The telephone operator at the switchboard of 'Temple Trees,' the official residence of the President, was somewhat surprised when he answered a phone call.
The caller, a lady, who spoke in Sinhala said she was Anoma Fonseka and asked to speak to President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The operator perhaps thought that the wife of the former Army Commander was calling to seize on President's offer to release her husband if a request is made by a member of the family.
The operator told Rajapaksa that Mrs. Fonseka was on the line and wants to speak with him. Put the call through, he said. "What is the problem? What can we do for you asked," Rajapaksa. The caller spoke somewhat apologetically.
She called on the President to alleviate the suffering people were undergoing, a presumable reference to the rising cost of living. 'Why are you doing this? Please give us relief,' she said.
A suspicious Rajapaksa asked who was speaking. She said she was Anoma and added that she had spoken to the President before. Rajapaksa cracked a joke and the caller began to laugh somewhat loudly.
Suspecting that she was an imposter, Rajapaksa said "you are lying. I know Anoma and have spoken to her. She is not a talkative woman like you. She is better behaved. If you are Anoma, will you laugh when your husband is in jail."
Thereafter an angry Rajapaksa dashed the phone. He ordered an immediate investigation to ascertain who the caller was.
It soon became known that it was a woman of unsound mind, who had once been employed in a service arm. The matter ended there.
Bell Pottinger's secret service for Lanka
Bell Pottinger, the British public relations firm Sri Lanka hired to promote the country's interests paying millions of rupees whilst maintaining a fully staffed High Commission in London has been exposed in a joint investigation by The Independent newspaper and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism for "dark arts" to bury bad coverage and influence public opinion.
Bell Pottinger's US associate firm, Qorvis for which the Sri Lanka government also pays millions of rupees too has drawn attention. Here are some details:
An undercover investigation, published in The Independent last Tuesday, has taped senior executives at Bell Pottinger:
Claiming they have used their access to Downing Street to persuade David Cameron to speak to the Chinese Premier on behalf of one of their business clients, within 24 hours of asking him to do so.
Boasting about Bell Pottinger's access to the Foreign Secretary William Hague, to Mr. Cameron's chief of staff Ed Llewellyn and to Mr. Cameron's old friend and closest No 10 adviser Steve Hilton;
Suggesting the company could manipulate Google results to 'drown out' negative coverage of human rights violations and child labour;
Revealing that Bell Pottinger has a team which 'sorts' negative Wikipedia coverage of clients;
Saying it was possible to use MPs known to be critical of investigative programmes to attack their reporting for minor errors.
"Reporters from the Bureau posed as agents for the government of Uzbekistan -- a brutal dictatorship responsible for killings, human rights violations and child labour -- and representatives of its cotton industry in a bid to discover what promises British lobbying and public relations firms were prepared to make when pitching to clients; what techniques they use; and how much of their work is open to public scrutiny.
"Senior executives at Bell Pottinger told undercover reporters that they were so influential that they had written a keynote speech given by the Sri Lankan President to the United Nations. During the address President Mahinda Rajapaksa last year, which the company said was used in preference to one prepared by the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry, the President suggested rules governing the humanitarian conduct of war should be re-examined. He described his troops' action against Tamil Tiger separatists as humanitarian. President Rajapaksa also claimed in the speech that a Commission established by the government to look into the last years of the civil war, was giving 'full expression to the principles of accountability'.
"The Commission has been heavily criticised by human rights groups including Amnesty International because it does not have a mandate to hold individuals to account for war crimes. 'We had a team working in the President's office. We wrote the President's speech to the UN last year which was very well received … it went a long way to taking the country where it needed to go,' said David Wilson, Chairman of Bell Pottinger Public Relations, during the undercover meeting with the Bureau. But during the meeting Mr. Wilson seemed to agree with Amnesty, describing the Commission (Note: referenced is to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission) as having a 'fundamental flaw in its remit in investigating what has gone on in the past, to try to bury the past.' The company also attended a meeting of Tamil dissidents in London, the British Tamils Forum (BTF)."
In Colombo, a government spokesperson denied Bell Pottinger had written the President's speech. However, in London, both The Independent and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism said they have the remarks of senior executives of the British PR firm on tape.
A box story in the website of the British-based Bureau of Investigative Journalists said: "Part of Bell Pottinger's remit was to influence the foreign media in favour of the Sri Lankan government. The firm sub-contracted its work in the US to the firm Qorvis, which placed an op-ed by President Rajapaksa in The Philadelphia Inquirer in December 2009 entitled 'How Sri Lanka Defeated Terrorism'. In the piece the President suggested Sri Lanka had provided a 'workable model' for defeating terrorism, from which the international community could gain 'valuable insight'.
"A few months later in February 2010, The Wall Street Journal published a piece that discussed the 'peaceful' election which returned Rajapaksa to power, and prompted several letters complaining of government violence against its critics. In the UK Bell Pottinger appears to have been far less successful in terms of placing the government's opinions. In December 2009 the Guardian claimed the firm pitched a piece that said: 'We are ready to engage positively with anyone and everyone around the world who wishes to help us achieve our dream of a united and prosperous land and enable Sri Lanka to take its rightful place in the world as an island of unsurpassed beauty, enterprise and now peace.' It was never published.
