Three separate exchanges in Parliament on Friday, all reported by the Daily Mirror.

Premadasa on the 13th Amendment

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa called for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, saying it would help build goodwill among Sri Lanka’s ethnic communities (Daily Mirror).

He argued that people of different ethnic backgrounds should not be sorted into majority and minority categories but recognised equally as citizens.

“We should not refer to ethnic groups living in this country as the majority community and minorities but should consider everyone as Sri Lankans.”

The 13th Amendment, which created the provincial council system, has never been implemented in full; successive governments have withheld police and land powers from the provinces.

A one-off permit to export rock to the Maldives

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya told Parliament that a one-off permit was issued to a private company in 2024 to export rock stones to the Maldives (Daily Mirror).

She said the permit covered stone that had been piled up near Magampura Port, and that the aim was to clear the site.

SJB alleges a land seizure in Athurugiriya

SJB MP Nalin Bandara alleged that a ruling party MP had forcibly acquired a plot of land at Millennium City, Athurugiriya, after assaulting a security officer (Daily Mirror).

Bandara said the land was taken for a depot for the government’s Metro bus service — a programme separately in the news this week over attacks on its buses, including collisions near Athurugiriya Millennium City. He said legal procedures must be followed when land is acquired.

This is an allegation made under parliamentary privilege. The MP accused was not named, no evidence was presented in the report, and no response from the government or from any individual has been reported.

Not reported

The Prime Minister did not name the company that received the rock-stone permit, give the quantity or value involved, or say who granted it or whether the stockpile has since been cleared. It is not reported what question prompted her answer. On the 13th Amendment, no government response to Premadasa’s call is recorded, and he did not specify which powers he wants devolved.