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Govt. MPs seek probe against Shavendra Silva, IGP & others

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Filing a writ petition in Court of Appeal, 22 government Parliamentarians representing SLPP and several others have sought an order directing the authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation in order to ascertain as to whether former Army Commander General Shavendra Silva, IGP Chandana Wickremaratne or any other respondents have willfully disobeyed the orders given by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to take action to prevent the damages to property and people following the attack on Galle Face protesters on May 9.

Ministers Bandula Gunawardena, Prasanna Ranatunga and 37 SLPP activists including 20 parliamentarians whose properties were damaged or destroyed following the mob attacks filed this petition naming former Army Commander General Shavendra Silva, Defence Secretary Kamal Gunarathne, Senior DIG Deshabandu Thennakoon, Army Commander Lieutenant General H.L.V.M. Liyanage and several others as respondents. The Court of Appeal yesterday fixed the petition for support on January 16. This petition is to be supported by President’s Counsel Sanjeeva Jayawardena.  

The petitioners reiterated the importance of conducting a comprehensive investigation in order to ascertain whether there was a politically motivated plan or other agenda to undermine the state.The petitioners stated that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the capacity of Minister of  Defence had appointed a ‘Board of Inquiry’ consisting of three highly decorated former commanders of tri forces, under the Chairmanship of the Admiral of Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, to ascertain lapses, if any, by the armed forces and State Intelligence Service, during the recent incidents of violence.

The petitioners said the conduct of former Army Commander General Shavendra Silva during the time period material to the instant application is highly questionable and that he has on several occasions disregarded direct and repeated instructions given to him by the former President, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence to protect the private property of the petitioners as well as other Citizen and also the public property of the State.The petitioners stated that the Board of Inquiry has found that the conduct of General Shavendra Silva on 31-03-2022 and 09-05-2022 are highly suspicious and questionable.

They further alleged that General Shavendra Silva had disregarded repeated instructions from then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Secretary of Defence to take action to prevent the damages to property and people being harmed near Beira Lake at Navam Mawatha in the afternoon and to clear the mob along the Galle road in front of the Temple Trees in spite of having over 4,500 including five Battalions from the elite Air Mobile Brigade, Special Forces and Commandos stationed in different locations within Colombo city limits.

They alleged Sri Lanka Police, and the armed forces, turned a blind eye, and did not take any action to prevent the ongoing violence and protect life and property of the citizens of Sri Lanka, despite the fact that the President had even declared a state of emergency and had issued Emergency Regulations.

(dailymirror.lk)

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Over 3,000 Sri Lankan troops arrested!

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The Ministry of Defence says that approximately 3,000 members of the Sri Lankan armed forces have been taken into custody for failing to report for duty without formally resigning.

The arrests were made during the period from February 22 to the present, as part of a coordinated operation conducted jointly by the tri-forces and the police.

Among those detained, 2,261 are members of the Sri Lanka Army.

The Ministry stated that the operation aims to enforce military regulations and ensure discipline within the armed forces by taking action against those who have gone absent without leave (AWOL).

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Sri Lanka ends secret company ownership

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A draft amendment to the Companies Act which will for the first time compel businesses to disclose their beneficial owners has been placed on the order paper of Parliament.

The passing of the law will meet another International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural benchmark. The government undertook to enact amendments to the Companies Act to make the beneficial ownership framework consistent with FATF standards by the end of April 2025.

The FATF (Financial Action Task Force) standards are a set of international guidelines for combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. Sri Lanka’s next evaluation of its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) framework is scheduled for March next year.

Beneficial ownership refers to people who “ultimately” control or benefit from a company, even if they are not the official, legal owner; in other words, the “real” owner or controlling party behind a legal entity.

The proposed amendment will allow the public to inspect the details of the beneficial owners of a company upon a request being made to the Registrar of Companies “but the details of the beneficial owners of the company shall be limited to their full names and the nature and extent of beneficial ownership of the company”.

Beneficial ownership transparency makes it more difficult to conceal illicit funds and engage in corrupt activities. Making the information publicly accessible enables law enforcement, civil society organisations and the public to better monitor and investigate cases of corruption, money laundering, and other financial crimes.

The Companies (Amendment) Bill requires companies to disclose not only the full names of their beneficial owners but also their previous full names (if any); their dates and places of birth, nationalities, countries of residence, and the last known addresses; their residential addresses, business addresses, email addresses, and postal addresses of beneficial owners of the company; and (d) their national identity card numbers or passport numbers with countries of issuance, tax identification, etc.

The relevant company shall maintain a register at its registered office for at least 10 years after the date on which the record was made.

The Registrar of Companies is also mandated to maintain a register. And the company or the Registrar shall make available the details of beneficial owners upon request by the Attorney General, the Director-General of Customs, the Commissioner-General of Inland Revenue, any public authority having the responsibility for investigating or prosecuting money laundering, terrorist financing or any other criminal offences, public procurement authorities, or regulatory authorities.

Failure to disclose or providing false/misleading information is a criminal offence punishable by fines or imprisonment.

(sundaytimes.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by sundaytimes.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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Thai Princess to conduct free knee surgeries in Kandy during Sri Lanka visit

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Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, Wijayanthi Edirisinghe

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand will visit Sri Lanka from November 16 to 20, 2025, and participate in a series of events, as disclosed by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Thailand, Wijayanthi Edirisinghe.

She told a team of Sri Lankan Journalists during a media visit arranged by Thai Airways via their General Sales Agent, Mac Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, that the highlight would be conducting over 100 Knee surgeries at Kandy hospital.

“This would be done free of charge with the participation of 30 doctors flying from Siriraj Hospital, the oldest and largest public hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.” The Royal Thai Embassy will assist with the event in Sri Lanka.

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has made several visits to Sri Lanka, including an official four-day visit in August 2013. During her 2013 visit, she explored several historical sites with a Thai delegation.

She also disclosed that the evacuation of all 130 Sri Lankans who were kept against their will in Myanmar has been completed, and no Sri Lankans are remaining in those camps. “We worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), authorities in Thailand and Myanmar in this regard.”

“These Sri Lankans had been lured into Myanmar for employment, but became victims of human trafficking and cybercriminal operations.” Sri Lanka is currently completing the necessary steps for ratification of the FTA between the two countries. “

The Sri Lankan Government expects to finalize the ratification process as soon as possible, recognizing the potential benefits of the FTA, such as increased trade, economic growth, and improved diplomatic ties between the two countries.”

She also said that Tourist arrivals from Thailand to Sri Lanka gradually increased until 2019 and then decreased primarily due to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are now increasing from 2022.

“The recovery continued, with 4,922 tourists from Thailand visiting Sri Lanka, which was an increase of 185.3% compared to 2022.

The number of tourists from Thailand increased by 47.2% compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 7,246 tourists in 2024.

The number of tourist arrivals from January to April 2025 was 3,467, representing a 16.2% increase compared to 2024, which recorded 2,983 arrivals.

This is a strong indicator of continued growth, with numbers rapidly approaching the levels seen before the pandemic in 2019.

“She also thanked Thai Airways and MAC for actively promoting Sri Lanka as a destination.”

The ambassador said that with Thailand imposing the ‘Free Visa Arrival’ policy, one can observe more Sri Lankan arrivals to Thailand.

Most of their popular destinations are Bangkok, the Golden Temple, and Pattaya.

The Golden Temple

The Golden Temple

Tourists on the beach in Pattaya
Pictures by Sulochana Gamage

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