Keminda Attygalle, Saman Kumara Abraham Galapaththy, Dewage Mahinda Saliya and Srimathi Mallika Kumari Senadhira area the other defendants in the case.

Abeygunawardana said.“There is a crucial judgment to be given in December in connection with him and the entire country is waiting for that,” he said Addressing a press conference at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Head Quarters in

Battaramulla yesterday, Abeygunawardana said that UNP MP Ranjan Ramanayake had also told the media that the Chief Justice’s performance is satisfactory at present and that he is waiting to see his future performance.“Now the entire country while focused on MP Ramanayake eagerly awaits a General Election to select their

ISSUE 001 LANKANEWS ‘COLOMBO PORT to touch 7 MN TEU LANDMARK FOR 2018’

10 DECEMBER 2018

PAGE 7

(www.dailynews.lk ) The Colombo Port is on the brink of the 7 million TEU container throughput landmark for 2018.“We are almost there, which will also be the highest and best ever performance of the Colombo Port, an upbeat Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake told Daily News Business yesterday.He expressed confidence that the landmark was within reach despite the head winds which usually prevail at this time of the year, which could have an impact on the

docking of vessels in the Colombo Port.He also said that one of the world’s largest shipping lines which patronizes the Colombo Port Maersk Lines which accounts for 20% of the business of the Colombo Port, had assured the Government that they would increase the volumes to Colombo on a year on year basis.“This assurance was provided to the Government when former Minister of Ports and Shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe and I paid a courtesy call on the A.P. Moller Maersk Lines Group Transport and Logistics CEO Soren Skouand it was he

who provided us with that assurance, the SLPA Chief said.

“Maersk is one of Sri Lanka’s biggest shipping clients and it was indeed important that we pay them these courtesy calls at the highest level.

This is also the second time in 15 years that a Sri Lankan Shipping Minister and I paid a courtesy call on Maersk since 2003,” he explained.They are fully committed to the Port of Colombo and they will undoubtedly

keep increasing the volumes in and out of Colombo, he said.“This was a courtesy call to solicit their support and that was what we achieved,” he said.Dr. Dissanayake also said that the cause of the Colombo Port was further evidenced and buttressed by that it was adjudged as the fastest growing port in the world and even ahead of competing ports such as Singapore which was the second best, the ports of Dubai, Fujairah, Salalah in the Gulf and Tanjun Pelepas in Malaysia in the first half of 2018 and that was also due to head winds that affect all global ports and economies, he asserted.

(www.derbyshire.police.uk ) We are issuing a warning and advice after a driver was robbed after getting out of his car to clean egg off his windscreen. The incident happened at around 7.40am yesterday morning, Monday, January 29, when the 29-year-old victim was driving to work along Moor Road, Breadsall in his white Seat Leon car. It appears that an egg was thrown at the windscreen and when he got out if his car to clean it off he was assaulted from behind and apparently lost consciousness.

When he regained consciousness, shortly after, he noticed that his wallet and phone

were missing. One of our officers, who was also travelling to work, came across the victim, offered assistance and phoned the police. The victim was dazed and suffered bruising and a small cut to his head. The incident is being investigated by Detective Sergeant Jim Bolus, who said: “This is a very rare type of robbery, we have been aware of social media speculation of offenders using this type of tactic but it is not something we have come across before. “The road on which the incident happened is one that is regularly used by commuters travelling in to Derby and so we would ask anyone who

used it on this day and around this time to check their dashcam footage or speak to us if they saw anything suspicious.” Inspector Justin Brown, from our Roads Policing Unit, offered the following advice: “If you have an egg thrown at your windscreen then slow down safely and make an assessment as to whether you can see out of your windscreen. “Don’t be tempted to wash it off with your water and wipers as this will cause smearing and make it worse.

“If it is safe to do, drive slowly away from that location to a built-up, well-lit area where there are people about, before you

get out your car to clean the windscreen.

“If it is not safe to drive your car and/or you feel particularly vulnerable then lock your car doors and call us on 999.”

If you have any information about this incident please contact DS Bolus on 101, quoting reference number 1800045773.

Alternatively send him a message online by visiting the Contact Us section of our website HERE You can also anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111 or by visiting

(www.ceylontoday. lk ) The thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion - Frederick Douglass -American AuthorAround two centuries ago our ancestors launched a heroic struggle against the mighty British Empire in an uprising in order to gain freedom from British colonial rule. Reminiscences of that struggle still haunt the minds of patriotic Sri Lankans.

As quoted by J.B. Muller in his dissertation ‘Anglophiles, Eurocentric Arrogance and Reality’ –The Island 5 November, 2010 Samuel P. Huntington had stated quite correctly: ‘The West won the world not by superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organised violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.’ The British who have now assumed the role of great human rights defender along with United States supported by the United Nations Human Rights Commission accusing Sri Lanka of alleged human rights abuses during last stages of ethnic conflict when the LTTE was vanquished by heroic Sri Lankan armed forces, conveniently forget, great human rights abuses committed by them in the colonies that they were administering.Sometime ago there were media reports that British parliamentarians have called on their government to boycott that year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka

due to alleged human rights violations. To remind the British of their past actions in Sri Lanka consider what J.B. Muller states in the dissertation quoted at the outset referring to the General Order issued in 1818 during the British Colonial Rule in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to put down the rebellion in Uva-Vellassa as follows: “Kill every man, woman and child including the babes suckling at their mother’s breast. Destroy all dwelling houses.

Burn all crops. Cut down all fruit trees.

Slaughter all cattle; take what meat is necessary to feed the troops and burn the rest. Destroy all reservoirs, canals and channels. Poison the wells. Lay waste utterly the countryside denying any relief whatsoever to the rebels.” Muller further states: “This order was carried out, laying waste Uva and Vellassa, a destruction from which it is yet to fully recover.” British writers commented that every tree from Ratnapura to Badulla was devastated; there were hung bodies of rotting human beings that gave off a revolting stench. The word ‘genocide’ was coined in the 1940’s

meaning the wiping out of a people, but if this wasn’t genocide then, what is?” This is the manner in which the British who have now become human rights crusaders against Sri Lanka dealt with a rebellion by the Ceylonese people at that time. The British should first establish a Committee of Inquiry to investigate their own vicious scorched earth policy they used to put down rebellions in the colonies in the British Commonwealth and human rights violations committed by the British troops under the General Order given in 1818 and historical evidence available on the devastation they caused in 1818 (200 years ago) in Uva Wellassa during the rebellion. Wellassa (Wellakshaya in Sinhala) was composed of hundred thousand paddy fields yielding a substantial crop, which has not yet recovered from the scorched earth policy of the British.

If the proponents of the Channel 4 video were present at that time they could have recorded horrific scenes of babes suckling at their mother’s breast being snatched

by British soldiers and their throats

being slit in the presence of their wailing mothers, who were then shot. Setting fire to acres and acres of golden paddy fields resplendent with crops resulting in the wanton destruction of the fruits of hard labour of the poor Sri Lankan farmers all of whom were killed then would have met the eyes of the Channel 4 team. The strategy of destroying the food supply of the civilian population in an area of conflict has been banned under Article 54 of Protocol I of the 1977 Geneva Conventions. The British invaded this peaceful little island, known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean and robbed it of all its wealth in the form of tea, rubber, coconuts and coffee. They improved the infrastructure in the form of roads, railways and so forth, not for the love of the local population but to improve the economy for their own benefit.In conclusion, the Sri Lankan Government should establish a Commission of Inquiry into the human rights violations and economic devastation caused in Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, during British Colonial Rule and based upon findings of such an inquiry call upon the Government of the United Kingdom to pay suitable compensation for those atrocities committed by the British during their rule.

The British, with their dubious history on protection of human rights should leave other Sovereign Nations in the World to find their own solutions to any human rights violations in their lands.

Police issue warning after driver robbed following egg being thrown on windscreen

How this cheese factory in Puerto Rico increased sales by about 20% in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria

(www.thisisinsider.com ) Headquartered in San Juan, Indulac is the industry leader in queso blanco cheese and UHT milk in Puerto Rico. But they’ve been making all kinds of dairy products for more than 66 years.Before Hurricane Maria, Indulac’s 87 employees were producing 10,000 blocks of their specialty Queso Blanco de País and nearly 10,000 gallons of UHT milk per week. But when Hurricane Maria hit, the factory lost power and production

came to a halt.Indulac made a quick recovery thanks to its loyal employees. After three days, employees worked to get the factory running on generators.Their UHT milk is pasteurized, so it doesn’t need to be refrigerated until it’s open. Since Maria knocked out electricity across the island, demand for Indulac’s non-refridgerated milk exploded. It was the only factory in Puerto Rico equipped to keep up with demand and sales increased by about 20% after the

storm.Employees worked overtime for a month after Maria and they produced three times the amount of UHT milk in October 2017 compared to October the year before. Indulac also hired 10 additional employees to help with production.

In the video above, the company’s president, Francisco Oramas, explains how their 100% Puerto Rican staff was integral in helping Indulac recover after the storm.

Lonely Planet named Sri Lanka the No. 1 country to travel to in 2019 — here’s why you should go (www.thisisinsider.com )Travel guide company Lonely Planet named Sri Lanka the number one country to visit in 2019.Insider spoke with Destinations Editor Bailey Freeman to

learn how they choose their top spots.Sri Lanka was chosen because of a diversity of experiences, great food, and a burgeoning tourism industry.

PAGE 8

LANKANEWS

(www.telegraph.co.uk) “Stylish, chic and indulgent sum up this boutique hotel along Bentota’s southern shoreline.

Service is first-class and very guest-orientated while facilities include a good pool, sophisticated restaurant and well-maintained beach.”LocationThe hotel stretches between the Galle Road and Bentota’s southern palmfringed coastal belt on Sri Lanka’s western shore. The beach is sandy and long, and reached across a railway track at the end of the garden; trains rumble past a few times an hour during the day, injecting a quick dose of reality. Bentota’s railway station and water sports are close by while Lunuganga and Brief – the magical former estates of the lauded Bawa brothers – are a 20-minute drive away.Style

& characterThe Long House is part of the Taru Villas’

collection of stylish offerings by acclaimed interior designer ‘Taru’ Fonseka. Although noted Sri Lankan architect Anjalendran crafted this vast two-storey 10-bedroom villa out of an awkwardly long, narrow plot of land, it’s Taru who brought it to life. Her attention to detail is enviable, and the refined tropical tone of the villa is marked by opulent furnishings, custom-made beds, large armchairs and silk printed cushions.

Little touches – such as vast sweetie jars, books, board games, DVDs and staff preened to pamper, personalise and indulge – prove there’s substance behind the style.Service

10 DECEMBER 2018

& facilitiesThere’s a long swimming pool and a sunken whirlpool seating area. There’s also a little gym, a television room, a 16-seat dining nook, a room for children and a handful of open-plan living rooms for relaxing. Guests can use the spa at neighbouring sister hotel Rock Villa. The staff members are excellent; the resident manager is genuinely accommodating, and the hotel excels inpersonalising all requests (within reason). Their butler team is on the ball, discreetly offering hot and cold drinks, snacks to your room, and even chilled sundowners at the beach.

BarBeach •Fitness centre •Laundry •Parking •Pool •Restaurant •Room service •Wi-Fi

Rooms

The eight double bedrooms are stylish sanctuaries with plush king-sized beds, televisions and DVD players, high sliding doors onto well-furnished balconies or terraces, and airy bathrooms with showers. Only the four front bedrooms have ocean views (yet all rooms are priced the same), and rooms 9 and 10 directly access the pool. The artwork and sensual colour schemes mark the ground-floor rooms as more contemporary while those upstairs are infused with colonial accents thanks to rattan headboards and fourposter beds. There’s also a two-bedroom family suite.

Food & drinkThe dining pavilion is both a formal and a

ISSUE 001

casual spot for all-day dining. The menu focuses on fine cuisine, and renowned chef Thiem Nguyen spent three months with the staff inventing 90 Asian fusion dishes before crafting lunchtime and evening set menus. There are vegetarian, fish and meat choices, and flavours are both complex and sensual – think pork ribs with burnt compressed cucumber, seared beef fillet with rice noodle jam and nahm jim (Thai dipping sauce), and teriyaki fish with wafu dressing. Portion sizes are generous, and lighter lunches are also available.Breakfast is more international – poached eggs with hollandaise sauce, granola with buffalo curd, and platters of tropical fruit. The bar serves juices, soft drinks, wine, beer and premier liquor, and the allinclusive rate includes all of this along with three meals, snacks and afternoon tea.Value for moneyDouble rooms from US$547 (£418) in low season; and from US$656 (£501) in high. Breakfast included. Free Wi-Fi. All-inclusive rates start at US$1,107 (£847).Access for guests with disabilities?

The four ground-floor rooms are accessible.Family-friendly?

Yes. There’s a two-bedroom suite, a kids’ room (with television and DVDs) and children’s menu. The swimming pool has a toddler-friendly paddling area.150 Galle Road, Alawatugoda, Bentota, Sri Lanka. 00 94 11234 0033 taruvillas.com

Sri Lanka Cricket CFO further remanded until Nov 21

(www.adaderana.lk)The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Sri Lanka Cricket, Piyal Dissanayake, who was arrested by the CID for alleged financial fraud, has been further remanded until November 21 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.When the case was taken up, the Colombo Magistrate stated that the verdict on the bail application of the defendant will be issued on November 21.The CID had sought the further remand of the defendant as the investigations pertaining to the case are still ongoing.However, the defense attorneys had requested the court to release the defendant on bail as investigations regarding the case are

(dailynews.lk ) Driver of a van had succumbed and another four persons including a bus driver had received injuries and hospitalized after a Van and Bus Collision in Kathaluwa on Galle Matara main road.According to the police media spokesperson’s office, this took place early morning near Kathaluwa junction on the main road which leads to Matara from Galle.However the police investigations, it was divulged that the two foreigners those who were travelling inside of the van at the time of this accident , were injured too. The police had also found that the cause of the accident is due to the negligence of the driver, he had fallen asleep (dailynews.lk ) Special Crime Investigation Unit in Mirihana arrested a criminal on Saturday who was involved in a robbery from a house in Arawwala area in Maharagama on 5th of November.

According to police media spokespersons, the suspect was arrested by police , when he was found loitering near to the petrol station close to the “Maliban” junction in Mount Lavinia. During

Schoolboys held for gambling

predominantly completed.

Considering the submissions, the Magistrate’s Court ordered to remand Gamini Senarath until November 21.

The Chief Financial Officer Dissanayake was arrested following a complaint filed with the CID pertaining to an alleged attempt of the CFO to transfer to an offshore account USD 5.5 million connected to the broadcasting rights of the current England tour of Sri Lanka. while he was driving .

The victims were immediately admitted to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital in Galle by the neighboring community in the area. The driver had succumbed to his injuries just after few minutes of his admission to the hospital. The post mortem related to the dead body was to be carried out by government teaching hospital in Karapitiya. Further investigations are being carried out by the Ahangama Police Station.

the preliminary investigations, the suspect was identified as “Thusitha Maduranga” nicknamed “Matara Malli” 38-year-old individual , a resident of Rotuba, Matara. He had stolen a diamond from this house.The suspect was produced before the Chief Magistrate Courts in Nugegoda yesterday.

Further investigations are being carried out by the Mirihana Police Station.

(dailynews.lk ) Twenty five schoolboys of a leading school in Kurunegala were taken into custody by the Kurunegala Police last Friday,30, while they were gambling inside their school classroom.The suspects were due to

appear for the GCE (O/L) examination this year. The arrests were made after the Principal informed the police. The police found sharp knives and bicycle chains in their trouser pockets at the time of the arrest. Police

officers also seized Rs.500 which they used for gambling.The students have been identified as residents of Kurunegala, Wehera and Malkaduwawa of the Kurunegala police division.

ISSUE 001 Bride wars?

LANKANEWS

(dailynews.lk) This year has been a year of weddings for Bollywood. The wedding mania that kickstarted with Sonam and Anand Ahuja’s nuptials will now be heightened even further with two more power couples tying the knot next month: Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra-Nick Jonas.Deepika and Ranveer had the best surprise for their fans as they announced the dates for their November wedding. On the other hand, Filmfare reports that PeeCee and Nick will marry in December.While DeepVeer will tie the knot on November 14 and 15, Nickyanka are said to be taking the nuptial vows on December 1 in Jodhpur.

However, as much as the film industry is happy with the union, they may face a tricky choice as Deepika-Ranveer’s wedding reception is also scheduled for December 1. And both the events are

expected to happen in two different cities.

Priyanka and Nick, during their recent visit to India, checked out their venue for a traditional Indian wedding in the quaint city of Jodhpur. Deepika, Priyanka and Ranveer have worked together in ‘Bajirao Mastani’ and share a cordial relationship.

Needless to say, the couples would have picked the dates as per their family and schedule. But when it comes to attending the big celebrations of the industry - be it Deepika-Ranveer’s reception or PriyankaNick’s wedding - the film industry will have to face the tough choice. Mumbai Mirror

(dailynews.lk) Child actor Sunny Pawar won a lot of international fans when he attended the Oscars and Golden Globe awards last year for his debut film ‘Lion’.

He is now the lead actor of a new movie, but his popularity still hasn’t hit him.

Pawar, 10, comes from a humble background and despite working in projects starring Nicole Kidman, Dev Patel, Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, he is still grounded. After playing relatively smaller but significant roles, he will be seen as the protagonist of ‘Chippa’.

“I don’t feel like a star,” Pawar said.

‘Chippa’, which will premiere at the Jio Mami 20th Mumbai Film Festival with Star on Monday, is a story about the aspirations of a child who lives on the streets. The

story is told through a journey he takes into an enchanting world that he creates on a wintry night in Kolkata.

Asked if there was pressure because he is almost in every scene of the film, Pawar said: “No. There was no pressure. The director [Safdar Rahman] and my father explained things to me.”His projects ‘Lion’ saw him getting lost on the streets, ‘Sacred Games’ has now become one of the most popular Indian web series and ‘Love Sonia’ got widely praised for dealing with child trafficking. Business Standard

(adaderana.lk) “There was nothing ‘happy’ about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose,” states the letter.

