Category: Local News

The United States weighed in Wednesday on a political crisis that has engulfed the Indian Ocean island nation of Sri Lanka since the president abruptly fired the prime minister and replaced him with an authoritarian former leader who has been accused of serious human rights abuses.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said the government must ensure that taxes will not become a burden to the public.

According to the Secretary to the Prime Minister S. Amarasekara, there is no government control in Temple Trees, upon the removal of government officials from the premises.

The Official Residence of the Prime Minister Temple Trees went into few minutes of tension today, when two men claimed to be from the office of newly appointed Prime Minister, came claiming to get an inventory of the items that were in the premises.

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa called on the Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, this morning (31).

The UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka,Ms. Hanaa Singer called on President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat,today (31).

Sri Lankan Rupee has depreciated further against the US Dollar, informed the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa assumed duties as the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs in the presence of President Maithripala Sirisena.

While stating that it will form a new national government, the United National Front (UNF) yesterday invited all parties to join it.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today called upon the Government of Sri Lanka to abide by the Constitution and its international obligations in peacefully resolving the current political crisis, and for all political leaders to commit to respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Even as Sri Lanka is under the grip of a political turmoil, the students from Sri Lanka, at South Asia University in New Delhi, held a “silent protest” against the ouster of Ranil Wickremesinghe and the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister of the country.

Government spokesman Ports and Shipping Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe yesterday said no less a person than the Acting Attorney General Dappula de Livera had pointed out the basis for the President’s action, citing relevant gazettes (2094-43 dated Oct. 26.2018 and 2094-44 dated Oct. 26. 2018) and the 19th Amendment 48 (1).

Thousands of supporters of Sri Lanka’s ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe protested in the capital Colombo on Tuesday as political turmoil on the island entered its fifth day.

UNP MP Dunesh Gankanda was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena as the State Minister of Environment of the new Cabinet.

President Maithripala Sirisena held a meeting with foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners in Sri Lanka at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (29), to apprise them regarding the prevailing political situation of the country.

India, caught flatfooted by the appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Sri Lanka’s premier, has opened urgent diplomatic and political contacts with the strongman who drew close to China during his previous tenure as president, officials said.