Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in the most provinces of the island after 02.00 p.m.
Heavy showers about 100mm are likely at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts.
Showers will occur in Eastern, North-Central and Northwestern provinces and in Matale and Badulla districts during the morning too.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Colombo (LNW): “The World Fellowship of Buddhist – Sri Lanka Centre” today (31) organised a protest in support of the war-hit Palestine in front of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress in Baudhaloka Mawatha, Colombo.
“If We Don’t End War, War Will End Us” was their main slogan against the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas near the Gaza strip, and urged the world powers stop supporting any inhuman massacre.
The event was attended by and endorsed by the Interfaith Cooperation, followed by human rights activists, people of all nationalities and religions, leaders of all religions, and many other concerned individuals.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States Mahinda Samarasinghe, who is concurrently accredited to the United Mexican States (Mexico), undertook his first official visit to Mexico City from 17 to 21 October 2023.
During the visit, the Bilateral Agreement for the Establishment of a Mechanism of Consultations on Matters of Common Interest Between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Mexico and Sri Lanka was signed by the Ambassador Samarasinghe and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Carmen Moreno Toscano paving the way for future bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The ambassador invited the government of Mexico to consider conducting initial bilateral consultation in Colombo and hand over a written communication to this effect.
Ambassador Samarasinghe briefed the Mexican officials on economic challenges faced by Sri Lanka and the measures being taken to overcome them including the IMF’s extended fund facility (EFF) and debt restructuring negotiations. He also discussed the reforms being undertaken to promote governance, human rights and, reconciliation in Sri Lanka. At a meeting with Director General for Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico Counselor Roberto De Leon Huerta, the ambassador briefed on current attempts by the Government of Sri Lanka to foster human rights protection, improve governance and, move towards reconciliation. They also discussed challenges to post conflict reconciliation efforts and how to address them.
On 20 October 2023, the Ambassador had a meeting with Chairman of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Mexican Senate Senator Hector Vasconcelos. The Ambassador handed over a letter from the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, recalling the past association and friendship between his late father, Philip Gunawardena, and the Senator’s late father Jose Vasconcelos Calderon – a senior figure of the Mexican socialist movement in the early 20th Century. The Ambassador briefed the Senator on current developments in Sri Lanka.
On 19 and 20 October, the ambassador met with the leadership of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Trade, Investment and Technology (COMCE) and several leading Mexican personalities involved in trade and commercial enterprises who are members of the Council who have an interest in Sri Lanka.Vice Chairman of COMCE/ Chairman, Agricultural Committee/ Chairman, Mexico–India-Iran-Turkey bilateral Committees Jorge Lopez Morton, and Vice Chairman, Asia Pacific of COMCE Agustin Garcia Rechy along with other officers attended the meeting. The purpose was to further explore opportunities for Mexican businesses importing goods from Sri Lanka as well as exporting to Sri Lanka. Ambassador Samarasinghe thanked COMCE for organizing the meeting and briefly highlighted the prospects for strengthening bilateral trade relations between our two countries.
The Ambassador noted that there are numerous fields including cinnamon, tea, porcelain, and apparel in relation to which enhanced trade opportunities exist. Minister/Commercial of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington D.C. Charitha Yattogoda, who accompanied the ambassador made a presentation highlighting details related to the bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Mexico, especially enhancing potential exports to Mexico, investment opportunities available in Sri Lanka that includes new areas of opportunity such as the Port City of Colombo.
International experience shows that devolution of power to the periphery has successfully curtailed demands for secession in a number of countries. Yet, many chauvinist political parties, groups and individuals in Sri Lanka spread misinformation and disinformation about the devolution of power. They state that it would lead to the formation of a separate state for the Tamils in the North and East.
