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DIFFERENT PRIORITIES IN THE SINHALA AND TAMIL PRESS |
Tamil Headlines
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Virakesari: “Rajapaksa’s opposition is a recognition for us; it is a signal the move is in the right direction” – Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown responds | Former Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya as UN Resident Representative; Mahishini Colonne as High Commissioner to India Thinakaran: “Excavation work begins at sites where human skeletal remains were found in the Chemmani Sindhubath burial ground in Ariyalai |
Thinakkural: If the president prevents the opposition parties from forming administrations, they will have to follow alternative methods! The president’s threats can never be allowed – UNP; president cannot issue threatening comments Thamilan: Opposition parties unite to capture councils – important meetings in Colombo |
Sinhala Headlines
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Lankadeepa: Water and electricity connections to the the substandard fertiliser storage have been taken illegally; illegal connections to the house, the bar and hotel; complaints from the CEB and the water board; owner nowhere to be found | Divaina: Discussions among the opposition parties that planned to establish power [in LG bodies] fall apart: EC requests names of members within a specified period Ada: Former land reclamation chair remanded over spending Rs. 27.6 million for the Weras Ganga Project ceremony |
Mawbima: A problem in the pension data system; pensioners across the country inconvenienced | Land reclamation chair granted bail: Has spent Rs. 27.5 million for a ceremony Dinamina: Investigation units to investigate corruption and fraud in provincial councils and local government authorities – President approves request from governors Aruna: “Not a single grain of salt has been produced during the last four months” – Chair of Lanka Salt Limited Anidda: Establishing LG bodies by the Opposition: Parties that did not win request for mayor, chairperson positions; discussions unstable |
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TAMIL PRESS PRIORITIES |
Photo credits: BarrieToday files
“Rajapaksa’s opposition is a recognition for us; it is a signal the move is in the right direction” – Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown responds
Virakesari, Thinakkural
Mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown has stressed that the Rajapaksa family’s opposition to the Tamil Genocide Memorial is an admission of guilt, and that if the Rajapaksa family is convinced that genocide did not occur they should provide full cooperation to the International Criminal Court investigations rather than obstructing the delivery of justice. The Tamil Genocide Memorial, which has been built in the city of Brampton, Canada, was inaugurated by Brown on the 10th. Expressing serious concern about this, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MP Namal Rajapaksa, who had made a post on the official X site, had stated that it has not been proven that the Sri Lankan military was involved in genocide under international law and that it cannot be proven. Patrick Brown, who has made a post on his X site citing the post, stated that the Rajapaksa family’s opposition to the Tamil Genocide Memorial is a strong signal that they are on the right track in remembering the innocent people who died at the hands of the family.
“Fundamentalism returns to the North” – Wimal accuses the
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“Why is the government afraid of international criminal investigations?” – Gajendrakumar questions the minister of foreign affairs
Virakesari, Thinakkural Leader of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) and MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has questioned that if the government truly believes that the Sri Lankan government has not committed genocide against the Tamil people why it is afraid to face an international independent criminal investigation and prove that the Sri Lankan government has not committed any crime. He has directed this question to Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath who had expressed strong objections to the baseless accusation of genocide and the approval given for the construction of a monument based on it. |
Excavation work begins at sites where human skeletal remains were found in the Chemmani Sindhubath burial ground in Ariyalai
Thinakaran
Excavation work has commenced since yesterday (15th) in the areas where human skeletal remains were reportedly found in the Chemmani Sindhubath burial ground in Ariyalai. In the Chemmani Sindhubath burial ground, human bones were observed when pits were dug for development work at the beginning of February last year. Following this, the magistrate who visited the scene on the 20th of February conducted an investigation. At that time it was decided to subject the area where the human remains were recovered to a scan and to continue excavation work. Following this, excavation work began in that area yesterday (15th). It is noteworthy that surveying work was carried out in the areas yesterday, identifying the areas where human remains were recovered, and excavation work is scheduled to be carried out in the coming days.
SINHALA PRESS PRIORITIES |
Photo credits: News.lk
“Establish anti-corruption units in local government bodies” – President grants permission
Divaina, Mawbima, Dinamina
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has approved the establishment of dedicated anti-corruption investigation units within local government authorities and provincial councils with the aim of combatting corruption and administrative inefficiencies. The decision was made following a request made by provincial governors during a high-level discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (15th). Speaking at the meeting, President Dissanayake emphasised that provincial governors bear the primary responsibility for driving development initiatives and ensuring accountability within their respective provinces. The president stressed that strengthening governance mechanisms is critical to addressing systemic challenges and achieving equitable progress.
