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Nineteen people including 12 military personnel were injured on Wednesday in an explosion on a bus in Sri Lanka, said the military, adding they do not know the cause but suspect it may be a bomb or grenade. Since the end of Sri Lanka's nearly three-decade civil war in 2009 there have been no targeted attacks on the military. "There had been an explosion in a passenger bus. There are some fragments on the body of the bus. We suspect it as a bomb blast," military spokesman Sumith Atapattu told Reuters. "The investigations underway to find out the details." Atapattu said seven army and five air force personnel along with seven civilians were injured in a fire following the explosion on the passenger bus which operated from northern Jaffna peninsula to central town of Diyathalawa, where one of the main military training centres is located. Sri Lanka ended a 26-year separatist war in May 2009 defeating Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who fought to carve out a separate state for ethnic minority Tamil's in the far north of the Indian ocean island nation. Tamil Tiger rebels commonly used Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to target civilians and military personnel during the civil war, which killed at least 100,000 people. 

Sri Lanka election monitor Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) has urged the government to hold the provincial council elections in the country.  Keerthi Tennakoon, executive director, CAFFE, said the delimitation committee appointed to determine the limits of electoral districts for provincial councils, has submitted the report and the government should hold election by April.  He said that the government should call an all-party meeting in this regard. Under the mixed voting system, 50% of the representatives should be elected by the simple majority system for an electoral district and another 50% should be selected according to the district level proportional representation method (the additional list).  The five-member delimitation committee after completing the work in four months handed over its report to Minister for Local Government Faizer Mustapha on Monday.  At the parliamentary debate, the government emphasized that the provincial council elections would be held in April.

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) led by President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday ended days of political uncertainty in the country, saying it would continue to be a part of the unity government to push for “major changes” within the government. SLFP parliamentarian and Minister of Social Empowerment S B Dissanayake said the SLFP decided to remain in the government and end the uncertainty over the future of the SLFP and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) unity government. He said the SLFP held extensive talks with Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat and the party had vowed to stay with the president and support his decisions. “We decided to make a massive change within the government. We will remain with our decision to make those changes and do what is necessary,” Dissanayake told reporters after meeting the president. “We will not leave the unity government,” he added. The future of Sri Lanka’s unity government became uncertain when the UNP and the SLFP were defeated in a local government election on February 10, Xinhua news agency  reported. Since the two parties’ defeat, several SLFP ministers had asked for the resignation of the prime minister and urged the president to break the unity government and form a SLFP-led government. UNP ministers had also called on the Prime Minister to quit the unity government and form a UNP-led government instead. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, however, at a media briefing held last week said the UNP would not quit the unity government and he would continue as the Prime Minister according to the Sri Lankan constitution. At the February 10 local government polls, former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s newly-formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party, also known as the Sri Lanka People’s Front achieved a landslide victory by winning 239 councils out of 340. The UNP won 41 councils while the SLFP won 10. According to sources, the parliament will debate the ongoing political crisis in the country.  Dinesh Gunawardena, the leader of the joint opposition in parliament, moved in the house this morning that parliament must as an urgent matter discuss the ongoing crisis. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya agreed to grant the three-hour debate which would mean an extension of the normal sitting hours.

