The government is committed to ensuring justice for the victims affected by injustices related to enforced disappearances, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said in Parliament. The Prime Minister made the statement in Parliament today (09 Apr) while responding to a question raised by Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam.

“The government is committed to delivering justice to those who have been affected by the issue of disappearances. However, we cannot conduct these investigations on a personal basis, and such matters must be addressed legally and institutionally. The institutional and systemic failures in the past years mainly caused the delays in these matters. Therefore, such issues need to be addressed,” she said.

Stating that the matter was not about gaining popularity, PM Amarasuriya said, instead, it was necessary to establish institutions and environment to ensure that such incidents do not recur, while addressing the existing injustices.

“The public has lost their trust in the Office for Reparations and the Office on Missing Persons because they were merely established in name and lacked adequate strength and were largely ineffective. This is what happened in the past, and that is what is expected to be corrected. Hence, it must be ensured that the right individuals are placed in positions, that sufficient resources are allocated, and that the institutions are capable of fulfilling their responsibilities,” she said.

Acknowledging that there are still pending legal disputes related to the missing persons, the Prime Minister said some of these cases have been under dispute for the past 16 years, adding, “It is not an easy task, but the government is committed to ensuring justice.

Due to lower electricity usage during the holiday season, some changes were made on how power is generated in the country, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said.

The Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology has issued a "Warm Weather Advisory – Extreme Caution Level" for over 20 districts across the country.

Postmaster General Ruwan Sathkumara says that the official polling cards for the upcoming local government elections are scheduled to be delivered to the Department of Post today (April 16). He stated that April 20 has been designated as a special day for the distribution of official polling cards to households.

While highlighting that the US Reciprocal taxes had created a fresh economic crisis as Sri Lanka will have to find ways and means to settle its debts by 2028, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe said the government should come out with a plan to face the situation.

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) requests rooftop solar power system owners to temporarily disconnect their systems from today but only if they receive an official SMS notification from the board and also only till 3p.m on the specified day.

The National Election Commission has announced a delay in postal voting for 18 Local Government bodies, including the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC).

A total of 412 patients have been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital during the two-day New Year holiday period from April 13 and 14, due to accidents.

The Election Commission (EC) has requested secretaries and authorised representatives of political parties, as well as leaders of independent groups, to submit copies of any petitions and court judgments to the relevant District Election Offices.

Four suspects have been arrested at the Katunayake Airport for attempting to smuggle in stocks of Kush cannabis and Hashish to Sri Lanka.