Women want Karaliyedda out

 Wednesday, 25 December 2013 

 A group of women has urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa to call for the resignation of Women’s Affairs and Child Development Minister Tissa Karaliyadde and to remove him from his portfolio with immediate effect.

The Women’s NGO Forum has called for Karaliyadde’s resignation for making sexist comments against women in the country.
The Forum has noted that the Minister had made extremely sexist remarks humiliating Sri Lankan women without any sense of respect for the Cabinet or the office he holds.

“Minister Karaliyadde is clearly unaware that the oath of office he has taken as a Cabinet minister requires him to respect and follow the norms and standards set by our Constitution and national laws and international treaties and policies that bind the Sri Lankan State and Government,” the Forum has told the media.

The Minister has been accused of violating Article 12 of the Constitution that incorporates standards of gender equality and non-discrimination on the ground of a person’s sex.

According to the Forum, Sri Lanka is a party to the convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1981.

The Minister seems to be unaware of the gender equality programs carried out by his ministry to strengthen capacity of the many community based women's groups, the NGO has said.

PS MEMBER AMONG 9 HELD DIGGING FOR TREASURE

December 25, 2013 

Nine persons including a member of the Thanamalwila Pradeshiya Sabha have been arrested for engaging in illegal excavations in the Embilipitiya area with the intention of finding buried treasures. 

The suspects were arrested by Embilipitiya Police while carrying out the excavations at a residence in Embilipitiya last night. 

Various equipment and utensils used for the digging have also been taken into custody by police. The suspects are to be produced at the Embilipitya Magistrate’s Court today.