Sri Lanka is reaping early harvests from the China-proposed Belt and Road initiative, featured with the launch of operation at Hambantota Port, one of two ports being developed by with Chinese assistance, through a joint venture between the two sides last year. Since Sri Lanka and China started joint operation of Hambantota Port in southern Sri Lanka, there have been doubts over the profitability and the future of the port. However, the smooth and excellent performance of the port and the properly addressing concerns of the former employees have proven that time will answer all doubts lingering over China-Sri Lanka  co-operation in Hambantota Port. Indeed, Hambantota Port had witnessed a relatively slow pace of growth and development in the past. However, with the great potential of the port gradually realised and the joint venture established between Sri Lanka Ports Authority and China Merchants Port Holdings (CMPH) to co-develop the port, the operation of Hambantota Port has  remarkably improved. Tissa Wickramasinghe, chief operating officer of the joint-venture Hambantota International Port Group, told Xinhua recently that since the joint venture took over the operation of the port in December, the port has been functioning “extremely well,” with the roll on-roll off (RO-RO) business picking up more than expected. Major global players in the RO-RO business have all visited the port, with a view to developing new transshipment and related businesses, the chief  operating officer said. “We are also receiving many overseas inquiries for the development of new break-bulk and bulk-cargo business, which has been only made possible by leveraging on the global network of CMPH.” The future of the Sri Lanka-China co-operation in Hambantota Port is promising, just as Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said at the official launching of the joint venture, “We have made arrangements for the management and long-term success of Hambantota Port. The operations of the joint venture will ensure an additional port in the Indian Ocean.” Today, Hambantota Port, located near the main shipping route, is prospering every day and gains increasing confidence from the Sri Lankan community. Lasantha Wickremesooriya, senior fellow at the Institute of National Security Studies, said that for the flow of vessels between the West and the East, the major transshipment hub is Singapore. But he added that Hambantota Port is more economical for them. “With the technical knowhow, marketing knowhow, and the investment capability by CMPH, the port will eventually turn into a profitable venture in the future with more modern vessels  coming in,” he said. Mangala PB Yapa, managing director of the Agency for Development at the Sri Lankan ministry of development strategies and international trade, also expects a bright future of  Hambantota Port. “We are confident that this collaboration and partnership will bring in success to Sri Lanka and our partner CMPH. A commercially viable and efficient Hambantota Port will be catalytic in the economic development of the south of the country and resulting in better livelihood for the people in that part.” As an example of fruitful co-operation between China and Sri Lanka within the framework of the Belt and Road initiative, the joint venture, in essence, is also a case of commercial restructuring between the Sri Lanka Port  Authority and CMPH. A truck driving along the site of a Chinese-funded $1.4bn reclaimed land next to Colombo’s main seaport. China will invest $1bn in the construction of three 60-storey buildings at a mega-project near Sri Lanka’s main port.

Beleaguered Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said he has cancelled a planned visit to India due to the ongoing political crisis in his UNP party over its recent defeat in local polls. “I have been asked by the party to stay and face this situation,” Wickremesinghe said. He had been expected to attend an information technology meeting in New Delhi, his  officials said. The Sri Lankan PM said he planned to reshuffle his cabinet. Wickremesinghe’s centre-right United National Party (UNP) and President Maithripala Sirisena’s centre-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) were routed by a party backed by former President Mahinda Rajapakse in local polls last weekend, plunging the government into crisis. Since the election, Sirisena has been in talks with Wickremesinghe’s party as well as opponents led by Rajapakse, whom he defeated in a presidential vote in 2015 polls, on forming a new government. The central bank chief said the political uncertainty this had created could weigh on Sri Lankan economic growth this year. Wickremesinghe told a news conference in Colombo he had decided to stay in office despite the election blow. “It was a big setback for the government parties, but we have time to correct it. We are looking at reshuffling some of the  ministries where it is necessary.” He said the main reasons for his party’s defeat were the sluggish economy and high cost of living, partly due to intermittent floods and a prolonged drought, and the government’s failure to implement strong anti-corruption measures. When Sirisena won the presidency in 2015, backed by Wickremesinghe’s party, he had promised reforms, anti-corruption measures and punishment for those who plundered public funds under the previous Rajapakse regime. But Wickremesinghe’s own government has faced corruption allegations over a bond scam and it has failed to deliver the  corruption crackdown promised. The government has promised a new constitution aimed at devolving some powers to provincial governments dominated by ethnic minorities, and it has said it will facilitate an international probe into alleged war crimes in the final phase of a 26-year civil war. It has also promised IMF-backed fiscal discipline efforts. Nationwide elections are not due until 2020. The president can bring the vote forward if two-thirds of parliament endorses such a move. He also cannot remove the prime minister directly, according to a constitutional amendment introduced in 2015.

