Two new Supreme Court judges take oath in Sri Lanka

Two new Supreme Court judges took oaths before the President Mahinda Rajapaksa today at the Temple Trees.

The two new judges are the former Chairman of Court of Appeal Sathya Hettige and former Solicitor General President's Counsel W.P.J. Dep. Presidential Secretary Lilith Weerathunga was also present at the official swearing in of the two Supreme Court judges.

Meanwhile, Deputy Solicitor General Ms. Eva Wanasundara was promoted as the Solicitor General, Ministry of Justice sources said.


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Sri Lanka - India ferry service first ship today

The first passenger ship of the ferry service relaunched between Sri Lanka and India following the end of war will sail from Tutokorin today.

The ship is to arrive in the Colombo harbor tomorrow.

The nine story ship has seating arrangements for 1044 passengers. It also has a 250 seat auditorium, restaurants, recreational facilities and medical facilities.

The shipping agent Arugambay Travels says that 10% is levied from the children up to two years of age, 50% up to 12 years of age and 40% from the senior citizens.

One way ticket is around 60 US dollars. A passenger can carry up to 100 kilos of baggage.



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Colombo drug dealer arrested; close associate of government MP

Sri Lanka police arrested a person believed the main distributor of heroine in Colombo city.

Police also found a stock of over seven kilos heroine worth of Rs. 40 million in the man's custody.

A woman associate and a luxury vehicle belonged to him was also taken into custody. She was the custodian of a safe house where heroine was stocked.

The suspect is known as Lalithra. He is believed a close associate of a government MP of Colombo district.

Police say the MP tried hard to get the suspect released from police custody.

Police said the suspect had imported heroine directly from Pakistan and sold in Sri Lanka.


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Inhuman treatment for a Sri Lankan migrant worker in Saudi Arabia

A Sri Lankan who was found guilty for selling liquor in a public place in Taif city Saudi Arabia while being drunk has been subjected to 430 lashes, reported Emirates 24/7 news service said yesterday.

The Emirates did not report the name of the person. However, the man was apparently a migrant laborer. Thousands of Sri Lankans work in Saudi Arabia as unskilled and skilled laborers. Of them, the vast majority is housemaids.

Of the 400 lashes, 80 is for being drunk, reported the news service. SEventy lashes are to be repeated five times for selling liquor. The man is also sentenced for five years and he is to be deported from Saudi Arabia after his punishment is over.


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People;s Liberation Front (JVP) of Sri Lanka to hold a massive protest in Colombo today

People's Liberation Front (JVP) of Sri Lanka has organized a massive protest campaign today in Colombo in protest of the killing of Free Trade Zone employee Roshen Janaka by police.

The protest is to be held at 3 p.m. today at at Lipton Circus, said a JVP spokesman.

JVP was to hold a public lecture today on government's bifurcate police before the international pressure at the Viharamahadevi Indoor Stadium but cancelled it to go to the massive protest, a party spokesman said.

Roshan Janaka, a 22 year old employee of Free Trade Zone was critically injured in police fire on Monday and succumbed to injuries last evening.


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Normalcy of Katunayaka Free Trade Zone of Sri Lanka marred by police violence

(June 01, 2011,  Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka's local media reported that a young man injured in the clash between the police and the agitators on Monday in Katunayaka Free Trade Zone is in critical condition.

Sinhala daily The Divaina newspaper reported that 22 year old Free Trade Zone employee Roshen Shanaka has sustained gun shot injuries near his waist.

The man's kidneys are not functioning and his right leg has been amputated, says the newspaper. The patient depends on life saving machines, some other media reported.

The patient Roshen shanaka is a resident of Minuwangoda. He is the fourth of the five siblings of the family and joined an employment in the Free Trade Zone four months ago, family sources said to media.

Meanwhile, BBC Sinhala service reported that another Free Trade Zone employee who pleaded to police not to harm him because he had undergone a by-pass surgery has also been attacked by police.

