The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka has appointed Mr. Choe Hui Chol as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka based in New Delhi. He has presented credentials to H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka on 21 December 2021 at 5.30 p.m. at President’s House, Colombo 01.
Foreign Ministry
Colombo
22 December, 2021
On December 17, 2021, Mass Media Minister Dullas Alahapperuma revealed that the number of child abuse cases reported in the last 333 days (11 months) accounts to 10,713. Among them were 1,632 victims below the age of 5, and 2,626 victims of age 6 – 10, a total of 4,258 victims below the age of 10 at a 40 per cent portion of the whole account, he said.
All citizens below the age 18 are considered as children, according to the Convention of the Rights of the Child in the Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka. A child, by definition, should be living under the shelter, love, protection and affection of their parents.
But the tragedy of children, the ones who are growing to hold the future world one day, being fallen prey to child molesters is uprising day by day. Any mistreatment against a child can simply be defined as an act of child abuse, and physical mistreatment and sexual molestation are most common figures of child abuse.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines child abuse and child maltreatment as “all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power.”
The Mass Media Minister of Sri Lanka himself acknowledges with utmost ‘shock’ and ‘helplessness’ that 33 cases of child abuse are being reported on a daily basis and among them is a considerable account of toddlers. We too find it not only disturbing but also shocking given the fact that a government minister, a public’s representative, whose maintenance is dependent upon public funds, is passing over both the accountability and the liability of this heinous crime to the people.
There are enough state-run bodies in Sri Lanka which, by definition, are dedicated to protect children and prevent them from being fallen prey to child molesters. The National Child Protection Authority was established in 1999 under the National Child Protection Authority Act No. 50 of 1998 with the objective of formulating a policy for the prevention of child abuse and the protection and treatment of children who are victims of abuse. It is no secret that this body has failed to implement their policies effectively since its establishment, given the astronomical figures of child abuse cases reported over the decades. The Authority has neglected its responsibility to empower and educate the civil society and properly rehabilitate and socialise the victims of child abuse in its understanding of the risks to the safety of children in the face of soaring Police complaints.
It is extremely disgusting and ridiculous that the Child Protection Authority, which is said to be possessing a ‘huge mechanism’ consisting of a Legal Division, a Psychological Division, an Investigation Division and a Children and Women’s Bureau of the Sri Lanka Police to receive complaints of the Authority, District Child Protection Officers and District Psycho-Social Officers attached within all 25 Districts, and Divisional Child Protection Officers attached covering 332 Divisional Secretariats, has been sleepy despite the fact that 33 cases of child abuse are being reported on a daily basis.
The real question is why these bodies, which are maintained by the tax monies we pay, continue to operate if they are unable to fulfil their responsibilities by influencing responsible government elements through a sound policy and legal framework. Children are the apple of parents’ eyes. A state does not expect to present only numerical data through a mechanism that cannot protect the most valuable resource it holds, the children.
The most humorous part of the entire saga is the fact that the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs is vested in a man. The Ministry itself is a State Ministry, not a Cabinet one. All political parties that focus on women’s representation in parliamentary polls should be ashamed of the damage befallen the country due to this tragedy. It is even more unfortunate that no women’s representation in Parliament has raised a voice in this regard. Their outspokenness may limit itself to the social class and environment in which they associate on the safety of their children and not receive the grief of those exposed to extreme pressure and victimisation in the rural areas.
In a country where the Rule of Law and the mechanism of Law Enforcement have driven themselves into an abyss, innocent children have to pay the price. Unemployment, malnutrition, poverty, inflation and misuse of technology are all pushing the country’s moral and cultural boundaries to the abyss.
All of the above should be responsible for the children who have been abused, oppressed and molested to date. It is a responsibility which they can never get away from. One of these days, Sri Lanka may become an unfit place to live with children.
Sadly, there is not even a hint of a solution demonstrated by either of the aforementioned parties to these problems.
Translated from original article by Sashikala Madhushani
A Christmas party was held at St. Joseph’s Elders’ House, Thammita, Negombo today (23).
The event was organised by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Kavinda Jayawardena. Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa appeared as the Chief Guest.
The Opposition Leader held a pleasant chat with the people in the Elders’ House and spent several hours with them.