Likewise, there are many police forces in the world, where a central police force co-exists with local police forces in each province, state or territory without controversy. In Australia, France, India, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the USA, there are state, territory, provincial, and central police forces operating under authorities of various political shades and hues. For example, “There are 48 civilian police forces in the UK: 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, a national police force in both Scotland and Northern Ireland and three specialist police forces (the British Transport Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Ministry of Defence Police)” [UK Parliament 2023, Policing in the UK, House of Commons Research Briefing, Published 29 September, 2021; available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8582/].
There are significant differences in the level of devolutionary powers offered by each country. In Sri Lanka, devolution of land powers is substantially restricted. Canada has a federal system of governance, with a clear division of powers between the centre and periphery. The Provinces are vested with full powers for dealing with Provincial Crown land using specific laws enacted by provincial legislatures. The Commonwealth of Australia is a federation with a constitution that has a list of powers vested in the centre and the rest with the periphery. Land powers are effectively vested in the States.
Intrinsic nature of the state
The level of devolution of police powers in any specific country has not contributed to toning down their attitude towards non-majoritarian communities in their own country. One could easily witness discriminatory bias and attitudes against minority communities, for example, the treatment of Black communities in the USA. This is despite many black people occupying VIP positions and other high positions of authority in the security apparatus at federal and state level administrations in the country. In Australia, such attitudes are in common display against the Indigenous population as well as the other non-majoritarian communities such as black people from the African continent, brown and yellow people from South Asia, and even the Britishers (Poms) and New Zealanders (Kiwis) etc. Most visible in India are the anti-Islamic attitudes towards Muslim people and discriminatory practices against the so-called untouchables in the country.
So, it is difficult to assume that the extent of devolution of police powers alone would address such biases and attitudes. I have no doubt that a Tamil dominated separate state would have treated the Muslims, Sinhalese and the so-called low-caste Tamils in their area the same way the Tamil people are being treated in the Sinhala dominated areas. Police forces are omnipresent in the modern world; at the same time, their role has become increasingly controversial with their direct/indirect, overt/covert involvement in corruption, brutality, and enforcement of authoritarian rules.
We should note that the police in Sri Lanka under any regime has been an instrument of dominance and suppression. It has remained a body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law that the ruling elite desired. On the other hand, they are also responsible for ensuring the safety of citizens and their property, resolving disputes, and preventing crime and civil disorder. Yet, enforcement of the law is only one part of policing, as they are engaged in many activities under different circumstances, predominantly when tasked with the preservation of order within the context of maintaining the class system and protection of private property by the ruling elite. In all societies, irrespective of the hue of the ruling regime, the police theoretically hold the monopoly on using violence.
Police are usually kept separate from the military and other security organizations involved in defending the state, particularly against foreign aggressions. However, in countries like Sri Lanka, this distinction is becoming increasingly blurred.
Inherent bias
Police at all levels of devolution need to focus on consistently updating their knowledge about non-majority communities resident in the local area. Awareness training should apply to all implicit or explicit personal and group biases. The currents working toward compartmentalisation and fragmentation of society rather than nation-building have established monolithic cultural units most visible in the armed forces who aspire to maintain their social, cultural, and economic superiority over the others. This would be evident even by looking at the nomenclature used in identifying certain units of the armed forces. The fundamental flaw in this system, which any mode of devolution will not address is the low level professional ethic of suppressing the other on the basis of their background, whether it is caste, gender, ethnicity, language, religion, nationality, or differently abled.
If we look at the socio-economic developmental process in Sri Lanka under capitalism, such barriers become increasingly weaker due to social interactions caused by the processes of urbanisation and the resultant socialisation. During the period of the pre-1950s, such social interaction between most communities in the fields of education, health and employment within the Sri Lankan society was more acceptable. However, in the post 1950s period, with the onset of linguistic, religious and ethnic compartmentalisation of society, many such socialisations came to an end despite continuing urbanisation.
It is imperative to notice that the extent and diversity of the social mix, and the type and frequency of interactions are essential to breaking down biases, negative attitudes and categorisations. Through social and community activities in Australia, I have experienced this by bringing diverse communities together regardless of the politics that create bias in the first place.
