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ECONOMYNEXT – A court-ordered travel ban on Sri Lankan Minister of State Diana Gamage will not prevent her from traveling abroad as she has a diplomatic passport, lawyer in double case says citizenship.

Sri Lanka’s latest constitutional amendment disqualified dual citizenship lawmakers and the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya lobbied to oust such dual national MPs from parliament as per the latest amendment.

Parliamentarians say there are a number of lawmakers who hold dual nationality in the current parliament, but none of them have yet declared their contact details.

A complaint was filed against Gamage regarding his passport, birth certificate and national ID card recently and based on the complaint, the Colombo Magistrate Court issued an opinion to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit facts about the investigation of the complaint.

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court yesterday issued an order ordering the Comptroller General of Immigration and Emigration to prevent Minister of State Diana Gamage from leaving the country until November 17, without permission from the court.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Nandana Amarasinghe banned Gamage from using his UK passport for 7 days following a request made by a group of lawyers led by senior lawyer Gunaratne Wanninayake.

In a motion supported by an affidavit, lawyers for the injured party convinced the court that Diana Gamage, who obtained a Sri Lankan passport after providing false information, was planning to leave the country in the coming days.

The Court ordered the CID to expedite the investigation into an initial report of facts filed against Gamage regarding the complaint of reporting false information to the Comptroller General of Immigration and Emigration. The investigation follows a complaint filed by social activist Oshala Herath.

Barrister Manju Sri Chandrasena, who appeared on behalf of the plaintiff, said the SJB, as a third party in Diana Gamage’s ongoing court case, had filed a motion, with the recent information they received that she was using the UK passport to fly overseas.

“Eventually, she can attend the meetings…. using his diplomatic passport,” Chandrasena said.

If this is proven, Gamage will be disqualified from being an MP.

Former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa also had dual citizenship, but resigned as an MP in June this year before the new amendment was passed last month.

Gamage, who could not be reached for comment, dismissed claims of any wrongdoing.

At a recent press briefing, she said, “This is my country. This is where my father was born. This is where I will die. This country has never allowed people to serve and work for the country. I cannot be stopped by these allegations. (Colombo/November 12, 2022)

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