It is reported that the Public Service Commission is scheduled to meet tomorrow (07) to review two reports regarding a statement made by IGP CD Wickramaratne that OICs have been appointed to 182 police stations islandwide due to political pressure and the sudden transfer of three senior DIGs.
As the Public Service Commission has observed that the IGP has acted beyond its powers in relation to both these incidents, the Commission has requested the IGP to submit two reports in this regard and it is said that he has submitted those reports within 7 days.
According to the IGP, if the OICs were appointed on the recommendation of politicians, it would be an abuse of the powers vested in the IGP by his commission. It was reported that the Public Service Commission was of the opinion that the IGP had acted beyond his powers by transferring.
Sources said that a final decision on the next course of action regarding the two IGP reports will be taken tomorrow.
It is reported that the Secretary to the President Gamini Senarath has informed all the Secretaries of the Ministries in writing that if a head of a state institution belonging to a Ministry is removed, prior notice should be given to the Presidential Secretariat.
Sources said that the ministers have also lost the power to appoint new heads of state institutions as a circular issued by the President in 2020 regarding the appointment of heads of state institutions has not been canceled yet.
The Ceylon Private Bus Owners’ Association says that the operation of private buses in many parts of the island will be completely disrupted today (06).
Accordingly, private bus services in Mannar, Vavuniya, Gampaha District, Southern Province, Kegalle, Mawanella, Polonnaruwa, Badulla and Puttalam will be completely disrupted, said the President of the Association Gemunu Wijeratne.
He said that the reason for this was the non-issuance of diesel for private buses as promised by the SLTB depots in those areas and stressed that the relevant authorities and the Minister of Energy should take full responsibility for this.
Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst financial crisis in over seven decades with a severe foreign exchange shortage that has left it struggling to pay for essential imports including food, fuel, fertilisers and medicines.
Its Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, spoke to NDTV on the present situation in the island nation and also thanked India for its support with the credit line and the swap during the time of crisis.
He noted that despite the current situation being managed by the government, he is trying to reach into an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Denoting that he is the ‘Crisis Prime Minister’ of Sri Lanka, Wickremesinghe added that the ministers are backing him to resolve the crisis befallen the country, despite the political instability which the young protesters are demanding elimination of.
Setting aside the economic crisis only to focus on the political instability should not happen, he emphasised, making it clear that his focus is to bring the country’s economic situation back to normalcy than to focus on the political dialogue.
The fallout from a Colombo court’s order to seize an Aeroflot A330 continues as Aeroflot plans repatriation flights.
Aeroflot has suspended all flights to Sri Lanka after a court ordered the seizure of one of its Airbus A330s on Thursday, June 2nd. The seizure came after the plane’s Irish owner requested an injunction since the A330’s lease had been terminated following sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Here’s more on the situation.
No more commercial flights
In an expected move, Aeroflot has axed all commercial flights in and out of Sri Lanka as it looks to retrieve it’s Airbus A330 seized on the ground. However, the airline is operating two repatriation flights on June 4th and 5th to bring home citizens who are asked to deplane on June 2nd due to the seizure and those scheduled to fly on the 4th and 5th.
The first of these flights landed on Saturday in Colombo at 10:12 AM local time after the 8 hours and 30-minute journey from Moscow. Notably, there were no passengers on this flight since it was only set to repatriate stranded travelers. The second repatriation flight landed Sunday morning at the time and is currently en route to Moscow.
While both flights carried flight number SU288, commercial services remain suspended for now. In a statement to The Economic Times, Aeroflot said,
“Aeroflot is suspending commercial flights to Colombo (Sri Lanka) for the immediate period due to an unreliable situation in terms of the airline’s unobstructed flights to Sri Lanka. The sales of tickets for flights to Colombo have been temporarily shut down.”
Getting everyone home
The Colombo Commercial Court has banned the seized A330, RA-73702 (previously VQ-BMY), from leaving the country until June 16th under the original order. However, there is a hearing scheduled for June 8th to potentially lift the order and allow Aeroflot to fly its jets home.
However, lessor Celestial Aviation Ireland is unlikely to let this happen without a fight. The A330 was previously leased to Aeroflot by GECAS and AerCap and was reregistered in April after the EU ordered that all leases to Russian carriers be canceled and aircraft seized. While the former went into effect, getting the planes back has been difficult due to the reregistration.
