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A two-member team that flew to Dubai — armed with an Interpol Red Notice from its headquarters in Lyon, France — to seek the arrest of wanted former Sri Lankan ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, also returned empty handed on Friday.

The team comprised Additional Solicitor General Yasantha Kodagoda and Senior Superintendent P.K.D. Priyantha, Director of the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID). Earlier, moves for Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana to join them in Dubai on the same mission were called off. Mr Weeratunga is wanted by the FCID in its probe into the procurement of MiG-27 fighter jets from Ukraine for the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) in 2006. The Fort Magistrate had issued a warrant for his arrest.

The two-member team had met several senior officials including those in the Prosecutor’s Office and the Dubai Police. They have been told that authorities in Dubai could not trace the whereabouts of Mr Weeratunga. They had checked on an address which he had given as his residence but they found no trace of him there.

A seven-member Government delegation that went to Dubai soon after reports emerged that Dubai Immigration had detained him briefly was also unable to secure the custody of Mr Weeratunga. The Dubai Branch of the Interpol had interrogated the former ambassador and released him before the seven-member Sri Lanka team arrived in Dubai.

The seven-member Government delegation’s departure from Colombo was delayed on three occasions forcing them to cancel booked flights. This was because their visas were delayed in Colombo. Mr. Weeratunga had been released by the Dubai Police on the basis that there was only a ‘Blue Notice’ issued by Interpol, which did not warrant an arrest unlike a ‘Red Notice’.

In another drama that played out, the official representing the Foreign Ministry in that seven-member delegation returned to Colombo suddenly without informing the other members. A senior official in the Ministry had sought an explanation over his conduct. However, the move was over-ruled at a political level.
It turned out that the MFA official who returned to Sri Lanka leaving the others behind had received a string of threatening telephone calls. This has compelled him to leave Dubai hurriedly even without a complaint to the authorities there. He had feared that his life was in danger. The Interpol Red Notice is a request to Interpol member countries to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition.

9,000 houses left dark and dry
The Megapolis and Western Development Ministry is in a dilemma – what to do with 9,000 houses built eight months ago in Kolonnawa and Colombo North at a cost of billions of rupees.

The reason – there is no water or electricity. The state agencies responsible to provide the utilities have been sitting on the Ministry’s request. This is whilst thousands wait without housing.

Bond scam: Secret cheques given to several people
Detectives probing the Central Bank bond scam have come across a bank account from which cash cheques have been issued to several people, including officials, politicians and even journalists.

They are now tracing different cheques to unravel the long list of those who received payments. The account had been operated by two persons, detectives say.

Brig. Fernando’s case: Lanka capitulates to Britain
Brigadier Priyanka Fernando, the Defence Attache at the Sri Lanka High Commission in London was summoned back on the order of the Government to face an inquiry into his conduct during a pro-LTTE demonstration in London on Independence Day.

According to sources at the Foreign Ministry, this was done to avoid the brigadier being declared PNG (Persona Non Grata) by the British Government. His offence being that of displaying a throat-slitting gesture and showing his shoulder flash of the national flag while the protestors were trampling the Sri Lankan national flag opposite the mission.

In normal circumstances, one would have expected the Sri Lankan Government not to take things lying down. The President initially suspended the officer’s recall, but that was before the local government elections. He has succumbed to British Government pressure, it appears. Forcing the British Government to declare the Sri Lankan Defence Attache PNG and reciprocating by declaring the British Defence Attache in Colombo PNG is normal diplomatic practice. But clearly Colombo did not have the stomach for this course of action.

On the flight back home last Wednesday, Brig. Fernando is said to have got a hero’s reception on the aircraft with passengers queueing up to take selfies with the officer. In the meantime, the Sri Lankan Diaspora that lobbied successfully for Brig. Fernando’s ‘expulsion’ have not stopped there. They want the Brigadier’s family also sent home.

“The wife and children of Brigadier Fernando must have been granted leave to enter the UK as the dependants of the principal who had been granted a diplomatic visa to enter/remain in the UK. They have not been granted leave to enter the UK in their own right. Therefore, their visas in effect stand and fall with Brigadier Fernando. In the circumstances, we respectfully ask you to curtail their visas and return them back to Sri Lanka,” they ask from the British Government.

The British Government has capitulated to the Diaspora lobby, and the Sri Lanka Government to the UK Government. One up for the Diaspora lobby.
Meanwhile, in what appears to be a separate but coincidental event, High Commissioner Amari Wijewardene has thrown in the towel and quits her job with effect from March 31, only days before President Maithripala Sirisena is expected in London for the next CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting). Her battles with sections of her staff were an open secret.

Women’s quota: Confusion  confounded

As the newly introduced women’s quota has created headaches in formulating local councils after the February 10 polls, one of the proposals was to call for amendments to the Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Act to allow councils to be established even without the mandatory 25 per cent quota under “special circumstances”.

Elections Commission (EC) chief Mahinda Deshapriya who has done a somersault on taking credit for the introduction of the Women’s quota, vigorously defended himself at a media briefing this week, saying the establishment of councils without the 25 percent female representation would not be possible in only about 10 local councils.

He, however, observed that under existing laws, a political party or independent group polling less than 20 percent of the vote in a local council or winning less than three seats, cannot be compelled to nominate female representatives to LG bodies from their lists to meet the 25 percent quota.

However, the EC can only “recommend” that they do so, he declared. Nevertheless, given that it would not be possible under existing law to set up local councils without meeting the 25 percent women’s quota, the EC chairman expressed hope that parties would indeed nominate the number of female representatives recommended.

A scribe pointed out that there are indications that even in local councils where the 25 percent quota is possible, some parties are considering nominating fewer female representatives from their lists in favour of men who have been in politics for many years and who consider it their right to continue.

He asked if the EC would gazette such a list even without the recommended number of females. The normally straight-shooting EC Chairman however chose to duck the question, noting that it was a hypothetical one. “You are asking an ‘if’ question. My answer to that question is also an ‘if.’ If it actually happens, we’ll see then.”

In an ironic twist, Mr Deshapriya had earlier warned those at the Attorney General’s Department that the 25 percent quota may not be achievable under the new electoral system, when the new laws were being formulated. At the time, however, the learned lawyers at the AG’s Department had scoffed at his warnings, stating that he was talking of “extremes.” Now the “extremes” he foresaw threatens the very existence of certain local councils.

However, it is clear that some of the concerns which should have been addressed while preparing and passing the law had been ignored making confusion worst confounded.

Maldives’ UN mission website hacked
The website of the Maldives Mission to the UN in New York has been hacked. However, the hacking does not seem to be motivated by the ongoing turmoil in the island nation as it does not have a political message.

It appears that whoever gained control of the site was trying to plant malware or a virus on the computers of the visitors.The page shows a survey on Chrome browser usage with an offer to “get a chance to get a $1,000 Amazon gift card”.

However, the URL or website address changes to what looks like a piece of computer code that would be activated when a user clicks on “OK” to start the survey.