Topic
Security & Defence
869 speeches · 214 speakers
Party share
By the speaker's party · counts only, no scoring. "Unattributed" = speeches not resolved to an MP.
Most active on this topic
| # | Member | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera, M.P. JJB | 77 |
| 2 | Hon. Ananda Wijepala, M.P. JJB | 65 |
| 3 | Hon. Sajith Premadasa, M.P. SJB | 39 |
| 4 | Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa, M.P. JJB | 23 |
| 5 | Hon. Bimal Rathnayake, M.P. JJB | 18 |
| 6 | Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, M.P. NDF | 18 |
| 7 | Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney at Law, M.P. SJB | 17 |
| 8 | Hon. Mujibur Rahman, M.P. SJB | 16 |
| 9 | Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, M.P. ITAK | 16 |
| 10 | Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam, M.P. ACTC | 15 |
Speeches
869 on this topic- 17 March 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma - Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning AI summary Acknowledging the service and sacrifice of disabled war veterans, the Deputy Minister stated that the Government would intervene sensitively where institutions had failed to provide necessary facilitation. He said such cases would be examined and measures arranged to ensure fair treatment. Oral Answers to Questions (Q.504/2025, Q.510/2025, Q.483/2025, Q.493/2025) Read →
- 17 March 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Harshana Suriyapperuma - Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning AI summary The Deputy Minister provided details on the SDB “Uththamachara” loan scheme for disabled military personnel, stating that 6,368 recipients had received Rs. 41.1 billion since 2014, including 5,303 recipients and Rs. 28.2 billion from 2020 to 2024. He explained that the scheme is salary-based and not available to retirees, with repayment periods generally from one to ten years, and that variable-rate EMI loans may have their tenors adjusted when interest rates change. He said interest had been retrospectively reduced to 13 per cent, interest is not charged on unpaid interest, restructurings are done by agreement without additional charges in relevant cases, and unresolved borrower grievances may be referred to the Central Bank’s Financial Consumer Relations Department. Oral Answers to Questions (Q.504/2025, Q.510/2025, Q.483/2025, Q.493/2025) Read →
- 15 March 2025 The Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, Attorney-at-Law SLPP AI summary Hon. Namal Rajapaksa argued that foreign policy should be closely integrated with national security and economic policy, maintaining a non-aligned and friendly approach while ensuring foreign investment agreements are favourable to Sri Lanka. He urged the Government and Foreign Ministry to respond strategically to changing global trade conditions, promote Colombo Port City as a financial hub, and work with economic institutions to protect sovereignty and maximize commercial benefits. He also called for expanded airport capacity, including development of Mattala and Jaffna through private partnerships, to support higher tourism targets, and for incentives and streamlined formal channels for foreign remittances. He additionally linked foreign policy to addressing organized crime and drugs while safeguarding national unity in international forums. Debate: Appropriation Bill 2025, Twenty-first Allotted Day - Committee Stage, Head 112 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism) Read →
- 15 March 2025 The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam ITAK AI summary Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam criticized the Government’s approach to accountability for gross human rights violations, arguing that proposed domestic mechanisms have been inadequate and that the State tends to protect itself. Referring to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Al Jazeera interview on wartime conduct, he questioned the defence of previous government actions and cited reports on aid blockages and hospital bombings. He tabled Human Rights Watch material documenting repeated shelling of hospitals in 2008-2009 and said he would place an aid worker’s account of the Valayanmadam Hospital attack in the Library. Debate: Appropriation Bill 2025, Twenty-first Allotted Day - Committee Stage, Head 112 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism) Read →
- 14 March 2025 The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition SJB AI summary Sajith Premadasa raised concerns about public security during the Committee Stage, arguing that the Police and Judiciary are under serious threat following incidents including a murder inside court premises and the killing of a retired prison officer. He questioned what assurances the Government could provide to prevent further attacks on courts and judges, noting that a suspect alleged to have planned the courthouse killing remained at large. He also criticized the situation in which the IGP was reportedly evading a court order and could not be located by the Police. Appropriation Bill 2025: Committee Stage - Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure (Heads 135, 293, 337) Read →
