DIFFERENT PRIORITIES IN THE SINHALA AND TAMIL PRESS |
Tamil Headlines
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Virakesari: UNP appoints three-member committee for talks with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) | Fonseka must call for an international investigation, this is the best way if he is ready to testify, says MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam | Three police teams begin investigation into the Sewwandi group; Various information exposed in the preliminary inquiry | IMF praises improvement in Sri Lanka’s economic performance Thinakaran: India keen to cooperate on educational and cultural development; assurance given to the Prime Minister during the meeting with Jaishankar | Sri Lanka’s post-debt restructuring activities attract investors, states the International Monetary Fund (IMF) | Dawoodi Bohra community leader receives a welcome (Pictorial) | Emergency disaster; Special arrangements to expedite relief work |
Thinakkural: Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, writes to the Indian Prime Minister regarding Harini’s three-day visit, requesting Modi to discuss the retrieval of Katchatheevu and the arrest of Tamil Nadu fisherfolk with the Sri Lankan Prime Minister | Harini and Jaishankar meet in New Delhi | Navy Radar Base on 2 acres of land in Keerimalai! Valikamam North Pradeshiya Sabha refuses to allocate the land | Valikamam North Pradeshiya Sabha writes to the President demanding the immediate release of 2,500 acres of land Thamilan: Navy rampage! MP Gajendrakumar alleges, also questioning the President’s responsibility | Ishara’s statement in the Sanjeewa murder case: “I was in the lawyers’ lounge (bar room).” | Paddy (Keeri Samba) hoarding creates the risk of a rice shortage | “Full credit for the war victory belongs to Mahinda,” asserts Sarath Weerasekara |
Sinhala Headlines
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Lankadeepa: Ishara Sewwandi had been in hiding for two months in Mathugama before fleeing the country: had stayed in Middeniya for a month as well; the gun hidden in the law book was given to the shooter on the staircase; a 72-hour detention order Divaina: An underworld figure in Mathugama has provided Sewwandi with facilities to stay in hiding following the murder of Sanjeewa: four, including Sewwandi, held under a 72-hour detention order | Two higher-ups who took bribes from the “malu lella” of the Peliyagoda fish shop imprisoned: right to vote abolished | Interpol support to seize 25 Sri Lankan underworld members who have fled the country |
Mawbima: This newspaper was unavailable at the time of publishing FrontPage Dinamina: Sewwandi had fled the country on the day of the LG election: the Penal Code was left in court because of the unrest; Sewwandi had gone to the beauty salon every day while she was in Nepal | Sirikotha renovated with funds from the State Engineering Corporation: former executive director granted bail; travel ban imposed | A three-member committee from the UNP to hold discussions with the SJB Aruna: Relief for vehicles without revenue licenses – IGP orders police Anidda: A Social Security Contribution Levy will be imposed on petrol, diesel, and kerosene |
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TAMIL PRESS PRIORITIES |
Photo credits: Lanka Sara
Navy rampage! MP Gajendrakumar alleges, questions the President’s responsibility
Thamilan
MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has questioned whether the Sri Lanka Navy is under the control of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, citing the ongoing acquisition of private land in Valikamam North for naval purposes.
He stated that this action contradicts the President’s promises, made both as a candidate and after taking office in Jaffna, to release all civilian lands held by security forces.
In a statement, Ponnambalam highlighted the perceived hypocrisy of the current administration, which he claims is following the actions of previous governments despite having criticised them.
He noted that even after 16 years since the end of the war and a recent protest by the Valikamam North Resettlement Organisation in front of the Presidential Secretariat, the Navy is proceeding with land acquisition.
Ponnambalam also criticised the government’s inaction on the illegally constructed vihara in Thaiyiddy, alleging that new constructions are underway.
He argued that these actions demonstrate a “dictatorial trend” and prove that a “Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinist government will never deliver justice to the Tamil people.”
Stalin urges Modi to discuss Katchatheevu, fisherfolk’s release with visiting SL PM
Thinakkural, Virakesari Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to use the occasion of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s three-day visit to New Delhi to address critical issues faced by Tamil Nadu fisherfolk. In his letter, Stalin insisted that India retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka, arguing the 1974 transfer—done without the state’s consent—is the root cause of the fisherfolk’s problems and obstructs their access to traditional fishing grounds. He called for the immediate release of 74 fisherfolk and 142 fishing boats currently in Sri Lankan custody. Stalin also requested the revival of the joint working group to find a permanent solution to the continued harassment and attacks on fisherfolk by the Sri Lanka Navy in the Palk Bay. |
Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka should call for an international investigation; if he is ready to testify, this is the best path forward, says MP Gajendrakumar PonnambalamVirakesari
MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam asserts that if former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka is genuinely prepared to testify about the final war, including the “white flag incident,” he must demand an international criminal investigation. Ponnambalam stated that Fonseka’s current offer to testify in a domestic inquiry is a “tactic to placate victims and divert calls for international justice, thereby protecting the government.” MP Ponnambalam claims that Fonseka’s proposal to testify domestically is an attempt to lay the groundwork for an internal inquiry, which he believes is a government strategy to avoid an international tribunal where, he is confident, a case for genocide would be proven. He argues that the Tamil people have rejected domestic mechanisms and will only accept an international criminal investigation that examines the charge of genocide. He accused the government of trying to create the illusion of accountability by having a former army commander participate in a local probe, thus deceiving the victims and derailing the push for a credible international process. Ponnambalam reiterated that if Fonseka is serious about holding individuals like Gotabaya Rajapaksa accountable for the “white flag” killings, he should join the call for an international criminal investigation.