A key partner in Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition demanded “urgent” reforms yesterday after an election defeat that sparked calls for the prime minister to step down. The National Heritage Party (JHU) said the local council vote, in which the ruling parties were hammered, showed people were unhappy with Prime Minister Ranil  Wickremesinghe. “There must be urgent reforms,” said JHU leader Champika Ranawaka, who is minister for urban  development. “There must be giant changes that will directly address the aspirations of the people.” Wickremesinghe has accepted responsibility for the defeat and said he will change the government as well as his United National Party (UNP). “We will carry out restructuring. As far as the government is concerned, it is continuing,” Wickremesinghe told reporters in Colombo yesterday. He said he expected younger politicians from his party to play a  bigger role. “Transition has to take place, transition without disruption,” he said. Wickremesinghe dismissed calls for his resignation, highlighting that his party had a comfortable majority in the 225-member parliament. But he admitted that they were slow to deliver on a 2015 election promise to prosecute corrupt members of the former regime of Mahinda Rajapakse, who served as president for 10 years. Rajapakse, whose family wields enormous influence in Sri Lanka, has staged a dramatic comeback after launching his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna or People’s Front party. The ruling coalition has also been plagued by internal divisions that burst into the open in the run-up to Saturday’s  election. President Maithripala Sirisena’s party contested the elections independently and suffered a worse defeat than the prime minister’s party. Rajapakse’s party comfortably won in all regions bar the battle-scarred north and east where, as president, he brutally crushed a separatist Tamil movement to end the island’s ethnic war in 2009. He has demanded a snap general election and challenged his successor’s right to govern after his drubbing in the crucial  local polls. On Thursday, President Sirisena said he would launch a broad national programme against corruption, fraud and waste within the next two weeks.  The president said he will gather together all Sri Lanka Freedom party (SLFP) candidates who gained victory as well as those who did not and commence the programme of  serving the people.  He was interacting with the candidates who contested the recent local government  elections.  The president said that candidates who were defeated the local polls would be given role in development of villages.  The president said that working without corruption, fraud and waste was given priority in the regional politics, local government politics and provincial politics.  The president assured that those who won would be provided with the required financial resources to develop their areas.

A key partner in Sri Lanka's ruling coalition demanded "urgent" government reforms on Friday after a local election defeat that has sparked calls for the prime minister to step down. The JHU, or the National Heritage Party, said Saturday's vote showed the people were unhappy with the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, which has struggled to overcome internal divisions. "There must be urgent reforms," said JHU leader Champika Ranawaka, who is also minister for urban development. "There must be giant changes that will directly address the aspirations of the people." Wickremesinghe is due to address reporters later on Friday on the future of the shaky coalition. He came to power in 2015 on a pledge to end the corruption that took hold under the former regime of Mahinda Rajapakse, who served as Sri Lanka's president for 10 years. But Rajapakse, whose family wields enormous influence in Sri Lanka, has staged a dramatic comeback after launching his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna or People's Front party. The ruling coalition has also been plagued by internal divisions that burst into the open in the two-month run-up to Saturday's election. President Maithripala Sirisena's party contested the elections independently and suffered a worse defeat than the prime minister's party.  Rajapakse's party comfortably won in all regions bar the battle-scarred north and east where, as president, he brutally crushed a separatist Tamil movement to end the island's ethnic war in 2009. He has demanded a snap general election and challenged his successor's right to govern after his drubbing in crucial mid-term polls. 

An old tea warehouse collapsed in Sri Lanka’s capital killing at least seven people yesterday, hospital sources said, with some people feared trapped in the rubble. Police said at least 12 people were inside the building, near the R Premadasa cricket ground, at the time of the collapse. Two of those who were trapped have been rescued but are in a serious condition, while a search operation is under way for others buried in the rubble. Pushpa Soysa, the head nurse at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, said seven bodies were brought to the hospital. Police, soldiers and firefighters were searching for those believed trapped, television pictures showed. The reason for the collapse was not immediately clear.

