One fisherman was killed and eight others critically injured when the army and the police opened fire to quell a massive protest, by over 5,000 people at the Thalavi area in Chilaw, calling for a reduction in the fuel prices.

The police first fired tear gas in a bid to stop the protestors from blocking the Colombo-Puttalam main road and when that failed they opened fire resulting in the death of the youth who was shot in the head.

Read more>>

by Zacki Jabbar

In a new turn of events, the UNP yesterday invited the JVP, with whom it had parted ways after the last Presidential Election and the Tamil National Alliance, to join it in toppling the Mahinda Rajapasksa regime, for burdening the people with unbearable increases in the price of essential goods and service.

Read more>>

ඉන්ධන මිල වැඩි කිරීමට එරෙහිව උද්ඝෝෂණය කරමින් සිටියදී ආරක්ෂක හමුදා විසින් වෙඩි තබා ඝාතනය කළ හලාවත ධීවරයාගේ පවුලේ උදවිය නිහඩ කිරීම සඳහා ලක්ෂ 5ක චෙක්පතක් එම නිවසට ලබාදීමට ආණ්ඩුවේ බලධාරීන් විසින් උත්සාහ දරා ඇති බව වාර්තාවේ.

මියගිය ධීවරයා වන වර්ණකුලසූරිය ඇන්ටනී ප්‍රනාන්දු මහතාගේ මස්සිනා වන ස්ටැන්ලි කුමාර් මේ බව අප සමඟ ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.

Read more>>

The main opposition United National Party (UNP) today welcomed the government’s decision to call for an explanation about the circumstances surrounding the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

UNP spokesman and parliamentarian Gayantha Karunatilleke told a news conference that it was correct for the government to call for an explanation on the killing. He reminded the government that it should come up with a proper explanation on several incidents including the killing of presidential adviser Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra which shook and shocked the entire country.
Read more>>

The post mortem inquiry into the death of former Parliamentarian and Presidential Adviser on Trade Union Affairs, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra on election day at Mulleriyawa was held before the Colombo Chief Magistrate.
Read more>>

By Olindhi Jayasundere

The family of presidential adviser Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra yesterday asked why parliamentarian Duminda Silva was not a prime suspect in the investigation into Mr. Premachandra’s assassination and said they had no confidence in the probe carried out so far.

Mr. Premachandra’s brother Asela told a news conference they had urged the authorities to carry out an impartial inquiry into the killing of their brother.
“According to one of the eye witnesses, Duminda Silva shot my brother. So how can they say he is not a suspect? This means that they pick and choose whom they think should be a suspect in this case,” he alleged.

Asela Premachandra claimed that though Media Center for National Security (MCNS) Director General Lakshman Hulugalle had said Silva was not a suspect in the case, the CID had informed the Premachandra family that investigations into his assassination were still going on.

“Various contradictory statements are being made on the inquiry and we are very disappointed with the government’s response to this tragedy,” he said and added that since their brother’s killing, President Mahinda Rajapaksa had not spoken to the family nor had he visited the funeral house at Kolonnawa.
Asela said there were threats to Mr. Premachandra’s life in February this year and that the family had written to government officials including Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa requesting for more security personnel but nothing had been done at the time.

He said Silva was receiving a lot of backing from an influential force within the government. “We do not blame the government but we feel there are certain elements within the government that are protecting him,” Asela said.

“Why are the authorities afraid to take any action against Duminda Silva? The man who shot our brother is being protected in a hospital,” Mr. Premachandra’s elder sister Swarna Gunaratne alleged.

She said there was mystery and suspicion surrounding Silva after the shooting incident.

She asked why Silva was rushed to the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital after the Mulleriyawa shooting and said if he was in a critical condition he should have been rushed to the closest hospital. She said it was also suspicious as to how two suspected people received visas to go to India two hours after the incident took place.

Ms. Gunaratne said if Silva was in a critical condition how come he was eating solid food just days after the shooting took place.

“He had miraculously survived after supposedly being on the verge of death but we do not believe this to be so. We have doubts about his health condition,” she said and questioned why the Sri Jayewardenepura Hospital Board was dissolved and why the hospital was surrounded with security personnel after the Duminda Silva was admitted.
Read more>>