The new Cabinet of Ministers has been sworn in a short while ago.
Lawyers of the Struggle vow to imprison President before sending him home (VIDEO)
The legal support required to lead the struggle initiated by the youth to victory at the hand of the youth itself will be provided, said the Lawyers of the Struggle movement speaking to a briefing held yesterday (17).
The protest initiated by the youth is appreciated in a manner unlike any other political movement in the history managed to be, Attorney at law Manoj Nanayakkara said.
Accordingly, the change should be made by using the fullest of the people’s appreciation received before the struggle, he emphasised.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa is a failed person and he should be banished from the country in the same manner in which he was ousted from the Presidential Secretariat, he went on, adding that nevertheless, the stolen money should be reclaimed by arresting him prior to any deportation, should it come to that point.
MIAP
Police to seek Court order barring Galleface protest
The Fort Police is seeking a court order barring the anti-government protest currently being held at Galleface for 10 consecutive days.
The Fort Police is expecting to obtain an injunction against the protesters to reopen the entrance to the Presidential Secretariat in the event that these protests are blocking the entrance since April 09, sources said.
The Police are awaiting the injunction from the Colombo Magistrate Court and the Chief Magistrate of Colombo is formerly a controversial Judge, Thilina Gamage.
MIAP
New Cabinet to be sworn in at 10.30 am today
The new Cabinet of Ministers is due to be sworn in today at 10.30 am at the President’s House, LNW learned.
Ranil’s ‘Road Map’ to revive Sri Lanka to be launched tomorrow
The Road Map to revive Sri Lanka from its economic abyss introduced by Leader of the United National Party (UNP) former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is due to be launched tomorrow (19).
Wickremesinghe is believed to be demonstrating his programme in Parliament tomorrow.
MIAP
MR informs President he will not resign, insists dismissal if necessary
Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly informed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that he will not resign from his post as the Prime Minister.
We earlier reported that the independent MP group led by Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) has informed the President that they would be ready to rejoin the government if Mahinda Rajapaksa chooses to resign. The matter was also briefed to the Prime Minister by the President, we learned.
In response, the Prime Minister has informed the President that he will not resign and may he be dismissed from the post should it be necessary, sources told LNW.
MIAP
New Cabinet to be sworn in today. Many state ministers offered Cabinet positions
The new Cabinet of Ministers is to be sworn in today (18) sources said.
Comprising 22 Ministers, the new Cabinet is believed to be having many new faces.
Many young public representatives who served as state ministers up to this point are believed to be given positions in the Cabinet.
Many senior politicians who held Cabinet positions have already informed the President that they do not wish to continue the Cabinet in the face of the political situation of the country and the growing objection from the public.
MIAP
NPP’s ‘People’s March’ attended by a massive crowd (PHOTOS)
The anti-government ‘People’s March’ organised and commenced by the National People’s Power (NPP) yesterday (17) was attended by a massive crowd in its first walk from Beruwala to Wadduwa via the Galle Road.
The march is expected to move for three consecutive days April 17, 18 and 19 from Beruwala to Lipton Circle, Colombo.
Public representatives of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), people of profession of the NPP, artists, trade union members and many other activists joined the event.
MIAP
Two-step power cuts resume from today
A power cut of 3 hours and 20 minutes will occur today (18) revealed the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).
No power cuts occurred during April 13,14 and 15 the New Year days and only a day time one-step power cut occurred on April 16 and 17.
However, the familiar two-step power cut will continue from today.
MIAP
HR Watch urges IMF to force the Govt to tackle crisis before talks
International NGO Human Rights Watch has urged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure that effective measures to address governance issues and corruption are negotiated prior to the commencement of any new program in Sri Lanka and are implemented early in any program.
In a letter to IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva, the human rights organization noted that as the experience of the 2016-19 program shows, reforms that are left for later are unlikely to be implemented.
Central bank independence was then a keystone of the Fund’s approach. However, the promised Central Bank Act was never adopted, finally being scrapped by the current government in June 2021, it added.
Human Rights Watch has also made some recommendations that should be incorporated in any IMF program in Sri Lanka to protect the rights, lives, and livelihoods of all Sri Lankans.
These recommendations are as follows
Ensure that social protection programs are adequately expanded to mitigate the cost of any adjustments. This includes assessing the impact of adjustments, setting adequate social spending floors as Performance Criteria, and appropriately defining floors.
Support higher social spending by the government, and require evaluations based on performance.
Urge policies to increase women’s access to employment by reducing barriers, including by providing state-funded maternity leave and access to affordable menstrual hygiene.
Implement progressive tax measures that do not further burden people living in poverty.
Implement any reduction or removal of subsidies in a progressive manner or with an adequate compensatory system to ensure affordability for low-income people in advance of reforms.
Human Rights Watch has documented that the Rajapaksa administration has aggressively repressed civil society by subjecting activists and nongovernmental organizations to intense surveillance and intimidation, reducing the ability of the public to hold the government to account.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was himself facing corruption charges related to his previous period as defense secretary at the time of his election in 2019, it added.
It has requested the IMF to put pressure on the government to abolish the 20th amendment to the constitution which gave unprecedented powers to the President who ha staken the law on to his hands to suppress mass protests and upheavals.
The 20th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, adopted in 2020, undermined the independence of the judiciary, as well as key institutions including the National Audit Office and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), by giving the president unfettered control of appointments of senior judges and officials.
The amendment also removed the Auditor General’s constitutional authority to audit the Prime Minister’s Office and the Presidential Secretariat, and removed the constitutional status of the CIABOC, meaning it can be abolished by a simple majority in parliament.
These changes make it harder to hold government officials and others accountable for corruption and threaten the public’s ability to safely monitor their government’s spending decisions, Human Rights Watch claimed