Those in the security forces including the police, ought to understand and accept the pluralist nature of our society. The type of social interaction they experience with diverse people of Sri Lanka and its frequency will have a significant impact on creating awareness about the feelings of non-majoritarian communities, particularly at provincial levels. To achieve this, the top levels of politicians, bureaucrats and communities need the dedication and resources to undertake such events with courage and conviction. The most significant factor, however, is the diversification of the forces within each unit, including recruiting candidates from varying social and cultural backgrounds to fill higher positions in the police and other security agencies.
Diversification
This will certainly help diversify the police force, which is more or less a mono-cultural force comprising the majority ethnic and religious population. It will enable police forces to engage in complex problem solving exercises while keeping social order by applying the rule of law, rather than rule by law. Bending legislation to suit political circumstances, as being done currently, starting from the President to the lowest level bureaucrat in the country, does not help the cause.
In Australia, when situations become tense due to various internal and external influences, diverse groups work together to mitigate the tension quickly. For example, when tensions were high against the Sudanese and other African migrants and refugees in the State of Victoria, which was caused by some opportunistic politicians who sought to gain power, multi-cultural community leaders were able to bring together the Sudanese community and other multi-cultural communities, the police, the bureaucrats and business communities over a meal at several cultural functions. This helped to lower the social and political temperature and resolve the issue in a civilised manner.
Ongoing diversity awareness training should include building partnerships and collaborations between non-majoritarian community groups and law enforcement agencies. Combining such objectives may enhance awareness about the aspirations of non-majoritarian communities and diminish preconceived negative biases towards them. Such processes can result in less misconduct and unprofessional behaviour on the part of police in decisive situations.
Colombo (LNW): Yesterday (30), an event took place at the Organisation of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka to launch the book ‘Teardrop Diplomacy: China’s Sri Lanka Foray’ by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa attended the event and praised Asanga’s significant contributions to Sri Lanka’s foreign policy and national security.
The Opposition Leader highlighted the importance of expert-driven foreign policy and identified Asanga as a key foreign policy advisor. He emphasised Asanga’s potential role in a future SJB government.
During his speech, the Opposition Leader emphasised the need for rational, well-thought-out policymaking rather than knee-jerk reactions.
He cited the Yoshida Doctrine as an example of how strategic economic growth can result from well-executed public policy decisions.
“Rationality over knee-jerk reactions was a recurring theme in the Opposition Leader’s speech, underscoring the need for well-thought-out policymaking. He used the Yoshida Doctrine as a shining example of how tactical economic growth can be achieved through masterful public policy decisions,” Premadasa said.
He underlined the importance of Sri Lanka collaborating with countries that bring value to the nation and stressed the need for a structured foreign policy decision-making process that incorporates input from think tanks to develop comprehensive policy proposals.
The Opposition Leader further emphasised the core role of meritocracy in the recruitment process for Sri Lankan foreign services.
Colombo (LNW): Exciting prizes, including the coveted iPhone 15 Pro, are up for grabs for Credit Card holders of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon who make monthly card purchases exceeding Rs. 50,000 as part of an end-of-year promotion unveiled by the bank.
This promotion extends until the close of 2023, and any ComBank Credit Card holder who meets the specified minimum spending threshold with their card will qualify for the monthly prize draws, according to the bank.
Aside from the grand prize of an iPhone 15 Pro, each monthly draw will feature bill wipeouts for 10 winners, luxury hotel stays for two winners, and star-class hotel dining for two winners.
Commercial Bank Cards have established themselves as the fastest-growing Credit Cards in Sri Lanka, commanding a leading position in terms of Credit and Debit Card point-of-sale usage.
The bank provides a range of Credit Cards in the Silver, Gold, and Platinum categories of Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay, as well as LankaPay JCB-branded Credit Cards in the Platinum, Gold, and Classic categories.
