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Sunday Nov 17, 2024
Wednesday, 19 September 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Nuwan Senarathna
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party yesterday raised suspicion over investigations that could lead to the possible arrest of the Chief of Defence Staff, alleging possible ulterior motives.
SLFP spokesperson Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe claimed that President Maithripala Sirisena was kept in the dark regarding the moves by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to record a statement from Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne. Further, the President was unaware about the move to arrest the Chief of Defence Staff until he left the country, the Minister said while speaking at the SLFP weekly press briefing at the party headquarters.
“The decisions taken by the CID to obtain the court order have bypassed the President. As the Commander-in-Chief of the tri-forces, the President should have been kept informed,” stated Samarasinghe.
He said President Sirisena had promised to protect members of the tri-forces who had properly executed their duties, upholding Sri Lanka’s reputation. However, necessary action would be taken against those who had breached the disciplinary code and pursued their personal agenda, he said.
“We must respect the members of the armed forces for their contribution but the President reiterated the need for establishing reconciliation. He has raised concerns over the trend of arresting members of the armed forces and their subsequent release without charges being filed against any of them,” he added.
Samarasinghe also asserted that although a decision was taken by the authorities to transfer the Director of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) - who was accused of being involved in a plot to assassinate President Sirisena - to the IT Division of the Police Department, it was not possible to take further disciplinary action without proof.
The Minister highlighted that the alleged plot to assassinate President Sirisena and former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had not yet been proven, pointing out that the accusations had been made based on a voice recording of a conversation that was alleged to have taken place.
“The voice record does not confirm the identity of the people who were speaking therefore we need more evidence to prove it was the Director of the TID. Until then we are unable to suspend DIG Nalaka Silva,” he added, saying that the Coalition Government did not interfere with the investigations being carried out by the Police unlike the previous regime.
The United National Party (UNP) yesterday called for a price cap on essential goods to protect consumers against the negative impacts of the recently introduced fuel price formula.
State Minister J.C. Alawathuwala, addressing a news briefing at Sirikotha, said fuel price revisions based on the newly-introduced price formula had caused the prices of many essential items to fluctuate. The situation had raised concerns within the Government, he revealed.
“As we all know when fuel price goes up, the price of bread, bakery products and other essential goods also change but when the price of fuel comes down none of them is ready to cut down the price,” he added.
The State Minister also said the Government had recognised the issues that have cropped up with the fuel price which was also discussed during the Cabinet meeting. During the discussion Alawatuwala said a price cap had been proposed as one of the best solutions to mitigate the negative impacts of the fuel price formula.
“I believe the price cap will be introduced in the near future. Under the price cap, priority will be given for essential food items such as bakery products,” the state minister added.
He said the Finance Ministry and Petroleum Resources Development Ministry had taken the initial steps to implement the fuel price formula to adjust the local fuel price according to the international price.
He said the Coalition Government was trying its best to raise the living standard of the people despite the challenges of a global economic order. (NS)