President Donald Trump on Saturday played Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy” at a Midwest rally hours after the Tree of Life congregation shooting in Pittsburgh — and now the artist is expressing his anger over the decision through a cease and desist letter sent by his lawyer. “On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged ‘nationalist,’ you played his song ‘Happy’ to a crowd at a political event in Indiana,” writes attorney Howard King in the letter. “There was nothing ‘happy’ about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission

(timesofindia.indiatimes.com ) Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli tied the knot on December 11, 2017, and they celebrated their first wedding anniversary in Australia.Now, today, Anushka is back in Mumbai after her short break. The actress looked cool in a white t-shirt and a jacket over it and black pants.

She paired it with white shoes and was carrying a black bag. The glow on her face post her vacation is totally visible.Now, she will resume promotions of her upcoming film ‘Zero’ co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif. Helmed by Aanand L Rai, the film is all set to hit the theatres this Friday.

was granted for your use of this song for this purpose.”

King continues to say Williams has not and will not grant Trump permission to publicly perform or otherwise disseminate his music, and claims the use of “Happy” without his consent constitutes both copyright and trademark infringement.Although the circumstances are gravely different here, this isn’t the first time Trump has received a cease and desist from a musician. Steven Tyler has repeatedly protested Trump’s use of Aerosmith’s music at his events, and others who have made similar complaints include Prince’s estate, R.E.M., Queen and the filmmakers of Air Force One.

Sridevi, Alia Bhatt, Kajol, Salman Khan and more will be seen in special appearances

10 DECEMBER 2018

PAGE 9

Mr Bean’s return is ‘doubtful’

(dailynews.lk) Sad news, comedy fans. It appears that slapstick icon Mr Bean has been laid to rest for good.Rowan Atkinson, who played the legendary TV character, told Graham Norton on his show last night that he had essentially closed the lid on his time as the fan favourite.Mr Bean has been gracing our screens since 1990 in a series of mini-movies, and became such a success he landed his own blockbuster.He later got transformed into a cartoon that ran for 12 years, but ended in 2016.Explaining to Graham that it was time to let the show go, he said, “I doubt that he will reappear, but you never know. You must never say never again but there does come a point where you feel like you’ve done the most of what

you want to do with things.”

Rowan admitted that because of the nonspeaking role, he has received universal acclaim because everyone around the world can enjoy it. Over the course of his career, Atkinson has achieved cult status with a number of his roles – starting with periodic comedy ‘Blackadder’.

Metro

Depp axed from ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ fran(adaderana.lk) Superstar star as they rework the entire chise Johnny Depp has been franchise. dropped from the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ film franchise.

The news comes when Disney Studios is planning a major reboot for the franchise.

Depp, 55, was the major lead in five movies over the past 15 years. The original script writer of the franchise, Stuart Beattie, is the first to publicly confirm that Disney Studios appears to be ditching the

suggested that Depp was out, he said, “I think he’s had a great run. Obviously, he’s made that character his own and it’s become the character he’s most famous for now. And kids all over the world love him as that character. So I think it’s

been great for him, it’s been great for us, so I’m just very, very happy about it.”Beattie feels no matter what Depp does next in his career, his Hollywood career high point will be defined by Sparrow and amassing more than $4 billion from the movies.

Depp, who has been dogged by personal dramas over the past four years, saw his last outing as Jack Sparrow in ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’, which became the lowest performing movie of the films.

Beattie confirmed on camera the reboot meant that Depp was out as Sparrow.

Nodding when it was He said, “I think Jack Sparrow will be his legacy.

It’s the only character he has played five times, it’s the character he dresses up in to visit children in hospitals, it’s what he’ll be remembered for.”

PAGE 10

LANKANEWS

(www.ft.lk) The Central Bank yesterday said it disagreed with the decisions by Fitch Ratings and other agencies to downgrade Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Rating from ‘B+’ (Stable) to ‘B’ (Stable), which the monetary authority insisted were based on “uncorroborated facts” of the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals.In spite of the recent developments in the country’s political sphere, an array of measures have been taken by the Central Bank and the Government to minimise any potential impact from the recent political developments on the economy, especially with regard to external financing requirements and debt payment obligations, a statement by the Central Bank said yesterday. In meeting the Government’s external liabilities of International Sovereign Bond (ISB) maturities of $ 1 billion in January 2019 and $ 500 million in April 2019, the authorities have already built a buffer fund from proceeds of non-strategic asset divestment and recently contracted a Syndicated loan, in addition to the space provided under the Active Liability Management (ALM) initiative not exceeding a limit of Rs. 310 billion. The issuance of Sri Lanka Development Bonds (SLDBs) of around $ 750 million to $ 1 billion during the remainder of the year and in early 2019 sourced through enhanced credit lines for state banks from the Middle East and East Asia is nearing completion.

Further, the enhancement of $ 500 million to the syndicated loan arrangement by February 2019 is also in progress. In (www. island.lk ) Tilak Marapana President’s Counsel, appearing for the UNP, in respect of the petition filed against the dissolution of Parliament, said that Article 27, required the President to consult the Prime Minister in dissolving Parliament. After the introduction of the 19th Amendment the President was no longer all powerful. At the outset K. Kanag Ishwaran PC, supporting the petition of the TNA said that President may under Article 70 dissolve

addition, further support could be expected from the proceeds of about $ 600 million expected as disbursements from bilateral and multilateral agencies during next year. These proceeds, together with the available funds, would more than cover all the ISB payments due in 2019.“Meanwhile, with the aim of further strengthening the reserve adequacy, the Central Bank has initiated negotiations with central banks and regional funds such as SAARC Swap Framework to obtain foreign currency SWAP facilities. These measures would not only further strengthen thecountry’s foreign reserve adequacy, they would also enable timely servicing of external obligations while providing the space for intervening cautiously in the foreign exchange market to prevent excessive volatility. It is noteworthy that there has been a favourable adjustment in the exchange rate during recent days supported by rising foreign currency inflows which would be further enhanced in the upcoming holiday and new year season,” the statement said. In addition, the fiscal and macro prudential measures that are already in place are expected to result in an improvement in the external trade balance as well, thus Parliament.

Under any other clause a dissolution was unconditional and null and void in law. He could not refer to Article 33/1 for dissolution of Parliament.The 19th amendment to the Constitution imposed limitations on the President’s power to dissolve Parliament.The fundamental rights violation petitions have been filed challenging the dissolution of Parliament by a Presidential order, stated in a gazette dated November 9, 2018. Among the petitions are, the TNA, UNP, SLMC, JVP.

Sri Lanka’s crisis: I see nothing unconstitutional Lord Naseby

(www.adaderana.lk) Lord Baron Naseby, a member of the British House of Lords, says he believes that Sri Lanka’s President was acting in the interest of the country when he sacked the prime minister and established a new government, a move which he admits was ‘unusual’ but not ‘unconstitutional’“I see nothing that has happened that is unconstitutional.

It’s unusual. Yes. But we’ve had unusual things in the UK,” he said.Lord Naseby made these comments in response to questions put forward regarding the present political crisis in Sri Lanka, during the unveiling of island nation’s new destination brand, ‘So Sri Lanka’, at the opening day of the World Travel Mart (WTM) 2018 in London, on 5th, which he attended as the Chief Guest.

“So these things happen. These things change. And I’m sure those who are involved, particularly the President, who is elected, an executive, he would have acted in the interest of the country. Of that I’m quite sure. I met him on

a number of occasions. “I think he is a very wise man and I’m sure whatever actions he’s decided will have been in the interest of the country,” he reiterated. Lord Naseby, however, stressed that it is not for a foreigner to determine whether the President’s actions are constitutional or unconstitutional.

“We as the UK, people who take an interest in Sri Lanka, of course want to help Sri Lanka,” he said.Disclaimer: All the comments will be moderated by the AD editorial. Abstain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or slanderous. Please avoid outside hyperlinks inside the comment and avoid typing all capitalized comments. Help us deletecomments that do not follow these guidelines by flagging them(mouse over a comment and click the flag icon on the right side). Do use these forums to voice your opinions and create healthy discourse.

Will consult SC on holding elections – Deshapriya

(www.adaderana.lk ) Chairman of the Election Commission, Mahinda Deshapriya says that they will be consulting the Supreme Court on holding Provincial Council elections.Addressing a program held with Hambantota District state

10 DECEMBER 2018

ISSUE 001

reducing pressure on external reserves and the exchange rate. Meanwhile, domestic financing conditions have shown considerable improvement through spaces created and debt management strategies introduced recently. This has reduced the rollover requirement of Treasury bonds and SLDBs in 2019, 2020 and in the medium term.Notably, the new acquisition of government securities by the banking sector has increased by only 1.5% in 2018 as against the trend increase of around 5% in recent years. It needs to be further reiterated that Sri Lanka’s banking and financial sector remains resilient to both domestic and external vulnerabilities. Even though the operating environment is challenging, the banking sector is subject to a stringent supervisory and regulatory framework, it added.

The commitment of the banking sector to adhere to higher levels of capital and liquidity requirements demonstrates its resilience in facing these challenges, thereby creating a stable outlook for the banking sector.“Given these parameters, the Central Bank is of the view that the recent rating actions by Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings are unwarranted. Such an action only on the premise of heightened political uncertainty, with no evidence of slippages in macroeconomic policies or fundamentals, cannot be justified. The soundness of the underlying macroeconomic conditions was reinforced by the fact that a staff-level agreement in principle was reached with the IMF (26 October 2018) on the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).”

They had said that the gazette was arbitrary, unlawful and in violation of Article 12 (1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka and should be cancelled by the Court.The Supreme Court at an earlier hearing suspended the gazette till December 7, and fixed the hearing of the petitions for 4, 5 and 6, December.The seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprised, Chief Justice Nalin Perera, Justice Buwaneka Aluvihare, Justice Sisira De Abrew, Justice Priyantha Jayawardene, Justice Prasanna Jayawardene, Justice Vijith Malalgoda and Justice M. Fernand

Customs nab two cigarette smugglers a penalty of Rs 50,000 was

(www.island.lk ) Officials of the Customs Narcotics Division arrested two Lankan passengers at the Katunayake Airport early yesterday morning for attempting to smuggle into the country a stock of cigarettes from the United Arab Emirates.The suspects are businessmen aged 48 and 46 years and residents of Puttalam.

They arrived at the Katunayake airport at around 4.30 am from Sharjah.Customs officials arrested them when they attempted to leave though the Green Channel

imposed on each suspect by inquiring officer Chinthaka Kularatne, Deputy Director of Customs, sources said.Further investigations were in progress

by Superintendent of Customs Ravi Kumaran along with Assistant Superintendents D. M. R. Cyril and J. P. I. N. Chandrasiri under the guidance of Additional Director General of Customs Stanley Senaratne and Director of Customs (Airport) MA Karunaratne.

without declaring any items.

The suspects have brought 242 cartons containing 48,000 cigarettes. The seized cigarette stock is estimated to be worth Rs. 2.62 million.The stock of cigarettes was forfeited and The injured were rushed to the Wariyapola Hospital and of them, five were transferred to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital.The SLTB bus driver was arrest(dailynews.lk ) twenty-one per- sons were injured ed by Wariypola Police and produced before Acting when a Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus collided Wariyapola Magistrate Chamila Dilrukshi. He was with a private private bus on Sunday evening, around remanded until December 5 4.30 pm at Wariyapola.

(www.adaderana.lk ) A group of representatives of the Chamber of

officials, he said that the elections commission receives accusation over not holding elections.He further stated that the election cannot be held under the new system due to Commerce met with President Maithripala Sirisena issues regarding delimitations have not been resolved yet.

at the Presidential Secretariat.During this meeting, the current economic situation of the country and regarding the activities of the chambers of commerce were discussed and visions and suggestions were presented regarding the future economic process of the country.Furthermore, the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce stated that they are committed to provide every possible assistance to achieve the future economic and development goals of the country while in keeping with full confidence on the President.Secretary to the President Udaya R. Senevirathne, the Secretary General of National Economic Council (NEC) Prof.

Lalith Samarakoon, Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Senior Deputy Governor of Central Bank and other officials also participated on this occasion

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

PAGE 11

LANKANEWS

PAGE 12

ISSUE 001

10 DECEMBER 2018

F O H + K I T C H E N S TA F F R E QU I R E D ! .Looking for an exciting career in hospitality/catering?

Want to work in a vibrant, trending, award-winning company?

The Coconut Tree are looking for front of house and kitchen staff to join our fantastic teams in Cheltenham, Oxford and Bristol!

We are looking for talented, charismatic people who have excellent bar and restaurant/kitchen experience and can work in a fast-paced environment. We pride ourselves on our customer service, dedication and hard workand require someone who is committed and has a drive for excellence!

Managerial positions available.

Competitive salary and company benefits for the right candidates.

The Coconut Tree is a young, award-winning company with our flagship Cheltenham site achieving Number one on Trip Advisor, winner of the Taste of Gloucestershire’s People’s Choice Award and ‘Best Customer Service’ finalist at the Cotswold Life Food & Drinks Awards within its first year! Our sister site in Oxford has followed suit and is THE hottest spot in town! TCT Bristol is our new UK venture, taking our story to the city with a whole new team and fresh vibe!

AWARDS 2018

FINALIST

winner

winner

RUNNER UP

finalist

winner

winner

I F YO U A R E A TA LEN T ED, EX P ER I EN C ED P RO FESS I O N A L A N D FEEL YO U’V E G OT W H AT I T TA K ES TO J O I N T H E C R EW T H EN D RO P U S A N EM A I L W I T H YO U R CV T O H R@T H EC O C O N U T-T R EE.C O M

LANKANEWS

ISSUE 001 (dailynews.lk) Some time ago the TNA MP Vijayakala Maheswaran said that the LTTE should re-emerge and now the violence has returned as she wished.

The best example is the murders of the two police officers at Vavunathivu, MP Rohitha Abeygunawardana said.

Addressing a press conference at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Head Quarters in Battaramulla. he said that until January 9, 2015, even a firecracker did not go off in the North and the East because there was law and order and the people did not like to hear the sound.But, after January 9, 2015 many armed groups such as Aava, Danurok etc became active. They killed people, destroyed properties and promoted violence. Some Tamil politicians openly said they will not hoist the National Flag. According to MP Abeygunawardana,

in the past, the UNP Government set fire to Asia’s best library in Jaffna and sent the police on a three day vacation during black July in 1983 enabling mobs to kill people and destroy properties. Late President Ranasinghe Premadasa gave money, cement etc. to the LTTE which they used later to kill the members of Sri Lankan armed forces and thousands of innocent civilians. Now the UNP leader has agreed to give them Tamil Eelam indirectly for the support to be given by the TNA to him. The people of Sri Lanka demand a General Election. We tell the UNP, JVP and the TNA not to snatch the universal franchise of the Sri Lankan people.

Sugar tax revise to benefit fruit juice producers (dailynews.lk) The recently revised sugar tax is expected to help the local fruit juice manufacturers and the local beverage industry, which suffered as a result of the blanket sugar tax introduced in November 2017.National Economic Council (NEC) Secretary General Prof. Lalith Samarakoon, in a response to the Daily News, explained that the 2017 tax of Rs. 50 cents per gram of sugar in beverages discriminated against local fruit juice manufacturers and international beverage companies equally.“There was an inconsistent policy where the government was promoting fruit farming while increasing the tax on fruit drinks, essentially reducing their market,” he said.Over the past three years, the government, through the Agriculture Ministry and the Grama Shakthi programme, had been encouraging farmers to grow fruits, including for export.However, 80 percent of their products being purchased by local fruit juice manufacturing companies were increasingly finding the market shrinking due to the tax.The new revisions propose to have the tax levied only for carbonated drinks with a sugar content of 6g of sugar (per 100ml) and above.For fruit-based drinks, that threshold was raised to 9g of sugar from 6g. Further, the rate of tax was reduced from Rs. 50 cents to Rs. 30 cents per gram for fruit drinks.“The government did not ignore the health aspects. Over time, the government should try to force drinks manufacturers to reduce the sugar

content and educate the public to minimise sugary drinks. The transition will need time both for manufacturers and consumers,” said Prof. Samarakoon.The introduction of the colour coding system and sugar tax on beverages in 2017 has helped increase awareness among the public with regard to the sugar content in beverages.However, local companies such as Ceylon Cold Stores (CCS) under which Elephant House operates, has pointed out that they were not given enough time to switch to ‘sugar-free’ options before the tax was introduced.

As a result, they had faced a 33 percent collapse in their carbonated drinks market on top of a currency collapse, which led to an economic downturn early this year.Foreign companies, on the other hand, which have had experience with the sugar tax internationally, however, had an existing range of ‘sugar-free’ drinks, which were readily rolled out and the companies continued to make a profit.In April this year, CCS developed a sugar-free beverage portfolio but reprise for fruit juice manufacturers would not have come easily without a revision of the previous sugar tax structure which treated all beverages under the same umbrella.

UNP invites all to celebrate struggle for justice

(www.adaderana.lk) United National Party (UNP) has invited all to the Galle Face Green to commemorate the struggle for justice, onAt press conference

held today (15), General Secretary of UNP, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, stated that they invite all public to join thecelebrations disregarding partydifferences.According

(www.sundaytimes.lk) A special ceremony was organized by President Maithripala Sirisena in celebration of the Deepawali Festival at the President’s house on Nov 05th.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,

PAGE 13 10 DECEMBER 2018 Litro paid Rs.2.5 mn. monthly to 57 outsiders

(dailynews.lk) The Litro Gas Company made a (pre tax) profit of Rs. 18.6 billion during the time of President Mahinda Rajapaksa before 2015. Later (after 2015) it started to make a loss of Rs.200 million.

This is obvious because it had paid over Rs. 2.5 million monthly for 57 outsiders, MP Rohitha Abeygunawardana said.Addressing a press

(colombogazette.com)Parliamentarian

Mahinda Rajapaksa has rejected a Court of Appeal ruling on his cabinet and has decided to challenge it in the Supreme Court.The Appeal Court has issued notice and an interim order against Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Government, preventing them from acting as Prime Minister, Cabinet and Deputy Ministers.The order was issued in a Quo

against the Government. The law will be implemented by the relevant institutions.

