Category: Local News

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday warned that some sinister forces, bent on destabilising the country, were trying to engineer another 1983 style conflagration to drum up international support for their constitutional reforms, aimed at dividing the country into several semi-independent states.

Facebook, Viber, WhatsApp and all other social media networks have been temporary blocked in the country considering the current situation, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) said.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) of Sri Lanka has instructed internet service providers to restrain internet access in the Kandy District.

The US Embassy in Colombo has called on the Government of Sri Lanka to act quickly against perpetrators of sectarian violence, protect religious minorities and their places of worship, and swiftly conclude the State of Emergency.

In the wake of the Teldeniya incident, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has requested the people to remain calm and stop the prevailing violence.

A team of investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was dispatched to Digana yesterday, to take stock of the prevailing situation and damage to property following Monday’s flare up that left one dead.

Sri Lanka declared a nationwide state of emergency for 10 days on Tuesday to stop the spread of communal violence, a government spokesman said, after clashes erupted between majority Buddhists and members of the minority Muslim community.

A decision was reached during the Cabinet Meeting held today to declare a State of Emergency in the country for a period of 10 days, Minister S.B. Dissanayake said.

Troops moved into Digana, Kandy yesterday afternoon when the police failed to bring a tense situation there under control. Police curfew was imposed in the Kandy administrative District until 6.00 am today.

President Maithripala Sirisena had directed the police and security sector to hold an unbiased, independent investigation into incidents at Digana Kandy today.

Police used teargas to disperse two groups of people who clashed in Digana over a death of a 41-year-old man.

Canada strongly demanded that Sri Lanka should fulfill its international commitments by ensuring the involvement of Commonwealth and international investigators and judges in the accountability process.

In a hard hitting statement Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday said that the work of the Office of Missing Persons has been distorted and manipulated for political gain.

President Maithripala Sirisena has raised concerns about the mushrooming of Chinese shops throughout the country, at the recently held Cabinet meeting.

The gazette notification pertaining to the banning the sale of cigarettes within a radius of 100 metres from a school will be issued on April 07, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says that Sri Lanka’s National Unity Government has come to stay and no future administration would scrap the concept.