31 March 2025 | Vol. 11, #56

DIFFERENT PRIORITIES IN THE SINHALA AND TAMIL PRESS

Virakesari: “We will reveal before April 21” – The president’s announcement on those responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks | Tiran Alles to be investigated today | “Inequality continues under Anura’s government; domestic mechanism is a national drama” – Sumanthiran alleges

Thinakaran: “The Easter Sunday attacks: The details of the masterminds to be announced by April 21” – [The president] | The Jaffna–Trichy flight service commences after 47 years

Thinakkural: “The Easter Sunday attacks: The details of the masterminds to be announced by April 21; the CID will take steps” – The president | Will Gotabaya [Rajapaksa] also be trapped by the house in Kataragama? What does President Anura say?

Thamilan: Myanmar and Thailand hit by earthquake; up to 10,000 feared dead; a major effort underway to rescue those trapped under the rubble | “We will expose those responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks before April 21!” – President Anura publicly announces 

Lankadeepa: A doctor caught taking drugs in a shop space with a friend; the police seize a luxury vehicle and a stethoscope | A proposal to isolate the toque macaques of Kandy on an island

Divaina: A follower of Sanjeewa, angry that his father and brother have been arrested with drugs, threatens the police; he vows to kill them and their families. The HQI, the crime OIC and a PC of the Gampaha police station threatened over the phone | “The earthquake in Myanmar was equivalent to 300 nuclear bombs; aftershocks may continue for months” – a US geologist; the death toll exceeds 1,600

Ada: The spread of HIV rises; infections increase among the 15 to 24 age group; 824 new cases reported in 2024; 47 AIDS patients die in 2024

Mawbima: “Judges removing themselves from cases is not a good thing” – The president states | A proposal to isolate the toque monkeys of Kandy on an island

Dinamina: “The CID is ready to reveal the secrets behind the Easter Sunday attacks before April 21” – The president

Aruna: The minister and the irrigation engineer clash over the Kandy tank embankment issue

Anidda: This paper is published on Fridays only

TAMIL PRESS PRIORITIES

“Discrimination is continuing under Anura’s government” – Sumanthiran alleges

Virakesari

Acting General Secretary of the ITAK M.A. Sumanthiran strongly alleged that Tamil people continue to be discriminated against under the government led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. He stressed that the government, which has announced that it will not take any disciplinary action against the soldiers, says that it will implement a domestic mechanism for accountability for the Tamil people. Sumanthiran added that [the people] should understand it and wake up to the fact that this is a national drama. Various concentration camps were found during the war period in the North and East. Concentration camps were maintained from Trincomalee to Jaffna in a way that was known to everyone and killing fields have been found in the forest. The government is not prepared to respond in any way regarding those concentration camps and killing fields. However, when considering the Batalanda case, the fact that the government is acting by focusing only on one ethnic group that was affected by that incident is evidence that discrimination is being continued against the Tamil people.

The association of the relatives of the disappeared demands sanctions on former presidents

Thinakkural

The association of the relatives of the disappeared in Vavuniya have called for sanctions against several former presidents [of Sri Lanka]. Speaking to the media, they claimed that they welcome the sanctions imposed by the UK on the military commanders who engaged in war crimes. The association also called for the imposition of sanctions against other military commanders and several former presidents and demanded that justice be served by taking them to the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICC).

SINHALA PRESS PRIORITIES

Modi set to arrive in Sri Lanka on April 4

Dinamina, Lankadeepa

According to the Indian High Commission, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is set to arrive in Sri Lanka on April 4 for an official visit on the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, with plans to stay until April 6. The visit follows his trip to Thailand and will focus on reviewing progress in areas of cooperation outlined in the joint vision “Promoting Partnerships for a Shared Future” which was announced during the Sri Lankan president’s official visit to India. The high commission emphasised that Modi’s visit, along with his participation in the sixth BIMSTEC Summit, reaffirms India’s commitment to its Neighbourhood First, Act East and MAHASAGAR policies, as well as its vision for the Indo-Pacific. Lankadeepa noted that Modi is also expected to sign a historic Indo-Sri Lanka security agreement, the first of its kind in 45 years.

“The NMRA allowed 38 medicines to be imported without a proper evaluation” – The COPE

Dinamina, Ada

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has revealed that in 2022, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) issued Waiver of Registration (WoR) certificates to Savorite Pharmaceuticals, allowing 38 types of medicines to be imported without a proper evaluation. The former secretary of the Ministry of Health informed the committee that the former minister of health had directed the selection of Savorite Pharmaceuticals for these imports. The COPE criticised the NMRA for failing in its responsibility to ensure the quality and safety of medicines and questioned a 2022 cabinet memorandum that cited a critical shortage of medicines to justify expedited imports. Officials have been instructed to submit a full report on those responsible, with the COPE pledging to present its findings to parliament for further action.

“Neither my grandmother nor I am afraid of the government’s legal actions” – Namal Rajapaksa

Dinamina

SLPP National Organiser and MP Namal Rajapaksa stated that although he was acquitted and released from a case filed by the previous yahapaalana government, the current government is now seeking new charges to imprison him. Speaking at a public meeting on March 29, Rajapaksa emphasised that neither he nor his grandmother fears the cases being filed against them. He further noted that while the government had attempted to imprison him, it ultimately resorted to incarcerating his younger brother.

“1,557 government schools to be closed” – Fernando

Ada, Aruna

The Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) has raised concerns over the fact that the government has identified 1,557 primary schools with low enrollment for closure under the Education Schools Restructuring Project. CTU President Priyantha Fernando argues that this move will exacerbate the current 3% dropout rate in primary education and disproportionately affect children in remote areas. He emphasises that this decision, prioritised in the government’s education reforms, will leave around 10,000 rural children without access to education and referred to it as a great injustice.

COMMON PRIORITIES: SINHALA & TAMIL PRESS