The Sri Lankan government said yesterday that it had appointed a special committee to decide on the future of the unity government after the two ruling parties suffered a defeat in local elections. Housing Minister Sajith Premadasa said the ruling United National Party (UNP) and its coalition partner, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), had decided to set up the committee. A report was expected to be submitted to the leaders soon. The UNP led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and SLFP led by President Maithripala Sirisena have been facing days of political unrest after their defeat in the local government polls on February 10. The SLFP, which won 10 councils out of 340 in the local election, have been calling on the resignation of the prime minister, whose UNP won 41 councils in the polls. Both parties were defeated by former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse’s party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (Sri Lanka People’s Front), which won 239  councils. Rajapakse has since then been calling for a parliamentary election in order to elect a new government. SLFP ministers who held meetings with the president on Tuesday said the unity government will not continue if Wickremesinghe does not step down and pave way for a new prime minister to be elected. “We need a new prime minister to carry forward a new parliament. We hope the president will decide on this in the next two days,” Deputy Ports Minister Nishantha Muthuhettigama told reporters after a party meeting. Ruling UNP members who hold the highest number of seats in Parliament, however, said they would continue with Wickremesinghe as the prime minister and it would form a government even if the SLFP leaves the unity government. “The UNP will form its own government and continue till the next parliamentary election. We will take this country forward,” a UNP cabinet  minister told Xinhua.

Sri Lanka’s former leader Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday demanded a snap general election and challenged his successor’s right to govern after drubbing the ruling coalition in crucial mid-term polls. Rajapakse’s new party secured two-thirds of Sri Lanka’s councils in a surprise blitz of local elections, humiliating the governing alliance as it reels from internal crises and  divisions over leadership. “The government no longer has a mandate,” said Rajapakse, who lost presidential and parliamentary polls in 2015 after ruling the island with an iron fist for a decade. “I ask the president to call a general election.” Rajapakse, whose family wields enormous influence in Sri Lanka, staged a dramatic comeback at the weekend as his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna – SLPP or People’s Front – pulled off the landslide victory. SLPP won control of 231 local councils out of a total 340 while United National Party (UNP) of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took 34 councils and the rest were split among other parties. Rajapakse’s party comfortably won in all regions bar the battle-scarred north and east where, as president, he brutally crushed a separatist Tamil movement to end the island’s ethnic war in 2009. The vote affects only the lowest rung of politics but the result is being seen as a stinging rebuke to the ruling coalition, which has struggled to pass promised post-war reforms. President Maithripala Sirisena was elected in part on a promise to reform the constitution, grant greater autonomy to minority Tamils and reconcile for a decades-long ethnic war that claimed more than 100,000 lives. Parliament has been debating the proposed arrangements to share political power with Tamils but has made little ground. Rajapakse – a member of the majority Sinhalese community – said the election result at the weekend was a referendum on these reforms. “People voted against the division of the country,” he said. The president has no power to sack the legislature but parliament – whose term ends in 2020 – can vote to dissolve and call early elections with the support of two-thirds of its members. There has been no reaction from Sirisena or his coalition ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe since their thumping defeat.

The party of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse called on the ruling coalition government to step down yesterday, as it closed in on a comfortable  victory in local elections. With 316 of 340 council results officially declared by yesterday afternoon, Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Podujana Party (People’s Party) was clearly ahead, winning 225 of them. Rajapakse’s party had obtained 45.38% of votes counted so far, posing a major setback to the two combined ruling parties – one of them led by President Maithripala Sirisena and the other by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The winning party’s members have called on the government to resign after its defeat in the crucial local polls, though they have no direct link with the presidential and parliamentary polls in which Sirisena and Wickremesinghe were elected in 2015. “The mandate given to the government has now been cancelled and therefore the government should resign,” said Dinesh Gunawardena, a member of parliament supporting Rajapakse’s party. Sirisena’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) was trailing far behind, with only 14.98% of the vote, while Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) secured 32.23% of results so far. Unofficial results indicated that Rajapakse’s party was expected to capture more than 240 local councils. Sirisena, who met with his senior ministers to analyse the results, also held a meeting with Wickremesinghe. “The president, who met with us, has said he would be making drastic changes in the next few days but did not give the details,” said cabinet minister S B Dissanayake, who had attended the meeting. The release of results has been slower than in previous elections due to a complicated verification system that was being used under a new electoral system. The polls to elect village and town council representatives closed with one of the lowest incident rates in four decades, after more than 70% of the nation’s 15.7mn registered voters took part. Rajapakse returned to parliament as an ordinary member in 2015 after he was defeated in presidential elections. Since then, he has been trying to make a comeback by winning power in the central  government. Rajapakse formed a new political party and fielded candidates throughout the country after failing to win the leadership of his original party – the UPFA. Sirisena took over the leadership of the UPFA instead, and a section of his party members, along with the UNP, have control in the 225-seat parliament. Together they have more 150 members of parliament,  or a two-thirds majority. Together the parties have passed important legislation, including a right-to-information law, changes to the electoral system to reduce rivalry among candidates, and a law making it compulsory that 25% of those elected to local  councils are women. “We should celebrate the victory in a peaceful manner without causing harm to others,” Rajapakse told local media as results were being announced. Rajapakse has been largely campaigning on his achievement of ending the 26-year Sri Lankan civil war by militarily defeating the Tamil rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. In the Northern Province, a moderate Tamil political party that has been closely working with the central government won most councils.  Presidential and parliamentary elections are due in two years.