MP Prasanna Ranatunga said that this Government and politicians do not have time to waste on taking revenge from the Opposition MPs and their supporters like the previous Government did.

This Government has to do a lot of work in order to save the country from the disaster created by the previous Government and to relieve the people from numerous burdens such as taxes, the underworld, etc.

Warranto case filed by 122 Parliamentarians against Rajapaksa and his new Government.

The respondents were ordered to show by what authority they hold office.The Court of Appeal ordered 49 members of the new cabinet to appear in court onDecember12th to respond to the petition.Rajapaksa said that only the Supreme Court can make a determination on the Constitution.

(bizenglish.adaderana.lk ) The American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka expressed concern of the impasse reached in light of the current political developments in the country.

While stating that this sends a worrying signal to the business community, locally as well as internationally - AMCHAM Sri Lanka also raised the concern

highlighted by potential investors.The Chamber called on all those concerned to collaborate towards a national interest and for a swift settlement to be reached in the best interest of the country

(www.adaderana.lk )A sevenmember judge bench of the Supreme Court commenced hearing on the petitions filed against the dissolution of Parliament.Thirteen fundamental rights petitions were filed at the Supreme Court asking it to declare that the President’s order to dissolve the parliament is illegal.The petitions have been filed by political parties including United National Party (UNP), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Tamil

National Alliance (TNA), Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) and the All Ceylon People’s Congress.

Organisations and activists such as the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Attorney Aruna Laksiri and also a member of Elections Commission Prof. S. R. H. Hoole have also filed petitions.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court issued an interim order on November 13 temporarily suspending the Gazette notification issued by the President on the dissolution of Parliament.An interim

to Kariyawasam, National organizations including the United National Front (UNF) and trade unionswill (www.adaderana.lk) Sri be joining the rally.

Lanka Police has launched a website for handling complaints regarding lost or stolen mobile phones, stated

Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan, MInister Douglas Devananda, Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray, MP Angajan Ramanathan and several other parliamentariasns graced the event.

conference at the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Head Quarters in Battaramulla, he said that in one year, the company had paid Rs. 37.5 million for those persons and during the past three and half years the company had paid over one billion rupees to them.The law should be implemented against both parties who made the payments and for persons who received the money. Unlike the previous Government, this Government will not imprison Buddhist monks for launching death fasts and for campaigning

and its economy.

The AMCHAM in Sri Lanka stands committed to implement our mandate which is to promote activities that would encourage and stimulate investment by US companies, support ongoing business operations of its members and encourage bilateral trade between the US and Sri Lanka.

order was also issued on the Elections Commission preventing the holding of a general election.The stay orders have been issued effective until December 7 and the petitions were fixed for argument on December 4, 5 and 6.It is expected to give its verdict on Friday (Dec. 7).

Police launch website for complaints on mobile phones

(www.adaderana.lk) A motion has been filed before the Supreme Court against the President’s request to expedite the verdict of the petitions on the dissolution

Police Media Spokesperson.

The website has been launched under the instruction of the Inspector General of Police.

Accordingly, public can lodge

theircomplaints on stolen or lost mobile phones to the website www.ineed.police. lk, stated the police media spokesperson.

of the parliament.The motion has been filed by Attorney at Law Aruna Laksiri.Through his motion he states that the request of the President to the Chief Justice through the Attorney General has been publicized through news media.

According to him, such requests would lead to an impediment in examining the caseAccordingly, Attorney Laksiri has requested theSupreme Court to issue an independent judgment by holding a proper hearing of the case

PAGE 14

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

ISSUE 001

ISSUE 001 10 DECEMBER 2018 LANKANEWS Hayleys PLC crowned winner at CA Sri Lanka’s 54th Annual Report Awards

(adaderana.lk )Leading conglomerate, Hayleys PLC triumphed at the 54th Annual Report Awards winning the coveted ‘Cyril Gardiner Memorial Trophy’ Gold Award for Overall Excellence in Annual Financial Reporting at the grand finale held on Tuesday, 04th December 2018.

John Keells Holdings PLC won the silver award, while Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC came in third with the bronze award under the same category.

The event organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) was held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo under the patronage of the Governor of Central Bank Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy.Under the ‘Management Commentary Award’ Hayleys PLC won gold, while Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC came in second to win the silver award and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC won bronze.

Meanwhile, Union Assurance PLC won gold under the ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Award’ category, while Access Engineering PLC won silver and People’s Leasing & Finance PLC won bronze.

The ‘Corporate Governance Disclosure Award’ was won by Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, while Hatton National Bank PLC came in second to win the silver award and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC was adjudged third to win the bronze award.

Top corporates were also honoured for adapting integrated reporting practices at the grand finale. Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC won the gold award under the ‘Integrated Reporting Award’ category, while Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was adjudged second place with the silver award and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC won the bronze award.Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC won the gold award under the ‘Integrated Reporting : Best Disclosure on

Capital Management’ category, while L. B. Finance PLC won the silver and People’s Leasing & Finance PLC won the bronze.

Under the ‘Integrated Reporting: Best Disclosure on Business Model’ Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC was adjudged the winner bagging the gold award, while Softlogic Life Insurance PLC won silver and Mercantile Investments & Finance PLC won bronze.

This year the organisers received applications from a wide range of organisations including conglomerates to multinationals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises and non-profit organisations who vied for the prestigious awards, which spans a history of over half a century.Under the sector awards, John Keells Holdings PLC and Hayleys PLC shared the ‘Lal Jayasundara Memorial Trophy’ gold award for ‘Diversified Holdings (Groups above 10 Subsidiaries)’ sector, while Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC won the gold for ‘Diversified Holdings (Groups up to 10 Subsidiaries).’ Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC won the ‘Edmand J Cooray Memorial Trophy’ gold award under the ‘Banking Institutions’ sector, while Bank of Ceylon won the ‘Albert A. Page Memorial Trophy’ gold trophy for the ‘State Bank’ sector.

Nawaloka Hospitals PLC won gold under Healthcare Institutions, Hayleys Advantis Limited won gold under the Service Organisations sector, Sri Lanka Telecom PLC won gold under the Telecommunication Companies sector and United Motors Lanka PLC won gold under Motor Companies.

Under the ‘Finance Companies & Leasing Companies (Total Asset Above LKR 20 BN)’ sector L. B. Finance PLC won gold, while under the ‘Finance Companies & Leasing Companies (Total Asset up to LKR 20 BN)’ sector the gold award was won by Singer Finance (Lanka) PLC. Meanwhile, Singer

(Sri Lanka) PLC won the gold under the ‘Trading Companies’ sector, while the Nuwara Eliya Hotels Company PLC won the gold under the ‘Hotel Companies’, and Talawakelle Tea Estates PLC won gold under ‘Plantations Companies’.

Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC and Dipped Products PLC shared the gold award under the ‘Manufacturing Companies (Turnover Above LKR 5 BN)’ sector, while both Lanka Walltiles PLC and Alumex PLC also shared the gold award under the ‘Manufacturing Companies (Turnover Up To LKR 5 BN)’ sector. Meanwhile, HNB Assurance PLC and Softlogic Life Insurance PLC shared the gold award for the ‘Insurance Companies’ sector, while Ceylon Cold Stores PLC won the gold for ‘Food & Beverages Companies’.

Under the ‘Not-For-Profit Organisations (NPO) Including Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO)’ sector, the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing won the gold award, while Seylan Developments PLC won the gold under the ‘Land & Property Companies’. Meanwhile, Access Engineering PLC won gold under ‘Construction Companies’, Laugfs Gas PLC won gold under ‘Power & Energy Companies’ and LankaClear (Pvt) Limited won gold under the ‘Small and Medium Sized Entities’ sector.

Speaking at the event, Chief Guest Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy said that the CA Sri Lanka Annual Report Awards Competition has become an important landmark in the corporate calendar of the country. “We live in a world where the purpose of a good annual report is to provide a clear understanding not only of the financial results of an organisation but also its values, achievements and contribution to society.

Therefore, CA Sri Lanka is to be commended for organising this competition which

PAGE 15

encourages organisations to meet global standards,” he said.

President of CA Sri Lanka, Mr. Jagath Perera said that as Sri Lanka inches towards upper middle income status, the professional community and corporates, have an important role to play in our country’s forward journey, by conscientiously promoting transparency, accountability and good governance which are important cornerstones for any developing economy.

“In this journey, producing precise and transparent annual reports in line with the highest global standards should also remain at the top of the agenda of any organisation immaterial of its standing or stature in the business world, as financial reporting also has a long term bearing on both a company and country,” he said.

Chairman of the Annual Report Awards Committee, Mr. Heshana Kuruppu said that the event truly showcases the commitment that all corporates have shown towards the maintenance of very high reporting standards and transparency.

“Hearty congratulations to all the winning corporates. You have definitely set an admiring benchmark for others to follow. We hope, that you achieve brilliance in all your endeavors,” he said.

This year the organisers received over 130 applications. The evaluation of annual reports were carried out over a period of 3 month process and involved over 300 plus professionals, industry experts, academia and business leaders.

National Savings Bank, People’s Leasing Downgraded To Reflect Heightened Economic Risk (adaderana.lk ) BBDO Lanka bids goodbye to the year 2018 by being recognised as one of the most creative agencies in the region at the Campaign Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year 2018 awards, marking the end of another year of spectacular awards success.

BBDO Lanka was awarded the ‘Rest of South Asia Creative Agency of the Year - Bronze’ award by Campaign Asia-Pacific at its gala awards presentation for the South Asian region held at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, India last night (4 December).This marks the fourth occasion that BBDO Lanka has entered the highly rigorous and eminent competition and been awarded a Rest of South Asia Creative Agency of the Year award. It took home the Gold in 2017, Silver in 2012 and Bronze in 2015.Said BBDO Lanka Senior Account Director Chanithi Gunasekera upon picking up the award, “This is our fourth win and we are all very excited to be part of a team that drives excellence in creativity and effectiveness across all the mediums and brands we work on. And of

course it’s always great to end the year on a high that motivates us to do even better in the coming year.”Celebrating its twentyfifth year, Campaign Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year awards celebrate the people, the work and the organisations achieving exceptional success in the highly exciting and fastest-growing media, marketing and advertising markets in the world.

The awards highlight worthy leadership, creativity and innovation, outstanding business performance, development of talent and contribution to the industry.

Campaign ensures the Agency of the Year awards continue to maintain its reputation for integrity and credibility by creating stringent entry criteria, enlisting a decidedly respected judging panel comprised of prominent senior marketers from key business categories as well as Campaign editors, and independent auditing, with the results tabulated

by PricewaterhouseCoopers.This year Campaign further elevated the standards

(www.sundaytimes.lk) The Commonwealth SecretaryGeneral’s spokesperson issued a statement regarding the unfolding political situation, referring to the “Commonwealth Charter, adopted in 2012 by all the Commonwealth member states which specifically refers

of entry criteria by introducing compulsory management endorsement, further validating the accuracy of each entry submission, and providing judges the right to raise queries regarding any information submitted. Changes were also introduced to the methodology of how business growth is stated to increase transparency further.

Said BBDO Lanka MD Santosh Menon, “Last December we celebrated being the only Sri Lankan agency to win at Tangrams Effectiveness Awards in Singapore while also winning at Effie Awards Sri Lanka and Campaign Asia-Pacific’s Agency of the Year awards. This year too we are delighted to win big at Spikes Asia, Effie Awards Sri Lanka and now at the Agency of the Year awards.”“It demonstrates our consistent effort at delivering highly creative work for our clients, year after year. It is always wonderful when this work is entered into international competitions and wins us recognition. It shows that we follow a high quality process that delivers globally

to the responsibility of governments, political parties and civil society to uphold and promote democratic culture and practices.” The statement is as follows : “Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland today noted the decision by President Sirisena to reconvene Parliament on 14 November 2018. Secretary-General Scotland emphasised the importance of the role of Parliament as provided for under the constitution and expressed hope that Parliament would meet as soon as possible to resolve the current crisis in the country.

The Secretary-General referred to the Commonwealth Charter, adopted in 2012 by all the Commonwealth member states which specifically refers to the responsibility of

recognised creative outputs for our clients, year after year. All credit to our team in Sri Lanka who has achieved these accolades.”

BBDO Lanka began its awards haul in 2018 by winning a Silver and Finalist award at Effie Awards Sri Lanka. It then brought home the only metal for Sri Lanka at the Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity 2018 in Singapore for its corporate social responsibility campaign ‘Unity Speech’ for Ceylon Today in commemoration of International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism. The powerful radio spot featured the original voices of prominent Sri Lankan leaders, both political and intellectual, who had fallen victim to terrorism, reminding people of their hopes for peace and harmony in the country, in a single speech.

Photo Caption - BBDO Lanka Senior Account Director Chanithi Gunasekera with the ‘Rest of South Asia Agency of the Year - Bronze’ award awarded to BBDO Lanka in Mumbai, India

governments, political parties and civil society to uphold and promote democratic culture and practices.

The Secretary-General encouraged the political leaders and people of Sri Lanka to engage in constructive dialogue and ensure that the country’s constitution and the rule of law is upheld. The Commonwealth remains ready to assist and will collaborate with other international partners to provide support if required by the Government and people of Sri Lanka. ”

PAGE 16

(adaderana.lk )Reuters - ** The Sri Lankan rupee closed weaker on Tuesday with banks buying dollars as investors continued to sell rupee-denominated assets on credit rating downgrades by rating agencies and a delayed IMF loan discussion in the wake of a political crisis.Credit rating agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Tuesday, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook,

LANKANEWS after President Maithripala Sirisena’s sacking of his prime minister in October triggered a political crisis.** Foreigners sold a net 354.9 million rupees ($1.98 million) worth of stocks on Tuesday, and they have been net sellers of 9.1 billion rupees since the political crisis started on Oct. 26. The bond market saw outflows of about 34.2 billion rupees between Oct. 25 and Nov. 28, central bank data showed.** This year, there have been 18.5 billion rupees of outflows from stocks and 123.2 billion rupees from government securities, the latest data from the bourse and central bank data showed. ** The rupee ended at 179.00/20 per dollar on Tuesday, compared with 178.70/90 in the previous session. It has weakened about 3.3 percent since the political crisis began.

The currency fell 1.8 percent in November and 16.6 percent so far this year.** The rupee hit a record low of 180.85 per dollar on Nov. 28, surpassing its previous low of

(www.colombogazette.com ) President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed Secretaries to the Ministries to fulfill their respective duties after the Court of Appeal yesterday issued an interim injunction temporarily restraining the functions of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet of Ministers.

A special discussion was held with all the Secretaries to Ministries under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat, today.

At the meeting, the President instructed all the Secretaries of the Ministries to fulfill their respective duties and responsibilities according to the laws of the country

180.50 hit the previous day. ** Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka on Nov. 20 for the first time since it started rating the country in 2010, blaming the political turmoil for aggravating its already problematic finances.** The political standoff took another turn on Monday as a court issued an order preventing Mahinda Rajapaksa from acting as prime minister and holding cabinet meetings.** The new government has not been recognised by any foreign countries because they have not proven their parliament majority. ** The political paralysis remains the main concern of investors. While Rajapaksa and President Maithripala Sirisena have failed to win support in parliament for their new government, the deposed prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s coalition, which claims it does have majority support in parliament, has not been allowed to try to form a government.** The political impasse could be set to drag on longer

continuously without any disruption.‘’The Court of Appeal on December 03, 2018 issued an interim injunction temporarily restraining the Prime Minister and his Cabinet of Ministers, who were appointed by the President in accordance with the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, from functioning in their respective portfolios, and accordingly the President has given instructions to all the Secretaries of the Ministries to fulfill their respective duties and responsibilities according to the laws of the country continuously without any disruption,” the President’s media

If kids ran the world today instead of fighting politicians...

ISSUE 001

10 DECEMBER 2018

after President Sirisena said on Monday he would not reinstate Wickremesinghe as prime minister even if he is backed by all 225 lawmakers in the parliament.** The central bank on Nov. 14 unexpectedly raised its main interest rates to defend the rupee, which has faltered as foreign capital outflows pick up due to the domestic crisis as well as rising U.S. interest rates. ** Five-year government bond yields have risen 60 basis points since the political crisis unfolded on Oct. 26, while yields on Sri Lanka’s dollar bonds due in 2022 have risen by more than a percentage point to 8.24 percent since the crisis began.** The Colombo stock index fell 0.22 percent to 6,011.68 on Tuesday. It had risen 1.5 percent last week, recording its first weekly gain in four. It gained 1.1 percent in November and has declined 5.6 percent so far this year. ** Stock market turnover was 867 million rupees on Tuesday, more than this year’s daily average of 833.9 million rupees.

division said.

Further, the President has already given the necessary orders to all state services, Tri-forces and the police to fulfill their duties and responsibilities with commitment towards the general public of the country and for national security, the President’s media division added.

British born Sri Lankan, Shama Perera, has recently published her first children’s book. ‘Big Bad Bunty’s Boat Trip From Brazil’ is a story which takes children on an adventure across the globe. The book promotes anti-bullying, embraces difference, celebrates culture and encourages peace. Topics many of us feel passionately about, particularly given today’s political climate.

Sri Lanka is one of the stops on route in the book, which takes the characters on an epic journey of self discovery.

‘Big Bad Bunty’s Boat Trip From Brazil’ is available to buy in paperback, ebook and audiobook at Amazon.co.uk and Calsafire.com

Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2x3s8J7 Amazon eBook: https://amzn.to/2x1s11I Calsafire Audiobook: https://bit.ly/2NxyCdC Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigBadBunty Instagram: @BigBadBunty YouTube: https://bit.ly/2N8VNvt https://bit.ly/2CWVOOv

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

(sundayobserver.lk )ravelling by train is a lovely experience that all Sri Lankans enjoy. The dazzling views of the upcountry Main Line will leave you with splendid memories lasting a lifetime. Endorsed by many travellers as one of the best railway journeys in Asia, is the trip from Colombo to Badulla on the magnificent Udarata Menike. This 10 hour journey is filled with spectacular scenes of tea plantations, valleys and ravines. The long rail journey takes you past the nation’s highest train station at Pattipola.

