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The US Air Force C 17 with the loading bay open to unload vehicles and equipment at the Bandaranaike International Airport. They include communications equipment for direct contact with Washington DC.

United States ‘ troops including intelligence personnel have arrived in Sri Lanka to bolster security for the visit of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his entourage, who will arrive in Colombo on Tuesday.

They are already making security preparations together with their Sri Lankan counterparts including those from the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the country’s premier intelligence agency.

The larger component of the US team and their equipment arrived in a US Air Force C7 A Globemaster III aircraft, one of the biggest in the US inventory. A similar contingent has also arrived in the Maldivian capital of Male which Mr Pompeo is visiting.

US troops also arrived at the BIA in a commercial flight from Qatar. They are also liaising with the security forces.

The C 17 US Air Force transport aircraft on the tarmac at the Bandaranaike International Airport

ITAK off the track

Following the setback in recent polls, the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) is in disarray as its leader Mavai Senathirajah too failed to get elected, amid a controversy of naming a person for its National List.

With ITAK’s General Secretary having resigned last month over the issue, many in the party do not know who the secretary of the party is. The party leader appointed a deputy secretary, but this raised among party cadres about the legitimacy of the appointment. Some local politicians quipped that maybe they should write to the Election Commission to find out.

Diana Gamage

Et tu, Diana?

Diana Gamage not only did her party no favours by voting for the 20th Amendment, she did herself and the demand for greater women’s representation disservice by misquoting the well known lines from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar during Friday’s debate on the COVID-19 issue.

Explaining why she went against her Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) decision to vote against the 20th Amendment, she quoted, or misquoted, the words Brutus, the trusted friend and senator who was among those who killed the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar makes justifying his act: “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.”

In trying to say, and rightly as it should be, that she loved Sri Lanka more than her own party, the MP nominated on the National List said it was ‘Antonio’ who said so. The Antonio she mistakenly referred to was Mark Antony or Marcus Antonius the Roman politician and general who in the play sarcastically, turns the tables on the conspirators calling them ‘honourable men.’

Unfortunately, none of the honourable MPs present was able to correct the MP’s faux pas.

It was also possibly not the best choice of quotes for the occasion in praising someone who is being accused of clothing himself as an Emperor with 20A.

The whole Shakespearean play is one of oratory, cunning, treachery and eventually a crime.

Asked about it later, Ms. Gamage claimed she was “well aware” of what happened to Caesar and who killed him, but said she could not go into great detail explaining it since she was only given nine minutes to speak.

“In every story there is a synopsis. What I meant to say was that I love my party, but that I love my country more. That is why I chose to support President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Some people often get the wrong end of the stick and this has created a huge issue,” she said.

Election Commission rejects namesake billboard parties

Following the new party registration process which began early this year, the Election Commission has decided to recognise only six fresh political parties among a total number of 154 applications received. Only 121 were called for interviews.

The rest of the applications were rejected on many grounds including submitting fake annual reports of the party affairs. Some political parties whose applications were rejected, contacted the Commission, urging it not to send an outright rejection letter immediately.

The reason, they claimed, is that if there is no-rejection letter it would provide them another chance to apply for a fresh registration process by early next year. The Commission is yet to decide on this.

As of now, there are 70 political parties already registered and a significant number of them are mere billboard namesake parties without being active for years. Election Commission officials said, they could only register new political parties, but the Commission was not vested with powers to de-register them.

For Raghavan’s sake, Jaffna University to throw away hundreds of invitations

The Jaffna University administration is facing a dilemma on what to do with hundreds of printed invitations for the opening of a laboratory after a local politico demanded that his name also should be included in the guest list.

The laboratory has been built under a Yen 1.667 billion grant by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the setting up of a research and training complex at the Faculty of Agriculture. The opening ceremony is scheduled to be held on October 31 with the participation of government officials, after the Japan donor agency raised concerns of delays in opening the complex.

Former Northern Province Governor and Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) National List Parliamentarian Suren Raghavan came to know about the opening through the media and contacted the University Grants Commission (UGC), to stress that he too should be in the list since he represents the region. Thereafter, the UGC instructed the university administration to include him in the list of guests.

Earlier, following a recommendation by former President Maithripala Sirisena, Mr Raghavan was appointed a member of the council of the University of Jaffna. However, since he failed to take part in three council meetings consecutively, his appointment became vacant according to UGC regulations.

The university staff is planning to throw away those invitations into the dustbin and print new ones for the sake of including the name of a politician.

Sumanthiran’s blackout breakdown

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) stalwart Abraham Sumanthiran carried out a campaign in the Jaffna peninsula against the passage of 20A in Parliament.

He has called for a blackout in protest and urged citizens to have their lights switched off last Wednesday. Despite the call, lights were on and life went on as usual.

Only a group of Mr Sumanthiran’s supporters were seen holding lit candles during the so-called blackout.

Protesting in candlelight