- 12 March 2025 The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs JJB AI summary The Minister informed Parliament that the suspect in the Anuradhapura Hospital incident raised in the House had been arrested at Galnewa by police teams deployed for the operation. He stated that, as previously pledged, the suspect would be produced before court and due process would be followed. Speaker's Announcements and Welcome Read →
- 11 March 2025 The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam ITAK AI summary Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam seconded the Adjournment Motion and called for the release of lands in the Pudur Sri Siththi Vinayagar Temple area still held by the Air Force, arguing that the B and C security zones and related roads should be opened in the absence of war. He raised similar concerns in Batticaloa District, citing schools, markets, camps, and memorial land remaining under military or STF control, and said Defence Ministry approval was needed for releases. He also questioned the lack of action on State lands allegedly occupied in Paddumanodai and urged the Government to implement earlier decisions and promptly return lands to affected communities. Adjournment Debate: Batticaloa Airport Land Acquisition and Release Read →
- 11 March 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna Independent Group 17 - Jaffna AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna condemned child marriage and argued that past and recent ethnic violence, including the 2009 war and attacks attributed to Saharan, should be referred to international courts. He rejected claims that international investigations are unnecessary, criticized past political alignments for failing to secure justice for Tamils, and cited alleged shelling of hospitals, disappearances in his family, and UNHRC references to wartime casualties and individuals such as Gen. Shavendra Silva. He also complained that he had been denied opportunities to speak in Parliament, drew parallels between Gaza and Sri Lanka’s wartime “safe zones,” and called for decorum while stating that Tamils were not opposed to any ethnicity. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Committee Stage Debate (Heads 186, 196, 227) Read →
- 11 March 2025 The Hon. Chathura Galappaththi SJB AI summary Hon. Chathura Galappaththi supported digitalization as essential to reducing corruption and improving public service efficiency, while noting past failures under ICTA and previous administrations. Focusing on the proposed digital ID, he raised national security and privacy concerns about centrally storing biometric data, citing international and local cyber incidents and the growing value of personal data. He proposed completing a robust cybersecurity framework first, strengthening SLCERT and data protection institutions, enacting the planned cybersecurity Bills, collecting biometric data only after safeguards are in place, avoiding unnecessary centralization, and rolling out the project in phases. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Committee Stage Debate (Heads 186, 196, 227) Read →
- 11 March 2025 The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition SJB AI summary Hon. Sajith Premadasa raised the reported assault and sexual violence against a female doctor at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, arguing that it exposes serious weaknesses in hospital and workplace security. He asked whether the Government was aware of the incident, when it was informed, what action is being taken, what protection mechanisms exist for female doctors and workers, and who is accountable. He urged stronger safeguards for women in public and private workplaces and stated the Opposition’s readiness to support stronger laws and severe punishments for such offences. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Committee Stage Debate (Heads 186, 196, 227) Read →
- 11 March 2025 The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake NDF AI summary Ravi Karunanayake called for the establishment of a cybercrime task force with adequate support to ensure effective outcomes. He urged that it should deliver measurable success rather than remain merely rhetorical, and concluded by linking the proposal to improving Sri Lanka’s future. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Committee Stage Debate (Heads 186, 196, 227) Read →
- 8 March 2025 The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB AI summary Bimal Rathnayake said the President of Jamiyyathul Ulama had informed him that the organization had alerted authorities in 2020 about the group referred to in the debate. He expressed appreciation for responsible actions by Muslim citizens and organizations, and stated that, although the government had only been in office for a few months, the security authorities and Public Security Ministry would take appropriate action. Appropriation Bill, 2025 - Committee Stage: Ministry of Women and Child Affairs Read →
- 7 March 2025 The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake JJB AI summary Hon. Bimal Rathnayake asked for clarification on which authority was responsible for the road closure near Batticaloa Airport, specifically whether it was the Air Force, the Sri Lanka Army, or Airport and Aviation Services. Debate: Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage (Heads 117, 123, 306, 307, 309-311, 332, 336) Read →
