New electoral reform is a solution to the Northern problem – former GA Jaffna – Lional Fernando

Thursday, 28 May 2015

Former Jaffna government agent Lional Fernando said the 20th constitutional amendment proposed for the reformation of a new electoral system is a best solution for a genuine reconciliation for the people in the North.

He stressed this during a media communiqué convened today 28th by CaFFe under the theme “Lets legislate 20th and end the preferential voting

He further said “in 1977 when the government legislated the electoral system the country’s public service became upside down. It created unrest between ethnicities. From a fresh electoral system any person belonging to any ethnicity can independently participate in elections. Therefore we can believe that this would help the people in the north to obtain their rights

Executive Director of CaFFe Keerthi Tennakoon said people’s representatives who were elected from the Northern and Eastern Province are living either in Colombo or outside Sri Lanka. When an election is announced these representatives visit their villages grab their preferential votes by spending money and after winning the election they leave the people in the village. Therefore we need to stop this and find a way where we can keep these elected representatives in their own electorate. The only way to stop this is to legislate the 20th amendment and it is the sole responsibility of all civilized people’s representatives to defeat this preferential voting system which is sold money.

The chairman of the Sri Lanka Administration officers union Chandrarathna Pallegama and the former secretary of the ministry of lands Ashoka Pieris also participated in this media communique. 

Banning Glyphosate For Political & Not Scientific Reasons

By Oliver A. Ileperuma –May 29, 2015

Prof. Oliver A. Ileperuma

President Maithripala Sirsena has banned the use of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide purportedly on some reports that it causes the Rajarata kidney disease. It is not clear as to what these scientific reports are but this is widely believed to be the work of a group of researchers from the Rajarata University who have been changing their tune over the years from bio-terrorism, arsenic and finally glyphosate. None of the established research groups in the country have accepted this hypothesis because it cannot explain the geographic occurrence of this disease. Glyphosate is used in many agricultural areas of the country and it defies simple logic to understand why this disease is prevalent only in certain specific areas of Rajarata and non-existent in areas where it is heavily used. Nearly 10 years ago I put forward the hypothesis that it is excessive fluoride in these areas that is responsible for this disease but this has not been seriously considered perhaps because I do not have the political clout to push this idea.

The ban proclaimed by the President is I am sure due to political pressure exerted by interested individuals without taking into account the risks and the benefits of using this weed killer widely used in a number of countries without any adverse effects. Several years ago it was claimed that arsenic is responsible for this disease and when I refuted their claims based on scientific information, they openly labeled us as agents of the multinational companies importing pesticides. They even went to the extent of grinding chillies at the Seenigama Devalaya to curse a number of scientists who have opposed their pseudoscience and challenging their analytical data. Ven. Athuraliye Ratana thero was at the forefront of this campaign and I am sure that the Yahapalana government too has fallen prey to his antics. These groups who claim that divine attention of God Natha has shown them the way to solve this mystery disease, are at work again misleading the Government to take irresponsible decisions. There is absolutely no credible evidence to link glyphosate to kidney disease.

This decision will be disastrous and eventually will lead to Sri Lanka having to import rice. I am not at all promoting the use of glyphosate and I would rather like to have all pesticides banned in Sri Lanka returning to traditional varieties of rice and using only compost fertilizer. In Sri Lanka labour shortages and their expense plays a vital role in sustaining agriculture. Glyphosate can be useful to poor farmers to overcome the heavy cost of labour and to send their children to school rather than hoe their fields. It also helps farmers to adopt soil conservation practices and prevent soil erosion. Our tea plantations are also plagued by labour shortages and applying glyphosate has been helpful to the tea industry. Therefore, there is little doubt that a total ban on glyphosate will adversely affect our economy.Read More

Electoral Reforms in Sri Lanka: 20A Deadlocked?

 President – PM entrusted to decide way forward; Committee report accepted, subject to alterations;

28/05/2015

The Cabinet last night decided to entrust President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with the task of deciding the manner in which the government should proceed with the 20th Amendment.

The Cabinet sub committee report, dealing with electoral reforms, was presented to the Cabinet and the ministers decided to accept it while leaving space for further alterations. S. B. Dissanayake, Sarath Amunugama, Lakshman Kiriella, Kabir Hashim, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Rauff Hakeem, Gayantha Karunathilake, P. Digambaram and Rishard Bathuideen served as members of the Cabinet sub committee which prepared the report.

