The Embassy and Permanent Mission together with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and Sri Lanka Tea Board organised a destination promotion to commemorate 75th Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka at the high-end Wien Mitte Mall recently.

The promotion campaign showcased Sri Lanka as a tourism destination to the Viennese public.

The said event also featured Sri Lankan Dance by Sri Lanka’s world-renowned Channa-Upuli Performing Arts Foundation captivating the audience and visitors, who had an opportunity to join the dance during the performance.

The wheel of fortune which entailed questions on Sri Lanka gave the audience a chance to familiarise themselves with the destination. Several giveaways with the branding “So Sri Lanka”, promotional items, Sri Lankan biscuits, as well as Stassen tea were given to the winners. The grand prize of a 5-night/6-day stay including local transportation offered by the prestigious Aitken Spence hotel chain, was part of the raffle draw. 

Visitors and potential travellers at the high-end mall had the opportunity to better understand the resplendent island. 

The event also promoted the world-famous Ceylon Tea by Stassen which was served alongside traditional gnanakatha cookies to a large number of visitors. The consumer event positioned and branded Sri Lanka as a leading tourist destination, having provided potential travellers with an opportunity to get a glimpse of Sri Lanka’s wide-ranging tourist attractions in the heart of Vienna.

DAILY FT

1. President Ranil Wickremesinghe advises to appoint an expert committee to plan progress of the sports field and its future; pays attention to the development of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Sports Complex in Diyagama as a Sports University: Steps to collect 100 of the best athletes to represent each sports event and provide them with the necessary facilities and training.
2. Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya provides reassurance that steps are being taken to ensure that salaries, pensions and benefits, including ‘Samurdhi,’ of public servants will be paid before April 10, 2023; reveals the decision was made with consideration for the upcoming Festive season.
3. SJB MP Dr. Harsha De Silva says he is relieved that the President has convinced his majority SLPP government on the IMF bailout who until recently was totally opposed to it; stresses the SJB was the only political party that tabled their own plan out of the crisis; assures the SJB economic plan “Blueprint” first tabled in August 2022 has an updated version in February 2023 and provides a detailed plan on how to come out of bankruptcy; Silva was previously a strong advocate on the April 14, 2022 sovereign debt default which officially declared Sri Lanka a ‘bankrupt’ nation.
4. Police arrest a man for hooting Minister Bandula Gunawardena who was attending a ceremony to lay the foundation stone for a Buddhist shrine near the Pitipana Junction in Homagama – Suspect to be produced before Court for obstructing a religious ceremony.
5. Chief of the President’s Staff and Senior Advisor to the President on National Security Sagala Ratnayake says the government has no intention of dissolving the Civil Service Department (CSD); reminds the CSD was approved as a depreciable service according to the 2015 Cabinet paper, but that period has now lapsed; assures the members of the CSD are allowed to request a service extension beyond the age of 55, enabling them to serve up to 60 years.
6. Senior Counsel Kaushalya Navaratne takes office as the 27th President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL); assures he will take steps to continue the future activities of the BASL independently, away from party politics: critics claim unlike predecessor Peiris PC, Navaratne holds a politically biased record.
7. Election Commission says it requested a meeting with Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena to address the challenges against the holding of the LG Polls: Gunwardena previously said in Parliament that he wishes to call in the Commission to address the issue.
8. IGP C.D. Wickramaratne granted a 3-month service extension through an order issued by the President: Wickramaratne was to retire from the post on March 23, 2023: Early reports on SDIG Deshabandu Tennakoon, a top police official with a controversial record, being appointed as the IGP remain unconfirmed.
9. The ‘Stain Studios in Sri Lanka,’ one of South Asia’s largest studio complexes, dedicated to legendary Filmmaker and Actor Gamini Fonseka: The studio rechristened ‘The Gamini Fonseka Studio.’
10. Indian Cricket news aggregator ‘Cricbuzz’ reports the Indian Cricket Board is contemplating having another short home series in June either against Afghanistan or Sri Lanka; options are being explored to see if a three-match ODI series against SL or AFGH in the second half of June 2023, more precisely after the World Test Championship final.

A special program was held by the President’s Media Division (PMD) to celebrate the birthday of President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday afternoon (24). The event was organized for resident disabled war heroes at the Attidiya ‘Mihindu Seth Madura’.

Mihindu Seth Madura is a residential care facility that offers ongoing care, attention, and support to war veterans with special needs due to debilitating injuries.
Minister of State for Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon and Senior Adviser to the President on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Mr Sagala Ratnayake were present at the event and inquired about the well-being of the war heroes.

