<ul><li>Notes need for electoral reforms to be done well in advance pre-polls&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) stressed that in the event of attempts to postpone the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, the former which is expected to take place towards the end of this year, it will not hesitate to oppose such attempts and will show zero tolerance regarding the same.&nbsp;It noted that such an attempt will erode the public confidence in universal suffrage and challenge the franchise of the people.BASL President, President’s Counsel Kaushalya Nawaratne, made these remarks in a context where there are widespread concerns with regard to the dates of the two said elections.&nbsp;Explaining the constitutional provisions that apply to the conduct of the two said elections, he said that while there is no constitutional provision that says that either the Presidential Election or the Parliamentary Election should be held before the other, what is required by the law is that these elections be held within the time periods stipulated in the Constitution which relate to the expiration of the tenures of the Parliament and the President.&nbsp;Speaking to The Daily Morning, he explained that regardless of the fact that the present President (Ranil Wickremesinghe) is substituting for an elected President (Gotabaya Rajapaksa), his tenure comes to an end this year November, and that the Presidential Election should therefore be held before the end of October. The Parliamentary Election, he added, should also be held upon the expiration of the Parliament’s tenure. He explained that in a context where the Parliament can be dissolved before that, if the Parliament is dissolved, the Parliamentary Election can be held even before the Presidential Election. “It is the duty of the Election Commission and the Government to hold these Elections within the stipulated time period,” Nawaratne emphasised.In response to a question about the concerns that the two Elections are likely to be postponed, he added: “There is no (legal) provision to postpone the Elections. These are constitutional requirements. If you are going to bypass these constitutional provisions, it has to be done either through amending the Constitution or with a two thirds majority approval of the Parliament and a referendum. If you can go for a referendum to do that, you can definitely go for the elections.”Moreover, with regard to the ongoing electoral system related legal reforms process, which various activists claim could be used as a pretext to postpone the two Elections, Nawaratne noted that such would seriously affect democracy as Elections are democratic processes. If the authorities are genuinely interested in bringing in amendments to election laws, he said, such should be done in advance.

BASL to show zero tolerance for ‘delaying’ polls 

<ul><li> Catholic Church’s prog. to focus on the 3 bombed Churches with prayer vigil march commencing from Kochchikade on 20 Apr. to Katuwapitiya</li></ul>The Catholic Church yesterday (17) said that it has planned a ‘spiritual’ commemoration, which will not be in any way ‘political’, to mark the five-year anniversary of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. The programme which consists of several events including those focusing on the Churches that were attacked, is expected to bring the attention of both the local and international communities to the Easter Sunday attacks and justice regarding the same.Announcing the programme during a press briefing held in Colombo, Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said that a prayer vigil based march will be organised on 20 April by the Archdiocesan Kithu Dana Pubuduwa Apostolate from Kochchikade to Katuwapitiya. Two minutes of silence will be observed to commemorate those who died in the Easter Sunday attacks, in addition to prayers, the lighting of candles, and speeches by dignitaries. The event will be attended by priests from various religions, among other groups.The Archbishop emphasised that in a context where the Governments and officials that came to power since the Easter Sunday attacks took place have failed to deliver justice for the victims of the attacks and have also shown a great unwillingness to do that, the present situation calls for interventions and attention from other parties, especially the international community. Despite the fact that it has been five years since the Easter Sunday attacks and many requests have been made to the authorities, he said that the authorities have failed to conduct a transparent and satisfactory investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks. “The situation is such that we have no hope that justice will be delivered. However, we will not give up hope,” he noted, adding that even though various parties, including political parties, have promised to deliver justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks, it remains to be seen whether their intentions are genuine and whether they will fulfil those promises.As part of the said programme, the Catholic Church will send to the Vatican the signatures collected in order to have those who died in the Easter Sunday attacks canonised. The Archbishop added that this will be the first step in the process, and that under this step, the deceased would be declared ‘heroes of faith’. This, he added, is expected to attract the international community’s attention to the impacts of the Easter Sunday attacks, which he observed has been forgotten by the local authorities.On 21 April, 2019, Easter Sunday, three Churches (the St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, the St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, and the Zion Church in Batticaloa) and three luxury Hotels in Colombo (the Cinnamon Grand, The Kingsbury, and Shangri-La) were targeted in a series of coordinated suicide bombings. Later that day, another two bomb explosions took place at a house in Dematagoda and the Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. A total of 269 people excluding the bombers were killed in the attacks, including about 45 foreign nationals, while at least 500 were injured. Subsequent investigations revealed that the terror attacks were carried out by the National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) led by Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran, one of the bombers who carried out the attack on the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo.

