Pastor Jerome, arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), secured his release on a cash bail of Rs. 500,000 and two personal bails of Rs. 10 million each.

Despite being granted bail, the court imposed travel restrictions on Pastor Jerome, prohibiting him from leaving the country.

The controversial pastor was arrested on 01 December after a video of one of his sermons, containing alleged derogatory statements, went viral on social media.

Pastor Jerome had initially provided a statement to the CID on 30 November for around eight hours. Subsequently, the Court of Appeal issued an interim order on 17 November, directing the CID not to arrest him upon his arrival in Sri Lanka. The order also mandated Pastor Fernando to record a statement with the CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division within 48 hours of his return.

After months of controversy over his remarks, Fernando returned to the island on Wednesday morning (29 Nov.). He had arrived from Singapore on board a Qatar Airlines flight and left the airport through the Gold Route at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.

Courtesy: Adaderana

We don’t know what will happen when they leave,” one of the refugees, who asked not to be named due to fear of reprisals in a nation that – like others in South Asia – does not recognize the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol, told EFE.

Fleeing repression in their native Myanmar – where in 2017 the authorities unleashed a wave of violence that has often been described as genocide against the ethnic Muslim minority -, Rohingya refugees have so far been supported by the UN agency in Sri Lanka.

“The UNHCR gave a monthly allowance to cover our food cost, accommodation, clothing, communication, transport, and other essential needs,” said the refugee during the protest in front of the UN body’s main office in Sri Lanka.

Shouting slogans such as “We want justice” and “No more refugee life,” the protesters underlined their fear that UNHCR’s departure will close the doors to a durable solution, such as repatriation or relocation in another country.

Abubakr, another demonstrator – who identifies with just his first name -, told EFE that they are demanding one of three solutions.

“One is to discuss with the Myanmar government and repatriate us, the other is for the Sri Lankan government to give us citizenship, and lastly to send us to a Western country so that we can start our lives there,” he said.

The 27-year-old stressed that he has been a refugee all his life, as his family fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh in 1992.

A UNHCR official, who requested anonymity, confirmed to EFE that the office in Colombo was to be closed, but did not give a specific date. The decision has also been criticized by human rights experts.

“The UNHCR should have an exit plan. Right now, there’s no proper plan and no solution provided to the refugees,” human rights lawyer Suren D. Perera told EFE.

Bangladesh currently hosts nearly one million members of this Bengali speaking persecuted minority, while more Rohingyas continue to flee Myanmar as well as Bangladesh by sea in precarious boats.

In 2022, Sri Lanka rescued more than a hundred Rohingyas who were adrift on one of these boats, joining the nearly 800 refugees of different nationalities recognized by UNHCR in the island nation.

Courtesy: Colombo Gazette

2. The high-speed ferry operated by the Shipping Corporation of India has a capacity of 150 pax. The distance of about 60 nm (110 Km) between Nagapattinam and KKS will be covered in approx. 3.5 hours depending on sea conditions. In order to commence the service, the Government of India supported the Tamil Nadu Maritime Board in upgrading facilities at the Nagapattinam port. Similarly, the Government of Sri Lanka has created necessary infrastructure at the port of KKS.
3. The Government of India’s efforts to start the ferry service are in line with the Government’s priority to enhance connectivity with neighbours and in the wider Indian Ocean Region. A direct passenger ferry between Sri Lanka and India will provide an efficient and cost-effective means of travel for the people of the two countries, boost tourism and trade links and strengthen people-to people ties. The ferry will also enhance economic activity around the two ports and invigorate local economies.
4. It may be recalled that direct air connectivity between Chennai and Jaffna, which was suspended during the Covid pandemic, was resumed in December 2022. Enhancing direct connectivity with the Northern Province of Sri Lanka complements Government of India’s other ongoing development initiatives in the region.
5. This special occasion was addressed by Prime Minister of India and President of Sri Lanka through a video message. The milestone event was flagged off jointly by Honble Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation and External Affairs Minister of the Government of India earlier today. Vessel Cheriyapani traveled with 50 passengers on its inaugural journey to Sri Lanka and will return back to India by evening with passengers from Sri Lanka.

   6. The Governments of India and Sri Lanka will continue to work towards commencement of ferry services between other ports, including the traditional route between Rameswaram- Talaimannar.
   New Delhi

October 14, 2023

The UN says the Bills give the authorities a range of expansive powers and can impose restrictions on human rights, not in line with international human rights law.

“The Anti-Terrorism Bill is intended to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which has long been of concern to the UN human rights mechanisms. While some positive revisions have been made in the draft, including the removal of the death penalty as a possible punishment, there are still major concerns about the scope and discriminatory effects of many provisions in the revised draft. Restrictions to the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are very likely to fail to meet requirements of necessity and proportionality,” the UN said.

