Apparel officials oblivious to mourning
View(s):Organisers of the Sundown Meeting 2015, the Sri Lanka Apparel Sourcing Association, on Thursday was a state unto themselves when they went ahead and served cocktails to guests, completely ignoring the fact that the state had declared the day as a National Day of Mourning.
The funeral of Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera was held on Thursday and the chief guest – a minister (of the economic type) had rushed in half an hour late for the meeting which was prolonged until his arrival, after attending the parliament grounds ceremony.
When this newspaper earlier asked twice whether the event would be cancelled, similar to other events where ministers were attending, the organisers said they were going ahead. To add insult to injury, liquor was also served compared to many other restaurants where patrons were told liquor would not be served as a mark of respect to the popular Buddhist monk.