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The JVP has called on the government to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and release the Aragalaya activists detained under the PTA.

Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said on Tuesday that three student activists including the convener of the Inter University Students Federation Wasantha Mudalige were detained under the PTA, and they had not been produced in court as there was no evidence against them.

Silva said some of the Aragalaya activists taken into custody on several earlier occasions had been released by the court as there was no evidence against them.

Silva said that the police knew that the three activists too would get bail if they are produced before the courts as there was no evidence against them. “The government is now using the PTA to detain them without producing them in court. We urge the government to repeal the PTA and release the student activists,” he said.

Silva said it was surprising that President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who had campaigned for repealing the PTA during the Yahapalana government, was now using it to take revenge.

The JVP General Secretary said that the government was using police to crack down on public protests. “We unequivocally condemn police attacks on protesters. The right to peaceful protest has been guaranteed by the country’s Constitution.”

Silva said President Wickremesinghe, appointed by the Pro-Rajapaksa elements, was continuously repressing the people. “Instead of attempting to resolve the many issues faced by the country today, Wickremesinghe is keen on instilling fear in the people who are asking for solutions and relief,” he said.

He accused the government of attempting to suppress students, fishermen, and even the media.

“He is protecting the Rajapaksas. He is repressing even peaceful protests while appearing to be liberal and democratic,” Silva added.

Silva said the JVP wanted the government to stop all forms of repression. “Wickremesinghe will have to run away like Gotabaya.”

“The people have a right to oust this government that has no mandate. The JVP along with the National People’s Power is ready to lead the effort. The party will launch a wave of protests calling for the current government to step down. The government must be shown the power of the people and be forced to dissolve the current Parliament, allowing the people to choose a Government of their choice,” Silva said.

NPP MP Dr Harini Amarasuriya also addressed the press.

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The government was conspiring to remove Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe as the Governor of the Central Bank and replace him with a henchman of the government, Opposition Leader, Sajith Premadasa told Parliament, yesterday.Premadasa said that on Wednesday, Dr. Weerasinghe had been asked to make a presentation in parliament on the state of the economy.

“There must be some kind of agreement among ourselves about the direction the economy should take. However, what is more important is to have an agreement among the President, the Prime Minister, the government and the Governor of the Central Bank. During that presentation, we saw that a lot of government MPs were making various insinuations about the Governor,” Premadasa said.

The Opposition Leader said that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had requested Dr. Weerasinghe to take over as the Governor of the Central Bank.

“Dr. Weerasinghe didn’t ask for the job. We asked a man who was living well in Australia to come and help us. Both Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy and Dr. Weerasinghe are ideal for the job. This was the right choice. The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance is also good. However, now some elements are using a few MPs to make various accusations against Dr. Weerasinghe. They are saying Dr. Weerasinghe is a dual citizen. On Thursday, a MP took 20 minutes of the time allocated for the government and insinuated that Dr. Weerasinghe was the reason why Sri Lanka went bankrupt. Of course, the accusation was not made directly,” the Opposition Leader said.

Premadasa said such utterances were a part of a concerted conspiracy to slander Dr. Weerasinghe. He warned that this was a bad omen and Dr. Weerasinghe’s departure would have a devastating impact on the country.

“The government talks about the need to start an all-party government. Its MPs accuse the opposition of playing politics. However, when we see what the government is up to. They are trying to send Dr. Weerasinghe back to Australia and appoint a henchman. Because of things like this, we can’t even imagine forming an all-party government with you,” he said.

During the meeting with Dr. Weerasinghe, the government MPs did not allow SJB MPs, Lakshman Kiriella and Dr. Harsha de Silva to ask questions, the Opposition Leader said.

“The MPs were behaving like hooligans. Dr. de Silva left the meeting. We were embarrassed. Don’t try to get rid of Dr. Weerasinghe through conspiracies. Don’t try to deny this. To rebuild the country, there needs to be some consensus within the government,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Minister of Finance Mohammad Ali Sabry said that he had been made the Finance Minister at a time when no one was willing to take up the job. He said that it was under his tenure that the negotiations with the IMF had started.

“At that time, we had to decide whether to spend everything we had on paying off foreign debts or spend the little we had on providing basic necessities to the people. The decision was taken after discussing with all. I was the finance Minister then. When the Central bank suggested we default, I spoke with the then President twice. We spoke to experts, local and foreign. I also spoke to Dr. Harsha de Silva . We had to pay 200 million US dollars. The Treasury had 37,000 dollars. We had to pay 500 million dollars to pay for essentials. Are we paying for essentials or are we servicing debt? I am willing to take responsibility,” he said.