En route the view of Batalegala (Bible Rock) are stunning. For photo enthusiasts, this rail journey is a picturesque paradise. The awe inspiring high bends as the train negotiates steep gradients and cliff hanger stops add an aura of adventure to the journey that has aa captivating history. It is testament to the passion and commitment of the staff of the Ceylon Government Railway in her golden days.Enduring motives to diesel locomotives Every innovative idea is supplemented by a genuine need. The need for railways in Ceylon was mooted not by the need to enhance public transport but by an earnest request for the transportation of coffee! Enterprising European planters had invested in their coffee plantations by 1842. Coffee was a lucrative crop in that era. The planters pressured the Governor to provide a rail line for transporting their coffee to Colombo.

By 1845 the Ceylon Railway Company (CRC) was formed. Laying the foundation stone at the Maradana Railway Yard in August 1858 (close to the present Maradana Station) Governor Sir Henry Ward had prophetically proclaimed, ‘Railways will supersede roads in oriental lands’. The new railway project was full of challenges: there were rocks to be blasted, water clogged lands had to be safely filled, tunnels to be bored and platforms built. Perhaps, the biggest challenge to the aspiring British engineers on the Main Line was building bridges that would tolerate the weight of the steam locomotives. In 1861, the Ceylon Railway Company was terminated and the Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) formed. The first General Manager was W.T. Pearce. Upon calling for tenders the selected contractor was W.F.G. Faviell. Building the Main Line was not easy. These lands had to be surveyed and maps drawn. By 1864, the first phase of the main rail line was ready from Colombo to Ambepussa. The belching iron locomotive steamed out full speed ahead, spewing out flecks of charcoal. This locomotive carried 1,500 gallons of water which was converted to steam. The people of the placid rural areas were surprised. They said, Anguru yaka watura bebee, Colomba duvana yakada yaka, which would translate as, ‘the iron demon that eats charcoal and drinks water speeds towards Colombo’. Under the dynamic initiative of Sir Lindsey Molesworth the first Director General of CGR the tracks were extended, reaching Kandy (1867), Nawalapitiya (1874), Nanuoya (1885), Bandarawela (1894) and finally, Badulla (1924). The entire mission of laying rail tracks took 60 years.One of the key men behind this remarkable era of railways was B. D. Rampala, a native of Pannipitiya. Even today, his name is mentioned with reverence. Don Rampala was the Chief Mechanical Engineer of Railways and was duly promoted General Manager. In the 1950s under the Colombo Plan initiative the Canadian Government gave Ceylon her first diesel powered locomotives. Some of the engines were named Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Montreal and

10 DECEMBER 2018

Vancouver. It was one of these powerful engines painted in silver and blue that hauled Udarata Menike on her first uphill journey on April 23, 1956. Her passenger coaches were red Astra class carriages built in Romania.Reflections of hills and stationsMany men built their lives working on the railways. I managed to speak to some of them about this train. The home base of the Udarata Menike is the Fort Railway Station. The man in charge of overseeing her safe departure on a daily basis is Station Superintendent Piyal Wijesiri, who counts 35 years service. He explained, “We are proud of the history of this train, and her long route which attracts many people. My team ensures that the train has everything she needs for her uphill journey. We operate five coaches, attached to the engine. Since her inception 60 years ago she always leaves the Fort Station from Platform No 3. Though she does not have her Observation Carriage now, the new carriages offer all passengers a good view”.

R.D. Jayaratne is a railway Inspector who counts 32 years service. He explained, “I joined the railway as a young man fresh from school. I became a security officer. With time our unit became the Railway Protection Force.

Our role is not to be confused with the train Guard. The train Head Guard and Under Guard work closely with the Engine Driver. We patrol the train and are responsible for her security. As you know, the Udarata Menike has many foreign tourists as well. I have many pleasant memories of the Colombo - Badulla run. It is loaded with natural beauty.

“We deploy two officers from Colombo to Nawalapitiya, and from Nawalapitiya to Badulla two other officers take over the shift”.From the Colombo Fort Station the train is serviced by nine sub divisions - Transport (which includes Guard service), Railway Stores, Stations Branch, Motive Power Sub Unit, Mechanical Ways and Works, Signal Telecommunication, Commercial Section, Security (RPF) and Accounts. The train covers a staggering 62 railway stations and cruises through 42 tunnels. Of these tunnels the longest is Pool Bank (locals call it the Singha Malai tunnel). It covers 562 metres and is located between Hatton and Kotagala.

The tunnel was bored from both sides. The jubilant British engineers and Ceylonese crew met in the middle.

From Rambukkana the train begins her upward haul. At this point an extra Pilot Engine is used to push the iron beast from the rear.

Today, the Udarata Menike is powered by Chinese built Class S12 Diesel engines.

The scenic route from Nawalapitya continues up to Watawala (area prone to earth slips

PAGE 17

during rain), Hatton, Great Western, Nanu Oya, Pattipola, Ohiya, Haputale, Diyatalwa and Bandarawela.From here she gracefully begins her descent to Ella, Demodara and enters Badulla. The Demodara Station and its underpass loop are a marvel of railway engineering. It is a spectacular memory to every traveller. The Nine Arch Bridge between Ella and Demodara is another engineering feat of that era. It was built under the supervision of the British engineers and Ceylonese engineer D.J. Wimalasurendra. Originally, the bridge was to be completed as an iron structure. With the onset of World War 1 the iron allocated for the project was reassigned for British war efforts. Thus the building process was delayed. The local contractor P.K. Appuhamy had to finish the task with stone, brick and cement. This bridge is 300 feet in length and had a width of 25 feet.

Another feature on the Main Line is the ‘tablet’ system.

This is an innovative British safety system still in operation.

From Kadugannawa the Station Master hands over a ‘tablet’ (a steel disc attached to a hoop) to the Engine Driver. This is handed down in a relay to corresponding stations and when inserted into a machine, it facilitates the movement of the semaphore signal system. The Station Master knows the tablet will position Udarata Menike in the “release”, “out home” and “online” phase of her journey. It is a brilliant system with zero room for error.Pattipola is the highest point on the Main Line. Station Master Gayan Nadeeshan said, ‘Our station rests on an altitude of 6,225 feet. When the train stops here, the rear engine moves forward, and we couple it with the engine at the front.

Both engines then move forward. We have seven staff at present. The night mail train leaves Badulla at 5.55 pm and reaches here by 9pm. Today, there is a mild decrease in parcels and letters but many consignments of fresh cut flowers are sent to Colombo”. The engine drivers on this long route change shifts at Nawalapitiya and Bandarawela.

The Udarata Menike has come a long way over the past six decades, retaining her position as the queen of the railway.

She has created travel memories for thousands, and will continue to dominate the salubrious hills.

LANKANEWS

PAGE 18

International tourist arrivals grow 5% Jan.-Sept.

(www.ft.lk )MADRID: International tourist arrivals grew 5% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2018, according to the latest figures on world tourism issued by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

This reflects continued strong demand in a favourable overall economic context, it said. All world regions enjoyed robust growth in international tourism in the first nine months of this year, fuelled by solid demand from major source markets. Asia and the Pacific led growth (+7%), followed

by Europe and the Middle East (+6% each), Africa (+5%) and the Americas (+3%).Despite comparatively slower growth between July and September, UNWTO estimates that destinations worldwide received 1,083 million international arrivals through September, an additional 56 million when compared to the same period of 2017.2018 results to date are in line with UNWTO’s growth forecast of +4% to +5% for the year.

The first nine months of the year usually account for about three quarters of total annual international arrivals, as they include the Northern Hemisphere high season months of July and August. With few exceptions, preliminary data on international tourism receipts confirm the positive trend seen in arrivals, with particularly strong results in Asian and European destinations.Among the top earners, tourism earnings in the United Kingdom were up by 12% despite a decline in arrivals. In Australia, receipts increased by 11% whereas France reported

an 8% growth and Italy 6%, both in line with growth in arrivals. Tourism receipts in the United States, Spain and Germany went up 3%.In Asia, China recorded a 21% increase in tourism earnings, with Macao (China) and Japan also leading results with 20% and 19% growth, respectively.Preliminary data on tourism spending for the first nine months of 2018 reflect increasing demand from major source markets.The Russian Federation (+15%) reported the largest increase in spending and continues to recover strongly after some years of decline. The UK reported 10% growth despite a weak pound against the euro and US dollar, and tourism spending from France picked up 10% after some years of rather flat growth.The US, the world’s second largest source market, recorded a 7% increase in line with the performance of recent years while top source market China showed a minor decrease in spending in the first six months of 2018 as a result of the weaker Yuan.

RTI Commission orders disclosure of RW’s assets as PM (www.dailymirror.lk )The Right to Information Commission (RTIC) has directed the Presidential Secretariat to disclose the declaration of assets and liabilities of Ranil Wickremesinghe in his role as Prime Minister for 2015 and 2016, the Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) said.In a statement, the TISL said the order was made pursuant to an initial request it filed on February 3, 2017. “This decision would enable TISL to publicly release the asset declaration once received, as it has been obtained under the RTI Act. The RTIC noted that any parts of the declaration relating to third parties may be redacted and determined that the grounds raised by the Presidential Secretariat – including that the information should be private - do not stand,” it said. While welcoming the order, the TISL encouraged citizens to use asset declarations as a tool to publicly examine allegations of wealth accumulation and to counter corruption. Meanwhile, on TISL’s request for access to the asset declaration of President Maithripala Sirisena for 2015 and 2016, the

(www.adaderana.lk Ranil Wickremesinghe would have lost the premiership the day after the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed had it contained a proposal that the parliamentarian with a 113-member majority should be appointed as the Prime Minister, says the President of Yuthukama national organization.He stated this attending a press conference in held in Colombo.The 19th Amendment mentions that

10 DECEMBER 2018 Showers to continue (www.sundaytimes.lk )Due to a low level atmospheric disturbance in the Bay of Bengal to the South-east of Sri Lanka, prevailing showery condition is likely to continue over the island during next few days. Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Northern, Eastern, North-central and Uva provinces and in Hambantota district.Showers or thundershowers will occur elsewhere after 2.00p.m.

Light showers may also occur in the Galle and Matara coastal areas in the morning.

Heavy falls about 100mm can be expected at some places in Western, Central, Eastern Uva , Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces Misty conditions may occur at some

places in Central, Sabaragamuwa and Western provinces during the morning.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

President facing impeachment - Vijitha Herath (www.sundaytimes.lk )President out that the Maithripala Sirisena risks being impeached and losing his civic rights due to his repeated violations of the Constitution, JVP MP Vijitha Herath told Parliament.

Speaking during the debate on the adjournment motion in Parliament, MP Herath charged that four of the five gazette notifications issued by the President since October 26 violated the Constitution.

He claimed that the President had repeatedly violated the Constitution since October 26. MP Herath questioned by what authority the President was stating that he would not appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister even if all 225 MPs in Parliament supported him. The MP pointed

RTIC held that the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law does not include the position of President.

However, the Commission has noted that “the increasing trend among Heads of State is to proactively disclose their assets and liabilities to foster a practice of transparency and public accountability”.The RTIC recommended that this lacuna in the law be redressed, as it would advance “a culture of public accountability and good governance as envisaged by the RTI Act”.TISL Executive Director Asoka Obeyesekere said this marks a major victory for RTI and the campaign to get asset declarations into the hands of the people.“We expect the Presidential Secretariat to take action to furnish a copy of the Asset Declaration as directed by the RTI Commission, which we will immediately share with the public,”he said.

the President should appoint a Member of the Parliament as the Prime Minister, who, in the President’s opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament, Kumaratunga further said.Commenting in this regard, he questioned as to why the 19th Amendment does not contain a clause stating that the Member of Parliament, who holds the 113-member majority in the Chamber should be appointed

ISSUE 001

as the premier.

He claims that this was included in the 19th Amendment, as Ranil Wickremesinghe had either 42 or 43 members on his side when the Amendment was passed.

Constitution clearly notes that the President must appoint as PM the MP who in his opinion is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament. By pledging not to appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as PM even if he enjoyed the confidence of the entire 225 MPs in Parliament, the President is again violating the Constitution, the JVP MP said.

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

our people to stop sending their sons and daughters to sports, we need to act immediately and comprehensively,” he said.

Hummel, a Danish sportswear company, has pulled sponsorship of the Afghan Football Federation (AFF), which is at the heart of the allegations.Sayed Alireza Aqazada, the secretary general of the federation, whose president Keramuddin Karim is among the accused, repeated previous (dailynews.lk )In post-Taliban Afghanistan, denials. The women’s stories aren’t true, he the women’s football team was hailed said. No sexual harassment had ever been globally as a symbol of the new freedoms carried out against any female player. enjoyed by the country’s women.

But the furore is showing no signs of But now one of Afghanistan’s top sports abating. Questions were asked in both officials has admitted that female houses of Afghanistan’s parliament on footballers - who defied hard-liners and Monday. Then Hafizullah Rahimi, the head militants by daring to take to the field in of Afghanistan’s Olympic committee, the first place - have been sexually abused. made a surprising statement to reporters And it’s not only football - he admitted the in Kabul.“Sadly, these sorts of concerns problem extends to other sports too. have reached us,” he said. “Sexual abuse Most women athletes are too frightened does exist, not only within the Football to speak publicly about alleged abuse by Federation but in other sports federations coaches and sporting officials. But several as well. We have to fight it.” It’s the first have now disclosed privately to the BBC formal acknowledgement that persistent what they have experienced.The scandal allegations made by former members of the has exploded in the last few days. On Friday, women’s national football team of rampant football’s governing body Fifa said it was abuse by male coaches and others in investigating claims made by women in the positions of power may be credible. national football squad. The Afghan Attorney Many of the allegations have come from General’s Office then announced its own Khalida Popal, a former captain of the investigation too.On Monday, President Afghan women’s national football team Ashraf Ghani addressed the allegations who also served as its programme director. head on, saying they were “shocking to all She risked her life as a teenager to play Afghans”.“Even if mere allegations cause

football in secret - when Afghanistan was still under Taliban rule. In order not to get caught she and her friends played in silence so the Taliban guards on the other side of the school wall wouldn’t hear them.

Speaking to the BBC from Denmark, where she has lived since 2011, after fleeing death threats in Afghanistan, she said she had witnessed first-hand widespread physical and sexual abuse of girls and young women by coaches and federation officials.

Girls complained to her about a range of abuse, from rape to sexual touching and harassment.She says she almost lost hope of anything being done about it after she started to document abuse by two coaches.

She took her findings to the Afghan Football Federation several years ago.“Instead of removing them or punishing them”, she said, “they were promoted.”Some of the key culprits, she claims, are powerful figures in Afghanistan with close links to government. Officials in the federation would tell players that they could get them on the team list and give them money if they had sex with them, she said.The BBC has spoken to several young women still living in Afghanistan - including some athletes from sports other than football who tell similar stories of sexual harassment and bullying. They say the abuse often happened when they were competing to get a place in the national team or for the chance to train or play overseas. One says she was told: “Show me how beautiful you are because only beautiful girls will get on the team.”The allegations about the women’s football team have particular resonance because it was earlier celebrated

epic century that led Sri Lanka to victory over the strong Test team in the Australians at Pallekelle? This victory gave Sri Lanka the upper hand in the Test series against the nation that were on top in Test cricket. Mendis went on to be named as the man of the match in that Test match.Another epic knock by Mendis that can be reminisced is the match winning knock against Bangladesh in a T/20 encounter in Dhaka. Batting first Bangladesh had scored a commanding 193 for 5 in 20 overs.It appeared a daunting task for Sri Lanka to get to the target when a total of over 160 runs is a challenging one in T/20 format.Opening the innings Mendis showed no mercy on the Bangladesh bowlers. He smashed 53 runs off just 27 deliveries with two sixes and eight boundaries to steer Sri Lanka to a six wickets win with 20 balls to spare. Mendis was named man of the match for his epic knock.Kusal has scored 2239 runs from 32 Test matches with the highest score being 196 runs at an average of 36.11 runs per inning. He has scored 1386 runs from 54 ODIs with the highest score

being 102 runs. His 16 T/20 matches has evolved 333 runs with a highest score of 70. He has also bowled in Tests and taken just one wicket off 78 deliveries.Mendis has lavishly contributed with the willow during his school career at Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa. His rich harvest during the 2012/13 season earned him the ObserverMobitel Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year award in 2013.He became only the second Cambrian to win this award after Sahan Wijeratne who was judged as the winner in 2002 Within a couple of years after being crowned as the Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy cricketer of the year Mendis was picked to make his Test debut against the West Indies on October 2015.Importantly, a few months later Mendis was picked to captain the Sri Lanka under-19 team for the Youth World Cup.Kusal made his Sri Lanka ODI debut with a sparkling 51 off 59 deliveries inclusive of eight boundaries in Sri Lanka’s first ODI against Ireland in Dublin on June 2016.

Since then, Mendis has been in the Sri Lanka team.Mendis’ emergence was a blessing to the national team at a time when they were looking for a reliable top order batsman.

(www.sundayobserver.lk ) Another former Observer-Mobitel Schoolboy Cricketer Kusal Mendis almost came up with a match winning performance as he has done on many occasions before. He was on the way to score a well deserved century and victory for Sri Lanka if not for that silly running between the wickets. He ran the first run too slow to start with and the England stumper noted that and pointed to the fielder to throw at the further end. For Mendis’ bad luck, the ball hit the wicket with a direct throw by Leach.Until then Mendis and Roshen Silva were cruising along very well negotiating the spinners to the best of their ability. Even the bouncers sent by the English pacemen were treated dexterously hitting the occasional boundary.

The pair had put on 102 runs for the sixth wicket and there was no hurry to take risks as there was one more day to go.