The sub committee report encapsulated the core views expressed by different political parties with regard to electoral reforms and the 20th Amendment. However, some members of the Cabinet who represented ethnic minorities raised concerns saying some of their viewpoints were not included in the report.

At the same time, different viewpoints were expressed by ministers on the number of seats in Parliament. Some ministers stated that the number of Parliamentary seats should be increased to 255 while some argued to maintain the status quo.

With different arguments coming from various members of the Cabinet, there was no final agreement on the number of seats in Parliament under the new electoral system.

As a result, a final decision could not be made on the 20th Amendment. Meanwhile, President Sirisena informed the Cabinet that he would hold a separate discussion on electoral reform with the Parliamentary group of the SLFP.

by Rasika Jayakody/CDN

Needed: Pest control

Editorial-May 28, 2015

The 19th Amendment is now law and the stage is currently being set for the presentation of the 20th Amendment to Parliament to introduce electoral reforms. With time running out for the government which is desperate to seek a popular mandate at a general election to consolidate its power some political observers argue that the fate of the 20th Amendment is in the balance. But, President Maithripala Sirisena, who does not want to antagonise the SLFP by dissolving Parliament without introducing the 20th Amendment, is sure to go the whole hog to secure its passage.

Our electoral system is seriously flawed and needs reform. It enables rich political dregs to go places by virtue of their ill-gotten wealth. But, as we always argue, introducing electoral reforms to keep social undesirables at bay is like ‘changing pillows to cure a headache’. For, with or without changes to the existing Proportional Representation system, those elements could be got rid of if the two main political parties stop fielding them at elections.

Prior to the last presidential election, the then Opposition which is now in power vilified some ministers by calling them drug barons and bootleggers. President Sirisena, who was a minister at that time, claimed that corruption as well as other illegal activities the then government MPs and their cronies were involved in was the main reason for his decision to break ranks with the UPFA and challenge the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the presidential fray. Some of the UPFA MPs are being probed for corruption etc. President Sirisena has recently renewed his vow to oust drug dealers and other criminal elements from Parliament. But, alas, we quoted the SLFP General Secretary Anura Yapa the other day as having said that all UPFA MPs in the present Parliament would get nominations to contest the upcoming general election! In other words, all the rogues President Sirisena bashed during the presidential election campaign and wants to banish from Parliament–and rightly so–will get nominations! How can the SLFP reconcile its grand plans to clean up Parliament with its decision to nominate all UPFA MPs including political pests? An explanation is called for!

Meanwhile, the Elections Department is reported to have told political parties that it does not endorse proposals to increase the number of MPs to 275 or even more from the present 225. Let it be thanked for its pro-people stance.

There has been much talk about the rat population in the city and ways and means are being explored to control it. Frantic efforts are also being made to eradicate mosquitoes as part of the ongoing dengue prevention programme. A similar attempt is called for to reduce the number of political pests.

It is seldom that Parliament has quorate sittings because MPs play truant. Not even those billed to open debates care to be present. Parliamentarians have proved that the country can do without most of them. It also does not make any economic or political sense to retain the same number of MPs let alone increase it. For, there are nine provincial councils and thier members including 45 ministers are doing precious little. Taxpayers are maintaining more than 4,000 elected representatives in Parliament, provincial councils and local government bodies and they must not be burdened further.

Electoral reforms are welcome and they deserve public backing, but the efforts being made in some quarters to expand Parliament must be defeated at any cost. As Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has famously said what is needed in a modern democracy is less government and more governance. This is something that our politicians who take pride in emulating Modi should take cognizance of. The time has come for pest control.

Do Women Have A Place In Sri Lanka?

By Hiyanthi Peiris –May 29, 2015

Hiyanthi Peiris

“A girl is first under the protection of her father, then under the protection of her husband, then under the protection of her son and then she dies.”

At first sight, this seems like a very innocent concept. It encourages familial love, protection of women and is overall the right sentiment to propagate. However, notice that the woman is never given her own agency- instead she is always discussed in a position of relational identity to a male.

