Channa Jayasumana, the former State Minister of Health under the Gotabaya Rajapaksa regime, states he was against the decision to cremate the bodies of Muslim COVID victims.

Speaking during a televised debate, Channa Jayasumana said the decision to deny burials to Muslim COVID victims was taken based on Military intelligence, citing a security threat.

Channa Jayasumana said from the beginning, he was against denying burial and had also conveyed this to the then COVID Task Force.

“As a Science expert, I was of the view that the virus cannot survive in a dead body. So burials as per their religious practice would not be an issue. I spoke on this behalf and even gave media briefings,” he said.

The former State Minister said, however, that Military intelligence had warned against allowing burials, citing this could give rise to other threats including religious tensions.

Stating that such tensions could not arise during a pandemic, he said he was also of the view that cremating the bodies of Muslim COVID victims was not a suitable move and that he had called for burials to be allowed per their religious practice.

“However, my suggestion was defeated. We were forced to remain silent because the Military Intelligence warned that burials could bring other adverse results,” he said. 

Channa Jayasumana pointed out that regrettably, news reports are completely misrepresenting his stance, adding that the reports are the exact opposite of his beliefs. (Newswire)

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Parliamentarian Channa Jayasumana has refuted allegations of forcibly occupying the official residence allocated to him during his tenure as the Health Minister of Sri Lanka.

The clarification comes after Colombo Additional Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake yesterday (28) issued an order to evict the former Health Minister from the official residence.

The court order was issued after taking up for consideration the case filed before the Court by the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration.

The Ministry Secretary informed the Court that the former minister remains in the official residence even after resigning from the post of Minister and asked that an order be given asking him to vacate it.

Responding to the allegations, Prof. Channa Jayasumana stated that he was residing at the official residence based on a decision of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL). 

Issuing a statement, Prof. Jayasumana stated that following the May 09th unrest in Sri Lanka in 2022 during which several government ministers’ houses were attacked the HRCSL took a decision allowing the affected ministers to continue to reside in their allocated official residences.

Prof. Jayasumana stated that he had also settled all utility and other bills during his occupancy of the official residence during the said period. 

Stating that he was unaware of the legal measures taken by the Public Administration Ministry, Prof. Jayasumana said that he would take steps to file a motion to inform the court of the HRCSL decision. (NewsWire)

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There are attempts to remove Dinesh Gunawardena from the post of Prime Minister and appoint former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Parliamentarian Channa Jayasumana claimed.

Freedom People’s Alliance MP Channa Jayasumana told the media that MPs from the ruling party have requested support for this move.

“Our friends from the ruling party brought forth a proposal stating that there are moves to create a change to the post of Prime Minister. They said they intend to remove Dinesh Gunawardena from the post and reappoint Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Prime Minister,” MP Jayasumana said. 

He further stated that the government will have to resign if such a move is made, adding that the nation’s problems cannot be resolved by changing the premiership. 

“We will not extend our support for this. Mahinda Rajapaksa must now retire from politics and enjoy his retirement at home,” the MP added. (NewsWire)

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