Mendis scored 86 runs off 129 balls and included a six and eight fours that could be described as the best performance by a Sri Lankan in the series.Remember Mendis’

(www.sundaytimes.lk )India’s environmental watchdog has slapped New Delhi’s government with a $3.5 million fine for failing to enforce rules to reduce smog in the world’s most polluted major city, officials said.The National Green Tribunal penalised the capital administration

(www.adaderana.lk) The Parliament, headed by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, is scheduled to convene (05) at 10.30 am.It was reported that a meeting of the party leaders is set to be held at 9.30 a.m., prior to the parliamentary session.Responding to a query by Ada Derana, Deputy

for its lack of oversight after it emerged some polluting industries were still burning harmful waste in the open.The tribunal, a national body tasked with ruling on environmental matters, had been hearing a plea from Delhi residents complaining about factories flouting laws on trash fires.It said the Delhi government needed to instruct the court

Secretary-General of Parliament Neil Iddawela stated that all political parties representing the Parliament have been notified to take part in today’s meeting of party leaders.

Furthermore, the Public Gallery will be remained closed today as well.Meanwhile, the Chief Organizer of the ruling

PAGE 19

internationally as a symbol of a new, more liberal Afghanistan - and a showcase for the freedoms enjoyed by girls and young women after the fall of theTaliban in 2001The fact that the football stadium in Kabul where the team trained was once the venue for Taliban executions only emphasised the contrast.The irony isn’t lost on Khalida Popal. When she was the football team’s programme director, she recruited American female coaches and many Afghan women from the diaspora.

The Afghan women, she said, “dreamed of doing something for their country, of supporting their sisters back in Afghanistan, of developing a strong national team that represents a positive image of the women of Afghanistan”.“But unfortunately men tried to destroy our programme.”

She says that since her allegations were published on Friday in The Guardian newspaper, she’s heard from a dozen men and women who have thanked her for speaking out, some tearfully, and said they had similar experiences but were too frightened to come forward.“I know my voice can change so many lives,” she told me. “I know my voice can change the system.” -- BBC News He fitted in well after the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara at number three position.

The biggest moment in Mendis’ impressive Test career so far was when he scored a marathon innings of 194 runs in the first Test match against Bangladesh played in Galle.He missed out in what would have been a dream double century that any young test batsman would like to have achieved. He fell short while attempting to reach the double with an unsuccessful attempt at six.

Anyway his knock included four sixes and 19 boundaries. Thismasterpiece showedthe qualities of a mature Test batsman though it was only his 15th Test match.

He also became only the third Sri Lankan to aggregate over 1,000 Test runs before completing 23 years of age, behind only Arjuna Ranatunga and Mahela Jayawardena.

on how it would proceed with tackling the annual crisis that plagues the capital city of 20 million.Each winter, Delhi chokes through haze so extreme that levels of airborne pollutants routinely eclipse safe limits by more than 30 times.An estimated 1.1 million Indians die prematurely from air pollution every year.

party MP Dinesh Gunawardena has stated that their party has decided to boycott today’s parliamentary session.

PAGE 20 LANKANEWS Tsunami alert issued in South Pacific

(dailynews.lk)A massive earthquake has struck beneath the waters of the South Pacific, and dangerously powerful waves may soon follow. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center is cautioning that the magnitude 7.6 quake, The shallow earthquake struck southeast of the Loyalty Islands today around 4.18am GMT could pose risks for Vanuatu and the nearby island chain of New Caledonia.“Hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 1000 km [roughly 620 miles] of the earthquake epicenter,” the service said.The epicenter

was recorded just over 100 miles southeast of Tadine, a town on the Loyalty Islands, which are part of New Caledonia. The region’s high commission ordered residents to immediately evacuate to high ground and refuge areas, according to The Guardian. New Caledonia, a French overseas territory, has a population of about 259,000.The tsunami threat has now passed but officials expect sea fluctuations to affect coastal areas.

Residents of New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji are urged to remain alert and cautious when near the sea.

10 DECEMBER 2018 (www.sundaytimes.lk ) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Tuesday called for an investigation into claims of sexual abuse against the national women’s football team, calling the allegations “shocking” and vowing to act immediately.The president’s call comes days after the Guardian newspaper broke a story about allegations of sexual and physical abuse of members of the women’s team by male officials, including the president of the country’s football federation.“It is shocking to all Afghans. Any kind of misconduct against athletes, male and female, is not acceptable,” Ghani said after meeting with the country’s attorney general.“I ask Mr. Attorney General to conduct a thorough investigation compliant with our legal codes into the issue,” he

ISSUE 001

added.

The Guardian cited what it described as senior figures associated with the women’s team who said the abuse had taken place in Afghanistan, including at the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) headquarters, and at a training camp in Jordan last February.The story quoted former captain Khalida Popal -- who fled the country after receiving death threats and has spoken out previously about the discrimination women face in Afghanistan -- as saying male officials were “coercing” female players.

Showers to continue due to atmospheric disturbances in the Bay of Bengal in Western, Central, Eastern Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in

(www.adaderana.lk ) Due to a low-level atmospheric disturbance in the Bay of Bengal to the South-east of Sri Lanka, the prevailing showery condition is likely to continue over the island during the next few days, according to the Department of Meteorology.

Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Northern, Eastern, North-central and Uva provinces and in Hambantota district.Showers or thundershowers will occur elsewhere after 2.00p.m. Light showers may also occur in the Galle and Matara coastal areas in the morning.

Heavy falls about 100mm can be expected at some places

Southern provinces.Misty conditions may occur at some places in Central, Sabaragamuwa and Western provinces during the morning.There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity. Sea areas:Due to the low-level atmospheric disturbance in the Bay of Bengal to the South-east of Sri Lanka, heavy showers or thundershowers can be expected in the deep sea areas extending from Hambantota to Trincomalee via Pottuvil.

other sea areas around the island during evening or night.

Winds will be North-easterly and wind speed will be 25-35 kmph in the sea areas around the island.

Sea areas off the coast extending from Colombo to Mannar via Puttalam can be fairly rough at times as the wind speed can increase up to 40-50 kmph.

Temporarily strong gusty winds and rough seas can be expected during thundershowers.

President says if pushed will resign and return to farms in Polonnaruwa MP Ganesan

(www.sundaytimes.lk )MP Mano Ganesan taking to his Twitter handle has quoted President Maithripala Sirisena as saying should he be pushed

to the wall he would resign from the Presidency and return to Polonnaruwa The President had said so during a meeting with

UNF party leaders.

Movement of photojournalists restricted WPC members watching porn:

(www.island.lk ) Following wide publicity given to pictures of some Western Provincial Councillors watching porn on their official computers during the recent presentation of the council budget, journalists’ movements in the public gallery were restricted.When the budget debate commenced, chaired by Sunil Wijeratne,councillors Gunasiri Jayanath, Kerthi Kariyawasam and Sumith Wijemuni denied having watched pornography while the Chief Minister Isura Devapriya was presenting the council budget.

They alleged that photographs of councillors who were accused of watching pornography had sent to the media by some fellow councillors via their smart phones.Chairman Sunil Wijeratne said he would not impose restrictions on the media. However boards had been placed on the gallery with instructions for the media personnel to confine themselves to the designated area.During the budget debate, two UPFA members Keerthi Kariyawasam and Nauser Fauzie crossed over to the Oposition benches.

(dailynews. lk ) United People Freedom Alliance members will boycott Parliament sittings.Colombo District MP Dinesh Gunawardena told the media that as today’s sitting is convened contravening Standing Orders, they have decided to boycott attending Parliament sessions today.UPFA to skip parliament tomorrow The United People’s Freedom Alliance

has decided not to attend the parliamentary session scheduled for tomorrow, MP Dinesh Gunawardena said.

Speaking at a press conference in Colombo today, he claimed that the Speaker has decided to convene the Parliament in this manner by preparing an agenda as per his will.It would be the fourth time the UPFA will be boycotting Parliament in the recent weeks.

(dailynews.lk ) The term of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the frauds in SriLankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka and SriLankan Catering has been extended until.In an extraordinary Gazette notification No 2099/40 issued on September 30, 2018, the term of the Commission has been extended. It was to have ended in December 31, 2018.President Maithripala

Sirisena appointed the Commission of Inquiry on January 31, 2018 under the extraordinary gazette notification No 2056/40 dated February 2, 2018. The Commission is to investigate into alleged irregularities in connection with SriLankan Airlines Limited, SriLankan Catering Limited and Mihin Lanka (Private) Limited during the period January 1, 2006 to January 31, 2018.Retired Supreme Court Judge

Anil Gunarathna, Court of Appeal Judge Gamini Rohan Amarasekara, Retired High Court Judge Piyasena Ranasinghe, Retired Deputy Auditor General Mallawaarachchige Don Anthony Harold, the Director General of the SriLankan Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board Wasantha Jayaseeli Kapugama comprises the Commission panel.

Emergency 079 561 29642

SOLICITORS & COMMISSIONERS FOR OATHS 206, Seven Sisters Road, London. N4 3NX

• • • • • • •

Immigration matters Residential / Commercial Conveyancing Landlord and Tenant matters Divorce General Litigation (Sales of Goods, Services, Debts etc.)

Employment Law Comprehensive services on legal matters in Sri Lanka

Tel : 0207 561 9494

Web :www.shanthi-law.com

Fax : 0207561 9495

Email : shanthi.co@btconnect.com

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

PAGE 21

Wildlife and Nature Protection Society Monthly Lecture on 13 December (www.ft.lk) ‘Living with the Lichens’ by Dr. Gothamie Weerakoon Across the world species, particularly species-rich ecosystems are being replaced by less complex landscapes due to human impacts in the Anthropocene.

There is now a great urgency to documentand conserve the biota of the world in order to establish baseline data for understanding patterns of change and resilience in the environment at both regional and global scales. Cryptogams, including lichens are more often go ignored and unacknowledged although they play a vital role in the ecosystem.

Lichens are self-contained miniature ecosystemsand behave as good farmers in the nature. It is estimated that 6% of Earth’s land surface is covered by lichens. There are about 20,000 known species of lichens. Some lichens have lost the ability to reproduce sexually, nevertheless continue to speciate.

Lichens are found growing on almost everywhere in the world from sea level to high alpine elevations, in many environmental conditions, and can grow on virtually any surface including manmade structures; glass, tiles, fibre, rubber, concrete, etc.Longest living lichens recorded from Arctic and Antarctic continents which are over 3,000 years old considered to be among the oldest living organisms.

Lichens play a vital role as bio-indicators of air pollution, ozone depletion, metal contamination and climate change since they are extremely sensitive to environmental changes.Although it goes unnoticed many animals including humans depends on lichens; mimicry, to capture food, bedding and housing, dyes, antibiotics, perfumes, tea, flavouring agents, etc. Tropical regions in the world are the hotspots for lichens. During last five years over 80 new species were discovered in Sri Lanka. For lichen family Graphidaceae, Sri Lanka has been identified as the world’s hotspot. However, these fascinating organisms have not received due attention. Most of the lichens are exclusively found in specific habitats in the country and are point endemics. There is an urge to identify these organisms and conserve in their natural habitats.

Senior Curator of Lichens and Slime Moulds at the Natural

History Museum of London; her research interests are focused on the taxonomy and ecology of tropical lichens, bioindication and conservation of lichenised fungi in endangered habitats. Main responsibility as the Senior Curator of British, General and Historical herbaria is to manage and develop one of the world’s largest lichen collections, lichenicolous fungi and slime moulds with app.

450,000 specimens. She has spent much time in the field in South and South East Asia observing lichens in their native habitats and described more than 75 new lichen species, mostly in Graphidaceae from the Old World tropics.

(www.ft.lk )Reviewed by Rohan Wijesinha Historical cameos from over 3,000 years merge with pictured memories from those times; human history combines with the natural history of the present, as lessons learned from the past are applied to the here and now, to conserve the natural magnificence of the Island of Mannar and its surroundings for posterity to share of its resplendent beauty. All of this is bound by dedication and love; love for a country of natural resource and splendour that visitors have marvelled at for over three millennia. Love for a region so often forgotten in the travels of those who seek this country’s pristine places. Love for a people, a milieu of races and religions, who have each contributed to the saga of this land that we love so dearly, Sri Lanka. Dedication to share of its wonders with generations to come by promoting their preservation, to ensure that the pictures of these pages are not the only source for our children to understand that once there was a place called Mannar – unbound!‘Mannar Unbound’ is more than just a coffee table book, though the photographic plates within compare with the best of them.

It is accompanied by a narrative, pockets of history, that offer the reader a series of stories that entertain as much as they inform, and bring one on a journey from the realms of pre-history to the present. The length of the bibliography attests to the research and hard work that took place over five years, not just in hovering around nesting sites and waterholes for that perfect picture, but also in poring over countless publications from numerous sources to enrich the text and its stories.

“Photography is the power of observation, not the application of technology.” (p. 168) Mannar, its surrounds and the other regions of the NorthWest Coast of Sri Lanka are places of sand, sea, lagoon and scrub. These are places that host the true diversity of fauna and flora that this country is blessed with. The authors are experienced photographers, committed conservationists and students of the natural behaviour of wild creatures. This is clearly demonstrated in a collection of truly magnificent plates that have not only captured birds and animals and insects and reptiles not often seen, but have framed them in a dynamic moment of time, in perfect light, and have immortalised their being forever.

To those who know of Mannar and its wildlife, it is the birds, those that migrate in from continents away, who are the main attraction. Their congregation in vast numbers, breeding colonies of rare pelagic birds on some of the sand

bars, are truly a sight to behold. Sadly, since some of these photographs were taken, human intrusion for development and tourism, have chased these communities away and what is left is bare sand and plastic waste washed up by the increasingly polluted ocean. The Evolution of Man has never been accompanied by a corresponding progression in responsibility. May these pictures be an inspiration for their protection and restoration, if possible?

An “underwater tropical rainforest” (p.192)Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, a warm tropical sea that hosts animals from the largest to have ever lived, the Blue Whale, to the tiny plankton that forms the basis of life in the sea. In recent years, Sri Lankans and the eco-tourist

“Take one away and the rest will crumble” (p. 170) On p. 63 is a photograph of the famed Doric, a mansion built by the first British Governor of then Ceylon, to visit during the Pearl Fishery Season on Mannar. Here he wined and dined and danced with visiting nobility and their entourage, a demonstration of Colonial power and pomp enjoying the plunder of the newly conquered land, and impressing its people with his grandeur. The plunder took place on the Pearl Banks and those interested in the economy of the time, may have perused the tome of the Comptroller General of Customs and the Acting Auditor General of the Civil Accounts, Anthony Bertolacci. Esq., in his book ‘A view of the Agricultural, Commercial and Financial Interests of Ceylon’. There he describes the enormous revenue earned by the Colonial Government from the Pearl Banks, and its importance for the financial prosperity of the Colony. Yet, within a few years it was all gone. Fished out of existence and with it the ecosystems of the Pearl Banks, and the livelihood of the local divers.

The Doric soon fell into dilapidation and only its skeletal structure remains to give account of what could happen if we only take and not give back.

Sri Lanka’s greatest wealth has always been, and continues to be, its natural resources. Sadly this is not appreciated by the majority. It is exploited and soon destroyed, rather than conserved and sustainably developed for generations to come. History often repeats itself; it is just that the technologies involved have changed. Yet, we never learn from history and continue to destroy that which we should preserve.This is why the book’s conclusion is a plea to change, with an invitation that through the inspiration of this book the reader will look to the further exploration of, and protection of Mannar and its surrounds.

“It is a big and beautiful world. Most of us live and die in the same corner where we were born and never get to see any of it. I don’t want to be most of us.” (P. 168) This is a book for those who do not want to be ‘most of us’.

Jayaratne, Gallangoda, Hapuarachchi and Fernando are from varied backgrounds and professions. Together they have produced this publication of a place ‘less travelled’ which hosts a special beauty that is very different from anywhere else in Sri Lanka. It is a must in the collection of anyone who professes to be a conservationist and wildlife lover. It also inspires greater love for this lovely island that we call home.

Mannar Unbound: A journey through history and nature

trade have realised that the oceans are probably even more profuse than the land but go in search of the iconic species, the whales and dolphins, who are now at the receiving end of as much harassment from observers as do the leopard, bear and elephant on land.‘Mannar Unbound’ brings the reader a glimpse of this underwater array of species, some of whom are as colourful and as varied as the avian species that fly above them, and sometimes feed on them. The Coral Reefs that still abound off the coasts of the North West, especially in the Adam’s Bridge Marine National Park, that ancient land connection between Lanka and India, host species as varied as any other tropical reef. And, after years and years of trying, earlier this year, the Authors were able to photograph the elusive and legendary Dugong, a mammal whose early sightings, by mariners long at sea, lent to the legend of the mermaid, and whose critically endangered status now brings it to the brink of extinction.

Are we prepared to stand by while these gentle herbivores of the sea, relatives of the elephant, are annihilated from our waters?

President directs to provide essential commodities at reasonable prices for festive season

(www.adaderana.lk) President Maithripala Sirisena has directed relevant officials to take steps to provide essential commodities to consumers at reasonable prices during this festive season.The President has also instructed them not to allow any shortages of essential commodities to occur in the market during the festive period, the

President’s Media Division said.

The President gave these instructions during a special discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (11) to discuss the cost of living during the upcoming festive season.Representatives from the associations of importers of essential commodities, ministerial secretaries as

well as officials from the finance and trade ministries also participated in the discussion.

During the meeting, attention was drawn towards providing every possible relief to the public during the festive season by selling essential goods at concessionary prices through ‘Sathosa’. The

implementation of a system to provide consumers with the benefits from the fuel price reduction in the global market was also discussed at the meeting, the PMD said.

PAGE 22

LANKANEWS

Woman’s torso found (dailynews.lk) Sevanagala Police found a torso

of a woman in the Kiriebbanara Lake, recently.