Director General of the President’s media Division Mr. Dhanushka Ramanayake, along with Media Directors Mr Shanuka Karunaratne and Mr Meesha Gunawardena, as well as Senior Assistant Secretary to the President Mr. Sudheera Nilanga Vithana, Deputy Directors, senior and other staff members inquired about the wellbeing of the war heroes and presented gifts to them.

The group also personally interacted with the war heroes and offered their assistance. A war hero was also provided an opportunity upon his request, to contact President Ranil Wickremesinghe on his mobile phone to offer his birthday greetings to the President.

This occasion was also attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva, Army Commander Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Army Rehabilitation Director Brigadier Shiron Ekanayake, and Commandant, ‘Mihindu Seth Medura’ Brigadier T.S Balasooriya.

Senior lawyer Kaushalya Navaratne took office as the 27th President of the Sri Lanka Bar Association yesterday (25).

He was recently elected as the President of the Sri Lanka Bar Association for the year 2023-2024 without polling. That was because he was the only one nominated for the post of chairman.

Kaushalya Navaratne, starting work in his position yesterday, stated that he will take steps to continue the future activities of the Bar Association independently, away from party politics.

(Colombo, Sri Lanka): The Government of Japan provided USD 1.6 million to UN Women in support of humanitarian assistance for women most affected by the socio-economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The funding is part of a new project “Empowering women in crisis”, running from February 2023 to December 2023, which will support at least 1,200 women, including their children who have faced sexual and gender-based violence. It will further support 500 women-led micro-enterprises at risk of collapse and over 2,000 individuals at risk of poverty and malnutrition.

H.E. MIZUKOSHI Hideaki, Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka, stressed: “Our goal is to ensure that women and girls who are most vulnerable to the ongoing crisis are not left behind in response and recovery efforts, and to ensure that their safety and security are prioritized during this time.”

As reports on the ground reflect a continuing increase in cases of sexual and gender-based violence, the ongoing crisis and economic instability have hindered access to state services such as safe houses and shelters resulting in devastating implications for women and girls.

Through this project, UN Women will provide safe houses with continued access to commodities including food and other essential items. Additionally, it will ensure that shelters and safe houses where facilities were improved and refurbished continue to function rather than face closure due to inadequate funding and support. This will ensure that more safe houses are available for women and girls fleeing abusive circumstances.

Moreover, due to a lack of access to viable employment opportunities and soaring food inflation, there is an urgent need to ensure that households – particularly those already vulnerable and marginalized – have access to basic food and necessities to support their survival.

“We are grateful for the contribution provided by the Government of Japan to address the urgent needs of women and girls”, said Prashani Dias, Head of Office a.i. at UN Women Sri Lanka. “This will provide income-generating resources and life-saving support to vulnerable women, and ensure that the status of women and girls in the country does not regress further”.

To support these efforts, this project will work with women-led enterprises to strengthen their business resilience and livelihoods through the provision of in-kind support and business development trainings, in the districts of Ampara, Colombo, Monaragala, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu.

AHRC: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility has approved a fund to assist Sri Lanka at this time of terrible economic crisis. While there are many things to talk about that issue, we wish at the very beginning to highlight what we think is the most important issue that should be brought to the notice of the people on this matter. 

The IMF has strongly recommended, in fact, has made it one of its key demands, that the corruption in the country has to be brought under control or to eliminate it as a condition of this loan. 

That is quite understandable, because otherwise, this money will also land where other monies have landed in the past, to benefit most ‘individuals’, rather than the country. The IMF recommends that for this purpose of the elimination of corruption, very comprehensive laws should be passed in Sri Lanka regarding the elimination of corruption. 

However, at the very start, we wish to highlight that the mere passing of a law as the IMF suggests is wholly inadequate to deal with this objective of the elimination of corruption in Sri Lanka. Sometimes, the experts from Western countries may think that once a law is passed, it will get automatically implemented. 

That is not the case in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has had a very developed system of law, and at the same time, it has also in recent times brought in some very progressive international laws under the pressure of international agencies. However, the problem in Sri Lanka is that while the law exists, the law is not enforced.  The Executive can be very comfortable in passing any legislation, if they have the adequate majority to do that in the Parliament, because that will remain just in a book and nothing else will happen. 

Examples are many.  For example, Sri Lanka, passed the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel. Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act, No. 22 of 1994, which is one of the most remarkably developed laws when compared with international laws. Similar laws have been passed in other matters, like children’s rights, women’s rights, and even on issues like poverty alleviation and many other matters. 

They are all good looking laws, which are, as you know, never touched and never implemented.  The reason is that Sri Lanka’s crisis is essentially a crisis of law enforcement, not the lack of laws. Law enforcement is understood more like the use of violence and you know, direct punishments, rather than the enforcement of the law, through a proper system of a functioning policing system. 

