COLOMBO : In an attempt to publicize current developments and the persistent non-compliance of the Supreme Court Order by the controversial and allegedly corrupt visa scheme related functions by the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Ministry of Law and Order, a joint press meet was held by the Members of Parliament Rauff Hakeem, M A Sumanthiran PC and Patali Champika at Hotel Renuka, Colombo, Thursday afternoon on 22 August.
The trio detailed the impact of the continuing mal-practice by the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Ministry of Law and Order. They also condemned the actions of the authority’s non-compliance with the directive of the Supreme Court, thus far, which had earlier suspended the new scheme, thereby ordering an immediate return to the former practices of the electronic travel authorization platform operated by the government’s SLT-Mobitel.
The Court order was to allow the smooth operations to facilitate tourist arrival in the country. The trio explained how the return to the former system would also avert the alleged massive corruption surrounding the new scheme of things.
Speaking to the media, SLMC Leader MP Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law, alleged that many tourism industry stakeholders who are also co-petitioners to the Supreme Court on the same cause, have brought to their attention that the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Ministry of Law and Order were deliberately delaying the implementation of the interim court order, pending the final hearing of the case, by causing much inconvenience.
The excuses being given by the authority to address this issue are puerile and are done with the deliberate intention of sabotaging the ultimate effect of the interim order, thereby in the process, “causing serious loss of reputation for the country and probable loss of tourists for the winter season to come,” he said. Hon Hakeem alleged that although the SLT-Mobitel, the previous government service providers were willing to restore their former role and were ready to restart operations, the Immigration authorities are reluctant to facilitate the same. The latter is also quoting a former gazette notification issued in November 2023, as a lame excuse for its non-implementation of the Supreme Court ruling.
Hakeem, provided further details of the process where the gazette notification allegedly pre-dates the inclusion of new sub categories in the current visa platform and therefore, how such futile technicalities are being quoted as excuses for returning to the former, better and time-tested system that functioned smoothly in the country. They were thereby defying the interim Supreme Court order, he said.