Lake Gregory has been emptied to build a jogging track, severely affecting the tourist boaters in the area, the Lake Gregory Tourist Boaters’ Association revealed.
They pointed out that it would be a great injustice to take such a measure during the festive season in the event that a large number of local and foreign tourists visiting the Nuwara Eliya area are enjoying the lake.
Lake Gregory is currently administered by the Nuwara Eliya Municipal Council and was emptied yesterday (22).
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, people who used to work in the vicinity of Lake Gregory had not been able to earn any income for more than a year. Following the outbreak’s decline the place was restored with its recognition as a tourist hotspot, but the sudden decision to empty Lake Gregory has driven those working in the area to meet a new nightmare!
MIAP
Should the country continue to move forward with the current situation, there will be a severe famine, economic collapse and Sri Lanka will be branded as a bankrupted nation, warned Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, speaking to reporters on his appearance before the Special Presidential Commission of Inquiry established at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) to investigate, report and table recommendations on the service done by the Anti-Corruption Committee and its Secretariat appointed by the previous Good Governance Regime after the January 08, 2015 Election today (23).
On one hand, the people should also be held accountable for the country being dragged into such a state, the Field Marshal noted, reminding that it is the people who elect such failed and corrupt politicians to Parliament over and over again.
Fonseka further noted that leaders like those of Singapore and Malaysia must emerge in Sri Lanka, should the country’s political culture be changed.
MIAP
Though there have been setbacks along the way, New Zealand’s Covid response can still be regarded as one of the most successful in the world. Photograph: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
Few cases and high vaccination rates, but these successes have come at a cost
As the Covid-19 pandemic hurtles towards its second anniversary, New Zealand will emerge from 2021 with some of the best health outcomes in the world, despite confronting its toughest few pandemic months.
This year New Zealand experienced its longest lockdown, its highest daily case numbers (222 in mid-November), more hospitalisations than in 2020 and a pivot away from the government’s ambitious elimination approach to one of strict virus control. But it can now boast a 90% double vaccination for the eligible population and one of the lowest per capita death rates, while its cases in the current outbreak are trending downwards.
As other countries reimpose restrictions alongside the Omicron variant’s emergence, New Zealanders can look forward to celebrating Christmas and the new year with family and friends. With no community cases of Omicron yet detected, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, sports venues and night clubs remain open with minimal constraints aimed mostly at the unvaccinated.
“I’m really proud of the decisions that we’ve made this year because they have stopped people from dying from Covid-19,” says Chris Hipkins, the Covid-19 response minister. “We know too from the past two years that a good health response is also the best economic response – and that gives our country great reason to celebrate.”
Until August, New Zealand had experienced relative normalcy for a year, with just a few community cases that were rapidly stamped out, open schools and workplaces, and even 50,000 people attending a single concert while the virus raged overseas. When Delta broke through the border and into the community, vaccination efforts ramped up and a new approach to tackling the virus was ushered in.
“I think it’s very pleasing that we are reaching, by international comparison, high levels of vaccine coverage, while at the same time having suppressed cases and prevented hospital overwhelm,” says Dr Jin Russell, a developmental paediatrician.
“We have had more days of in-person schooling over the pandemic than most other countries. From a child-centric point of view New Zealand has actually done very well.”
New Zealand’s success story has some caveats. The staged vaccine rollout began in February but has been criticised as sluggish and inequitable. This month, the Waitangi Tribunal – which makes rulings based on claims brought by Māori against the crown – found the government’s rollout had failed in its duty to Māori, after it rejected advice from its own officials to adopt an age adjustment for Māori, who have a younger population and are more vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19.
It also ruled the rapid shift to the Covid-19 Protection Framework, commonly known as the “traffic-light system”, put Māori health providers under extreme pressure, undermining their ability to provide equitable care for Māori.
In the face of this, Māori vaccination rates are rapidly improving, which is largely thanks to a huge push from Māori health and community organisations working on the ground, and in some cases going door-to-door to educate and support people to get the vaccine.
“As a nation, Māori and non-Māori can be really proud of the way Māori providers, and Whānau Ora [family health] providers across the motu [island] have come together and rallied for the betterment of Aotearoa whānui [broader New Zealand],” says Elijah Pue, the lead for Te Ranga Tupua – a collective made up of iwi (tribes) delivering health services across parts of the North Island.