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“Terrorist war or racial war? A great victory for the Tamil diaspora in Geneva,” says Sarath Weerasekara
Thinakkural, Virakesari
Former SLPP MP Sarath Weerasekara stated that Sri Lanka defeated a “barbaric terrorist war” and not an “ethnic war” as portrayed in UN Resolution 60/1, calling the latter description a major victory for the Tamil diaspora.
Weerasekara criticised the government for not demanding a vote against the resolution—which extends an external accountability mechanism for two more years—calling the failure to do so a “serious” issue.
He warned the public that this external mechanism is a precursor to taking members of the armed forces to an international court.
Weerasekara further asserted that the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, as urged in the resolution, would turn Sri Lanka into a federal state, which he claims is completely contrary to the nation’s unitary principle.
SINHALA PRESS PRIORITIES |
Photo credits: Daily News
The Mount Lavinia Court premises issue: a three-hour statement from Wanninayake
Lankadeepa, Divaina
Attorney-at-Law Gunaratne Wanninayake provided a statement at the Western Province South Crimes Division yesterday (16th), in compliance with an order issued by the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court.
Wanninayake was required to record a statement before the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) regarding the incident that occurred on 10 October, where he was accused of verbally abusing and threatening a police officer while obstructing police duties within the Mount Lavinia Court premises.
Lankadeepa reports that Wanninayake provided a statement lasting approximately three hours concerning the incident, while Divaina reports the same as three and a half hours.
Customs records highest-ever single-day revenue of Rs. 24,918 million on October 15
Dinamina Sri Lanka Customs collected a tax revenue of Rs. 24,918 million on Wednesday (15th), which is the highest revenue collected by Sri Lanka Customs within a single day in its history. Having collected a tax sum of Rs. 24,918 million in one day, Customs has collected a revenue of Rs. 1,867 billion up until Wednesday (15th) in this year. Director General of Customs Seevali Arukgoda stated that it will be possible to easily exceed the revenue target of Rs. 2,115 billion given to Customs for the year 2025. |
“We are prepared for the provincial council election, no matter which way it is going to take place” – Namal Rajapaksa
Dinamina
The National Organiser of the SLPP, MP Namal Rajapaksa, stated that his party is prepared to face the provincial council election, no matter how it is held. The MP made the statement to the media on Wednesday (15th). MP Rajapaksa further commented that it took the government “a whole year just to apprehend Sewwandi, and therefore, there was no time for them to serve the people, but now that Sewwandi has been apprehended, the government has time to work.” He added that the government does not require the opposition’s cooperation to suppress drug trafficking and the underworld in the country, as the government has its own intelligence officers. Based on the information received from them, the government can work to suppress the underworld in the country. He concluded by saying that the opposition is prepared to point out any wrongdoings of the government.
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COMMON PRIORITIES: SINHALA & TAMIL PRESS |
Photo credits: Daily News
Ishara Sewwandi had been in hiding for two months in Mathugama before fleeing the country: had stayed in Middeniya for a month as well; the gun hidden in the law book was given to the shooter on the staircase; a 72-hour detention order
Lankadeepa, Divaina, Dinamina, Aruna, Virakesari, Thinakaran, Thinakkural, Thamilan
Investigations have revealed that Ishara Sewwandi, wanted for the murder of ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’, and was arrested in Nepal and brought back to the country, had fled the country at a time when the heat of the local government election was severely present in the country.
Investigations have revealed that it was she who took the firearm to the Aluthkade No. 05 Magistrate’s Court along with the shooter to assassinate the notorious underworld drug trafficker ‘Ganemulla Sanjeewa’.
Her escape from the court complex with the shooter immediately after the assassination was even recorded on security cameras.
This assassination had been orchestrated by ‘Kehelbaddara Padme’ and ‘Commando Salinda’, two underworld criminals who were abroad at the time.
It was reported further that an underworld figure in Mathugama had provided Sewwandi with facilities to go into hiding, where she had remained for two months.
It was further revealed that she had stayed hidden in Middeniya for another month.
The police will be detaining four, including Ishara Sewwandi, under a 72-hour detention order.
A three-member committee from the UNP to hold discussions with the SJB
Divaina, Dinamina, Anidda, Virakesari, Thinakkural, Thamilan
The UNP has taken steps to appoint a three-member committee to hold discussions with the SJB.
The committee includes Deputy Leader of the UNP Ruwan Wijewardene, General Secretary of the UNP Thalatha Athukorala, and President’s Counsel Roland Perera.
The stance of the UNP is to bring all political parties onto one platform to protect the country’s democratic multi-party system.
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Common priorities: Additional stories
1. 300,000 drivers’ licenses piled up at the RMV – Lankadeepa, Divaina, Virakesari, Thinakkural, Thamilan
2. Sirikotha has been repaired using funds from the State Engineering Corporation: former executive director granted bail – Lankadeepa, Divaina, Dinamina, Virakesari
3. “The SJB is a strong force that identifies the problems of the people” | “Debt cannot be repaid by 2028” – Premadasa – Dinamina, Thinakkural
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