Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena praised government minister and general secretary of the JHU Champika Ranawaka, calling him an “intellectual” who would “take the country forward”.

Speaking at the launch of Mr Ranawaka’s book last week, Mr Sirisena thanked the minister for his support in the presidential elections and in helping “make the transformation required by the country and usher in a new era”.

The president went on to say “the knowledge and experience of the intellectuals such as Minister Champika Ranawaka would help take the country forward”.

Mr Ranawaka is currently the minister of technology and research in Sri Lanka and general secretary of the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), a Sinhala nationalist party led by Buddhist monks.

A senior military official has confessed to interrogating the abducted journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, the first admission by a member of the security forces that the cartoonist was detained.

The sergeant major, who was arrested on Sunday, told CID interrogators that Mr Eknaligoda was questioned on one of his publications and on his alleged connection to former army general Sarath Fonseka, the Daily News reported.

He had said a senior Army officer, a major, who was also at the camp in Girithale, took Mr Eknaligoda away after the interrogation, saying the journalist had to “go somewhere”. The suspect told the CID that he did not receive any news about him thereafter.

The Sri Lankan government has decreased its foreign debt since the beginning of the year, while maintaining the foreign reserve at US$ 7.5 billion.

The National Freedom Front's Wimal Weerawansa warned that the United National Party and Tamil National Alliance would join together and allow an international war crimes probe to take place in Sri Lanka.

Speaking at a press conference alongside former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mr Weerawansa said that over 40 military officers and two civilian leaders were at risk of facing war crimes charges.

"If the UNP forms a government with the help of the TNA it would have to grant the wish of the latter which has called for an international war crimes probe," he warned.
"This has been part of their strategy and the onus is on the people to ensure the safety of these leaders who fought for us to elect the UPFA."

The wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda has requested Sri Lanka’s army to handover officers connected to the abduction to the CID for investigations.

Australian High Commissioner Robyn Mudie and Defence Adviser Captain Jason Sears recently met with Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Kolitha Gunatilleke, and the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, and congratulate the officers on their recent appointments.

According to a press release, the meetings were “useful opportunities to discuss the ongoing cooperation between Australia and Sri Lanka to counter people smuggling and the growing relationship in defence cooperation between the two nations”.

Former president Chandrika Kumaratunga says her successor Mahinda Rajapaksa alone cannot claim he won the war on his own, stressing that people should not vote for him just because he won the war.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe called on people to “shed petty divisions to solve problems faced by the country,” reports Colombo Page.