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When the United Naitons hosted a high-level lunch for visiting world leaders, including Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, during the General Assembly sessions last September, they were in for an unexpected surprise, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

A toast for recycled food: President Sirisena at UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s gala dinner at the UN in September last year.

Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Ban said the lunch consisted largely of recycled food salvaged from the kitchen before it was dumped into garbage bins. In short, it was “junk food” — metaphorically speaking.

“Every dish was made from scraps that would normally be wasted,” said Ban who is a strong advocate of Zero Hunger.
One of the appetisers was called “landfill salad,” he said, singling it out as “a small example of sustainable solution” to eliminating world hunger.

The secretary-general said more than a third of the world’s food goes to waste. And “eliminating wasted food in homes and in fields is a key element in achieving Zero Hunger.” The menu displayed at the lunch — where President Sirisena occupied the main table along with US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin — apparently described the recycled dishes on the invitation left on the table for each guest.

We wonder how many heads of state, including President Sirisena, read the menu before digging into their lunch. As Ban would say, it was all for a good cause in a world where more than 795 million people suffer from extreme hunger.
Perhaps during his next visit to the UN, the President may opt to take his food taster with him, or probably his own buth packet.

Sirisena icing on Rajapaksa cake
Unity has become the main focus for MPs in the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Not surprisingly, when President Maithripala Sirisena is carrying on a yearlong campaign to get fuller control of the party while his predecessor is backing moves for a new political party and an opposition alliance thereafter.

For both sides, the local council elections, set for July, will become a test of strength. Little wonder, most SLFP ministers are continuing to exhort the need for unity.

In that pursuit, Minister Dilan Perera drew an analogy. He said that Mahinda Rajapaksa was the cake. The icing was President Maithripala Sirisena. He said without the icing people would not buy the cake.

A rejoinder came from former Minister Basil Rajapaksa. He remarked at a meeting that even if some people bought the cake with the icing on it, they threw the icing away before enjoying the cake.

Major omission for freedom day
For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even the national day ceremonies conducted by Sri Lanka diplomatic missions cannot be organised properly.

The Ministry has sent out the usual circular on how to observe the country’s National Day. However, one major omission is the two minutes silence observed to remember war heroes — a practice that has been observed in the past years.
In view of the current debate locally on the role of the Armed Forces in defeating the LTTE, this omission, however, has some significance.

Captain, what’s this Johnny doing at the port?
A southern port has become the envy of shippers as trade from there, particularly trans-shipment of cars, is on the increase.
They say that a johnnie-come-lately, one who fled to a far corner of the world in the past years, has won the hearts and minds of those who matter.

So much so, the man, they say has been offered the monopoly of handling cars. If shippers presently charged only a single US dollar for inspection, our Johnny, they say wants to raise it to US$ 12. That is to ensure there is a cool dividend among those who are helping him with great authorities. It is not clear whether the Captain, as they call their big boss, is aware or has given his blessings for the newcomer.

President to sign climate deal in New York
President Maithripala Sirisena is among world leaders invited to a signing ceremony on April 22 for the climate agreement that was reached in Paris in December last year. He took part in this conference and delivered an address on that occasion.
A United Nations media statement from New York said, “the signing event will take place at the UN headquarters on the first day the agreement will be open for signature, which coincides with the observance of International Mother Earth Day.”

Tight security for President in Berlin
President Maithripala Sirisena is due to visit Berlin and Vienna on a tour that will begin on February 23.
An advance security team of seven members, including Protocol Chief Rizvi Hassen, is in Berlin. They have become guests at the residence of Sri Lanka Ambassador Karunatilleke Amunugama. Probably they want to save the Sri Lankan tax payers’ money, or the hotel allowances they are paid.

Insiders say the larger security presence is unprecedented. Even during the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, only a small security contingent went as advance party to ensure arrangements are in place.  In Vienna, there is another story. The newly appointed Ambassador Priyani Wijesekera is going on approved leave from February 4 and will return just the day before President Sirisena’s arrival.

Norway hater in Oslo flop
Once a vociferous critic of Norway, many Sri Lankans are unaware that National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa visited Norway from December 22 to 26 last year.

He had been invited by two well-known hardliners, Ajith Pitigala and Renuka Wijesekera, both long-time residents in Norway.
In the only hastily arranged ‘public meeting’ by the two organisers, the discussion in a school hall had started after an almost two-hour delay due to the late arrival of Mr. Weerawansa from Germany. Only about 20 persons attended. As usual, Mr. Weerawansa launched a tirade against President Sirisena. He faulted him for appointing his brother as Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom. He sought support for a new force.

At the end of the near-90-minute event, the two organisers had called on the gathering to contribute generously for the arrangements made to get the NFF leader to Norway. Little was forthcoming.

The two organisers had also invited the participants to have a ‘private meeting with the comrade’ to discuss ‘specific issues and/or more contributions to a noble cause to save the motherland’ and also to make use of the opportunity to ‘extend private invitations to visit their homes as the comrade is staying for a while in Oslo.’ A few had gone into a separate meeting room for the tête-à-tête.