Former land reclamation chair granted bail: Has spent Rs. 27.5 million for a ceremony
Divaina, Ada, Mawbima, Aruna Former Chair of the Land Reclamation and Development Corporation Harshan de Silva, who was arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), was granted bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday (15th). The former chair was arrested by the Bribery Commission yesterday (15th) afternoon over investigations into the alleged misappropriation of Rs. 27.5 million of state funds. Accusations stating that he has caused a loss to the government by utilising state funds for an unauthorised function for a development project of the Land Reclamation and Development Corporation have been levelled against him. |
Radhakrishnan to support the NPP
Anidda It is reported that a discussion has been held between the NPP and the Kandurata Janatha Peramuna to establish power in Local Government (LG) bodies in the Hill Country. The discussion had taken place between Leader of the Kandurata Janatha Peramuna MP V.S. Radhakrishnan and Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources Ramalingam Chandrasekar. The report states that there are several members of the Kandurata Janatha Peramuna who had contested under the SJB in addition to those who had contested separately. Accordingly, the report further states that if discussions between these members are proven successful, the support of the Kandurata Janatha Peramuna will be given to the NPP. |
The SLMC, that won six local government bodies in the East, to establish power in three more after uniting with the Opposition
Divaina, Mawbima
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) that competed on its own at the Local Government (LG) election and secured six councils is planning to establish power in three more councils following its alliance with selected opposition parties. The SLMC stated further that it plans to establish power in Thambalagamuwa, Pottuvil and Nintavur in which SLMC representatives have competed under the SJB and independent groups.
COMMON PRIORITIES: SINHALA & TAMIL PRESS |
Photo credits: Hiru News
Discussions among the opposition parties that planned to establish power [in LG bodies] fall apart: EC requests names of members within a specified period
Divaina, Dinamina, Anidda, Thinakaran, Thinakkural, Thamilan
A crisis situation has arisen among the opposition parties that were planning to establish power in Local Government (LG) bodies in which the NPP had not secured a clear majority. A meeting was held on Wednesday (14th) to discuss the alliance; however, many party leaders and representatives that had attended the meeting on May 14 had boycotted the second meeting that was held yesterday (15th), giving rise to the crisis. Yesterday’s (15th) meeting had been called in order to determine positions in terms of establishing power in LG bodies.
General Secretary of the SLPP Sagara Kariyawasam made a statement stressing that the SLPP will not be attending the meeting even though SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa attended the meeting that was held on Wednesday (14th) under the patronage of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Kariyawasam added that the SLPP pursues a separate journey politically and stressed that alliances were not an option for it. Commenting on the crisis, Leader of the Sarvajana Balaya Party Dilith Jayaweera stated that although the UNP had made a statement saying that Jayaweera joined the initial meeting via phone, he did not join the meeting.
Divaina quotes Leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) Udaya Gammanpila as stating that the crisis had arisen due to an unnecessary issue regarding leadership being put forth.
The death of the Kotahena student: “Although the child was put into another school, she constantly said that she didn’t want to go to school” – Mother of the student states during interview with the magistrate
Lankadeepa, Divaina, Mawbima, Virakesari, Thinakaran, Thinakkural
The mother of the student from Kotahena who died by suicide, providing a statement before the Colombo acting magistrate yesterday (15th), stated that her daughter had complained about the mathematics teacher at her school behaving inappropriately with her last November. She added that even though the student was admitted to a different school, the student continued to complain and refused to go to school. The police will be conducting further investigations into the matter and the examination of evidence on the issue has been scheduled to take place on May 22.
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Common priorities: Additional stories
1. Cabinet approval granted to import salt – Lankadeepa, Ada, Dinamina, Aruna, Thinakaran, Thamilan
2. A Rs. 200 million income from the super-luxury vehicle auction at the Presidential Secretariat – Lankadeepa, Divaina, Ada, Dinamina, Thamilan
3. The U.S. gives advanced nuclear detection equipment to Sri Lanka – Ada, Dinamina, Anidda, Thinakkural
4. Sri Lanka signs USD 930.8 million agreement with India’s EXIM Bank – Divaina, Virakesari, Thinakaran
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