Sri Lanka's ruling alliance was humiliated on Sunday in local elections seen as a test of its leadership as the party of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse pulled off a stunning landslide victory, final results showed. The mid-term polls further strained the uneasy coalition between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as they face a resurgent challenger in Rajapakse's new party. Official results showed Rajapakse's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna -- SLPP or People's Front -- won 225 councils, or two thirds of the 340 up for grabs, at Saturday's election described by private poll monitors as the most peaceful in decades. Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) was a distant second with 41 councils while Sirisena's Freedom Alliance languished with just 11.  Rajapakse's party comfortably won in all regions bar the battled-scarred north and east where, as president, he brutally crushed a separatist movement to end the island's ethnic war in 2009. "I earnestly request all those who contested under the SLPP to celebrate this hard-won victory peacefully and with restraint and in a manner that will not inconvenience the defeated side," Rajapakse said in a statement. The vote affects only the lowest rung of politics but the result is being seen as a stinging rebuke to the ruling coalition, which has struggled to pass promised post-war reforms. The alliance between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe -- who teamed up to defeat Rajapakse in a presidential election in 2015 -- has frayed as both men have levelled allegations of corruption and backstabbing against the other. Wickremesinghe's UNP had been the favourite to lead Saturday's poll while the parties led by Sirisena and Rajapakse were expected to fight for second. Rajapakse's surprise dominance was proof the people no longer had faith in the tattered ruling alliance, said SLPP spokesman Gamini Lakshman Peiris. "This was a referendum on the government. It has no legal or democratic right to remain in power," Peiris told reporters. Neither the president or prime minister were commenting on the result. Official sources said both men -- who campaigned separately for their respective parties -- were meeting senior aides to discuss the next moves. The UNP had indicated it may go it alone in the next general election in 2020 as the rift between Wickremesinghe and Sirisena and their supporters deepens.

Polling was under way in Sri Lanka yesterday to elect local councils in what is seen as a crucial mid-term test for the uneasy coalition of President Maithripala Sirisena. The election heightened tensions between President Sirisena and his senior coalition partner, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, as they campaigned separately for their respective parties amid a growing rift between the two men. The vote, the first to be conducted by the newly-established independent election commission, was the most peaceful in decades, private monitors said, adding there were no campaign-related deaths. “The gravity and the scale of incidents reported so far is nothing compared to what we have seen in recent decades,” the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections chief Keerthi Tennakoon said. “Police have also enforced the law without taking sides to make this the most peaceful election in decades.” Police said nearly 900 minor incidents were reported during a two-month campaign period and 65 candidates were arrested for violating election laws. Sirisena was backed by Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) in January 2015 to topple the government of strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse. But since then their alliance has fractured, with Sirisena publicly accusing the UNP of being more corrupt than the ousted Rajapakse regime. The UNP has in turn accused Sirisena of backstabbing and indicated it may go it alone in the next general election in 2020. The UNP is expected to claim the lead in yesterday’s poll for 340 local government bodies while the parties led by Sirisena and Rajapakse are expected to battle it out for the number two position. More than 8,300 members are due to be elected under a complex hybrid voting system that combines first-past-the-post and proportional representation systems with a requirement that 25% of those elected should be female.