In 2012, the Delhi Gang rape got everyone talking. Jyoti, who would later come to be known as Nirbhaya (fearless), was gang raped at around 10pm in the night in public transportation in New Delhi. Her case, despite the existence of many other cases of gang rape was used as the rallying point for India to make a stance against rape. This is because Jyoti’s story is quite difficult to construe as one in which she was “asking for it” although many people did try to construe it that way too^[1]. Jyoti was what Indian and South Asian culture loves to call a “good” girl- she was a hard working medical student, who was working on little sleep to excel in her exams, was out and about accompanied by a male presence and not by herself, with an inspirational story about overcoming poverty and struggles, whose only crime against culture was that she was out “late” at night. This is why India was quick to react and make her the face of the struggle against sexual abuse of women. However, what about the girls who were raped or sexually assaulted while they were committing the so-called heinous offenses of traveling alone and dressed “indecently.”

Similar to what happened in India, a 17 year old student, Vidhya, from Jaffna was raped and killed by 9 individuals. She was a student in school uniform, and was abducted and raped on her way to school. Although her case was initially not given enough attention to, the protests in the North ensured that justice was served. However, there were some seriously shameful posts and articles being made about how the North was simply causing a scene about nothing. The fact of the matter is that the North is still struggling to get back on their feet after the war- they are struggling to hold on to their identity, language, culture and reclaim what was once theirs, while the government struggles to help them and every other victim of the war. The least we can do is to be sympathetic to their needs, rather than dismiss them.

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Gang rape and murder of a school girl

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  Image courtesy News First
• by Devanesan Nesiah 
• - on 05/29/2015 
The recent gang rape  and murder of a school girl in Jaffna has, within the few days, triggered many public reports in newspapers and elsewhere, raised many issues including the Code of Professional Practice for journalism; national reconciliation; the death penalty; public demonstrations in Jaffna and Colombo; judicial reforms in relation to such atrocities; brought together people of diverse ethnicity and social backgrounds; a visit by the President Sirisena to Jaffna and a meeting of the President together with Justice Wignaswaran, Chief Minister of the North and Deputy Minister Vijayakala Maheshwaran to the family of the victim.
The concern is not only with this case but also with numerous others, many of which are covered up in collusion between the perpetrators and the authorities and, sometimes, the concerned family. Happily, President Sirisena has promised that full justice will be done in this case through a special court that will also hear other cases of this kind to ensure maximum punishment for the perpetrators as quickly as possible. The legal, social and political implications arising from this case are very positive and most welcome, though all of this will not compensate the family of the victim for their terrible loss.
It is sad that though the impact of this case is exceptional, such cases are not only as common in this country as in many other parts of the world, but are also treated less seriously than appropriate. The reforms mentioned by the President are most welcome, but much more needs to be done to make our streets, schools, workplaces, other institutions and even our homes and neighbourhoods more secure for children and women. This should surely be high up on any reform agenda.

Ex-CJ's son slams Namal

2015-05-29
Shaveen Bandaranayake, son of former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake questioned MP Namal Rajapaksa’s moral stand, asking Rajapaksa if he understood how he (Shaveen) 'felt when my family was condemn(ed), vilified and harassed during the past two and a half years'. 

He said this in a response to a 'status' posted by Namal Rajapaksa on his official Facebook page, in which he pleads for his 'mother and brothers' to be 'left alone’. 

In a no holds barred response currently going viral, Shaveen asked how he would have felt when his parents were summoned to the Bribery Commission.

The former Chief Justice was impeached by the previous regime under controversial circumstances with what many alleged were trumped up charges brought against her in attempts to oust her. 

The impeachment led to severe criticism against the then government both locally and internationally. However, the government maintained that the charges were proved and due process was followed. 

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s wife and Namal’s mother Shiranthi Rajapaksa had been summoned to the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) to record statements over various allegations of fraud and corruption. - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/74347/s-namal#sthash.UBArI0Vu.dpuf

In his Facebook post, Namal asked that political vengeance be stopped immediately. 

"My Mother just received a notice to appear before the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID). My Mother has always stayed away from politics. Does she deserve this harassment?! “Yahapalanaya” seems just a facade for this government. Vengeance isn't "good governance." Targeting my Mother proves it. President Rajapaksa and I, as politicians, are always ready to face political vengeance. But I wish they would leave my Mother & brothers alone" Rajapaksa said in his status which was posted on the 26th of May. 