‘Spiritual, non-political’ Easter 5th commemoration

<ul><li> Eschews ‘outdated socialist political philosophy’</li></ul>Neither a party nor a country can go forward with a socialist political philosophy, which is already outdated, and therefore, political parties and individuals must be updated with the new world order, opined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Acting Chairperson, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva.He made these remarks at an event held yesterday (17) to commemorate the 108th birth anniversary of the world's first female Prime Minister, former SLFP Chairperson Sirima Bandaranaike. The event was attended by the former SLFP Chairperson and President and incumbent Opposition Parliamentarian Maithripala Sirisena, (the latter whose Chairpersonship was barred by a Court order), Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, and others. Speaking at the event, Minister de Silva also said that the SLFP needs strong leadership at this juncture to lead the party through one of its most difficult times. Stating that former Premier Bandaranaike's life provides a good example of a party leader who allowed the party to be governed democratically, he said that she did not work arbitrarily, changing the party’s Constitution and favouring her close companions, in order to retain power. Responding to those who say that the SLFP must stand with the socialist wings according to its policies, de Silva stated that political parties and individuals must be updated with the new political trends without relying on ‘expired' political concepts such as socialism. He also noted that most of the socialist countries are currently facing crises due to their policies.Meanwhile, Sirisena said that he would not support anyone who is seeking to betray the party to other political parties with contradictory political views. He said that he has maintained this position since the day he got the party’s membership. He also noted that SLFP leaders would not betray their policies for political positions and other privileges and that therefore, such integrity must be displayed by every member of the Party.

New SLFP Acting Chair espouses ‘new world order’ 

Private bus owners claim that despite having made many requests to the authorities, they are yet to receive any relief with regard to the damages caused to the buses during the ‘aragalaya’ (a public movement seeking the resignation of the then Government led by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa) protests in 2022.“We have not received any form of compensation to fix the damages,” Lanka Private Bus Owners’ Association (LPBOA) Chairperson Gemunu Wijeratne said, adding that this is despite requests made to various parties including the President and the Finance Ministry. He told The Daily Morning that even though some bus owners received insurance money to repair the buses, others did not receive such, and that as a result, they had to spend their own money. Many more buses have been left unrepaired due to financial issues, according to him.During the 2022 ‘aragalaya’ protests at the Galle Face, a number of private buses were damaged by anti-Government protestors. These attacks were carried out as those buses had been used to transport pro-Government groups that assaulted anti-Government protestors. He had earlier explained that it was unfair to target buses in a context where the buses are rented out to anyone, and hence demanded investigations into the incident and also compensation. Around 40 buses were said to have been damaged due to the attacks.

Aragalaya bus torchings: Pvt. bus owners yet uncompensated 

<ul><li>Claims to follow judicial decisions &amp; probe reports</li><li>To appoint spl. fresh comm. if required</li></ul>The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) of the Parliamentary Opposition said that a future Government of it would – as per the judicial decisions and existing reports of the investigations conducted into the Easter Sunday attacks of 2019 – file criminal charges against those who have violated the fundamental rights (FRs) of citizens by abandoning the country’s national security.Speaking at a press conference held yesterday (17), NPP Executive Committee Member, attorney Sunil Watagala said that the governments elected to do justice for the victims of the attacks, have disregarded their responsibility, but that a future NPP Government would give priority to the matter, taking it as a responsibility. Noting that the existing reports of the commissions and committees appointed to look into the matter are adequate to take actions against the people who are allegedly responsible for the incident, Watagala also said that they would appoint another special commission to investigate the matter further if it is needed to identify more people who are responsible for the incident. He also claimed that the Attorney General’s Department has not taken measures to file criminal charges against the individuals who have violated the FRs of citizens according to the Supreme Court verdict and the existing reports. He noted that a future NPP Government would file charges against those individuals.The press conference was held to unveil a seven point action plan made by the NPP to address the issues related to the lack of implementation of actions regarding&nbsp;the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, the latter which were coordinated suicide bombings. The proposals have been made in view of the fifth anniversary of the attacks to be marked on 21 April of this year. Issuing a statement, the NPP assured that its future Government would initiate necessary legal action as per its proposal to grant justice to the victims and relatives affected by the Easter attacks.The NPP said that, under its administration, proper legal action will be instituted against those implicated, either directly or indirectly, in the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks that killed more than 250 people and injured hundreds of others.

