President Maithripala Sirisena, addressing a public meeting in Nikarawetiya today, said that he was prepared to step down and fight against corruption together with the people.

In what appeared to be a veiled attack on comments made by International Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe the President said, “If there is any undue criticism and complaints against the decisions I have made to end corruption and fraud, I am ready to step down and fight corruption from among the people.”

Senasinghe on Tuesday said he was ‘disappointed’ with the President, alleging him to have acted with the intention of destroying the United National Party (UNP) by appointing the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) into the Bond issue to investigate incidents from 2015 onwards only.

Senasinghe said the President wanted to destroy the UNP and the Rajapaksa’s before the 2020 Presidential elections and said it was sad the President was stopping low to destroy the future of the ‘young politicians’ in the country, even while protecting his children who were the same age.

At the public meet in Nikarawetiya the President said, “No matter what anyone says, I have been committed to a clean political culture throughout my 50 years of political life. I will act with patience and equanimity, with the experience of that long political journey. I am no stranger to the political arena.”

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday made a strong statement in support of net neutrality in the capital at the inaugural ceremony of the Global Conference on Cyberspace (GCCS). Acknowledging that it had come "under serious challenge in many parts of the world, including the United States" Wickremesinghe lauded India's steps last February to ban zero rating by ISPs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present at the event. The statement comes days after the US federal communications commission proposed a plan to repeal net neutrality rules it introduced in 2015.

The principle of net neutrality mandates that all traffic on the internet is treated equally and that ISPs cannot slow down, speed up, or give preferential treatment to certain applications or services, an action that distorts competition.

"Net neutrality lowers the barriers of entry by preserving the internet as a fair and level playing field and helps more businesses and entrepreneurs thrive online," said Wickremesinghe, adding that Sri Lanka is "committed to make progressive and revolutionary steps" towards ensuring net neutrality.

"I am also aware that India, the world's largest democracy with the second most populous internet user base, took a critical step in this direction when it issued regulations in February 2016 to ban zero rating," he said.

 Wickremesinghe also made a case against state-ordered Internet blocks and shutdowns by offering a personal experience. "When we were political activists of the opposition in Sri Lanka before January 2015, we had to undergo political adversity that included the blockage of ISPs, which prevented dissident voices from speaking freely online. When we came to power, we made good on our promise to ensure freedom to use the Internet by removing state-orchestrated website blocks and other forms of restrictions on cyberspace. Every segment of society was encouraged to speak freely online. As we understood, that it was one important way of building inclusivity not only on cyberspace but also in society at large," said Wickremesinghe, and quipped, "As a result, today I have become one of the most disreputable and maligned persons in Sri Lanka!"

Wickremesinghe is on a 4-day visit to India for bilateral talks. The GCCS is a global cybersecurity conference, the fifth edition of which is currently underway in the capital with delegates from over hundred countries in attendance.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the conference, Union minister for electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Indian citizens' right to access the Internet was "non-negotiable" and pointed to how Indian regulators prevented Facebook's Free Basics program (earlier called Internet.org) from 2015 from taking off in India as it violated the principle of net neutrality.

"When I was handling communications department and my friend Mark Zuckerberg met me a number of times with the idea of Free Basics...I said India is a democracy, we don't believe in one gate...We believe in multiple gates. Therefore, this gate locking for India will not be accepted and I did not allow it. This stems (from) our commitment that Internet must be accessible to al," he said.

With an eye on China, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, days ahead of the joint venture between China Merchants Port Holding Company and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) starts operations of Hambantota Harbour on December 8.

Wickremesinghe, who arrived in Delhi on Wednesday, was received by Indian envoy to Sri Lanka Taranjit Sandhu. He will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind, besides attending a conference on cyber-security. He leaves on Friday.

The meeting assumes significance since India has expressed interest in investing in Mattala airport in Hambantota district. Once finalised, it will be a strategic investment for New Delhi to enter a project which has been Chinese turf on Lankan soil.

Described as the “world’s emptiest airport” by Forbes, the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport in Mattala was built by the Chinese during the previous President’s regime. The present government, led by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe, has found it difficult to run the airport. In August this year, India had proposed to “operate, manage, maintain and develop” the airport through a joint venture, with India holding 70 per cent of the equity for 40 years. India is supposed to invest $205 million, with Sri Lanka contributing $88 million.

The Indian offer had come within weeks of a Sri Lanka-China agreement on development of Hambantota port, in which the state-run China Merchants Port Holdings will have a 70-per cent stake in a joint venture for a period of 99 years. The Hambantota port and airport projects are part of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, and Delhi has been worried about Beijing’s rising influence in Sri Lanka.

It is learnt that the joint venture between the Sri Lankan Airport and Aviation Authority and an Indian firm to run the Mattala airport would come into operation by March next year. Sources said this issue and other bilateral projects will be discussed in the meeting between Modi and Wickremesinghe.

During the meeting, the two Prime Ministers are also expected to discuss development of the Trincomalee port, a petroleum refinery and other industries in the vicinity of the port. India will set up a 50 MW (extendable to 100 MW) solar power plant in Sampur, near Trincomalee.