The premium segment includes Visa Signature, World Mastercard, Visa Infinite, UnionPay Asia Prestige Platinum, and UnionPay Asia Prestige Diamond Cards.
These cards feature ‘Tap ‘n Go’ NFC technology and are supported by an extensive NFC Point-of-Sale (POS) network.
Commercial Bank Credit and Debit Cards offer year-round promotions encompassing a wide range of services.
The bank was the first to introduce loyalty rewards for both Credit and Debit Card holders through its Max Loyalty Rewards Points scheme.
It also pioneered the extension of promotional discount offers, traditionally available for Credit Cards only, to its Debit Cards.
Colombo (LNW): UN Resident Coordinator Marc-André Franche met with Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara on October 30th at the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment.
During their meeting, Minister Nanayakkara and the UN Resident Coordinator discussed the government’s efforts to provide support for migrant workers.
The Minister explained to the UN Resident Coordinator the government’s plans to digitalise the entire foreign employment service centre as part of their anti-human trafficking initiatives.
Minister Nanayakkara also briefed the Resident Coordinator about the recently launched Sri Lanka National Policy and Action Plan on Migration for Employment (2023-2027), which received support from the International Labour Organisation.
The Minister informed UN Resident Coordinator Marc-André Franche about the new Labour Bill and its associated benefits. He highlighted the Ministry’s regular reviews of progress in key result areas set by the Ministry to achieve government goals.
During the meeting, the Minister also mentioned that the ‘Garu Saru’ initiative introduced by the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment to enhance working conditions for informal sector employees will be launched on November 1st with the support of the International Labour Organisation.
I had a fruitful meeting today with @UNSriLanka Resident Coordinator Marc-André Franche. We discussed the government's initiatives to enhance facilities for migrant workers, our efforts in combating human trafficking, the new Labor Bill, and forthcoming developments in detail. pic.twitter.com/rMaXIgUjB4
Colombo (LNW): People’s Bank has joined hands with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) as the Platinum Sponsor for the prestigious ‘Presidential Export Awards 2023’, highlighting their commitment to promoting excellence in exports.
This partnership was formalised when Mr. Sujeewa Rajapaksa, Chairman of People’s Bank, symbolically presented a patronage cheque to Dr. Kingsley Bernard, Chairman/CEO of the Export Development Board.
The event took place at the People’s Bank headquarters on October 27, 2023.
The Presidential Export Awards (PEA), renowned as the highest recognition for exporters in Sri Lanka, will mark its 25th anniversary on Thursday, November 23rd, at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).
The awards ceremony will celebrate the outstanding contributions of the country’s top exporters to the export sector and economic progress for the financial years 2021/22 and 2022/23. The awards will be presented in two main categories: overall awards and Products & Services Sector awards for each financial year, by President Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka.
People’s Bank’s corporate sponsorship demonstrates their dedication to enhancing Sri Lanka’s exports and is expected to contribute to the success of the PEA 2023.
The Presidential Export Awards 2023 is eagerly anticipated by the exporter community and is organised by EDB under the guidance and direction of State Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama, and Mr. M. M. Nayeemudeen, Secretary to the Ministry of Investment Promotion.
Colombo (LNW): The Court of Appeal today (31) has rejected a writ petition that challenged State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage’s parliamentary seat.
The petition had sought to declare that Diana Gamage was ineligible to be a Member of Parliament due to her British citizenship.
The petition was filed by civil activist Oshala Herath, and it has been dismissed by a majority decision of the three-judge bench.
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) indicates another slight depreciation against the US Dollar today (31) compared to yesterday, as per the official exchange rates list issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
Accordingly, the buying price of the US Dollar has increased to Rs. 322.17 from Rs. 321.70, and the selling price to Rs. 332.50 from Rs. 332.49.
The Sri Lankan Rupee, meanwhile has also depreciated against several other foreign currencies, including Gulf currencies.