Bandaranayake had responded the very next day, commenting right below the above status "Mr. Rajapaksa, you tend to forget those who you've left in your wake. My mother, father, aunt, uncle nor I were politicians. Yet, your government moved swiftly to condemn, vilify and harass us throughout the past 2 1/2 years. How must I have felt when my parents were called before the Bribery Commission? How must I have felt seeing them being carted day after day to courts? How must I have felt seeing them being defamed by the government media that you so eloquently manipulated during your rule? Before you seek sympathy or support, 'audi alteram partem'. You’re an attorney, look that up" (Hafeel Farisz) - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/74347/s-namal#sthash.UBArI0Vu.dpuf

Why Should We Compromise On Quality Of School Education?

By Mithula Guganeshan –May 29, 2015

Mithula Guganeshan

Sri Lanka boasts and is often reported as one of the South Asian countries with highest literacy rate of 98%, basically the ability to read and write one’s signature. We claim to be continuously improving Development indexes, a trendsetter for easily achieving most of the development educational goals such as literacy rates, student enrollment and mean years of schooling. However, do these scores provide any accreditation to the quality of education being provided in Sri Lanka? Education is a basic human right and neglecting to focus on the quality of education has been the root cause for all the local issues.

Sri Lanka, a middle income country’s Education expenditure as a percentage of GDP was only 1.9% (CBSL, Annual Report 2014). The education expenditure didn’t even meet the recommended levels of 5.4% for low income countries (UNESCO, 2015). Sri Lanka’s Education system has an opportunity and room for further improvement.

Shortage of qualified teachers impacting the high dropout rates, low achievement levels of the students are some of the areas that need to addressed immediately. Developing a value based system in terms of training/recruiting educators instead of teachers is essential to provide a quality education.

“A true Educator locates the intelligence and abilities within another, drawing them out for all, even the student, to see. And then steps out of the way allowing them to develop, create and pursue their talent.” – L. Ron Hubbard

We need more qualified educators to impart knowledge by laying a strong foundation towards developing future leaders.

However, based on the current situation the least we can expect is to recruit qualified teachers with acceptable levels of experience and skills. Teacher Recruitment and Mobility study conducted at National level reveals only 4% of the teachers are graduates or above, whilst 77% have obtained teaching certificates/diplomas and 19% untrained teachers. (J. Balasooriya, 2010). Is this an acceptable quality of teachers preparing future leaders?

Read More

TGTE Welcomes former SL Army Chief’s willingness to face War Crime Trials: Urges Him to Avail to UN’s OISL

Friday, 29 May 2015 

“If he really believes in his innocence, we challenge him to open himself to international investigation"

“We also urge the current President of Sri Lanka Mr. Sirisena, who was the acting defense minister during the final weeks of these killings and rapes, to clarify his position whether he himself is ready to face International war crimes trials to clear his name”

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is pleased to hear of former Army Commander Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka’s interview to the Guardian newspaper that he would welcome war crimes investigation to prove his innocence for the mass killing of Tamils and rape of Tamil women by the Sri Lankan Security Forces.

“There were no rapes, no torture during my command during the war,” Fonseka said in the interview.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/27/former-sri-lanka-army-chief-says-he-would-welcome-war-investigation?CMP=share_btn_tw

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein is to submit his report to the UN Human Rights Council in September about his findings regarding these killings and recommendations for justice.

“We are pleased about Sarath Fonseka’s commitment to answer to these mass killings and rape,” said TGTE’s Minister for International Affairs Mr. Manicka Vasagar.

“If he really believes in his innocence, we challenge him to open himself to international investigation. As a first step, we urge him to muster the courage and avail himself to the UN’s Office of Investigation of Sri Lanka (OISL) and cooperate with them”

“We also urge the current President of Sri Lanka Mr. Sirisena, who was the acting defense minister during the final weeks of these killings and rapes, to clarify his position whether he himself is ready to face International war crimes trials to clear his name” continued Mr. Manicka Vasagar.

TGTE is having a Million Signature Campaign in fifteen languages to “Refer Sri Lanka to International Criminal Court” Details at: www.tgte-icc.org

Recently, Sri Lankan President appointed an alleged suspect of war crimes Maj. Gen. Jagath Dias as the new Army Chief. His appointment was criticized by international human rights organizations.

