Minister denies scrapping sports medical unit

Sports Minister, Mahindananda Aluthgamage today (October 4) denied previous AFP reports that stated the Sports Ministry has scrapped its medical unit.

Speaking exclusively to Ada Derana, Minister Aluthgamage stated that he plans to revamp and restructure the sports unit of the Ministry.

Earlier this week, Professor Arjun de Silva was appointed as the Director General of the Sports Medical Unit by the Minister.

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GL SLAMS ‘COLONIAL’ RIGHTS GROUPS

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris rejected “colonial” criticism Tuesday of a government-appointed civil war probe, after foreign rights groups snubbed an invitation to attend. New York-based Human Rights Watch, London-based Amnesty International and Brussels-based International Crisis Group last week accused the panel of a cover-up and refused an offer from Colombo to appear before it. Peiris said in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a leading think-tank based in London, that the rights groups had displayed a “most unattractive attitude.” “It smacks of an attitude that is almost colonial, patronising and condescending, the assumption being that other people must step in because Sri Lankans are unable to chart a course for their own future,” he said. Peiris, who is in London for talks with the British government, said the LLRC was based on similar reconciliation commissions in countries such as South Africa. He urged rights groups and

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