The Policing system has been seriously criticised even by the Supreme Court (SC), including in a very recent case where the SC said that “the Sri Lankan Police has ceased to be a professional force.” It was referring to a case of ‘extra-judicial killings’, and the Court noted that it is a very frequent practice, despite many reminders by even the SC, and the Police authorities including the Inspector General of Police (IGP), having done almost nothing to improve this situation.  In fact, the situation is deteriorating. If you ask the Police, unofficially, they will say, ‘this is not due to their fault, it is because of external forces, particularly politicians who interfere with their work, and that if they in fact do serious work, they get punished.” 

And, there are glaring examples of very ‘credible work’, done by some very competent investigators, into some very serious crimes and the result has been that they have been taken out of their jobs, while some had to flee from the country, and others had to remain, go to even jail for some time, and now await trials which are kept on being postponed, the latter which is also a way of punishment in Sri Lanka.  To put a ‘faults case’, and then keep on postponing for years and years so that the officer loses his/her job during that time, while his/her family and himself/herself, suffer for many years for nothing is the norm. And, that is a way that the law enforcement officers serious about their jobs are being treated. 

The obstacles to investigations into allegations of corruption maybe summed up as follows:

The failures in the investigations into corruption in its various forms, are due to many factors. Some important factors are as follows: 

1. A lack of a clear policy of the State to require strict investigations into all complaints regarding crimes related to corruption. In fact, the existing policy is to discourage such investigations on the basis of many considerations which favour those who engage in such crimes. 

2. The lack of trained Police investigators into crimes in general, but most specifically, into crimes relating to financial and other forms of corruption.  Investigations into crimes other than those committed by those who are called ordinary criminals has been very rare, as a result of which, the experience processed by the law enforcement agencies into such corruption is very limited. Thus, without a considerable effort to improve the quality of the investigations into corruption related crimes, it is very unlikely that the IMF recommendations on this matter will be practically put into effect. 

3. The resources that are needed for investigations into financial and other crimes are also not available to the investigation agencies. The development in this area of more technologically based investigations has been very negligible. Besides, such investigations require equipment in order to conduct such inquiries thoroughly and also to preserve evidence, and this is hardly available to the investigating agencies. 

4. Perhaps the most disheartening aspect on this matter is the absence of protection for independent and committed investigators. There are highly publicised cases of such investigators being punished without any basis and some having had to flee the country as a result of serious death threats. Thus, the professional environment that is needed for the proper performance of their functions is virtually absent.

5. Direct political interferences into investigations into crimes related to corruption.  The laws relating to interference or the obstruction of justice is hardly being enforced. 

6. There are public attacks, directly or indirectly led by the Executive on oversight mechanisms such as the Auditor General’s Department, the Judiciary itself and other agencies such as the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka which have the legal obligations to oversee the prevention of corruption.

7. There are heavy attacks on the media which seriously pursue information relating to corruption and constantly call for investigations. This has created a very serious setback to the work of the media. Meanwhile, cultivating a politically biased section of the media which pursues the critics and creates baseless propaganda campaigns against those who are demanding investigations into corruption is also a negative factor. 

8. The cultivation of underground elements to engage in physical attacks and even make death threats and sometimes commit extra-judicial killings against those who make complaints of corruption or those who in various ways engage in anti-corruption work also creates a climate of fear affecting proper investigations into allegations of corruption. 

So, there is a glaring problem of the collapse of the system of law enforcement.  And, a test can be seen within the coming days, concerning who will be selected for the IGP position. Will it be a person committed to reforming the policing system, to enforce the rule of law strictly and bring it to the respectable institution that it once was? Or, will it be another self serving officer who will serve ‘political masters’?  Now, that is the kind of issue that the IMF loan will be faced with soon. 

It is not only in the policing that there is a problem, as in other law enforcement agencies for example like the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, they face the same problem.  In countries where there is successful law enforcement regarding corruption, one of the first steps is to eliminate all police officers from the ‘investigative functions’ in the Commission. The Commission develops its own ‘professional staff’, as investigators, who will work independently for the Commission.  Like for example, the Independent Commission Against Corruption in Hong Kong, one of the most effective corruption control agencies. 

Now, will the Government and will the Executive, be willing to enforce that kind of a system in order to ensure that corruption is eliminated.  The IMF will be able to find the answer very soon. 

It is time for the people, the Parliament, and also the IMF itself, to examine this question now itself.  ‘What is the capacity of Sri Lanka to enforce good law enforcement related laws once they are passed’?. 

