FTZ turns No Biz Zone!

Free Trade Zones (FTZ) will be closed until 2 June and investigations are expected to conclude within five days.

Yesterday, the Department of Government Information stated that a one man committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Mahanama Tilakeratne had been appointed to probe and report within five days on incidents of protest at the Katunayake FTZ. This will be in addition to investigations conducted by the CID and Police.

In an increasingly politicised situation, the main opposition questioned the validity of the postponement done by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Central Committee last morning at a media briefing.

UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake questioned as to how a decision by an internal body of a political party could speak for the Government and insisted that such a decision should be made by the Cabinet. President Mahinda Rajapaksa chaired the Central Committee meeting late Monday night at Temple Trees.

A report on www.news.lk, the Department of Government Information website, states: “The Central Committee discussed the importance of protecting the rights of the Free Trade Zone workers by defeating all guileful forces who try to create unrest within Free Trade Zones. The proposed private pension scheme will be discussed with the trade unions, political parties and at the Government’s Parliamentary group meeting.”