The exiled former president of the Maldives yesterday accused authorities of ill-treatment of a Supreme Court judge thrown into prison following the imposition of emergency in the Indian Ocean island nation. The Maldives has been in crisis since last week, when the Supreme Court quashed convictions ranging from corruption to terrorism of nine opposition figures, including former president Mohamed Nasheed, its first democratically elected leader. Tension came to a head when President Abdulla Yameen’s government rejected the ruling, imposing an emergency on Monday and then, in the early hours of Tuesday, arresting the chief justice and another judge of the court. Judge Ali Hameed was being harshly treated, Nasheed, who was granted asylum by Britain after the Male government allowed him to leave jail for medical treatment abroad in 2016, said in a Twitter post. Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, 80, who was also arrested in the crackdown and sent to a prison island, had stopped eating, he added. “I am told president Gayoom is not taking food, while Justice Ali Hameed has been ill-treated,” Nasheed said on Twitter, but gave no further details. However, Dunya Maumoon, Gayoom’s daughter and a minister of state in Yameen’s administration, rejected Nasheed’s comment about her father, saying: “I just visited my father. He is keeping well. Nasheed is just spreading rumours.” Gayoom ruled the Maldives for 30 years until 2008, when Nasheed was elected president, and he now stands with the opposition in the fractious politics of the tropical islands, home to 400,000 people, most of them Muslims. The Maldives, best known for its luxury beach resorts, has assumed greater importance since China began building political and economic ties in its so-called “String of Pearls” strategy to create a network of ports in the Indian Ocean. Yesterday, China cautioned against any foreign meddling in the islands’ internal affairs, after Maldives’ opposition leaders called for intervention by its rival, India. “The international community should play a constructive role from a position of respecting the Maldives’ sovereign rights, rather than taking actions that will complicate the situation,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, when asked about the possibility of military intervention. India, which has historically had greater clout in the islands, located near key shipping lanes, has sought to push back against China’s growing influence. India, which has expressed concern over the situation, has been silent on the calls for  intervention. “We are disturbed by the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives, following the refusal of the government to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court on 1 February, and also by the suspension of constitutional rights,” its foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Since Yameen took power in 2013, his government has faced heavy criticism over the detention of opponents, political influence over the judiciary and the lack of freedom of speech. Nasheed, who is in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, urged India to send an envoy backed by its military to the Maldives to free the political  detainees and judges. He also asked the United States to block financial transactions of government leaders. “It is essential that India leads the international community in forcing President Yameen to comply with last week’s Supreme Court order,” he wrote in an op-ed article in the Indian Express newspaper yesterday. Indian intervention in the Maldives, about 400km (249 miles) away, would not be unprecedented, as New Delhi sent troops in 1988 to foil a coup. But it has since avoided getting dragged into the island’s politics. Yameen, the half-brother of former president Gayoom, said his actions were designed to stop a coup and suggested that two senior judges acted against him because law enforcement officials were investigating them for graft. On Tuesday, the three judges who are still free reversed the Supreme Court’s decision to drop charges against the nine political dissidents, the court said on its website. Singapore on Tuesday issued an advisory to citizens against non-essential travel to the Maldives, following similar measures by China, India and the United States.

Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry yesterday suspended a senior diplomat for threatening to slit the throats of minority Tamils protesting outside its High Commission in London. Minister counsellor Priyanka Fernando, who is also a serving officer in the Sri Lankan army, was relieved of his duties pending a disciplinary inquiry over Sunday’s incident. Videos of Fernando making throat-slitting gestures were shared widely on social media, embarrassing Sri Lankan authorities who have promised reconciliation after decades of ethnic civil war. “Authorities in Sri Lanka have taken serious note of videos being circulated... involving the minister counsellor behaving in an offensive manner,” the ministry said. Fernando, who is a brigadier, was involved in fighting during the bloody finale to the island’s Tamil separatist war in 2009, when Sri Lankan troops were accused of massive human rights abuses. The Tamil protesters in London were demonstrating against the continued occupation of private Tamil land in the island’s war-scarred north, nine years after the end of fighting. An officer “wearing the much-hated military uniform ran a finger across his neck... a gesture that he would slit our necks,” one of the participants wrote on the protest organisers’ website. The rebels – known as the Tamil Tigers – were crushed in a no-holds-barred offensive that sparked widespread allegations that as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by security forces. The current government, which came to power in January 2015, has promised to investigate the alleged atrocities and release private land occupied by the military in former war zones, but progress has been slow.