The enforcement aspect should be addressed within the law itself and of course, the resources should be made available for effective implementation. Otherwise, very soon, it will be discovered that the recommendations that were given by the IMF on this occasion, have not borne any fruit, in the same way that the earlier pronouncement about corruption elimination has also borne no fruit.

A Sri Lankan Gem and Jewellery Exhibition was held at The St. Regis Hotel in Shanghai between 22 to 23 March 2023 with the participation of Zam Gems Sri Lanka under the patronage of Sri Lanka Consulate General in Shanghai.

At the exhibition, Sri Lankan gems which included blue sapphires, pink sapphires (rubies), Alexandrite and Cat’s-eye Chrysoberyl were displayed. In addition, a variety of jewellery including necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets which were crafted using above mentioned Sri Lankan gems and stones were also exhibited.

The Chairman of Shanghai Jade and Gem Exchange Simon Chan participated in the event with his team of officials and reputed Chinese buyers.  In addition, many other buyers across China, Gem and Jewellery traders, gem collectors, members of Shanghai Diplomatic Corp,  expatriates as well as other interested parties and visitors were present at the event.

Further, the Consulate used this opportunity to promote Sri Lanka tourism by displaying and distributing Sri Lanka tourism brochures among prospective gem buyers, members of Diplomatic Corp and visitors while responding to tourism related queries.

This event, which was the 01^st Gem and Jewellery exhibition held in Shanghai in the aftermath of the opening up of Chinese borders (ending months long Covid-19 restrictions), proved to be a huge success

Consulate General of Sri Lanka

Shanghai

24 March 2023

National Peace Council of Sri Lanka: There have been media reports of a ministerial delegation visiting South Africa to undertake a study of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the reconciliation process that took place in that country over two decades ago.  The South African reconciliation process, and its Truth and Reconciliation Commission in particular, have gained worldwide recognition for being a pioneer in dealing with human rights violations and war crimes that took place in the course of the struggle against Apartheid. 

An important feature of the South African TRC was its openness and transparency. The public hearings held by the TRC ensured that South Africans became aware of the violations that had been committed during the apartheid years.  The National Peace Council (NPC) believes that such a commission could provide Sri Lankan with renewed hope in terms of peace and reconciliation for those who have been affected by gross human rights violations. It is hoped the TRC will enable families of the missing to have the opportunity to learn about the fate of their relatives, who went missing during the war and leftist insurrection.

The reconciliation process should be a home grown one which is organic to Sri Lanka. If the process is organic, then it will not be rejected inasmuch as a human body will reject and organ which is foreign. NPC believes that Sri Lanka should venture beyond retributive justice and restorative justice. While the criminal justice system uses retributive justice as a form of deterrence this has not provided protection against the repetition of crime.  Restoring society to the pre-war period is not adequate to achieve reconciliation, neither is punishing those involved as it can polarize society in a manner where there is no organic social consciousness of guilt.  NPC believes that the transformative approach of the South African model is more suitable than the retributive justice process which is not suitable for ethnic conflicts or large scale conflicts.

The challenge will be to find solutions that are in line with Sri Lankan values and forms of justice that are accepted by the Sri Lankan people along with the rejection of violence. Accordingly, NPC believes that it is necessary for the TRC to be representative to instill confidence in the victims.  It is of paramount importance that the members of the commission are selected via a consultative process as was the South African TRC where its members were selected through an open countrywide nomination process and publicly interviewed by an independent selection panel comprising representatives of all the political parties, civil society, and the religious bodies in the country. Hence those studying the TRC process need to ensure that a transparent process emerges in the establishment and implementation of a TRC in order to achieve peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. 

Hon. Thalatha Athukorala, Member of Parliament appointed as the Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Children, Women and Gender

Hon. Thalatha Athukorala, Member of Parliament was appointed as the Chair to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Children, Women and Gender unanimously at its first meeting held on 22.03.2023 in Parliament.

Hon. (Mrs.) Manjula Dissanayake, Member of Parliament proposed the name of the Chair while Hon. (Mrs.) Muditha Prashanthi , Member of Parliament seconded it.
It was also revealed that this committee has the authority to summon institutions under the Ministry of Women, Children Affairs and Social Empowerment, Department of Probation and Child Care Services, National Child Protection Authority, National Secretariat for Early Childhood Development.

Members of Parliament Hon. Thissa Vitharana, Hon. Rohini Kumari Wijeratne, Hon. Mudita Prishanthi, Hon. Rajika Wickramasinghe, Hon. D. Weerasinghe, Hon. Manjula Dissanayake, Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya and Hon. Jagath Samarawickrama were present at this committee.