However, Aeroflot has promised passengers that it will continue to operate flights in the coming days and weeks to bring all citizens back home. Whether these will be repatriation or commercial services remains to be seen.
Looking ahead
The situation with Russian airlines and aircraft continues to evolve amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. We’ve seen several surprises occur across the aviation industry in the last few months since the start of the invasion. There will undoubtedly be several more twists in the coming months as operators and authorities try to adapt to the global conditions.
The supreme power of the country is in the hands of the people and that there was a government and a president with a mandate in parliament, but the mandate given to them then is not there today due to the occurrence of a political distortion, said Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, addressing the opening ceremony of the office of Ananda Abeywickrama, organiser of the Ambalangoda Electoerate of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya yesterday (04).
Addressing the occasion, the Opposition Leader noted that the people today demand the abolition of the Executive Presidency as well as the Rajapaksas themselves.
In the backdrop, it would not be possible to form a government with the same Rajapaksas, Premadasa went on, adding that what he did was based on what the people want. The country has to suffer the consequences of the positions that some have taken over by telling lies, such as the lie of having five-six billion dollars in their hands, he noted.
• Witnesses of severe cases are being assassinated!
On one hand, the country is falling into an abyss day by day, and on another, the culture of murder has begun across the land, Premadasa warned, adding that recently even a king coconut trader has been murdered. Accordingly, witnesses to severe cases are being assassinated, begging the question where is national security, he pointed out.
• Critics of diplomatic relations slapped in the face by Russia!
There is a turmoil awaken on an international level due to a Russian flight being kept in Sri Lanka via an order by the Commercial High Court, leading to much bigger problems, Premadasa emphasised. A matter that could have been solved on diplomatic level has grown into a huge problem, he added. Critics so vocal about diplomatic relations have worsen the situation and as a result there is a risk of losing tourists arriving in the island and the market for Sri Lankan tea, the Opposition Leader pointed out.
Premadasa questioned why the President, the Prime Minister or the Foreign Affairs Minister fail to understand the severity of this problem, and how would a team so incapable as such build this country?
• SJB takes no part in the game of ‘Both Parties Are The Same’!
The Opposition Leader further noted that the SJB takes no part in the game of ‘Both Parties Are The Same,’ where power was being taken over between two political mainstreams, as suggested by some people. The SJB is carrying out a massive public service and social service on a scale never seen before by any other opposition in history, Premadasas went on, adding that his Party is carrying out a number of social services such as the ‘Samagi Jana Balawegayen Husmak’ initiative, the ‘Sakwala’ initiative, and the distribution of vehicles to schools.
Rs. 700 million belonged to the Land Reform Commission (LRC) has been defrauded by former Land Minister S.M. Chandrasena together with the Rajapaksas, sources said.
Rs. 700 million has been released from funds belonging to the LRC at an allocation of Rs. 20 million each for 35 organic fertiliser production pilot projects in the North Central Province under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s concept for Organic Farming.
The said money had been released to reimburse the amount paid by the Agriculture Ministry for the purchase of the products for the organic farming projects within three months, based on a Cabinet paper presented by Chandrasena on May 05, 2021, but a single rupee has not been settled for the whole of Rs. 700 million to date, according to sources.
Notably, this money has been released in the backdrop where the legal adviser to the Land Ministry himself had informed in writing that it would be ‘unlawful’ to acquire money belonging to the LRC for projects of such a nature.
Out of the estimate of Rs. 20 million each for these projects, Rs. 17 million had been allocated for the purchase of vehicles and buildings on lease, and only Rs. 900,000 had been allocated for the purchase of raw materials for the manufacture of organic manure.
The Cabinet paper was approved by Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the then Finance Minister and Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister in Charge of Organic Farming Projects and then Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage had also approved the paper in writing, sources further divulged.
Money has been embezzled by releasing them to the friends and associates of Chandrasena living in the North Central Province, which is the then Land Minister’s own political jurisdiction, in the guise of implementing the organic farming projects in the area.
The severity into this most politically immoral act should be noted, as those in power are capable of openly, unlawfully and unconstitutionally embezzling money belonging to most important commissions in Sri Lanka such as the LRC, leaving the big question as to when it would be the end of such scandals we, as Sri Lankans, have been hearing all our lives.