The UN noted that the Bill still includes an overly broad definition of terrorism and grants wide powers to the police – and to the military – to stop, question and search, and to arrest and detain people, with inadequate judicial oversight. Other issues remain over the imposition of curfews, restriction orders and the designation of prohibited places, all of which raise concerns about the scope of powers granted to the executive without sufficient checks and balances.

With respect to the Online Safety Bill, the UN believes it will severely regulate and restrict online communication, including by the general public and will give authorities unfettered discretion to label and restrict expressions they disagree with as “false statements”.

Many sections of the Bill contain vaguely-defined terms and definitions of offences which leave significant room for arbitrary and subjective interpretation, and could potentially criminalize nearly all forms of legitimate expression, creating an environment that has a chilling effect on freedom of expression.

The UN Human Rights Office urges the Government to undertake further meaningful consultation with civil society and UN independent experts and to make substantial revisions of the draft laws in order to bring them into full compliance with Sri Lanka’s international human rights obligations.

Courtesy: Colombo Gazette

The project, which was announced during president Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to India in July, is expected to help Sri Lanka improve its energy security at an affordable cost.

Among other things, the meetings are expected to touch on the physical alignment of the petroleum pipeline. A proposal, currently under discussion, is for the pipeline to run from Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu to Jaffna in Northeast Sri Lanka. However, these proposals are understood to be at a preliminary stage. The aim of the pipeline will be to improve Sri Lanka’s energy security at an affordable cost.

The talks follow the 2022 economic crisis that left the island-nation facing crippling shortages of energy. Widespread power cuts and fuel shortages fuelled public discontent, which led to the fall of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government, paving the way for Wickremesinghe.

Sri Lanka is among a number of South Asian neighbours with which India is attempting to build energy connectivity. In 2019, India and Nepal inaugurated the Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline, which runs for 69 km between India’s Motihari and Nepal’s Amlekhgunj.

The pipeline, built with Indian assistance and led by Indian Oil Corporation, has a capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum.

India and Bangladesh inaugurated a ‘friendship pipeline’ this year for transporting high-speed diesel. To be sure, the project, announced in 2015, is just the second cross-border energy pipeline in the region.

India has also made other efforts to provide energy security to neighbouring countries through the provision of cross-border power supply. This will see India and Sri Lanka try to link their power grids in an effort to create a more robust energy trade market in South Asia. Mint had reported on this development in January.

“India today has a very robust power grid running from North to South and East to West of the country. In the future we would like to see the grid connected to neighbouring countries including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and then expand that connection to South-east Asian countries, to emerge as a unified market,” said Ajay Tewari, additional secretary, ministry of power in December 2022.

Courtesy: Mint

The Constituent Assembly met day before yesterday where it was supposed to approve the appointment of the two vacant members of the Election Commission and the vacant member of the Police Commission. However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena mentioned that the recommendations for the relevant appointments were not made yesterday.

This is the second time that the approval of the Constitutional Council for the Election Commission vacancies has been postponed. The first time was in June, when the Legislative Assembly was unable to reach a quorum.

The delay in filling the vacancies in the Election Commission has raised concerns about the independence of the commission. The Election Commission is responsible for overseeing elections in Sri Lanka, and its independence is essential to ensuring that the elections are free and fair.

Courtesy: Asian Mirror

In light of this, the Minister stated that by strengthening the shortcomings of the relief program thus far, he hopes to accept new applications for next year.

The Minister also mentioned that preliminary work is being done on the appeals and objections received by the Divisional Secretaries.

He expressed these views today (03) during a press conference themed ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC).

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe further commented;

1,280,000 families who are receiving Samurdhi benefits have applied for ‘Aswesuma’, out of which 887,653 families have qualified. It was decided to extend the Samurdhi allowance to 393,094 families who are not qualified for ‘Aswesuma’ from among the families currently receiving the Samurdhi subsidy until the appeals / objection process is concluded. The appeals and objections that have been submitted will be reviewed and arrangements will be made to start accepting new applications as soon as it is completed.

1,792,265 beneficiaries have been selected for the initial step of Aswesuma program by the Welfare Benefits Board. Relief is to be provided for 2 million families and after consideration of appeals and objections it will be possible to reach the target.

Meanwhile, for the elderly, kidney and disabled people receiving assistance, it will be paid as previously. Accordingly, arrangements will be made to provide elderly allowances through post offices and kidney and disabled allowances through Divisional Secretariats.

The 11,660 people in elderly homes, children’s homes, disabled centers and religious places will receive allowances without a change until a new policy is formulated.

Meanwhile, the Welfare Benefits Board has received the details of 1 million accounts for the payment and the government requests the eligible people to open accounts as soon as possible to receive the benefits.