Easter justice: Future JVP-NPP Govt. pledges criminal charges 

<ul><li>WPC &amp; PCIPD condemn recent Sethsiripaya incident&nbsp;</li></ul>The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus (WPC) and the Parliamentary Caucus for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PCIPD) condemned the incident on 5 April at the Sethsiripaya where a woman with disabilities was obstructed from utilising her transportation services to leave the premises and was informed that vehicle access was exclusively reserved for very important persons while the language used by the relevant security officers has been highly insensitive, disrespectful, and hurtful.&nbsp;Persons with disabilities make up 9% of Sri Lanka’s population and often face discrimination and harassment in various spheres when they access different services, carry out their activities of daily life, and participate in their communities. Persons with disabilities also often experience difficulties due to the lack of necessary infrastructure and provisions such as sign language interpretation, disability friendly educational and employment facilities, and accessible transport.&nbsp;Sri Lanka ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2016, undertaking the responsibility to ‘promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity’.&nbsp;The Constitution also guarantees the right of equal access to shops, restaurants, hotels, places of public entertainment and worship, regardless of disability (Article 12 [3]). Therefore, the Government is obliged to ensure that persons with disabilities have comfortable access to all public buildings. Moreover, the Constitution further states that special provisions can be made by law, subordinate legislation or Executive action, for the advancement of women or disabled persons (Article 12 [4]). As such, Sri Lanka must uphold her promises for the advancement of the welfare of persons with disabilities, and strive to ensure that their rights are protected.A recent release issued by the WPC and PCIPD noted: “This incident highlights the intersectionality of discrimination and obstacles encountered by persons due to multiple identities. The individual concerned here is a woman with a disability rendering her particularly vulnerable to daily challenges. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Government to factor in all these circumstances and strive to alleviate some of their burdens. The National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities, the Passport Office and many more government services are regularly accessed by persons with disabilities. Since the security services to the government offices in Battaramulla are the primary responsibility of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), we also urge the UDA to take necessary action to sensitise and educate the security officers on inclusive treatment and the use of inclusive language when dealing with women and persons with disabilities. We urge that the staff of Sethsiripaya (and other public spaces) be appropriately sensitised and informed about the rights of persons with disabilities. Moreover, we particularly urge government officers to be aware and informed of the needs of persons with disabilities and to anticipate and make necessary provisions when conducting any future programmes.”

Disability/inclusivity: Parliament calls for public staff sensitisation 

The Gnanartha Pradeepaya Catholic Newspapers Editor-In-Chief, Cyril Gamini Fernando has once again been summoned to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) tomorrow (19) to be questioned about the Easter Sunday attacks.A letter dated Tuesday (16) sent by the CID to Father Fernando had stated that he was summoned to be questioned about the matter “because information has come to light suggesting that he is aware of circumstantial facts pertaining to the Easter Sunday attacks.”A statement issued by the Catholic Church in this regard said that earlier, on three days between 3-8 November, 2021, Reverend Fernando had been summoned and questioned by the CID based on a complaint lodged by the State Intelligence Service Director Suresh Salley with the CID. It added that when Fernando filed a petition in the Supreme Court against his possible arrest since there was a risk of him being arrested on that occasion, the CID had said that no arrests would be made until the relevant investigations conclude. This was revealed during a press briefing held by the Catholic Church.

CID summons Easter activist-priest Cyril Gamini Fernando again  

The 31-year-old, who was arrested for allegedly singing a distorted version of the New Year song ‘Sooriya Mangalle’ by singer Rohana Baddage and sharing it on social media, has been remanded.Accordingly, the suspect was ordered to be remanded until 22 April, on the orders of the Kuliyapitiya Acting Magistrate Upul Alagiyawanna who rejected the defence counsels’ request for bail. He also called for a report on the suspect’s mental health and ordered to refer him to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital’s mental health unit.The arrestee was identified as an Excise Officer attached to the sub-office in Dummalasuriya and residing in the area of Thalathuoya.The North Western Province Unit of the Computer Crime Investigation Division had launched an investigation into the matter based on a complaint received by the Inspector General of Police alleging that the song in question, which is frequently aired during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, had been distorted and shared on social media.&nbsp;Accordingly, the suspect was arrested on Tuesday (16) at the North Western Province Unit’s Wariyapola office.

Excise officer remanded for ‘distorting’ song 

A new visa process and online visa application portal of the Department of Immigration and Emigration were implemented from yesterday (17).The new visa methodology, the relevant fees, the requirements to be met and the validity period in Sri Lanka were earlier published in the Extraordinary Gazette Number 2360/24, dated 27 November of last year (2023).In a press release, the Department said that arrangements have been made together with GBS Technology Services and IVS Global Lanka to implement the electronic visa system which is the online methodology to be introduced in lieu of the electronic travel authorisation methodology that is currently in use.More details about the online visa application portal can be accessed from the official website www.srilankaevisa.lk, the press release read further.

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