Political relations between the two countries have been marked by high-level exchanges of visits at regular intervals. Wickremesinghe visited India in September 2015, his first overseas visit after being appointed PM. He travelled to India a second time in October 2016 for the India Economic Summit, followed by a working visit in April 2017.

The Court of Appeal issued a stay order preventing the implementation of the Gazette notification on the delimitation of Local Government councils till 4th December.

The decision was given following the hearing of the petition filed against the delimitation of LG bodies today (22nd December).

The petition was taken up on November 16, before a three-member judge bench comprising President of the Appeal Court, Justice L.T.B. Dehideniya, Justice Kumudini Wickramasinghe and Justice Shiran Gunaratne.

Presenting preliminary objections, the Deputy Solicitor General Arjuna Obeysekara who was appearing on behalf of the Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils and the Secretary to the ministry, stated that the petition should be rejected without being taken up for hearing.

He pointed out that not including the members of the Elections Commission and Delimitation Committee as respondents in the case was a considerable legal error and also claimed that several distorted facts have been included in the petition.

Therefore he requested that the petition be rejected without being taken up for hearing as there was no legal basis to do so.

Attorneys representing several parties including the United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) also intervened to submit facts to the court.

They alleged that there is an attempt to postpone the forthcoming Local Government elections through this petition. The attorney called for the rejection of the petition as this would violate the fundamental rights of the voters.

The Court of Appeal stated that the decision on whether the petition will be taken up for hearing will be announced next Wednesday (22).

The petition was submitted yesterday by six citizens with voting rights, who are residents of Colombo, Kandy, Hali-Ela, Matara and Embilipitiya.

Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils Faiszer Mustapha and the Secretary to the ministry H.T. Kamal Pathmasiri have been named as respondents in the application.

The petitioners claim that the gazette notification was issued by the minister disregarding the recommendations of the sub-committee appointed to carry out the demarcation of local government bodies.

They point out that such actions are unlawful and that the minister has no authority to do so. Therefore they request the court to issue an order invalidating the said gazette notification. (GID) 

A Petroleum Ministry spokesperson yesterday confirmed there was no petrol shortage and no petrol strike, urging the public not to panic as it had at the previous occasion prompting a petrol shortage at stations islandwide.

Reports that there was a petrol shortage began to circulate yesterday after several petrol stations reported they were out of gas and queues began to form outside petrol stations in several parts of the country.

The Petroleum Ministry spokesperson however laid to rest the rumours there was once more a petrol shortage in the country and also said there was no strike organized for tomorrow, as reported from some quarters.

Sri Lanka only weeks ago came out of a four-day petrol crisis, when stocks ran out after an oil shipment was turned away for not meeting standards.

The crisis was widely criticized by the public and political detractors prompting President Sirisena to appoint a Cabinet Sub-Committee to investigate the incident.

The tense situation occurred in Gintota last night has completely been brought under control, with law and order being established in the area, Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayaka said. 

President Maithripala Sirisena said that he clearly understands the issues faced by each community in this country, and the government including himself is committed to provide solutions to those issues in a very open and fair manner.

A discussion held with the family members of the missing persons at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday (16th Nov.) President Sirisena emphasized that his aim is to provide swift solutions for the issues faced by the family members of the missing persons.

During this meeting, they presented their issues and demands to the President in detail.

The President expressing his views regarding the allegations made about some persons are being apprehended in government’s detention centers, said that there is no such secrete detention centers for the present government and no one is held in custody.

The President instructed to submit a new application through District Secretaries to obtain complains of the family members of the missing persons, to collect their appeals as well as to collect their information. He also instructed to issue a Circular to all the District Secretaries stipulating to collect that information before 15th December.

The President further advised to review those gathered information through the Office of Missing Persons and the Missing Persons Commission.

The officials including the Secretary to the President, Austin Fernando and the Secretary to the Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation Mr. Sivagnanasothy also participated in this meeting.

The Cabinet has approved the report of the Cabinet Sub-Committee appointed to review on the petrol shortage which prevailed in the country within the first week of November.

The report was submitted by Chairman of the Sub-Committee, Special Assignment Minister (Dr.) Sarath Amunugama.

The report has identified the cause for the crisis as defects in Fuel Stock Management and has recommended appointing a Board of Inquiry with the participation of officials with specialized technical knowledge to identify the responsible officers.

It also includes recommendations to prevent such a situation in the future. Cabinet of Ministers has decided to act according to recommendations of this report.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has announced that Sri Lanka is facing no tsunami threat.

The notification comes after rumours began circulating of an impending tsunami in the Indian Ocean area.

Sri Lankans living in the coastal areas were warned to be vigilant after water levels were seen to be rising in the Eastern coast.

However the DMC assures there is no tsunami threat to Sri Lanka and advised people not to panic.

The Sri Lanka Missions in Tehran and Baghdad have confirmed that there are no Sri Lankan casualties among those affected by the Iran-Iraq earthquake.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said the Missions in Tehran and Baghdad remain on alert and in contact with local authorities.

A 7.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the border between Iran and Iraq on Monday, killing as many as 450 people and injuring thousands more.

The quake is considered the deadliest earthquake so far this year, displacing several thousand, and affecting those on either side of the border.