‘Aswesuma’ is not a program to undermine the Samurdhi Movement or the Samurdhi Banks. In order to further strengthen Samurdhi Banks, it is hoped to prepare a program through which the Department of Samurdhi Development will be regulated by the Central Bank in the future.

Courtesy: Colombo Page

The meeting took place at the Ministry of Defence, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

The Indian foreign secretary also met with his Sri Lankan counterpart Aruni Wijewardane earlier today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.

Meanwhile, the meeting between the Foreign Secretary Kwatra and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry has focused on strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the two nations for the mutual benefits of its people.

The Indian foreign secretary arrived on the island on Monday (July 10) for a two-day official visit to prepare the ground for Wickremesinghe’s upcoming visit to New Delhi, scheduled for July 20.

The Sri Lankan president’s upcoming India visit is his first since taking office in 2022.

Accompanied by Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda, Energy and Power Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry, Presidential Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayake during his visit, Wickremesinghe is expected to hold bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to Indian media, the Sri Lankan president is likely to finalise the implementation of several Indian projects related to power and energy, agriculture, and maritime issues in the country ahead of his departure for New Delhi.

Courtesy: Adaderana

Accordingly, today’s buying rate of USD is Rs 305.13 while the selling rate is Rs. 319.32.

Yesterday’s buying rate of USD was Rs 304.02 while the selling rate was Rs. 318.23.

Courtesy: Daily Mirror

According to the Education Minister, human resources will be managed for that purpose and education will be reformatted in accordance with worldwide standards in order to produce a sustainable and high-quality education.

Expressing his views during a press conference themed ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ held at the Presidential Media Center yesterday (10) Minister Premajayantha added that the ‘Suraksha Sisu Rakshanaya’ insurance scheme introduced for school children which was suspended due to the financial crisis will resume in 2024.

Education Minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha further commented;

In developed countries, the Ministry of Education acts as a separate entity from the Central Government and a Provincial Minister is in charge of the Ministry of Education. The educational rights of children in countries like India, Canada and Japan have been safeguarded as a result of this educational pattern.

The Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka is under the control of the Central Government. All schools in our country, with the exception of 399, are governed by the Provincial Ministries of education. The initiative to establish 1,000 national schools was launched in 2001. When the 13th Constitutional Amendment was initiated, there were 17 national schools in this country. However, as a result of political initiatives or the requests of individual Education Ministers, there was a dramatic rise in the number of national schools. However, one cannot say that it led to high-quality education. There was a period in time when 28 national schools were created overnight. But right now, the education industry needs to undergo a transformative change. Instead of the exam-centered education system, students should be aligned in a student-centered education pattern.

There was a significant setback in education as a result of Covid-19 and the recent economic downturn. Additionally, socio economic issues made it impossible to run the schools effectively due to fuel and gas concerns. Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) and Teacher trade unions did not attend to evaluate the answer sheet of the Advanced Level examination. The evaluation of the A-Level exam questions has been completed, and that matter is now resolved. I think the exam results could be released in the middle of the next month.

The A-Level exams for this year are scheduled to take place in December, according to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education has taken steps to hold all the examinations in the prescribed year.

Also, the program needed to reform the new education is currently being implemented. Plans have been made to start teaching activities through English medium in association with the British Council. For this purpose, 13,800 teachers have been trained so far. The updating of textbooks for English was also started promptly.

The addition of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology to the curriculum is proposed for two grade levels, Grade 6-9 and Grade 10-13. We are attempting to secure Information Technology assistance for this from companies like Microsoft.

About fifty principal positions are open. While conducting a competitive examination for the recruitment, a trade union went to court and got an injunction. For the recruitment of teacher administration services, there are roughly 22000 openings. Government employees who applied for the position have also gone to court to explain why they are unable to take the competitive exam. The recruitment process has thus far been delayed as a result. Due to 100 people’s human rights being brought up in court, 4.2 million students’ human rights have already been violated. As a result, we think the court will rule on this issue quickly.

We are working to continue the ‘13 plus’ education program presented by the President when he was the Prime Minister. A selection committee has been established to expand the education sector and the necessary proposals are currently being prepared. Accordingly, the necessary program to expand education will be prepared jointly with Non-Governmental Organizations in the future. Arrangements are being made to provide loan facilities to Non-Government Universities as well as to create an environment where they can contribute to the economy of this country.

It is intended to establish a training University in Kotagala to train students who choose to go to a plantation in order to safeguard the educational rights of the children of estate workers. By substantially bolstering the regulating program of private and international schools, we are committed to ensuring children’s right to education. With regard to all of these issues, we are working to bring about a change in education from next year.

Courtesy: Colombo Page