Her hands and legs had been severed. Police suspect that this was the body of the foreign woman whose head was found in a shrub jungle near the Bolgoda Bridge in Bandaragama the same day.Bandaragama Police suspect that the murder had been committed by an organised gang.Panadura Acting Magistrate Jayanthi Peiris visited the scene on November 4 and held the Magisterial inquiry.She directed Bandaragama Police to conduct investigations regarding the head of the woman.The Acting Magistrate visited the Panadura Base Hospital as well to note down observations and ordered the AJMO Panadura to perform the autopsy on the head lying at the hospital mortuary.She also ordered to submit the Judicial Medical Report

Tree falls killing two, injuring three

to court. Sevanagala Police with Embilipitigiya Magistrate held the magisterial inquiry into the headless body and ordered the Embilipitiya AJMO to perform the autopsy on the body.

The severed head lying at the Panadura Base hospital is to be taken to the Embilipitiya Hospital for identification.Embilipitiya Superintendent of Police W. J. Nandana is coordinating with Bandaragama Police in the investigations.

(dailynews.lk) Two died and three were injured when a tree fell on a three wheeler on a by road in Garudagala in the Udupussellawa Police area.Police said the mishap occurred around 8.35 pm on in a by road which leads to Ragala from Kotamba near the Garudagala in Galkotuwa.

Two succumbed to their injuries at the Udupussellawa hospital while another three are receiving treatment.The two victims Nishantha Jayakody (40) and Susil Kumara Jayakodi (28) were residents of Masspanna in Kahathadi Arawa.The post mortems on the deaths were carried out by the Inquirer into Sudden Deaths of the Udupussellawa Hospital yesterday morning

Son murders father over land conflict

Three infants and mother die during delivery (dailynews.lk) A tense situation arose at the Chilaw Hospital following the death of three infants at birth and a mother during delivery in the last 10 days.Acting Hospital Director Dr. L Poddalagoda, who has assumed duties only a month ago, said that the deaths were unusual incidents. Rasika Jeevani (35) and her child died in delivery.Thereafter on November 4, 21-year-old Tania Kalhari’s baby girl died at birth. On November 5, 30-year-old Periyandi Wadani’s daughter died at birth. Rasika’s husband Aruna Priyabnga said his wife was in good health when she was admitted on October 24. He said his wife had signed on the bed ticket requesting a Cesarean operation.But the hospital authorities said Rasika died during normal delivery and denied that she requested an operation.He asked for proper investigation

ISSUE 001

10 DECEMBER 2018

(dailynews.lk) A person has murdered his father by assaulting with an axe into the deaths.At the inquest into the death of Tania Kalhari’s infant, the cause of death was recorded as mother’s acute diabetic condition.Tania’s mother said hospital authorities should take responsibility for the baby’s death.The body of Periandi Wadani’s child was interred at the Chilaw Cemetery without a post mortem examination as requested by the parents.

in Koswattapitiya area in Wariyapola, stated the Police.

The deceased is 63 year old named Thomas Enis Titus, living in malagane.

Koswattapitiya.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the death has been result of a conflict over land.

The son has been arrested over the murder and Wariyapola police is conducting further investigations.

Child dies falling into a well

(dailynews.lk) A pillion passenger died and rider was severely injured when their motorcycle collided head on with a tipper on the Karangoda-Dimiyawa main road.the Ratnapura PoliceThe accident took place at around 3.45pm. The injured was admitted to Ratnapura Government.The deceased was identified as Muththettu Kanaththage Ramesh Lakshan,25, a resident of Ratnapura. The post mortem was to be performed at the Ratnapura Government Hospital yesterday.Ratnapura Police arrested the lorry driver.

Investigations are continuing.

34-year old injured in Grandpass shooting Motorcyclist dies (sundaytimes.lk )A 34-year old man has

been injured following a shooting that took place at Parakrama Road, Grandpass.

Police said the victim was shot at by two unidentified gunmen who arrived on a motorcycle, when he was travelling by car.The victim is now receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital

(www.adaderana.lk ) A newly married couple were wounded and hospitalised following an accident involving a car on the Southern Expressway this morning.The car was driven by the bridegroom while they had been traveling towards Galle following their wedding in Matara when the vehicle had crashed into the guardrail of the expressway between Pinnaduwa and Imaduwa.Police said that both the bride and the groom had sustained injuries in the accident and have been admitted to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital.

02 dead following a motor accident in Ahangama

(dailynews.lk) A motorcyclist succumbed to his injuries when his bike collided with a car entering the main road from a by road in Eheliyagoda.

The mishap occurred around 6.00 p.m near to the 78th Mile Post in the main road which leads to Batticaloa from Colombo.

The car driver had driven his vehicle onto the main road from a by road in a reckless manner throwning the victim several meters further after his fall on the road

due to the impact.

The victim Kumarasiri Gihan Jayalath (25) had succumbed to injuries on admission to the Eheliyagoda Hospital.The car driver was arrested .

(dailynews.lk) Four persons have been arrested by Kirindiwela Police in connection with the murder of a person in Pugoda, stated Police Media Spokesperson.According to the police, a person was killed by gunfire on the 11th December, at Mandawala area in Pugoda.The Police have apprehended the two firearms, including the one used in

the shooting and two motorcycles, along with the suspects.Reportedly, the arrested suspects are residents of Mudungoda area in Kirindiwela.The suspects have been remanded until the 20th December as per the order of the Pugoda Magistrate’s Court.

Police are conducting further investigations in to the matte

Four arrested over murder in Pugoda

(www.newsfirst.lk ) people died in a motor accident in Hathpalaane in Ahangama today (Dec 10) around 12:05 AM when a bus travelling from Matara to Polonnaruwa collided with a three-wheeler.

The driver of the three-wheeler and a passenger in the three-wheeler died in the accident.The victims are 20 and 18-year-old residents of Meliyagoda and Midigama.The remains of the victims are placed at the Karapitiya Hospital.Police added that the driver of the bus was arrested (www.newsfirst.lk) Reuters: More than 190 anxious family members from Indonesia of those perished in the crashed Indonesian plane are waiting at the information center (www.newsfirst.lk ) A bus and a three-wheeler along the for the updates of the accident.

Ratnapura Nivithigala road in Marapana has claimed the life The relatives and friends of victims are of a 2-year-old child and a 26-year-old woman while injuring here to collect the personal belongings of 4 others.Police stated that the injured have been admitted to their beloved ones who unfortunately took the Ratnapura hospital.The bus driver has been arrested over the ill-fated Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8, the incident

Accident claims life of a woman and a 2 year old child

Anxious relatives of Indonesia plane crash victims waiting for updates

which crashed on Monday during its flight from Jakarta to Tanjung Pinang in Bangka Belitung province, with 181 passengers and 8 crew members onboard.

The police officers have required them to provide all personal information and objects of the passengers in order to identify the bodies found by search teams, including their height and blood type

LANKANEWS

ISSUE 001

(www.dailynews.lk ) President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday, assured the nation that the current political instability will be resolved in a week.

The President said his decision to appoint former President Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister was a right decision taken by him for the sake of the country and its posterity.

Making a special statement yesterday at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party’s special convention held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, he said he will not appoint Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister even if he brought letters signed by all the 225 members of the Legislature.

“I have no personal issues with him, but he is a politician who does not suit the country. His vision and the way of thinking does not suit this country,” the President said.

The President added that Wickremesinghe lacked a sense of patriotism, national identity and respect for cultural values and ethos.“The people in the North have been taken for a ride by Wickremesinghe. He hesitates to solve issues of the people in the Northern province,” he said. He added that his decision on Octomber 26 to sack Wickremesinghe is correct.The President added that he issued five Gazzette notifications using executive powers. “These gazettes were signed using my powers with an intention of building a new society free from corruption and fraud”, he said.

This political crisis may sometimes be a novel experience

10 DECEMBER 2018

to our country after 1948 but it is no longer a novel phenomenon for the rest of the countries in the world, he saidThe President said that many countries where democracy reigns, witnessed this type of crisis. “Germany did not have a government for over six months as Chancellor Angela Merkel did not have required majority”, he saidHe added that Italy did not have

a government for over five weeks after a General Election . “Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was removed all of a sudden,” he said.The President also condemned clashes that took place in Parliament.He said issued should be addressed not physically but ideologically.

The President said similar clashes in parliaments are reported from many countries and it is not a new phenomenon.The President added that the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal did not issue their final determination over a number of petitions against his decisions. The court issued interim orders and a number of petitions are to be taken up. They are not murder cases.

They are not rape cases. They are political cases.

The President added that the people in the country have difference of opinions over these political cases. “I always have respect towards the judiciary and I will accept the decisions taken by the court always,”he said.

He said the people in the country had different opinions over the judiciary in the country.One group of people say that the judiciary is very impartial and independent.

Another group of people say it is not so. There are difference of opinions among various groups of people,”he said.The Sri Lanka Freedom Party has the strength to defeat extreme right wing policies of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the SLFP has always represented the common masses.He said that former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe murdered the good governance concept and that he stood by patiently for over three years.

The President added that Cabinet colleagues and the government group are well aware of this situation.

He said that there is no dispute in the country but there is a political crisis which has resulted in this tense situation.

urged to take action on Sri Lanka Ranil destroyed country, UK (www.colombogazette.com )The UK’s to uphold constitution and due political All Party Parliamentary Group on Tamils Will continue to urge Sri Lanka to good governance and UNP (APPGT) met with the Minister of State process. implement commitments under #UNHRC,”

(dailynews.lk )President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday said that he had been left with no option but to sack Ranil Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister as he was destroying the noble principles of good governance.

The President was speaking at the SLFP special convention at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium.

He said that Ranil Wickremesinghe destroyed the noble principles of good governance, the grand old party - the UNP too.“He destroyed me as well to some extent,” the President said. The President added that the former Prime Minister attempted to grab powers which were decentralised under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.“I was able to suspend a number of draft Bills which were detrimental to the country. I exert my full force to negate such efforts for the sake of the country”, he said.President Maithripala Sirisena added that Wickremesinghe is a stubborn, headstrong person who was following far right wing neo-liberal policies.

for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mark Field, urging him to take action on Sri Lanka, the Tamil Guardian reported.Highlighting Sri Lanka’s failure to implement commitments agreed to in the co-sponsored UN Human Rights Council resolution 30/1, the delegation of cross party MPs called for more pressure to be applied ahead of the next Council session in March 2019.MPs, Paul Scully, Joan Ryan and Siobhain McDonagh accompanied by members of the British Tamils Forum, also discussed the current political crisis in the country.

“Good to speak to the APPG on Tamils.

Discussed deep concerns surrounding current political situation in #SriLanka and reiterated our call for all parties

secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in the days following the Sri Lankan president’s sacking of the prime minister, the APPGT questioned what action the UK government had been taking to ensure political stability on the island and called for talks on the suspension of trade concessions.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya slams SLBC chief

Make mental check Constitutional: SF

(www.dailymirror.lk) MP-Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka today proposed that an amendment should be brought in to the Constitution making it compulsory for the Head of State, service chiefs and others who hold important posts in a Government to go through a mental fitness test annually.Field Marshal Fonseka said Sri Lanka should follow the USA in this regard.

“The US President is bound to go through a mental fitness every year, while the others including the Service Chiefs who have the final say in launching nuclear weapons also

Field tweeted following the meeting.

In a letter to the British foreign

(www.colombogazette.com ) The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) came under fire in Parliament today with Speaker Karu Jayasuriya accusing him of disregarding instructions issued by Parliament.United National Front (UNF) Parliamentarian Ajith P. Perera said that there is an agreement between Parliament and SLBC to broadcast Parliament proceedings.He noted that SLBC was blatantly violating the agreement by not broadcasting Parliament proceedings which over the past few days.Ajith P. Perera said that the Parliament privileges committee must summon the SLBC Chairman and

bound to do the same.

“I suggest that similar laws should be in place in Sri Lanka as well,” he said.

He said such laws had become a necessity when considering the repeated accusations made against him with regard to a plot to assassinate the President.

Parliamentarian Field Marshall Fonseka tabled letters written by returning officers of the Anuradhapura and the Matara Districts during the 2010 Presidential Election to IGP complaining that officials in some counting centres were chased away.

PAGE 23

The letter, signed by the APPGT chair, Paul Scully MP as well as Edward Davey MP, Tom Brake MP, Theresa Villiers MP, Siobhain McDonagh MP, Zac Goldsmith MP, Wes Streeting MP, Bob Blackman MP, Joan Ryan MP, Stephen Timms MP, Mike Gapes MP and Virendra Sharma MP, also highlighting the risk facedby Tamils following Rajapaksa’s return to power and called on Hunt to address the House on this issue as soon as possible.“A large proportion of the Tamil diaspora lives in the UK, including many in our constituencies; the thought of Mahinda Rajapaksa becoming Prime Minister causes great distress for Tamils in the UK and back in Sri Lanka. The threat of Mahinda Rajapaksa stoking nationalist divisions in Sri Lanka which previously fuelled the decades long civil war is very real and must not be dismissed by the international community.

question him over his actions.Jayasuriya said that the SLBC Chairman had been issued notice on three occasions yet the chairman had disregarded the notice.UNF Parliamentarian Range Bandara said that a criminal case can be filed against the SLBC Chairman.He said the SLBC Chairman cannot decide when to broadcast and when not to broadcast Parliament proceedings.Meanwhile, the Media Ministry Secretary and SLBC Chairman met the Speaker this evening.The SLBC Chairman assured that he will take steps to broadcast Parliament proceedings once again.

CDS granted bail on strict conditions (colombogazette.com ) Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Ravindra Wijegunaratne was granted bail on strict conditions.

Wijegunaratne had been remanded till today by the Fort Magistrate.On being granted bail Wijegunaratne was warned not to threaten any of the witnesses involved in the case.

The Magistrate warned Wijegunaratne that if the bail conditions are violated bail will be revoked.He was remanded after statements were recorded in court over Wijegunaratne’s links to the main suspect accused of being involved in the abduction of 11 youth between 2008-2009.

Wijegunaratne was accused of assisting former Lieutenant Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi of the Sri Lanka

Navy to evade court.Hettiarachchi is the main accused in the abduction and forced disappearance of the 11 youth.

PAGE 24

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

ISSUE 001

ISSUE 001

President pays last respect

LANKANEWS

(dailynews.lk ) President Maithripala Sirisena paid his last respects to D. M. P. B. Dassanayake. He was a retired Permanent Secretary (Ceylon Civil Service) and the father of Dhammika Dassanayake, Secretary General of Parliament yesterday. Picture by Sudath Silv

Cricketer Usman Khawaja’s brother charged over ‘terrorism’ notebook

(adaderana.lk )The brother of Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has been charged with attempting to pervert justice and forgery after he allegedly used fake documents containing a terror plot to kill senior politicians to “set up” his Sri Lankan colleague over a personal grievance.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that Arsalan Khawaja had been

formallycharged after he was arrested on Tuesday as part of an investigation into a fake terrorism “hit list” found in a university notebook.He faces one count of attempting to pervert justice and one count of forgery for allegedly making a false document. Khawaja has been refused bail and will appear in Parramatta Local Court later today.

Khawaja had previously been

(www.adaderana. lk ) Fitch has downgraded Sri Lanka’s long-term debt rating in the latest blow to the cash-strapped country as it grapples with ongoing political turmoil.The ratings agency on Tuesday said it had downgraded Sri Lanka’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating to B from B+.The move reflected “heightened external refinancing risks, an uncertain policy outlook, and the risk of a slowdown in fiscal consolidation as a result of an ongoing political crisis” following President Maithripala Sirisena’s sudden replacement of Prime Minister Ranil

PAGE 25

10 DECEMBER 2018 questioned by police in relation to the notebook, which resulted in the wrongful arrest of PhD student Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen in August.“We believe that this was planned and it was calculated,” Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing said.“We have no information to suggest that there is any ongoing threat to the community arising from our inquiries into the matter.”Nizamdeen, a Sri Lankan student from the University of New South Wales, was falsely accused of plotting Islamic State-inspired lone-wolf attacks on a list of targets including the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House.

The prosecution relied almost exclusively on a notebook police said contained details of the plot.But the case fell apart when handwriting experts were unable to link the writing in the

notebook to Nizamdeen, and in October the charges were dropped.

Police then set about investigating who had written the fake hit list. In October, officers raided Khawaja’s home in the Sydney suburb of Westmead.

Police will allege Khawaja attempted to set up Nizamdeen because of a dispute over a girl.

On Tuesday Willing said police believe he was “motivated, in part, by a personal grievance.”

He told reporters he felt sorry for Nizamdeen, but did not apologise. “We feel very sorry for [Nizamdeen] and what was happened to him but what we will be alleging is that he was set up in a planned and calculated manner,” he told reporters in Sydney.

Khawaja was arrested in Parramatta, western Sydney,

Wickremesinghe in late October, Fitch said in a statement.

Analysts have warned for several months about Sri Lanka’s weak fiscal position and urgent refinancing needs amid low foreign exchange reserves and high near-term

on Tuesday. He was taken to the Parramatta police area command where police said he would be questioned in relation to an alleged attempt to pervert justice, and forgery by making a false document.In a statement earlier on Tuesday New South Wales police confirmed a 39-yearold man had been arrested as part of a joint counter-terrorism investigation. “The arrest relates to documents allegedly found on University of NSW grounds in August this year containing plans to facilitate terrorism attacks,” the statement read.

debt obligations – including to China.While authorities plan to raise cash through bilateral and commercial borrowing and foreign-currency swaps, risks “could arise from a prolonged period of political uncertainty accompanied by an adverse shift in investor sentiment”, Fitch said.The ratings agency added: “Fitch believes the ongoing political upheaval, which has disrupted the normal functioning of parliament, exacerbates the country’s external financing risks, already challenged by the tightening of global monetary conditions amid a heavy external debt repayment schedule between 2019 and 2022.”

Ven. Panditha Ratmalane Sri Dharmarama Nayake Thera remembered (www.dailynews.lk ) The centenary commemoration ceremony of the late Ven. Panditha Ratmalane Sri Dharmarama Nayake Thera, the second Parivenadhipathi of the Peliyagoda Vidyalankara Pirivena was held at the Vidyalayankara premises from November 29 to December 2, with the participation of a large numbers of the Maha Sangha and the laity.Concurrent to the ceremony, a group of over 100 bhikkhus went on a Pindapatha round Kelaniya town on November 29. Other highlights included an exposition of relics of the Buddha from November 30 to December 2, a series of daily dhammadesana, donation of artificial limbs to disabled persons, and award of scholarships to a group of young bhikkhus.

Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharadhipathi Ven. Prof. Kollupitiye Mahinda Sangharakkitha Thera opened the exposition of relics on November 30, while Bellanwila Raja Maha Viharadhipathi Ven. Bellanwila Dhammaratana Thera opened the exposition on December 1. Former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa offered the first Mal Pahan pooja.Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa presided over a ceremony to mark the issuing of a Dhammarama commemorative stamp on December 2.

The former President presented the two first day covers bearing the new stamp to Kelaniya University Vice Chancellor Ven. Welamitiyawe Kusaladhamma Thera and Ven. Niyangoda Vijithasiri Anunayake

Thera of the Malwatte Chapter.The scroll bearing the honorary title Wansalankara Sasana Kirthi Sri Abhidana was presented to Ven. Medagama Dhammananda Thera, Lekhakadhikari of the Asigiriya Chapter and Vice President of the World Buddhist Congress by Ven. Prof. Welamitiyawe Kusaladhamma Thera. The honorary title Bhasha Shastra Shiromani was also presented to Prof. K. N. O. Dharmadara of the Peradeniya University. The theme lecture was delivered by Prof. Asanga Tillakaratne of the Colombo University.

Ven. Niyangoda Vijithasiri Anunayake Thera chaired the commemoration meeting.

Ven. Kotuwila Wimalakiththi Thera, Viharadhipathi, Wanawasala Purana

Viharaya, presided over the prize and certificate awards ceremony and delivered the main lecture.The Maha Sangha led

by Ven. Kusaladhamma Thera and the Dayaka Sabha had a special word of thanks for the President and the Post Master General Ranjith Ariyaratne and Channa Munasinghe for arranging the issue of the commemorative stamp.

ASP teams up with Thomas Peer Solutions and #12 BRW to empower firms with Veeam

(www.ft.lk ) Sri Lanka’s leading workflow and document management service provider ASP has now teamed up with Thomas Peer Solutions, one of the Top 3 Gold Cloud Services Partners for Veeam in Australia, and the #12 BRW fastest growing company in Australia, to bring a range of Veeam “always on enterprise” availability solutions to Sri Lankan businesses. In a world where 100% availability of systems is not a requirement, but a necessity where the enterprise never sleeps, the safety, security and availability of your data is paramount.With its customised on-premise and cloud-based managed solutions Veeam will help enterprises manage your data better, from backups to cloud hosted databases to sharing of data, all of this while ensuring the integrity and safety of your data is guaranteed. In many

ways signing up with Veeam is akin to outsourcing the management of your data without losing an iota of control over who has access to your data and what happens to your data.The criticality, the growth and the sprawl of data are putting enormous pressure on organisations to ensure the availability of data 24x7x365. It’s not enough to simply collect, store and protect data. You need a new approach to manage data intelligently so that it can proactively respond to the needs of the business to ensure business continuity, reduce risk and accelerate the innovation of new digital services that improve how we live and work. Availability is the new expectation for data in today’s enterprise which allows faster reaction times to any business need, multifold improvements in efficiencies and greater agility to shifts in

Hutch, Etisalat complete merger deal

(www.ft.lk )Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC (Etisalat Group) has completed the sale of its 100% shareholding in Etisalat Lanka Ltd. to Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka Ltd.Upon completion of the sale, the CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. group will have a majority and controlling stake of 85% whilst the Etisalat Group will have 15% ownership of Hutch Lanka.The deal was done on 30 November after the move was first announced in April 2018.

customer demand.The Veeam Availability Platform delivers the most complete solution to ensure that enterprises close the Availability Gap and that their Digital Life remains uninterrupted.Although Veeam is recognised as the leader in availability in Gartner Magic Quadrant and in markets such as the United States, Europe, and Australia, the benefits of this industry leading product is yet to be reaped in Sri Lanka. ASP looks forward to partnering with many large scale enterprises in Sri Lanka to getting Veeam on board to manage data and ultimately deliver peace of mind to IT managers and CIOs in Sri Lanka.

(www.adaderana.lk )A foreign national has been apprehended by the Sri Lanka Customs at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) over an attempt to smuggle in Cocaine.The arrest has been made by the officials of the Narcotic Control Unit attached to the BIA.The 28 year Guinea-

Bissau national who had been arriving from Nigeria via Doha, had concealed over 2 kg of Cocaine inside a false bottom of his luggage.The value of the seized haul of Cocaine is estimated to be Rs 30 million, state the Customs.The Sri Lanka Customs are conducting further investigations.

PAGE 26 10 DECEMBER 2018 LANKANEWS Implementation of ‘IT Initiative’: Training program in fundamentals of data science (www.ft.lk ) Another successful implementation of the National Budget 2018 though ‘IT Initiative’, marked with the inauguration of the Training Program in Fundamentals of Data Science was held on 29 October, at the Senate Hall of University of Colombo.

Vice Chancellor, Senior Professor Lakshman Dissanayake SLASSCOM Chairman Jeevan Gnanam The Vice Chancellor, Senior Professor Lakshman Dissanayake graced the occasion

as the Chief Guest. Dean Faculty of ScienceProfessor K.R. Ranjith Mahanama, SLASSCOM Chairman Jeevan Gnanam, M.K.S.K. Maldeni representing Indira Malwatte, the Chairperson and Chief Executive of Sri Lanka Export Development Board, members of the Board of Management of Centre for Data Science, academic staff of the Department of Statistics, industry representatives and the participants of the program attended this event. The 50% of the program fee will be paid by the Sri Lanka Government via Sri Lanka Export Development Board.

This training program is a series of short courses carefully designed by the Centre

(www.ft.lk) Recognition of the Sri Lankan passport has increased by nine notches to 84th in the latest world rankings released this week.Sri Lanka has visa-free access to 16 countries and visa on arrival to 29 countries, while 153 countries still requires visa. Sri Lanka shares the 84th position with Lebanon and Libya.The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has overtaken Singapore and Germany as the country with the world’s most powerful passport. According to Passport Index, UAE passport holders are now able to gain

(www.colombogazette.com ) Former Terrorist Investigations Department head, (DIG) Nalaka de Silva, was today ordered to be further remanded till December 11th.

for Data Science, Faculty of Science, and University of Colombo in collaboration with SLASSCOM (Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies) to introduce fundamental concepts of data science to those individuals who are interested in venturing into the field of data science. Through this course the students will get a comprehensive knowledge on the introduction to Exploratory Data Analysis using R: including R-studio interface, syntax, entering data and accessing spread sheet data, writing functions, installing

entry to 113 countries without obtaining a prior visa. The Singaporean passport allows visa-free entrance to 127 countries and German passports allow entry without prior visas to 126 countries.

Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Norway, South Korea and the United States come next as the third most powerful passports in the world.The Passport Index is the world’s most popular online interactive tool, which collects, displays and ranks the passports of the world.The Passport Index devised by global financial advisory firm Arton Capital looks at three factors: The country’s visa-free score – which includes visa-

He was arrested in October by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) after being questioned over an alleged conspiracy to assassinate President Maithripala Sirisena and other VVIPs.

ISSUE 001

and using libraries, database concepts, SQL, data cleaning and manipulating, data statistical models, Machine learning and Data Visualization and Big Data. The course concludes with a mini project submission.

The ICT/BPM services industry has a goal to reach $ 5 billion with a workforce of 200,000 by 2022. To achieve this industry requires a significant year on year increase of employable workforce, who will possess the knowledge and skills in the new and emerging technologies.

free and visa on arrival; the visa-free portion of their score versus visa on arrival; and the United Nations Development Program Human Development Index is used as a tie breaker.

A total of 199 passports, consisting of the 193 United Nations member countries and six territories – Taiwan, Macau (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican – are considered for the index. Territories annexed to other countries, such as Norfolk Island, the French Polynesia and British Virgin Islands who do not issue their own passports are not considered as destinations, the index said. (CdeS)

Activist Namal Kumara had made the revelation to the media over the plot to kill the President, following a telephone conversation he had with Nalaka de Silva.Nalaka de Silva appeared in court today and was ordered to be further remanded.

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

MR files appeal against CA Interim Order (dailynews.lk ) Parliamentarian Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the Court of Appeal Interim Order restraining him as Prime Minister until the final determination is reached with regard to the Quo Warranto writ petition filed by 122 Parliamentarians, including Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Through this appeal petition, Rajapaksa sought an order to set aside the Interim Order dated December 3 by the Court of Appeal.He also sought an order to grant special leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal order in the writ application No.363/2018.Rajapaksa alleged that the Court of Appeal erred in its failure to take cognizance of the absence of a proper and legally countenanced application before it in terms of the law in as much as inter

alia the failure of the 122 MPs to have supported their application with affidavits countenanced by law.

He stated that the Court of Appeal erred in its failure to take due cognizance of its lack of jurisdiction to hear and determine the said writ application in which arose a number of matters involving and requiring interpretation of several constitutional provisions.He further said the Court of Appeal erred in its failure to consider the legal effect of the cogent evidence adduced by some of 122 MPs by way of affidavits and documents, unedited Hansard issued officially by the office of Secretary General of Parliament and the video footage extracted from the official website of parliament depicting that the said uncorrected draft copies produced

(dailynews.lk )The Supreme Court seven-judgeBench headed by Chief Justice Nalin Perera yesterday commenced hearing arguments into several Fundamental Rights petitions filed challenging the President’s decision to dissolve Parliament on November 9.When the ten petitions came up before the seven-judge-Bench comprising Chief Justice Nalin Perera, Justice Buwaneka Aluvihare, Justice Sisira de Abrew, Justice Priyantha Jayawardena, Justice Prasanna Jayawardena, Justice Vijith Malalgoda and Justice Murdu Fernando further argument into the petitions fixed for today (05).On November 13, the Supreme Court three-judge-Bench unanimously issued an Interim Order staying the operation of the Gazette notification issued by the President to dissolve Parliament.This Interim Order will be effective until December 7.The Supreme Court further issued an Interim Order restraining the Election Commission from proceeding to take any steps to conduct the Parliamentary election by virtue of the proclamation until December 7.The Attorneys who appeared on behalf of the petitioners yesterday concluded their oral submissions and Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya will make his oral submissions today (05).President’s Counsel K. Kanag-iswaran appearing for Tamil National Alliance leader R.Sambanthan submitted to Court that the primary duty of the President

in court do not in fact depict accurately the parliamentary proceedings of the said date and that there were in fact no valid votes of no confidence passed in parliament as claimed by the 122 MPs. Meanwhile, MPs Johnston Fernando, Dr. Wijeyedasa Rajapakshe, Dinesh Gunawardena and Chamal Rajapaksa also filed appeal petitions challenging Court of Appeal order dated December 3.They cited UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and 121 MPs and 49 others as respondents.

These petitions had been filed through counsel Sanath Wijewardena.The Court of Appeal on December 3 issued an Interim Order restraining Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, his Ministers, the State Ministers and Deputy Ministers from holding their respective offices until a final determination

is to uphold the Constitutional provisions by discharging his duty in accordance with the Constitution.

He argued that the President has the power to dissolve Parliament in terms of Article 70(1) of the Constitution after completion of four and a half years of Parliament or a resolution to Parliament by a 2/3 majority of Parliamentarians.President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran stated that President Maithripala Sirisena prior to the Presidential Election in 2015 sought a mandate from the public to abolish the unlimited Executive Powers of the President. He went on to say that the main purpose of bringing the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was to curtail the President’s Executive Powers. He argued that the President is responsible to Parliament and cannot act in an arbitrary manner.President’s Counsel Dr. Jayampathi Wickremaratne stated that during the first four and a half year of the Parliament, the President is not entitled to dissolve Parliament but he can do so only upon a resolution of the 2/3 majority of Parliament.President’s Counsel J.C. Weliamuna submitted to Court that following the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the President has vested with a limited role into the Parliamentary affairs.

These petitions had been filed through Tamil National Alliance leader R.Sampanthan, UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Sri Lanka

Perpetual owner, CEO further remanded (dailynews.lk) Perpetual Treasuries Limited (PTL) owner Arjun Aloysius and CEO Kasun Palisena who were arrested by the CID over the Central Bank bond scam, were further remanded till December 18 by Colombo Chief Magistrate Lanka Jayarathne.Attorney Jeewantha Jayathilake appearing on behalf of Kasun Palisena pleaded his client be granted bail stating that his child was a prematurely born baby.

President’s Counsel Kolitha Dharmawardana appearing on behalf of the W.M.Mendis Company informed the Court that they received a letter from the IFS company.Dharmawardana submitted that letter to Court.

The duo are accused of allegedly aiding and abetting and conspiring with Arjuna Mahendran to misappropriate public

10 DECEMBER 2018

funds worth of Rs. 688 million during the Bond auction held on February 27, 2015.

Aloysius and Palisena were re-remanded by the Fort Magistrate till December 18 during the parallel magisterial inquiry conducted relating to the Bond issue on deleting phone call data from Perpetual Treasuries’ voice recording system and fabricating evidence to the Bond Commission.Senior Deputy Solicitor General Haripriya Jayasundara and Senior State Counsel Lakmini Girihagama appeared for the Attorney General.

President’s Counsel Upul Jayasuriya appeared on behalf of the witnesses.

President’s Counsel Anil Silva appeared on behalf of Arjun Aloysius and Attorney Jeewantha Jayathilake appeared on behalf of Kasun Palisena.

Muslim Congress leader Rauf Hakeem, All Ceylon Makkal Congress Party leader Rishad Bathiudeen, R.A.S.D. Perera, Prof.

S.Ratnajeevan H. Hoole, former MP Mano Ganeshan, Attorney-at-Law Lal Wijenayake and G.C.J. Perera.They sought an interim order to suspend to concerned proclamation. The Petitioners state that upon the Proclamation being published the petitioners were of the view that the proclamation dissolving Parliament was unconstitutional and illegal.President’s Counsel K. KanagIswaran with M.A.Sumanthiran PC, Thilak Marapana PC, C.J. Weliamuna PC, Dr. Jayampathi Wickremaratne PC, Counsel H. Hizbullah, Counsel Suren Fernando and Manjula Balasuriya appeared for the petitioners.Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya PC, Solicitor General Dappula De Livera, Additional Solicitor General Indika Demuni de Silva PC, Nerin Pulle DSG, Dr. Avanthi Perera SSC appeared for the Attorney General.

President’s Counsel Gamini Marapana, Manohara de Silva PC, Sanjeewa Jayawardena PC, Ali Sabry PC and Counsel Navin Marapana appeared for the intervenient petitioners.

(dailynews.lk) UNP Parliamentarian Vajira Abeywardena says that in the past a Member of Parliament did not have the power to remove the Prime Minister, but now even he has the power to remove the Prime Minister.He said that previously the power to remove the PM was vested with the President, but now it is with the Parliament.

He said that the 19th amendment to the constitution strengthened the Parliament while the judiciary became free, independent and got increased powers.

“Therefore after those powers were changed, one cannot act according to old habits. There is no clause in the Constitution which states that ‘I can do what I please’,” he told reporters in Colombo.

The company said it is logging out all Quora users who may have been affected to prevent further damage.

“We are in the process of notifying users whose data has been compromised,” Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo said in a blog post.The breach, discovered on Friday, did not affect question and answers that are written anonymously,

Parliament to debate UNP’s motion expressing confidence in Ranil (www.adaderana.lk) A motion expressing confidence for UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to be taken up for debate at the Parliament Accordingly, this motion has been included into tomorrow’s agenda of the

is reached with regard to the Quo Warranto writ petition filed by 122 Parliamentarians, including Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Court of Appeal President, Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justice Arjuna Obeyesekere made this order consequent to a writ petition filed by United National Party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and 121 other Parliamentarians.

No clause that says ‘I can do as I please’ - Vajira

Quora says 100 million users hit by security breach

(www.ft.lk) About 100 million users of Quora were affected by unauthorised access to one of its systems by a “malicious third party,” the knowledge-sharing website said.Account information, including name, email address, encrypted password and data imported from linked networks when authorised by users may have been compromised, it said.

PAGE 27

Parliament.The motion will be presented to the Parliament by the Deputy Leader of UNP Sajith Premadasa at the parliamentary session scheduled to commence at 1.00 p.m. tomorrowRepresentatives of the UNP stated that they

the company said, adding that it has also notified law enforcement officials.“We have retained a leading digital forensics and security firm to assist us,” it said.The Quora Inc-owned website was founded in 2009 by D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever, two former Facebook employees.

intend to pass this motion at the Parliament in a vote.

However, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) had stated that they would not vote for this motion expressing confidence in Ranil Wickremesinghe

PAGE 28

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

ISSUE 001

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

‘Come Together’ this festive season at Harpo’s Cafes & Restaurants

PAGE 29

(www.ft.lk )The theme for the season is to ‘Come Together’ and it’s appropriate for the time of year – a season when families and friends get together to celebrate the joy of the season which strengthens the power of togetherness.

Harpo Gooneratne “We bring the merriment and acts of giving and sharing into the season at our restaurants with the switching of the Christmas lights and we look forward to sharing the joy of the season with all our guests who have patronised our restaurants right through the year,” said MD Harpo Gooneratne.The Bayleaf, Park Street Mews Restaurant, Curve Tapas Bar, Commons Coffee House – also at the Hatch, Colombo Fort Café & Harpo’s Pizza & Pasta Parlours will launch a fun-packed festive program with traditional and new festive specials, exquisite range of beverages, delectable range of desserts along with live music and all that’s synonymous with the festive season.

The annual Charity now in its 13th year will be held for 80 kids at the Community Concern centre in Dehiwala on 10 December to share the joy of the season with the less privileged.Tis the season for great Italian food as they say there’s no Christmas like an Italian Christmas! We may be

a little biased, but Natale at The Bayleaf restaurant is an exciting occasion to cook up some best-loved Italian seasonal specials by Chef Saroj and his team, passing on to you some cherished Italian roast and pasta dishes. Festive Goodies are available for take away orders, a holiday specials menu from 1 to 23 December and the Christmas specials from 24 to 30 December.