A left oriented News Service UPU said based on ground sources, "The problem started on Monday 30 June, with the arrival of several ministers including Sarath Gunaratne and Priyadarshani Fernando claiming to distribute leaflets to the factories to make the workers aware of the benefits of the proposed pension scheme. They have come with a large group of security personnel. NSSP leaders of the area informed UPU news that the arrival of these ministers at a time when the government has announced that the pension will not be applicable to the free trade zones is quite strange. Workers were provoked into hooting and work stoppage. Police who came with the ministers wanted to stop hooting and that started the clash which ended with one worker critically injured. Trade union activists of JTUA shut down free trade zones after clashes between police."

Health Services Trade Union Alliance Chairman Saman Rathnapriya said that over 300 employees of the Free Trade Zone were injured and treated in hospitals. Of them, around 20 are critically injured, he said.

The employees of Free Trade Zone agitated against the government proposal to set up a pension fund for private sector employees with additional deductions from their salaries and other benefits.

Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Jayanthi Bandaranaike said to media that the Free Trade Zone of Katunayaka that was closed since yesterday would be reopened as usual since tomorrow.

Several factories have sustained damages, a foreign manager of a factory said to BBC Sinhala Service appearing anonymous. The Chairman of the BOI said that out of the 50,000 workers of the 84 factories of the Katunayaka Free Trade Zone, 4500 employees of six factories joined the agitations. The unrest was spreading to other factories, the official said.

The Joint Trade Union Alliance that comprised of 26 trade unions including powerful Lanka Bank Employees' Union, Ceylon Mercantile Union and Free Trade Zone General Employees' Union says that they have decided to launch a token strike in protest of the proposed private sector pension fund.

The Joint Trade Union Alliance is to hold an agitation today noon before the Colombo Fort railway station to protest the police attack at the Free Trade Zone employees yesterday.

Joint Trade Union Alliance says that it has also taken measures to file a fundamental rights petition against the assault that took place on Monday in Katunayaka Free Trade Zone.


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Sri Lanka government defeated by private sector employees

(May 31, 2011,  Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka's ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee that met under the patronage of party leader President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday evening unanimously decided to hold the proposed private sector pension scheme temporarily.

The decision drew a close resemblance with the socialist dictatorships of the former Eastern Block in which the central Committee of the Communist Party was the actual governing council of Sri Lanka.

The Central Committee decided to reconsider the bill and to hold it until a new bill that they say suits the needs of the private sector employees is drafted.

SLFP central committee granted powers to the the parliamentary group of the ruling coalition to proceed with the matter. They say they will call for consultation from the trade unions and public, a step that could have taken prior to draft the bill. This proves that democracy  is not default in this system and it is something that should be won through struggles.

Meanwhile, the government also decided to close the Free Trade Zone in Katunayaka today to establish 'industrial' peace. Peace for them is just industrial peace. It is the peace that is needed by the investors to run their production process.

The employees of the Free Trade Zone held protests continuously and yesterday clashed with police injuring 15 police personnel including a Deputy Inspector General. Police used tear gas to disperse them. Mainstream media did not report that 230 employees of the Free Trade Zone in Katunayakewho were injured by the police attack and they been admitted Negombo Hospital, as reported by Lanka Truth website.

Sri Lanka government early yesterday said they had decided to exempt the employees working in the Free Trade Zones and the affiliated industry from the proposed Private Sector Pension Scheme, reported the official website of the Government Information Department.

The proposed private sector pension scheme (PSPS) would be optional and employees could obtain their contributions with interest if they leave a job before mandatory 120 months to be eligible for the pension benefits, the government said. It was a clear change from the original plan to give such employees only 60% of what they saved without interest when they reached the age of 60 years.

The workers of the Katunayaka Free Trade Zone of Sri Lanka launched a wave of protests against the proposed private sector pension scheme.

Sources from the Free Trade Zone said that the Marxist People's Liberation Front (JVP) led Inter Company Employees' Union was behind the protests.

The government's decision to take a step back is a real victory to the workers and also to the JVP too.


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