Sri Lanka: New Army Chief a Blow to Justice - 6 Years After War, No Accountability for Serious Abuses (Human Rights Watch) -
http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/05/17/sri-lanka-new-army-chief-blow-justice

ABOUT TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL EELAM (TGTE):

Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is a democratically elected Government of a million strong Tamils (from the island of Sri Lanka) living in several countries.

TGTE held internationally supervised elections among Tamils around the world to elect 132 Members of Parliament. It has a bicameral legislature and a Cabinet. It held one of its Parliamentary sittings in the British Parliament.

TGTE is leading a campaign to realize Tamils’ political aspirations through peaceful, democratic and diplomatic means. The Constitution of the TGTE mandates that it should realize its political objective only through peaceful means.

The Prime Minister of TGTE is Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a New York based lawyer.

TGTE was formed after the mass killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan Government in 2009. According to UN internal review report on Sri Lanka, over 70,000 Tamils were killed in five months in early 2009 and Tamil women were sexually assaulted and raped by Sri Lankan Security forces. There are over 90,000 Tamil war widows and thousands of Tamils disappeared due the conflict.

BACKGROUND:

Tamils have faced repeated mass killings since 1958 and the mass killings in 2009 prompted UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to appoint a Panel of Experts to report on the scale of killings.

According to the report by this UN Panel, tens of thousands of Tamil civilians were killed and women were sexually abused and raped by the Sri Lankan Security Forces.

According to this UN Panel, the killings and other abuses that took place amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Independent experts believe that there are elements of these abuses that constitute an act of genocide.

According to the UN internal review report on Sri Lanka, over 70,000 Tamils were killed in five months in early 2009. There are over 90,000 Tamil war widows and thousands of Tamil political prisoners in Sri Lanka.

Members of the Sri Lankan security forces are almost exclusively from the Sinhalese community and the victims are all from the Tamil community.

A Buddhist Monk shot and killed a Sri Lankan Prime Minister 1959 for having talks with Tamil political leaders to find a solution to the ethnic conflict.

Tamils overwhelmingly voted in a Parliamentary election in 1977 to establish an independent and sovereign country called Tamil Eelam. This Parliamentary election was conducted by the Sri Lankan Government.

MS rules out nomination for MR

2015-05-29
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday told the representatives of the UPFA that he could not agree to offer nominations to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to contest the next election under under its betel symbol as the prime ministerial candidate, informed sources said yesterday.

The President, in his capacity as the UPFA Chairman, met the leaders of the parties aligned with it politically on Wednesday evening.

During the meeting, the UPFA leaders had asked about the President’s stand on the proposal to nominate Mr. Rajapaksa as the UPFA prime ministerial candidate. President Sirisena is reported to have declined to nominate his predecessor.

The President has said that Mr. Rajapaksa had served in politics for a long time as an MP, a Minister, a Prime Minister and the President for two terms, and therefore another member should be given that opportunity. President Sirisena also requested the UPFA leaders to cooperate with him as the chairman of the party to execute his next political programme .

However, the UPFA leaders, who were present, did not agree to the President’s refusal to give nomination to Mr. Rajapaksa.

The no -confidence motion against the present government led by the United National Party (UNP) and the formation of a UPFA government before the declaration of the general election were also other topics being discussed.

In the meantime, UPFA leaders met Mr. Rajapaksa in Colombo yesterday morning. According to a party leader who attended the meeting, Mr. Rajapaksa expressed his willingness to contest as the UPFA prime ministerial candidate. He had also endorsed the decision by the UPFA to move a no confidence motion to unseat the present government, and to form its own prior to the declaration of the election.

The UPFA leaders decided to announce their final stand to President Sirisena through Party Secretary Susil Premajayantha. (Kelum Bandara) - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/74251/ms-rules-out-nomination-for-mr#sthash.ZxcCMMuh.dpuf

An Issue About A Non-Issue Wilpattu Land For Resettlement?

By Shahul Hasbullah –May 29, 2015

Prof. Shahul Hasbullah

An Issue about a non-Issue

This is a revised version of a paper of the same title presented at a small gathering of scholars and activists on May 27, 2015. Formally speaking, this is my first engagement in public on the hotly debated issue of Wilpattu land settlement and I hope, it will form a critical and informed engagement on this issue. I was at first reluctant to enter into any debate as I felt that it had become over ethnicized and politicized, leaving little from for constructive and politically informed, activist and academic input. But as the debate has taken a turn toward discrediting the right to return of those displaced in war, I feel the need to present my views. I have been working in the area of conflict driven displacement, return and resettlement of communities, land disputes that have arisen in the wake of return for two decades.

