Although the people’s protest is not over, the activists have decided to physically withdraw from the Galle Face protest site, says actress Damita Abeyratne, one of the frontline activists of the protest.
Accordingly, yesterday (09) they reached that decision, she stated to the media during a protest held yesterday afternoon at the Galle Face protest site.
As of yesterday, 123 days had been completed for the Galle Face protest which started on April 9th.
It is reported that Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Member of Parliament Dhammika Perera is to be appointed as the Minister of Economic Stabilization and Investment Promotion.
Sources stated that he will be appointed as the Chairman of the Economic Development Committee with Cabinet powers, but that has now changed.
Dhammika Perera worked as the Minister of Investment Promotion for a short period before and the role he played during those days was greatly appreciated by the people.
The proposal to amend the Shop and Office Workers (Regularization of Service and Wages) Act No. 19 of 1954 to enable women in IT-based jobs to work on international hours and work at night submitted by Manusha Nanayakkara, Minister of Labor and Foreign Employment has been approved by the cabinet.
Accordingly, the legal restrictions on working at night have been revised for employees working in IT-based businesses, knowledge and business process outsourcing organizations, offices that conduct accounts, and administrative and technical work of business organizations located abroad. Thereby, female workers who have completed the age of eighteen years in the above-mentioned fields can be employed before 6.00 am or after 6.00 pm.
In the existing legal situation, a woman over the age of eighteen was allowed to work until 8:00 pm, and there was a limited space to work at night only in a limited range such as airports, hotels, restaurants, and clubs. This will remove the legal obstacles in the labor law to the employment of women workers at night, and it is also expected that the participation of women in the workforce in this country will further grow.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe joined an official visit to the Army Headquarters in Akuregoda, Pelawatta this (09) morning.
Addressing the event, the President said the nation’s praise will be given to the members of the military who protected democracy by suppressing the violent demonstrators who obstructed the legislature by acquiring the executive.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne, Senior Advisor to the President Sagala Ratnayake, Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva and other senior security officers also attended the event.
The standard law of Sri Lanka cannot be applied to acts of sabotage or destruction of property in Parliament, and MPs cannot be brought before the Judiciary and questioned over matters of such, said Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena, speaking to the briefing held in announcing the Cabinet decisions today (09).
The investigations regarding property damage in Parliament should be carried out via the Parliament mechanism itself and the Speaker has all the relevant powers, the Cabinet Spokesman pointed out, responding to media queries regarding the arrest of anti-government protesters across the country under the Public Property Act.
He added that the Speaker can be questioned, has he not taken any measures to address such an event in Parliament.
A number of protesters accused of involvement in causing damages to the properties in the Presidential Secretariat, the President’s House and Temple Trees, which in a historic move were acquired by the anti-government protesters on July 09, were arrested by the Police, and investigations are underway to arrest many others.
The Cabinet Spokesman added that the arresting of protesters under the Public Property Act is being carried out legitimately, but the law does not apply to events of the same nature in Parliament.
MIAP
The Collective of Trade Unions and Multi-People Organisations today (09) organised a demonstration in front of the Fort Railway Station demanding an end to state repression.
They demanded an end to state repression, as well as the abolishment of the Emergency Regulations and the release of all protesters.
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Indictments were handed over before the Colombo High Court today (09) against three suspects including former Trade Minister Johnston Fernando, on the allegation of incurring a loss of over Rs. 1.1 million to the government by dismissing employees of the SATHOSA from their duties for political deployment in 2013.
The suspects have been prosecuted under the 70th clause of the Bribery Act and the indictments were handed over before Colombo High Court Judge Navaratna Marasinghe.
The accused parties thereafter have been ordered for release on cash bail of Rs. 50,000 and two sureties of Rs. 1 million each. However, the accused parties’ foreign travels have been banned until the trial’s conclusion.
The defendants have further been ordered to hand over their passports to the Court and to report to the Bribery Commission’s Investigative Unit on the last Sunday of every month.
MIAP
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena today (09) has tabled the amended draft Budget Appropriation Bill in Parliament.
A decision was made to revise and retable the Budget Appropriation Bill prepared for 2022 to meet the government’s expenditure for the next four months.
Accordingly, the amended bill will be referred to debate soon.
MIAP
The most conversed electricity tariff revision has finally been approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL). Accordingly, PUCSL Chief Janaka Ratnayake speaking to a briefing held in Colombo today (09) revealed that the charges will surge by 75 per cent.
Meanwhile, the water tariffs will also meet a rise, and accordingly, the Ministry of Water Supply stated that the proposal to raise the charges has already been presented to the Cabinet and that the Cabinet will decide on the percentage by which the water tariffs should increase.
MIAP
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs refers to developments related to the Chinese vessel Yuang Wang 5.
Diplomatic clearance for the Chinese vessel to make a port call at the Hambantota port 11-17 August, 2022 for replenishment purposes was conveyed by the Ministry to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Colombo on 12 July, 2022. Subsequently in light of the need for further consultations, the Ministry has communicated to the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Colombo to defer the visit of the said vessel to the Hambantota port.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to reaffirm the enduring friendship and excellent relations between Sri Lanka and China which remain on a solid foundation, as reiterated most recently by the two Foreign Ministers Ali Sabry and Wang Yi at a bilateral meeting in Phonm Penh, Cambodia on 4 August, 2022. At this first meeting between the two Foreign Ministers, Minister Sabry referred to Sri Lanka’s firm commitment to the one-China policy which has been a consistent principle in the country’s foreign policy.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
8 August, 2022