New Zealanders abroad and migrants whose families have been unable to join them in New Zealand have also felt isolated and angered by the government’s response to the pandemic, which included closing the international border in March 2020.
Since then those wishing to return have had to vie for places in the country’s oversubscribed managed isolation and quarantine system (MIQ), with thousands saying the difficulty of getting home has taken a financial, emotional and psychological toll.
This week’s announcement that the government was delaying the staged quarantine-free reopening of the border until the end of February, while spots in MIQ were also pulled due to the threat of Omicron, caused further anguish for those stranded abroad.
“The right to enter your own country is a not a time-limited, ‘one and done’ right,” the campaign group Grounded Kiwis tweeted. “There are sensible science and risk-based ways to get more people back while controlling the risk.”
But with Omicron “throwing a spanner in the works”, microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles said the government must be cautious with its border reopening plans.
“We’ve started well, and hopefully people will understand why we need to continue on this path, because we have to stop transmission of the virus everywhere,” Wiles said. “No one is safe, until we’re all safe.”
The transfer of medical officers recently brought to light was not of political influence but the result of a mafia organisation, said the Government Medical Officers’ Forum (GMOF) speaking to a briefing held today (23).
Union Media Secretary Dr. Niroshana Premaratne said he is confident that the Health Minister’s authority against such mafia groups will continue to be exercised.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) was engaged in a conspiratorial strike action without any legitimacy, including a court injunction, Dr. Premaratne added, revealing that about 90 per cent of the medical doctors are not with them at the moment.
Resembling the GMOA to a body bidding the will of Satan, the GMOF Secretary added that the GMOA is sacrificing the lives of the people by staging strike actions for no reason.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly left for India on a private tour.
The Sri Lankan Prime Minister is currently in India, according to Indian media reports.
Prime Minister Rajapaksa is also set to visit the famous Tirupathi Kovil.
MIAP
SLT-MOBITEL as the National Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Solutions Provider is empowering communities in the Northern and Eastern provinces with an exclusive bonanza of not-to-be-missed product and service offerings during the month of December.
SLT-MOBITEL have unveiled an exciting line-up of promotional offers for new home broadband customers ensuring they have access to a total telecommunication and entertainment ecosystem. With options ranging from data plans and PEO TV offers, new customers will find the best plans tailored to suit their unique needs.
The December bonanza includes a host of services with many value additions, providing customers greater convenience and contributing to enhancing their lifestyles.
In delivering the best network experience for new customers, SLT-MOBITEL is offering exciting Fibre, ADSL and LTE broadband data plans catering to all their social media, work from home and gaming needs. Youtube users receive to 25GB-10GB, Messenger 10GB, Google Meet 100-30GB, Gaming bundle 50GB, corresponding to their subscription packages.
Assuring customers high quality entertainment, SLT-MOBITEL is also providing new customers in the North and East exciting PEO TV and PEOTV GO packages. For 4G LTE customers, a discounted offer of Rs. 5500/= includes PEOTVGO directly via the internet through the OTT Box. SLT-MOBITEL customers can also benefit as they will receive the PEOTVGO Mobile App with free data. The first 100 customers seeking new PEOTV subscriptions – packages including PEO Titanium, PEO Platinum, PEO Entertainment will receive premium merchandise comprising of HBO branded backpacks. As the nation’s telecommunication leader, SLT-MOBITEL is well positioned to offers customers of the North and East, a slew of value-added products by leveraging technology providing innovative solutions for the good of people and delighting customers in meaningful ways.
The government is paying focus on increasing the water and electricity bills following the generation of power being an additional cost amid the fuel price hike.
According to reports, the matter has been discussed by the top government leaders.
The Norochcholai Coal Power Plant is experiencing malfunction at times leading to unexpected power cuts and the generation of power may have to be risen up via fuel in any event should the Plant continue to collapse.
Meanwhile, Minister of Water Supply and Drainage Vasudeva Nanayakkara stated that if the charges on electricity are to be increased, the charges for water should also be increased.
These charges, nevertheless, should only be imposed those consuming more water, without burdening the consumers who use less, he added.
MIAP
