By Kelum Bandara in Daily Mirror, Dec 12, 2023
Colombo, Dec.12 – In the wake of the organisations from countries such as Russia, China, Denmark and the United States proposing to invest in nuclear energy, Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Authority (SLAEA) has given the green light for nuke power, an official said.
Russia which has already invested in nuclear power generation in Bangladesh and India in the region has shown a keener interest in putting up a plant in Sri Lanka. A high-level delegation from Russia which was in Sri Lanka recently discussed the proposed cooperation in the nuclear energy sector among others with the Sri Lankan authorities.
SLAEA Chairman Prof. S.R.D. Rosa told Daily Mirror that he briefed the delegation about the current status regarding the Russian proposal for the development of an offshore or an onshore nuclear power plant in Sri Lanka. He said his office had basically given its nod for nuclear power to increase Sri Lanka’s energy mix, and it had been sent to the Foreign Ministry for approval.
“We can implement this project only if the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) is signed between Sri Lanka and Russia. That is now pending,” he said.
Russia has offered assistance in terms of capacity building and training Sri Lankans in the field. According to the proposal, small modular reactors (SMRs) which are advanced nuclear reactors are to be installed in the event a policy decision is taken. However, the financing model of the project, which is likely to cost more than US $ 2 billion has not yet been discussed.
Asked about safety, Prof. Rosa said SMRs are inherently safe. He asserted that it is advisable for Sri Lanka to have nuclear power in its energy mix.
Commenting on proposals from other countries, he said a Chinese delegation also held talks with the SLAEA.
“We have received proposals from the companies in the United States and Denmark too,” he said.
https://www.dailymirror.lk/top-story/Sri-Lanka-greenlights-nuclear-power-amidst-global-interest/155-273066
- SRI LANKA SCENE – 3/TAMILS
SJB slams mistreatment of Tamil city dwellers
by Sahan Tennekoon in The Daily Morning, Dec 12, 2023
The main Parliamentary Opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has urged the Public Security Ministry to stop the alleged mistreatment of Tamil city dwellers based on their ethnicity when collecting information for various security-related purposes.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday (11), SJB Opposition Parliamentarian and Tamil Progressive Alliance Leader Mano Ganesan claimed that the Police Department is treating Tamils living in Colombo’s suburbs in a separate manner when they collect information from them, highlighting their ethnicity, religion, and language. He also said that neither of the information forms used in this endeavour has been printed in Tamil but only in Sinhala, which is also another injustice that is taking place in this programme.
Ganesan also said that there is no purpose in collecting information such as ethnicity and religion when there is no ethnic conflict or ethnicity-based terrorism in the country. He also said that Acting Inspector General of Police Deshabandu Tennakoon and Public Security Minister Tiran Alles should take steps to stop this programme immediately without harassing minority communities.
In response to the allegations made by MP Ganesan, Minister Alles said that the particular Opposition MP is attempting to mislead the House by making baseless allegations, while also saying that the respective information forms are given to all city dwellers, irrespective of their ethnicity and religion. He noted that this programme would help in identifying organised criminals and other individuals rapidly, regardless of where they live.
Speaking further, the Minister said that this programme is carried out with the purpose of having all the details of city dwellers recorded as it would be very helpful in the prevention of crimes. He said that the Ministry has no intention of harassing people or segregating them but that all people living in these areas would be asked to provide relevant information. However, he added that the Ministry would look into the allegations made by Ganesan regarding the language of the information form and would take immediate steps to print it in all three languages if it has only been printed in the Sinhala language thus far.
https://www.themorning.lk/articles/8WbLzWuv3v5fYFElns7B
