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The United National Party (UNP) crisis will flow into the New Year despite efforts by different groups to work out “a settlement.”

UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe left for the seasonal holiday to Ootacamund (Ooty) in the Nilgiris hills of southern India. His rival Sajith Premadasa is now going around addressing ‘pocket meetings’ of party activists.

He contends that he will accept the Prime Ministerial candidacy only if he is bestowed the party leadership. However, Mr Wickremesinghe has declared he would quit only after there is unity in the party. He has already called for a revision of the party constitution.

During his ‘pocket meeting’ speeches, Mr Premadasa had also taken ‘pot shots’ at former ministers who made wrong statements that contributed to his defeat. He made a veiled reference at one of the meetings to those who spoke on controversial issues. The remarks were a veiled reference to Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

The first meeting in the New Year will be the meeting of the party’s parliamentary group on January 3. A request from the working committee group to summon this policy making body to discuss immediate issues have been put on hold. Mr Wickremesinghe has declared he would summon such a meeting when he deems it necessary.

With only months to go for the general election, the two UNP factions are now making critical remarks at each other. This week, UNP’s Bhikku Peramuna leader held a news conference where he was bitterly critical of Mr Premadasa.

Two dozen parliamentarians of the UNP have lost their electorates by a total of 626,000 votes, Ven. Thiniyawala Palitha, leader of the party’s Bhikku Peramuna and close confidante of former minister Ravi Karunanayaka told a news conference.

The 24, he said, were Ajith Perera, Sujeeva Senasinghe, Dilip Vedarachchi, Ranjit Madduma Bandara, Harsha de Silva, Mangala Samaraweera, Champika Ranawaka, Ajith Manapperuma, Buddhika Pathirana, Eran Wickremeratne, Harshana Rajakaruna, Chandrani Bandara, Gayantha Karunatilleke, Bandula Bandarigoda, Niroshan Perera, Nalin Bandara, Ashoka Abeysinghe, S.W. Alawathuwela, Thalatha Athukorale, Thushara Indunil, Heshan Vithanage, Harin Fernando and S.M. Marikkar.

He blamed the UNP General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam for failing to take action against errant MPs. This had led to a breakdown of discipline in the party he said.

Mata Hari flees but continues fake news operation
She was a Mata Hari, a judge of all media through her vituperative tweets and the purveyor of propaganda par excellence. She served as the bastion of willful propaganda.

Times have now changed. She took wings soon after the presidential election but is still busy disseminating news, oh!! Sorry. Fake news. They are now being discovered little by little by the sleuths investigating the Swiss saga.

Easter Sunday carnage: Spy boss still in limbo

What the disillusioned spy boss, on transfer to a headquarters, told his colleagues, has become the talking point among senior spy circles.

It was all about the April 21 Easter Sunday carnage.

“I told a politician that the attacks were coming,” he declared. But he told me “Nikang karadara athikeran nethiva inna” or “just wait without causing trouble.”

A colleague asked why did you not go public with that? “Magey bellath kepenna thibuna eka keraa nam” or “my neck would have been cut if I uttered anything.”

He added that he gave up speaking about overseas calls he made.The man now laments that the long term prospects for him are bleak.

Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa handing over the letter of appointment to Gamini Abeyratne

‘Taxi Abey’ gets new post in PM staff

He was a man of many parts and had played key behind the scene roles. Last October, when former President Maithripala Sirisena replaced Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Mahinda Rajapaksa, he was appointed Chairman of Hotel Developers Ltd.

However, that was short-lived. President Sirisena telephoned Mr Rajapaksa to urge that the incumbent then, Krishantha Cooray, whom he sought to replace, be allowed to continue. Thus, the appointment was withdrawn.

Gamini Abeyratne, popularly known as ‘Taxi Abey’, and onetime running the Airport and Aviation Authority under the Ranil Wickremesinghe government of 2001-2004 has now been appointed as Co-Ordinating Officer of Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, for his Secretariat for Personal Staff. The appointment was handed over this week by Mr Rajapaksa himself.

Turning tables on vegetables

Many Facebook account holders are pouring their ire over remarks made by the Water Resources Management State Minister, Vasudeva Nanayakkara at a news conference.

The best way to bring down the high prices of vegetables, he prophesied, was not to buy them.

“When the sellers find there is no one to buy the vegetables, they will bring the prices down,” he declared.

Some of the references made on Facebook are unprintable. However, there were also some laughable ones. One of them drew reference to water and said if the prices go up, Mr Nanayakkara would say not to use it.   Another that is printable was still better. A woman writes about a fake cookery demonstration. In that, the culinary experts speak on how to make omelette without tomato, onions, or mushrooms or salt. The reason is because these items are now expensive. How about an omelette without an egg, one might also ask.

Rs. 180m OT bill and overworked staff

At the Sapugaskanda refinery and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd in Kolonnawa, the overtime bill has puzzled the minister in charge of the institutions.

This week, Minister Mahinda Amaraweera came across a monthly overtime claim amounting to a staggering Rs 180 million.

The explanation was that a large number of vacancies had not been filled and, therefore, the existing labour force was taking care of the work.

The minister then questioned as to why the vacancies were not filled, but he did not get a proper explanation.

The minister, in lighter vein, then said that it would be better if the employees also took care of their health.

Chilie sauce for Swiss issue

As the saga of the Swiss Embassy staffer continues in Colombo, the Geneva based UN Human Rights Commission issued a statement on another issue.

It said that “Switzerland would be responsible for violating the rights of a Mapuche indigenous representative if they proceed to deport her to Chile where she may be at risk of torture, the UN Committee Against Torture has decided. The Committee found that the complainant’s deportation to Chile would put her at risk of being subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as demonstrated by the treatment suffered by various members of her family….”

This reminds me of the 1949 Hollywood classic “The third man” where American actor Orson Welles famously or infamously said:

“In Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and
peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

Search on for missing luxury vehicle

A search for a luxury jeep owned by the Central Provincial Council is underway on a directive from Governor Lalith U Gamage.

Employees claim that the vehicle valued at Rs 60 million had been allegedly given for the use of a person who did not hold any position in the council.

But the council’s administrative officer has claimed that the former Chief Minister had been allocated the vehicle.

However the Governor wants the officials to immediately locate the vehicle.