When President Ranil Wickremesinghe gave consent to the agreements of Victoria Nuland and the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, the activists of Aragalaya were silent, Supreme Lanka Coalition Chairman and National Freedom Front Leader MP Wimal Wirawamsa said.
He said this while addressing the May Day rally of the Supreme Lanka Coalition which was held yesterday (01) at the Hyde Park Ground in Colombo.
Addressing the May rally, he said when Julie Chung is being criticized, Champika and Sarath Fonseka seemed hurt.
“This is the new way of regime change. Plan “A” was to get the Speaker’s consent to set up an interim government with local and foreign representatives. Fonseka is hurt because he was also to be appointed as one of the members. This is the new strategy to conquer us,” he said.
Puppet rule…..
“They want to control us like puppets. Otherwise, we will be destroyed like Haiti, Libya and Iraq. Victoria Nuland came after Ranil became President. Two weeks after she arrived, on February 14, a special US mission of 20 people arrived. The head of the CIA and an official in charge of this region of the US State Department arrived in two of their planes.”
Those who came through VIP terminal requested to tap our phones….
“They were given high privileges. They made four requests and Ranil agreed to three of them. That’s why Julie Chang is completely silent right now.
“The first request was to tap into our telephone cable system. The next one was to put a CIA official in charge of the National Intelligence Service. Third one is to allow software to capture bio data of all passengers passing through the airport. Consent was given to all these three proposals. The last one is adding an amendment to the SOFA agreement to allow US security personnel to roam freely inside Sri Lanka. President Wickremesinghe says that this request will be discussed further,”
A Civil Defence Department officer attached to the Mapakada Wewa Wildlife Regional Office has been arrested in connection with the shooting of a female elephant that had participated in the annual Randoli Perahera of Mahiyanganaya Rajamaha Viharaya.
Police spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa said a statement is being recorded from the said officer.
The incident has taken place at around 3:30 a.m. this morning.
It was reported that following the procession, the female elephant had been tied to a tree on the banks of the Mahaweli River.
The mahout, who said he was having breakfast when the incident happened, accused the officer of shooting the elephant despite people telling him that ‘Sita’ was not a wild elephant.
The officer in question had shot ‘Sita’ after mistaking it for a wild elephant that had crossed the river.
The injured 48-year-old elephant was later treated by veterinary surgeons of the Wildlife Conservation Department.
In a statement, the Director General of the Wildlife Conservation Department, M.G.C. Sooriyabandara had clarified that one of the wildlife officers at the site had mistakenly fired rubber bullets at the female elephant ‘Sita’ while trying to scare off the wild elephants in the vicinity.
The Department of Irrigation says that the water levels in the Kelani River and Attanagalu Oya are rising to levels that requires attention.
Director of the Hydrology and Disaster Management Division of the Irrigation Department S. P. C. Sugeeshwara says that the Gin, Nilwala and Kalu Ganga remain at the flood level.
Many roads in the vicinity of the rivers have been inundated.
S. P. C Sugeeshwara warns that people should refrain from further using the rivers.
The landslide warnings issued to seven districts have also been extended, due to the prevailing weather conditions.
The Met Department predicts that the heavy showers in the South West will continue.
Heavy showers of about 75 mm can be expected in some areas.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaska yesterday said that there should be a change in the leadership of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), if the need arises.
When the former President was asked about the veracity of the news on social media about imminent change of the SLPP leadership, said that he is not aware of any change in the leadership.
The President was speaking to the media after calling on Mahanayake Thera of the Rammanya Maha Nikaya Most Ven. Makulewe Sri Wimala Thera at the Vidyawasa Pirivena in Meerigama yesterday.
Commenting on the impending regulations on social media, the former President said that there are pros and cons in the social media. “I don’t have any issue with the social media,” he said.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa also visited the Sacred Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya and participated in religious activities. The Former President also met Chief incumbent of the Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya Ven. Kollupitiye Mahinda Sangharakkitha Thera and received his blessings.
Speaking to the media on the occasion, the former President said that he is physically fit despite social media reports to the contrary.