A Sri Lankan court yesterday ordered two executives from dealer Perpetual Treasuries Ltd, arrested over an alleged government bond scam, to remain in custody until February 16. Police arrested Perpetual’s owner Arjun Aloysius and chief executive officer Kasun Palisena on Sunday on suspicion of involvement in the alleged scam. Perpetual Treasuries bought more than half the debt on sale in a government bond auction in 2015 and a presidential inquiry reported last month that Perpetual Treasuries had profited through illegal means. Aloysius, Palisena and Perpetual Treasuries have all denied any wrongdoing. Aloysius is the son-in-law of Arjuna Mahendran, who was central bank governor at the time of the auction. Kalinga Indratissa, the attorney for both Aloysius and Palisena, said the court had ordered that they stay in custody until February 16 after police filed charges on misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust, offences under the public property act and the registered stockbrokers ordinance. The arrests came after President Maithripala Sirisena said last month that a presidential commission investigating the 2015 bond sales had recommended legal action against the finance minister and central bank governor at the time, as well as the owner and officials of Perpetual Treasuries. Mahendran and Ravi Karunanayakehas, who was finance minister at the time, have also denied any wrongdoing. Sri Lanka’s central bank said last month it had suspended four officers and taken disciplinary action against several others following alleged irregularities in the 2015 government bond auction and that it had initiated several legislative changes aimed at preventing irregularities arising in connection with future bond issues. Opposition lawmakers have alleged the bond auction cost the state more than $1bn because of rising borrowing costs but Palisena, in a letter to parliamentarians last week, said state institutions had not lost out in the bond sale.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency yesterday, deepening a political crisis in the country that has pitted its leader against the nation’s top court. Traditionally known as a honeymooners’ paradise, the Maldives has been plunged into chaos in recent years amid a crackdown on dissent, with the president jailing almost all the political opposition since he came to power in 2013. A standoff between Yameen and the Supreme Court began last week when the president refused to comply with its order to release nine political dissidents and restore the seats of 12 legislators who had been sacked for defecting from Yameen’s party. The court’s surprise move on Thursday gave Yameen’s opponents the majority in the 85-member assembly, meaning they could potentially impeach the president. In a stunning blow to the regime, it also paved the way for exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed - the first democratically elected but who was controversially convicted of terrorism in 2015 - to return and run for president this year. But the Yameen government has so far refused to comply with the ruling, shuttering parliament and on Sunday ordering police and troops to resist any move by court to arrest or impeach Yameen. The crisis intensified yesterday as Yameen’s aide Azima Shukoor announced the state of emergency on national television. “The reason for the declaration is that the Supreme Court’s ruling was obstructing the functioning of the government,” Azima said. The emergency declaration gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain individuals, curtails the powers of the judiciary and bars parliament from impeaching Yameen. But it must be officially conveyed to parliament within two days, according to officials. Opposition legislator Eva Abdulla said the declaration showed the regime was under pressure. “A very desperate move. Shows he has lost everything- confidence of the people, Parliament, other institutions and the courts. He has no democratic mandate and must resign immediately,” she said on twitter. Nasheed, who had previously expressed fears of unrest in the troubled Indian Ocean nation, said the emergency declaration amounted to imposing martial law. “(This) is tantamount to a declaration of martial law in the Maldives,” he said in a statement, while urging regional super power India to intervene swiftly to end the worsening crisis. Yameen has faced several unsuccessful opposition attempts to impeach him for alleged  corruption. The president yesterday accused the Supreme Court judges of encroaching on his authority, sending his objections to the court in three separate letters. There was no immediate reaction from the court. The opposition has meanwhile urged the international community to pressure Yameen into respecting the court and end the crisis. “We request the international community, including India, Sri Lanka, the US, Britain, the EU... to do everything in their power to help return power to the people of the Maldives and restore democracy,” opposition legislators said. The United Nations, Australia, Britain, Canada, India and the United States previously welcomed the court’s decision as a move towards restoring  democracy in the archipelago. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the weekend also called for “restraint” as the crisis escalated. Strongman Yameen has been defiant in the face of international pressure so far, ordering the arrest of two opposition lawmakers, who were later freed by a court, and staging a rally late Sunday with hundreds of supporters in the capital Male.