New Year’s Eve will see a set menu and all the trimmings to make it an enjoyable evening to usher the New Year.

Park Street Mews Restaurant has a special seasonal holiday menu from 1 to 23 December, Christmas specials from 24-30 December with all the traditional favourites and a New Year’s Eve buffet for 31 December to usher in the New Year in a relaxed ambiance. Festive goodies for home entertainment can be placed from 1 December.Curve Tapas Bar continues with its excellent range of tapas including two special festive tapas, a talented line up for live music including “A” Team on Wednesday, Flame on Thursday, Damian and D zone on Friday and Ricky and Legacy on Saturday. Chill out on the street or in A/C comfort to swing this festive season.

Colombo Fort Cafe at the Dutch Heritage complex offers a Euro Med seasonal fare from 1-23 December, Christmas specials 24-30 December and a three-course New Year’s Eve

countdown dinner on 31 December.

Commons Coffeehouse – first homegrown coffee house in the city – needless to say has an extensive range of festive hot and cold coffees, frappes, turkey menu and delicious desserts to try some new twists on the traditional. Also the Rotti cart is ideal to roll out for holiday home entertainment.

Commons & Hatch – in Fort – the newest addition to the group – offers a relaxed menu with Commons Christmas panini club, chili and juggery marinated turkey breast, chicken carriage burger to tickle your taste buds. Open daily 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday till 3 p.m. Harpo’s Pizza & Pasta Parlours – now also in Ja-Ela and Ethul Kotte – has two festive pizzas: turkey and cranberry pizza and seasonal BBQ pork pizza included to its 30 flavours of thin crust homemade pizza and the fresh homemade pasta menu. Delivery is available on 486 9000 and also on Uber Eats.Harpo’s Roaming Pizza Truck is available as an exciting option for special events for fun-filled home entertainment.

Harpo’s fresh homemade retail pasta range of taglaitelle, taglialini and the fresh pasta sauces are available for seasonal entertainment at home with friends. Conveniently available at all well-known supermarkets in the city. All menus are easily accessible on www.harposonline.com

(www.ft.lk ) This year, Jetwing Colombo Seven is set to sprinkle some festive magic with an enchanting, romantic and jubilant musical evening featuring Classical Baritone Gehan Cooray from Los Angeles, and Soprano Dhanushi Wijeyakulasuriya from Pennsylvania, on 19 of December at 7:30 p.m.

Gehan CoorayDhanushi Wijeyakulasuriya Gehan Cooray’s repertoire as an actor and singer encompasses Opera, Broadway Musicals, Film, and Theatre. Gehan’s most recent feature film enabled him to act alongside the five-time Emmy Award winning actress Heather Tom from ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’, and he is currently recording an album in Los Angeles.

Gehan has also directed and performed in operatic works such as Mozart’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ and Rossini’s ‘The Barber of Seville’, portraying the villainous Count

Almaviva and the heroic Figaro respectively, while Dhanushi performed the roles of Susanna and Rosina in the same operatic productions with Gehan.

Dhanushi has presented several vocal recitals in Pennsylvania, the most recent being ‘Dream With Me’ in April 2018. Here in Colombo, she also played the role of Christine Daae in Jerome de Silva’s production of ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, before moving to the US. This very special ‘Classical Christmas Fantasy’ program will thrill everyone in attendance with a range of operatic and classical pieces by Mozart, Donizetti, Schubert, and Ambroise Thomas, as well as songs from the American Musical Theatre repertoires of Jerome Kern, Leonard Bernstein, Kander and Ebb et. al. The audience will then be treated to a whole spectrum of perennial Christmas Carols and Nativity hymns, including ‘Angels We Have Heard On High’, ‘Adeste Fideles’, ‘Let It Snow, ‘O Holy Night’, ‘Silent Night’, ‘What Child Is This?’ and ‘Joy To The World’. Select verses of the more Traditional Carols will be sung in Latin and French.Tickets are priced at Rs. 6,000 and will include a delicious five course menu and a glass of wine. True to its history of support for the arts in Sri Lanka, Jetwing

Colombo Seven has been home to several amazing musical events. Jetwing Colombo Seven – a five-star urban resort, stands tall in the exclusive environs of Ward Place, offering the discerning traveller chic, contemporary accommodation surrounded by Colombo’s urban life. Bringing you a step closer to home, the 98 rooms and serviced apartments at Jetwing Colombo Seven reflect the hotel’s signature design – spacious accommodation unlikely to be found in a metropolitan hotel. The resort promises unparalleled personalised breathing space replete with luxury amenities set in an ambience that is both elegant and modern at the same time.Experience a revolutionary style of dining at Fifty7 – the hotel’s main restaurant, dishing out some of the finest Fusion gastronomy. A panoramic view of the Colombo skyline, with the sun sinking into the Indian Ocean against the backdrop of a luminous sky, is one you cannot miss at the rooftop restaurant and bar – Ward7. Have a moment with yourself when you dip into the rooftop infinity pool and spot the many attractions in the city. Jetwing Colombo Seven also offers conference facilities that can accommodate up to 150 individuals and a meeting room that can cater to 50 participants.

could hear a song and say, ‘Oh, this is Lata [Mangeshkar],’ they can’t do that anymore,” says the veteran. Even though she says she isn’t particularly clued into the offerings of the younger lot, that they bank on numbers that have been rendered in the past, hasn’t gone unnoticed. “New artistes are rendering old songs, while

girls are only being encouraged to sing in low [keys].

The rhythms are also similar. Koi zabardast melody aani chahiye.”Point out that the industry has been celebrating the works of rappers of late, and Bhosle is quick to point out that rapping is, in fact, “spoken-word”. “It’s not a song,” she says, quick to add, “I was the first to rap.

What else would you say were songs like Mera Naam Hain Shabnam or Hungama? Today’s English raps which employ foul language, are not favourable.” In an industry that’s as commercially inclined as Bollywood, Bhosle cues us on how veterans like her teach their children to keep the love for the craft alive. “Classical music should be taught.

My granddaughter is learning Indian and Western music.

She hasn’t lost sight of our culture.”

Jetwing Colombo Seven presents ‘A Classical Christmas Fantasy

(www.dailynews.lk ) Rendering the female vocals of the track Dil Sarphira, along with an array of male singers who are way younger than her, Asha Bhosle’s ebullient voice seems in no way, out of place. If anything, it could evidently be the highlight of the romance number, that was launched only last week. As futile as it may be to point out, Bhosle’s playful voice is always instantly identifiable.

She laments, this ability of making an identity with their voice is missing in the current crop of singers. “There is neither much talent, nor a strong voice. The way people

Amitabh Bachchan pays off farmers’ loans worth $500,000 (www.dailynews.lk ) Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan says he has cleared farmers’ loans worth more than 40m Indian rupees ($560,000; £436,000).He wrote on his blog on Tuesday that he had “taken care” of 1,398 farmers by paying off their debt, adding that he felt a “sense of accomplishment”.All of the farmers are from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Bachchan was born.Tens of thousands of Indian farmers struggle with debt.For decades now, the farming industry has been blighted by drought, the depletion of the water table, declining productivity and a lack of modernisation.Farm suicides have been linked to these issues - at least 300,000 farmers have taken their lives since 1995.

Bachchan, who is 76, remains one of India’s most popular and best-known actors.He cleared loans that were owed to the government-owned Bank of India, which has issued a “one time settlement document and certificate”, according to his blog post. He said that he had paid dues worth more than 40m Indian rupees.“I shall wish of course to give these

settlements, these confirmations that their loans have been paid off, personally,” Bachchan wrote.Since it would difficult to bring all of the farmers to Mumbai city, where he lives, he said he had reserved a train coach to bring 70 of them to meet him to receive the bank documents.Earlier this year Bachchan paid off the loans of 350 farmers from Mumbai’s Maharashtra state. Thousands of farmers in the state staged massive protests last year demanding loan waivers and better crop prices.The veteran actor has also been involved in controversy in connection with farm land. In 2007, a court ruled that a 90,000 sq ft plot had been illegally allocated to him.He faced fraud charges which were later withdrawn because he had abandoned his claim to the land.

PAGE 30 10 DECEMBER 2018 LANKANEWS DK Promotions on a new venture Pavarotti film taking shape for big debut (dailynews.lk ) DK Promotions, reputed as a leading musical show production company, has taken another step forward for the benefit of the music industry.

DK Promotions music store located on the third floor at Majestic City opened doors to the public on December 1 The shop sells a wide selection of Sinhala and English audio CDs and DVDs . Besides sale of audio and videos, sale of tickets for shows presented by DK Promotions will be also able at this outlet. This is a new venture to support the local music industry as at present there are only a very limited sale outlets

in operation to meet the needs of music fans said proprietor Damayantha Kuruppu.

Also all DK promotion products will be d exclusively at DK Promotions music store he added.

DK promotions has just released Desmond De Silva`s latest concert ‘lend of Sri Lankan music’and is now available on Blue ray at the Music store. The DVD will be available by end this week. Other DVDs to be released soon will be ‘hose were the days’, ‘100 plus’, ‘Super concert with Annesley Malawana and Ranil Mallawaarachchi’ and ‘Amazing Grace farewell concert’.

(www.adaderana.lk )U.S. singer Nick Jonas and “Quantico” actor Priyanka Chopra will be married in a traditional Hindu ceremony , the culmination of a three-day long wedding celebration that featured cricket matches and Bollywood songs, all taking place in a heritage Indian palace atop a hill.

The couple exchanged vows in a Christian ceremony on Saturday, wearing custommade Ralph Lauren clothes, and later shared pictures on their social media of a pre-wedding ritual, the mehendi ceremony, which involves applying henna on the bride’s hands as a good omen.

“One of the most special things that our relationship has given us is a merging of families who love and respect each others’ faiths and cultures. And so planning our

(wwwdailynews.lk )“Music is Cathartic to me. It is my drug of choice. It alleviates stress and helps me decompress,” said Part Musician Part Businessman, Vidhu Jayawardene. Melodies feature this young man who is using this excellent, powerful and infectious drug to spread inspiration and positivity throughout society.

Catharsis is generally understood as the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.

One is also made to understand that creative and intense individuals throughout the world need this process of release because they have so much energy and intensity of emotions within them. Music is the ultimate release. Music can be destructive and positive depending on who is singing it. Musicians and writers generally have a lot of soul. They are the two most similar types of people in this world.

Jayawardene is a man who has experienced ‘no’ in life. But for him ‘no’ means – next opportunity. He says one of the most significant milestones in his life is getting

(dailynews.lk ) Filmmaker Ron Howard’s much-anticipated Luciano Pavarotti documentary will feature unseen footage of the iconic opera singer and interviews with his widow Nicoletta and rocker Bono.Nine minutes of Pavarotti were aired at the American Film Market in October and now sources tell Deadline distributors around the world are clamouring for the rights, with deals for Germany, Spain, China, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, among other territories, already completed.

The documentary, which is currently in post-production, will also feature memorable Pavarotti performances, including songs

wedding with an amalgamation of both was so so amazing,” Bollywood actor Chopra wrote on her Instagram account.

The pictures showed the couple laughing and surrounded by family and friends, as an artisan applied henna on Chopra’s palms.

On Sunday, Chopra shared a picture and a two-second video of a cricket match, captioning it “team bride vs team groom #cricket”. Indian media reported that at another pre-wedding function, guests and the bride and groom danced to Bollywood songs, including some of Chopra’s biggest hits.

The couple have been tight-lipped about the details of the actual wedding, and representatives for the couple remain unreachable for comment. They are scheduled to host a reception in New Delhi on Tuesday.The venue of the wedding, the Umaid Bhavan palace in the heritage north

kicked out of the Preliminary Round in TNL Onstage 2007. But this made him more determined and took him to the next stage of his life.

“I compose and produce music while running “Ripples” a Digital and Social Media Marketing Agency. Getting kicked out of the Preliminary Round in TNL Onstage 2007 and becoming Music Consultant for TNL onstage in 2009 was one important event. The others were ranking 43rd at the Global Rockstar Competition 2014, performing at the Hard Rock Café Pune at the RollingStone Magazine Awards 2010 and collaborating with talented international artists,” said Jayawardene.

Jayawardene states that finding the right instruments, melodies and mixing to bring out the essence of that particular song/ emotion are some of the things that make him passionate about music.

“I have done two tours in India and Dubai and the most memorable one was India –

environment – our ocean giants”.

LMD points out that de Vos remains committed to “giving back to her native land,” having established Sri Lanka’s first marine conservation research and education nonprofit Oceanswell, which is conducting the first long-term study on blue whales in this region as its flagship project.

It adds: “Never one to shy away

from a challenge, she inspires Sri Lankans and citizens across the world to continue to reach for their dreams – even when they may seem impossible.”“Dr. Asha de Vos is a true inspiration – in the field of marine biology certainly but perhaps more importantly, for anyone anywhere who is chasing an unorthodox dream,” LMD concludes.

known for his rendition of Nessun Dorma from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot. He also famously dueted with Bono in 1995 on U2’s song Sarajevo Girl.

The track became the first of many crossover collaborations for Pavarotti, who died in Italy in 2007, just weeks before his 72nd birthday. Rolling Stone

Indian city of Jodhpur, has been cordoned off to the public, and Indian media reported that the couple had asked guests not to carry cellphones to any of the ceremonies.The palace is home to the Jodhpur royal family, and is believed to be the world’s sixth largest private residence. Part of the palace has been converted into a Taj heritage hotel with peacocks roaming 26 acres of landscaped gardens.

A night’s stay in the Grand Presidential suite can cost more than 500,000 rupees ($7,168), according to the hotel website.Chopra, 36, and 26-year-old Jonas were engaged earlier this year after a whirlwind courtship that began at an Oscars after-party last year.Chopra, who headlined three seasons of the ABC crime drama Quantico, is one of Bollywood’s biggest female leads with acting credits in several big-ticket films.Nick and his brothers Kevin and Joe formed a pop-rock band, The Jonas Brothers, in 2005 and soared to fame as members of Disney’s stable of teenage stars. The band split up in 2013.

The Rollingstone Magazine Awards Tour 2010 and it is great to know that our neighbors who are Indian were big fans of the music and the response was really great. Some of the most outstanding and memorable memories I have, are of my band ‘Breathspace’ where we put out six singles and two covers. I myself have put out four singles. Special to me is ‘Save Me’. I had recorded 42 different versions of this song before finally arriving at the right one. Another memorable one was my cover of Ex Alien.

I wanted people to think about what the original artist was trying to convey through her music and not slander a teenage girl for her attempt,” explained Jayawardene.

Jayawardene says his choice of music is rock which is modern alternative. He does quite a few cover versions and it is no artist in particular that he is into, just anything that inspires him. He is currently in the process of releasing a few covers over the next few weeks.“From the artistes I admire

Dr. Asha de Vos wins LMD’s ‘Sri Lankan Of The Year’ award

(www.ft.lk ) Pioneering business magazine LMD has announced that its ‘Sri Lankan Of The Year’ for 2018 is marine biologist, ocean educator and pioneer of blue whale research in the northern Indian Ocean Dr. Asha de Vos, whom it saysb Dr. Asha de Vos “has gained traction for championing the cause of one of the most overlooked members of the natural

he recorded and sang as part of The Three Tenors, alongside Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo.

Howard, who is also one of the film’s producers alongside Nigel Sinclair, Brian Grazer, and Michael Rosenberg, tells Deadline he has also secured the rights to Pavarotti performances, which will available to play in cinemas after the film’s credits have rolled.The movie is scheduled for release early next year.Pavarotti, who had a promising soccer career in his youth, went on to become one of the opera greats after suffering a life-threatening illness.

He sold more than 100 million records and was particularly well

ISSUE 001

locally and internationally, internationally would be Katatonia, Breaking Benjamin, Tool, Revis and the Cranberries. I like them because they stay true to themselves and their music is just an extension of who they are. I strongly feel that to succeed in music you need to be someone that believes you need to be a student always, because life is a continuous learning process. My message to anyone who wants to be a full time musician is find a mentor, establish clear goals and invest in yourself,” pointed out Jayawardene.Jayawardene has many people he would like to thank in life. First and foremost is his family. Then there is Menik Neydorff for teaching him how to play the guitar. And last but not least his fans and friends. And there is also Breathspace, his first band before he flew solo. When it comes to inspiration his greatest inspiration is the Truth. Rational and emotional truths.

That is where he gets his inspiration to write lyrics.“I have released 4 singles so far – ‘Save me’, ‘Miles Away’ (feat. Sheam Deen), ‘CPR’ and ‘I am your freedom’ (feat.

Lucrezia Losurdo). I have not put out any albums, only studio singles. The Indian tour was with the band.

LMD’s 24th ‘Sri Lankan Of The Year’ joins the company of many of the island’s eminent citizens over the years, a number of whom have had their names etched in the annals of the nation’s history.

ISSUE 001

LANKANEWS

10 DECEMBER 2018

PAGE 31

LANKANEWS

PAGE 32

ISSUE 001

10 DECEMBER 2018

Call 0207 132 32 32

lines open 24x7

TRAVEL THE WORLD FOR LESS

christmas

THE GREAT

FLIGHT SALE

COLOMBO fr £415 +

23 kg

Chennai

fr

£388

46 kg

Mumbai

fr

£345

35 kg

Amritsar fr £411

46 kg

Trichy

fr

£695

46 kg

Delhi

fr

£334

46 kg

Bhuj

fr

£527

46 kg

Kochi

fr

£382

46 kg

Goa

fr

£384

46 kg

Dubai

fr

£255

23 kg

Fares are from, include taxes and subject to availability.

£10 Wembley

FREE LYCAMOBILE CREDIT WHEN YOU BOOK WITH US

Terms & Conditions apply. Applicable only for selected bookings

East Ham

180 High Street North 14 Ealing Road, Wembley London HA0 4TL · 0207 132 0055 East Ham E6 2JA · 0207 132 0056

Canary Wharf

Walbrook Building, 195 Marsh Wall London E14 9SG · 020 7132 0100

Full terms are available on our website. LycaFly reserves the right to withdraw this offer before the expiry date, without notice.