New Delhi (CNN) India joined an elite league of the world’s naval powers on Friday, when it commissioned its first domestically built aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant.With the $3 billion Vikrant, India will join only a small number of nations with more than one aircraft carrier or helicopter carrier in service and become only the third country, after the UK and China, to have commissioned a domestically built aircraft carrier in the past three years.

The carrier has filled the nation with “new confidence,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a ceremony marked by fanfare at the Cochin Shipyard in India’s southern Kerala state.

“The goal may be difficult. The challenges may be big. But when India makes up its mind, no goal is impossible,” Modi said, before boarding the carrier and unfurling the country’s new naval flag.

“Till now, this type of aircraft carrier was made only by developed countries. Today, India by entering this league has taken one more step towards becoming a developed nation,” Modi said, adding the Indo-Pacific region remained “a major security priority” for India.

John Bradford, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said India’s commitment to the ship reflected its “long-term vision to maintaining a world-class naval force.”

“There are looming questions about the survivability of any carrier in the missile age, but major navies — including those of the US, Japan, China and the UK — are doubling down on their carrier investments. In this sense India is keeping in the race,” Bradford said.

Vikrant joins the carrier INS Vikramaditya, a refurbished Soviet-era carrier bought from Russia in 2004, in India’s fleet.With a displacement of around 40,000 tons, the Vikrant is slightly smaller than the Vikramaditya and the carriers of the US, China and UK though it is larger than Japan’s.But analysts praised its potential firepower.

When its air wing becomes fully operational over the next few years, Vikrant will carry up to 30 aircraft, including MiG-29K fighter jets — to be launched from its ski-ramp style deck — and helicopters as well as defensive systems including surface-to-air missiles.

Powered by four gas turbine engines, its top speed is estimated at 32 mph (52 kph) with a range of 8,600 miles (13,890 kilometers).

“India is sending out the message that it has the power, it has the aircraft carriers and therefore the air power to dominate the distant reaches of the Indian Ocean,” said Ajai Shukla, a former Indian military officer turned defense analyst.

Analysts said the new carrier, and the destroyers and frigates that will eventually make up its strike group, gives India options further afield, too.The Vikrant has a range of 8,600 miles (13,890 kilometers).

“India can both influence and coordinate potential security solutions to regional concerns. Having an open ocean capability naval task group to contribute adds to India’s clout and options. It needn’t join in a multilateral response but can do so, or establish a separate independent presence, if it chooses,” said Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain who now teaches at Hawaii Pacific University.

The new carrier will enable India to take a bigger role in military exercises by the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or “Quad,” an informal alliance of the United States, Japan, Australia and India.For instance, the US and Japanese carriers have taken part in the annual Malabar exercises attended by Quad members.

Sri Lanka is still in a position to prevent malnutrition becoming a serious problem, Head of the Department of Nutrition at the Colombo Medical Research Institute Dr. Renuka Jayatissa, told the media yesterday.Addressing the media at the Institute in Colombo, she said that the nutrition level among children had improved in 2021.

“We have the 2021 data and according to the data there was a drop in malnutrition among children. They were home during COVID-19, and things actually improved. Things however have changed since then due to the serious economic downturn,” she said.Dr. Jayatissa said that there were reports that many children’s hospitals were underweight. She said that there was a difference between being underweight and malnutrition.

“Children can get malnourished if they do not receive adequate nutrition for a long time. In the next three months, we can identify what’s going on and take action. We can stop malnutrition from becoming a problem,” she said.

Dr. Jayatissa said 14% of Sri Lankan households were poor and the children in these families were vulnerable to malnutrition. “Children from other families are not that vulnerable and we can take steps to ensure children are adequately fed.

“We can give the families money or a food basket,” she said.

There is also regional variability, she said. For example, the Nuwara Eliya District reports the highest rate of undernutrition indicated by very severe levels of stunting and underweight in children less than five years of age.Most children admitted to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) since the beginning of the COVID pandemic are underweight, Dr. Deepal Perera said earlier this week.

Dr. Perera said they had started a survey on the matter. “This can be a problem of finance. However, this can also be ignorance about nutrition among some parents. We need to understand what’s happening and take immediate steps. When children do not receive adequate nutrition in their formative years, many problems can occur later in life,” he said.

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