"However, it seems to have had more success in getting coverage of Sri Lanka as an investment opportunity, particularly following a series of interviews it arranged with Sri Lanka's Central Bank chief, Ajith Nivard Cabraal. In an interview with the BBC's Lesley Curwen ahead of a meeting with European investors in February 2010, Mr. Cabraal 'addressed human rights concerns that may damage confidence in potential backers'. Euromoney published an article titled 'Sri Lanka follows might with money' based on a Cabraal interview around the same time, while The Banker also ran a piece on Cabraal.
"Other services Bell Pottinger claims to have provided to the Sri Lankan government included helping with re-designing its website and establishing an on-line 'friends of Sri Lanka' group. Bell Pottinger is not the only British firm that worked for the Sri Lankan government during the conflict and its aftermath.
Representation Plus promoted the country as a tourist destination for two years from December 2008. During the bloody final stages of the conflict in April 2009 the company issued a press release announcing that the tourism industry was providing food to internally displaced people at the request of President Rajapaksa……"
There is a postscript to the reports which Bell Pottinger and Qorvis succeeded in "planting" in the foreign media. Locally, government media pundits released the published accounts for re-publication in the media. Naturally it created the impression that the publications in question ran them after their own "independent" study observations. Even such well known publications as The Wall Street Journal and the BBC sometimes nod. Don't they?
Amidst the budget,
Parliament at cricket today
Ministers take on Parliamentarians at a cricket encounter today for the Speaker's Cup.
At the Sports Ministry grounds at Independence Square early this week, there was a hive of activity. Some ministers were at practice. Deputy Minister Nirmala Kotelawala even suffered injuries.
When the ministers were at practices, cameras from Carlton Sports Club turned up to film them. "They have been sent by Namal (Rajapaksa) to observe the strong points of the players," chuckled Minister Wimal Weerawansa.
The MPs have two players who have played for the national team and even captained it - Sanath Jayasuriya and Arjuna Ranatunga.
 |
| Wimal Weerawansa bowls a googly |
 |
| Time to play ‘pandu’. Pix by Ranjith Perera |
Basil does not like to talk shop
It was the opening of a multi-storied business house where sarees are aplenty.
The chief guests were Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kantha and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa.
With the opening ceremonies over, the duo chatted. This is whilst their wives were busy shopping.
High Commissioner Kantha said he was unable to spend a long time at shopping only to be told by Rajapaksa that he too could not. Then Kantha asked "how do you manage your time?"
Rajapaksa said, "I only attend to urgent telephone calls. Phone calls, particularly when they are too long, are the biggest problem. The day's work is over when that happens."
Johnny Boy and aunties
It was Minister Johnston Fernando's birthday last week. Parliamentarians Namal Rajapaksa, Uditha Lokubandara and Chandima Weerakkody (Deputy Speaker) sprung a surprise on them.
He was taken to a special party at the Colombo Hilton. Inscribed on the birthday cake were the words "Happy Birthday Johnny Boy."
One of the participants pointed to Fernando at the party and said there he is taking pictures with aunties. Later, when the Minister joined him, he was asked for his age.
"Why should I tell you? I heard you talk about the aunties.
See the birthday cake which says "Johnny Boy." So I am still young," he said laughingly.
Elevator quip on Karu
When Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe boarded the lift to go to an upper floor in Parliament, he ran into UPFA's Lasantha Alagiyawanna and Duleep Wijesekera.
Wijesekera remarked that he had seen media reports of the UNP leader being present at the launch of the website by his deputy, Karu Jayasuriya. Replied Wickremesinghe, "Yes, I did. But I did not see any reference there to strengthening the President's hand."
"Strengthening the President's hand" were the words used by Jayasuriya and 17 other MPs who crossed over to the UPFA government then.
Added Alagiyawanna, "He came with 17 others to take over the leadership. When he could not, he left."
Namal the lawyer
UPFA Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa will take his oaths as a lawyer on December 15.
That was good news for the proud parents, President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Shiranthi Rajapaksa.
CID protection for judge
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detectives have been assigned to provide personal protection to a member of the judiciary and a sibling following reports of possible threats.
This followed a recent case that has drawn much controversy.
UNHRC chief won't come here
United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay has said she would not visit Sri Lanka until the final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission is made public, according to a report in the Inner City Press based at the UN in New York.
The report adds: "When High Commissioner on Human Rights Navi Pillay appeared at the UN on Friday, Inner City Press asked her about inaction on the killing of civilians in Sri Lanka, including the performance of the UN and certain high UN officials. Inner City Press also asked how many civilians she believed had been killed in Sri Lanka, and if she was seeking a second terms of HCHR.
"Pillay spoke generally that there should be accountability, adding that she is postponing a visit to Sri Lanka until the release of the report of the government's Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission, which she said in the hands of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
"She said she favored the LLRC report, along with the UN Panel of Experts (or "Darusman") Report being the subject of a debate in the Human Rights Council. Sources in Geneva tell Inner City Press that the push for that is not prominent, and such a debate prior to Sri Lanka's so-called Universal Periodic Review is unlikely. Will Ms. Pillay and others push harder?
"Pillay declined to provide any estimate of the number of dead, just minutes after saying that over 4,000 have been killed in Syria, to which her access is decidedly limited.
She also declined to answer if she will seek a second term, saying she has six months left, but "thank you for reminding me" that the decision time is looming. For Sri Lanka as well?"
|
E-mail