The urgency of the situation also demands that I take to task nationalistic forces acting under cover of legal expertise, environmentalism and other benign and legitimate concerns, which drawing upon certain facts and needs regarding the returnees into calculation have transformed the face of the returning figure into one of mass villainy. I have therefore undertaken to bring to light an understanding of the ground situation concerning the return of the people of Musali South (located in Musali DS Division of Mannar District of the Northern Province.)

Concerns raised and the issues focused in the presentation

At the seminar, geographers, environmentalist, rights activists and people with local knowledge presented their views on land and Wilpattu. I for one raised a fundamental question and that my driving motif in this paper. Why are we discussing Wilpattu and Land, now? Why has this become one of national significance at this precise moment? Whose agenda does this serve? Who benefits from it and how? More importantly, why are the concerns of the marginalized, the cardinal principle of existence and belonging, the RIGHT TO RETURN, shelved and not seen as important any more.

In my consideration, the dispute over Wilpattu is not what we have to focus on at the moment and that the disputed forest clearance has to be discussed in connection with the return of the displaced. The need of the hour is a national policy on return and in my view we need to discuss that first and foremost, as every other issue, including the Wilpattu land issue and attendant forest clearance issue arise from that. We need to address this concern at the national level.

The “forgotten people and their land”                                Read More

Buddhist temple being built illegally on Tamil land  28 May 2015 A Buddhist temple is being built illegally on Tamil-owned land in Mullaitivu. Lands privately owned by Tamils as well as some land belonging to Mullaitivu’s Kokkilai hospital have been illegally appropriated by a Buddhist monk, with the support of the military, for the purposes of building a grand Buddhist vihara. Over twenty soldiers were seen taking part in the construction of the temple. Northern Provincial Councillor, Thurairasa Ravikaran went to the site with one of the owners of the land, taking with them the rightful documents for the property. They were told by soldiers that the monk responsible was not present. “I showed [the soldiers] the appropriate documents and told them that the place was private land and that the creation of a vihara without the permission of the landowners was illegal,” Mr Ravikaran said. “The soldiers there told me that they were tasked to go there by higher officials and that they knew nothing about it.” Mr Ravikaran said that since the responsible monk was away in Colombo, the soldiers had said that they would carry on the building work in the meantime.  “It has become commonplace here for a cleric to commit violations in this illegal manner with the support of soldiers. This is a peak example of religious supremacism,” Mr Ravikaran further said.

No Glyphosate containers released as claimed: Ravi

2015-05-29

The Glyphosate controversy has taken another twist with Finance Minister contradicting the statement made by acting Customs Director General R. Semasingha that 15 containers of Glyphosate had been released legally. 

The minister said none of the containers had been released nor had it been banned in Sri Lanka but that 40 containers detained by Customs would be destroyed on a presidential decree. 

President Maithripala Sirisena had banned the import of the highly harmful agro-chemical Glyphosate after studies had revealed that the use of this chemical had in a large way contributed to the spread of Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD) in many parts of the country. 

Commenting on the circumstances that led to the resignation of former Customs Chief Jagath Wijeweera, the minister said he had done so on his own over a personnel issue. There was no political influence that prompted his resignation as alleged by the opposition. 

Responding to a journalist at the news briefing at his office, the minister said Glyphosate had not been banned in Sri Lanka as claimed by former Agricultural Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywadana but the Customs had been instructed to destroy the 40 containers of Glyphosate on a directive issued by President Maithripala Sirisena. 

However, Mr. Abeywardana said Glyphosate was banned in Sri Lanka in February, 2014 in six districts in the North-Central, Uva and Eastern Provinces in a bid to control CKD. 

"There was a protest from the tea industry because Glyphosate is used as the main weedicide in tea plantations and the ban was active only in six districts," Mr. Abeywardana said.

 Mr. Abeywardana also alleged that former Mr. Wijeweera had resigned because of political pressure to release 15 containers of Glyphosate. However, Mr. Wijeweera is still to deny the allegation if it was wrong. (SAJ) - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/74351/no-glyphosate-containers-released-as-claimed-ravi#sthash.osxy1OVW.dpuf