- 6 March 2025 The Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana NDF AI summary Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardhana suggested that land held by the Air Force near the hospital in the 6/626 area may exceed its requirements. He asked the Minister to consider allocating part of that land for the hospital’s development. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage: Ministry of Health and Mass Media Read →
- 5 March 2025 The Hon. Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law - Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs JJB AI summary The Deputy Minister said the Government brought the Adjournment Motion to demonstrate its intention to act on the public mandate to combat illicit drugs, arguing that political links to drug trafficking had been removed. He outlined enforcement, prevention and treatment measures in the North and East under the Clean Sri Lanka programme, including recent seizures, training of Development Officers, Tamil-language awareness work, clinics, and plans for a rehabilitation centre in Jaffna and a Northern office of the National Authority on Dangerous Drugs. He reported increased detections and seizures in early 2025, noted a decline in heroin use alongside growth in other substances, and pledged continued coordinated action with security agencies to curb the drug problem. Adjournment Motion: Jaffna - Social Impact of Drug Addiction Among Youth Read →
- 5 March 2025 The Hon. Gnanamuththu Srineshan ITAK AI summary Hon. Gnanamuththu Srineshan supported Hon. Rajeevan’s Motion, stating that drug use, distribution, illicit liquor production and the proliferation of bars have increased in the North and East after the war. He urged the Government to translate its “Clean Sri Lanka” vision into firm action through coordinated work by the Governor, civil administration, military and Police. He also called for identifying and acting against any Police or military personnel who assist drug-related activities, citing the case of former senior Police officer Deshabandu Tennakoon as an example of alleged involvement at high levels. Adjournment Motion: Jaffna - Social Impact of Drug Addiction Among Youth Read →
- 5 March 2025 The Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran ITAK AI summary Thurairasa Ravikaran supported the Motion on the drug problem, warning that narcotics are destabilizing districts across the country and harming youth and young women. He urged the new Government and the Police to strengthen law and order and take additional measures, with both compassion and enforcement, to protect people from addiction and related deaths. Adjournment Motion: Jaffna - Social Impact of Drug Addiction Among Youth Read →
- 5 March 2025 The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam ACTC AI summary Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam welcomed the Motion but argued that it ignored the extent of militarization in the North and East, where he said most military divisions and coastal Navy camps remain stationed on or near civilian lands. He questioned whether the drug crisis could have developed without military involvement, citing alleged links between security forces and past incidents such as the “Grease Devil” phenomenon and the “Aava group.” He urged the Government to recognize that the existing military presence and mindset toward Tamils cannot be relied upon to resolve the problem unless fundamentally changed. Adjournment Motion: Jaffna - Social Impact of Drug Addiction Among Youth Read →
- 5 March 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) S. Sri Bavanandarajah JJB AI summary Hon. (Dr.) S. Sri Bavanandarajah supported the Motion on drug control, stating that drug distribution in the North, particularly after 2009 and the opening of the A-9 road, has severely affected youth and higher education students in Jaffna. He said the issue is also straining the health sector through rehabilitation and treatment costs, and called for action to identify and stop distributors. He urged the establishment of a rehabilitation centre in Jaffna District with vocational training and employment support, alongside village-level monitoring and coordinated action by the armed forces, Police and judiciary to prevent distribution and relapse. Adjournment Motion: Jaffna - Social Impact of Drug Addiction Among Youth Read →
- 5 March 2025 The Hon. Rajeevan Jeyachandramoorthy JJB AI summary Rajeevan Jeyachandramoorthy moved an Adjournment Motion highlighting rising drug addiction, drug smuggling and gang violence in Jaffna, with particular concern for youth, women, girls and schoolchildren. He said heroin and other illicit substances, inadequate rehabilitation facilities and criminal gangs were contributing to theft, robbery, violence and public insecurity. He called for investment in rehabilitation programmes, stronger law enforcement and community support systems, and proposed a long-term monitoring mechanism involving the Provincial Governor, District Development Committee Chair, District Secretary, Police and grassroots leaders to coordinate action against drug distribution and use. Adjournment Motion: Jaffna - Social Impact of Drug Addiction Among Youth Read →