“I was asked to report to the CID at 9.30 a.m. and they questioned me at length about my relationships with the General and his private secretary Senaka de Silva,” said Lakthilaka speaking to the Daily Mirror.

The questioning continued for about two and a half hours and also covered the nature of Shiral Lakthilaka’s involvement in General Fonseka’s presidential campaign. The UNF contestant had refused to answer some questions on the grounds that it is his right to support a political election candidate of his choice. (Read More)

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) said yesterday its manifesto for the April 8 general elections would be more people friendly with its focus on safeguarding free education, free healthcare and providing employment for graduates.

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe told the party’s Colombo District convention that better education and better health care were vital for a country’s development.

“In many countries such as the United States, Japan, China and India, education and health are considered vital for development but in Sri Lanka these sectors are largely neglected,” he said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said it was ridiculous to see the ministers who were in charge of health and education after destroying these sectors claiming they qualified to hold the Prime Ministerial portfolio.  (Read More)

SSP Noel Chandana Kudahetti and SP Jayantha Rohana Jayawardena were attached to the Management and Development Division of the police headquarters.

The Police Chief in his letter to SSP Kudahetti said the reason for sending him on compulsory leave was because he allegedly asked Inspector Gemunu of the Western Province Special Operations Division to search a printing press on January 6 without a search warrant. The printing press is reported to have printed scurrilous posters against the opposition presidential candidate retired General Sarath Fonseka.

SP Jayawardena was being sent on compulsory leave over charges of malpractice during the presidential election. (Read More)

The UPFA, the Minister said, also expected to give more powers to the Independent Commissions which would be established under the 17th Amendment to the Constitution.

The Minister said the election held on Jan. 26 to elect the 6th President was the last presidential poll in the country.

Minister Sirisena said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa would address election rallies from the following week. There would be one rally attended by the President in each district except Colombo and Kurunegala, where he would address two rallies each. (Read More)

Huge sums of money were being brought by NGOs to the country and some of these funds were being used for political purposes as there was no system to monitor their activities.

But other countries do not allow NGOs to bring funds without the authorities being aware how and for what purposes they were being spent, said Export Development and International Trade Development Minister Prof G. L. Peiris, yesterday.

Even aftermath of the tsunami, countries like India or Thailand did not permit NGOs to bring funds without restrictions or monitoring them but Sri Lanka had allowed the NGOs to bring as much money as they pleased. There should be transparency in the activities of the NGOs, the Minister said.

The UNP executive committee that met this morning also discussed the problem of the party nominations for Monaragala district.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told the media later that the leader of the district team ex-MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara and the deputy leader Ananda Kumarasiri are under the probe.

Nihal Chandrasiri was appointed as the acting district organizer for Monaragala district while a disciplinary investigation is carried out properly, he said. (Read More)

Addressing a press conference, UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said that his party was concerned about possible election malpractices at this election, and therefore the presence of foreign monitors would be important.

Mr. Attanayake said that the party would launch its election manifesto on March 16 outlining fresh measures to bring down the cost of living.

Meanwhile, UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara told Parliament during the debate on the extension of the state of emergency that the election authorities had planned to import paper from India to print ballot papers. (Read More)

The UNP members of the Western Provincial Council is to request party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe to look into the omission of provincial councilor C. Y. P. Ram’s name from the party’s Colombo District list for the upcoming general election in April.

A resolution in this regard was passed at the group meeting of the UNP Western Provincial Council members last morning prior to yesterday’s sessions.

UNP Member of the Provincial Council Sujeewa Senasinghe who moved the resolution had said such irregularities would affect the party. He was of the opinion that the opportunity which the party has to win the Colombo District at the coming general election will be affected by such a move.

They were also of the opinion that the party should do justice to Mr.Ram.

All the members who were present at the group meeting has approved this resolution according to sources.

It has been reported that party leader Ranil Wickremesighe had assured Mr. Ram that he would be UNP’s mayoral candidate for Colombo at the next local government election in 2011

Parliament was reconvened yesterday on a presidential proclamation to pass the emergency regulations for a further period of one month.They switched their allegiance to the government and accepted ministerial portfolios during the presidential election period. Subsequently, the UNP expelled them from the party. However, the two dissidents went to court against their expulsions. 

However, after the dissolution of Parliament on February, they withdrew their cases as the Supreme Court dismissed the cases. (Read More)