Referring to the recent agitation by various sections of teachers over various demands, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said it will not be possible to realise any demand by putting pressure on the government. “If anyone thinks it’s the last year of the government, and we (government) will fulfil all the demands they’re placing that’s wrong. I don’t care about power. It matters little to me whether I’ll be there in power or not,” she said. The prime minister was addressing an ‘Education Rally’ arranged by the National University at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka. Some 2,040 principals of the colleges under National University from across the country joined the rally. PM Hasina said the government gives the highest importance to education and has taken many steps for the sector since it assumed office in 1996.  “Anyone didn’t need to go for any agitation and place demands in this regard since then. You (teachers) can keep trust in the Awami League as it didn’t deprive anyone of his or her rights and won’t do either as long as it’s in power. I’ll just say nobody can realise anything exerting pressure on us,” she said, adding, “When we’re taking the country forward based on a policy, everything can’t be realised by creating unnecessary pressure.” Talking about quality education, Hasina said now many persons say that the quality of education is not being maintained. “But there is question here how the standard is measured. Improving the standard is a matter of continuation.” She stressed the need for having time-befitting curricula in line with the changing world and urged the teachers to formulate that with a focus on technological education. Describing teachers as the architects of the nation, she said they will have to think what kind of human beings they are creating through providing lessons as the future of the country and the nation. The prime minister said the mindset of the teachers and those prepare curricula will have to be modern as well to take the country forward keeping consistency with the fast changing world. About the National University (NU), Hasina said there is no session jam at the NU and it also published academic calendar for up to 2021. “Now most NU activities are being conducted with the use of information technology.”

Sri Lanka celebrated the 70th anniversary of its Independence yesterday with grand military parades and attendance of political leaders. Sri Lanka forces held a colourful grand parade along the Galle Road, close to the Colombo Harbour to celebrate the 70th anniversary of independence from British colonial rule in 1948, Xinhua reported. In his speech, President Maithripala Sirisena said Sri Lanka would gain complete independence only after achieving complete economic and cultural freedom. The year 2018 will be a crucial year for Sri Lanka in achieving economic freedom, and the government must ensure the country achieves its long term goals, said the president. “We must remember that true freedom does not comprise only of political freedom. As a country, our future successes lie in our commitment to achieving long term goals with firm determination, as we have done in the past,” Sirisena said. He paid tribute to the patriots who had sacrificed their lives in achieving the country’s freedom over the years. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that since being elected to power, the government had been consistently focusing on creating the right social and political climate needed to build a society that is indeed free and stable.

Sri Lankan police said on Sunday they had arrested two officials from primary dealer Perpetual Treasuries Ltd, which was named in a report as being involved in an alleged government bond scam in 2015. Police arrested Arjun Aloysius, owner of Perpetual Treasuries which more than half the bonds in a 2015 auction were sold to, and Perpetual CEO Kasun Palisena. Aloysius is the son-in-law of Arjuna Mahendran, who was central bank governor at the time of the auction in question. The arrests came a month after President Maithripala Sirisena said a panel had recommended legal action against the finance minister and central bank governor of the time, and the owner and officials of Perpetual Treasuries. Sirisena said the presidential commission of inquiry had concluded that Perpetual Treasuries had profited through illegal means. Mahendran, Aloysius, and Perpetual Treasuries have denied any wrongdoing. Police Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said they had arrested Aloysius and Plaisena on Sunday "as part of ongoing investigations on the bond issue". "The CID has reported the facts to the magistrate court and made the arrest. The two will be produced before the magistrate." They were later remanded in custody until Monday by a local court. Opposition lawmakers have alleged the bond auction cost the state more than $1bn because of rising borrowing costs but Palisena, in a letter to parliamentarians last week, said state institutions had not lost out in the bond sale.