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High Commissioner Baglay with TNA leader Sampanthan

On Thursday, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan met Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay at his official residence, India House for a discussion.

The meeting was the outcome of a pending request from TNA leadership seeking a one-on-one meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi since the Presidential election in November last year.

TNA leader Sampanthan briefed the Indian envoy on the need to find a solution for the ethnic conflict and stressed that the Government was duty bound to implement UN Resolution which was co-sponsored by the Yahapalana government.

The TNA leader also extended his invitation through the Indian envoy to Prime Minister Modi to take part in the opening ceremony of the Rs 1.2 billion funded Jaffna Cultural Centre as the construction work has now been completed. The Indian envoy assured the TNA leader that he would take up the issues they discussed with relevant departments.

Mano unsigns pardon-for-Duminda petition, but not his party’s other MPs

Among those Parliamentarians who signed a petition seeking Presidential pardon death row convict former Parliamentarian Duminda Silva was Tamil Progressive Party (TPA) leader Mano Ganesan.

Following the social media outcry, including from his ardent supporters, Mr Ganesan issued a response in his Facebook page on Monday justifying his move saying ‘the death sentence former Parliamentarian was drunk while the incident happened and he spent years in remand, therefore he can be pardoned on humanitarian grounds.”

This made it even worse. Minutes later, he took down his FB post.

By Friday, he issued a statement again in his social media accounts, indicating he has decided to withdraw his signature from the petition but no words on the party’s four other MPS who signed.

HRW raises issue with UN over Premier’s presence at 75th anniversary

The news comes just days after the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Colombo, raising issues, among others, with government leaders over human rights.

This time the New York-based Human Rights Watch has hit out at the United Nations Country Team in Colombo. Of all reasons, it was over inviting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa as the guest of honour for an event related to the 75th anniversary of the UN.

True that a US-backed resolution over alleged human rights violations and war crimes is before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. However, the mandarins at the HRW have forgotten that Mahinda Rajapaksa is the lawfully elected parliamentarian and Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He came into office through public vote.

So does his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who won an overwhelming mandate at last year’s presidential elections. The HRW charge against him is that he is “undermining” post-war reconciliation.

“It was a slap in the face of many human rights victims,” the HRW claimed in a dispatch it circulated expressing concerns over inviting Premier Rajapaksa.

However, a local UN official laughed at the HRW claims. “They now want to take decisions on behalf of the UN. How much more stupid can things take,” he asked.

Holidaymakers in cool climes land in hot water!

Police checking vehicles on the Danowita border. Pic by M.D. Nissanka

More than 400 people who had travelled from the Westerm Province to Nuwara Eliya for the long weekend to beat the curfew imposed in the province, giving little heed to health warnings have to quarantine in those areas, health officials said.

Some of Colombo’s top socialites have come under close watch after they chose to ignore government warnings and left the Western Province.

PHIs put up a self quarantine notice at a guest house in Nuwara Eliya. Pic by Shelton Hettiarachchi

Among them is a group that have checked into a hotel in Nuwara Eliya and were seen playing golf at a golf club.

Another group was seen at a southern beachfront.

Nuwara Eliya PHIs said among others who have been asked to quarantine are six residents from Mount Lavania who were spending their holiday at a guest house. Since they had arrived on October 28, they have been asked to quarantine at the guest house until November 6.

In another case a couple who who had travelled to Magastota from the Wester Province have to undergo self quarantine until November 11.

Police say they are collecting evidence and would compel all holidaymakers to stay 14 days in quarantine before returning home. This is for breaking health regulations.

Udayanga withdraws complaint to Presidential Commission

Onetime Sri Lanka diplomat Udayanga Weeratunga has withdrawn a complaint to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on political victimisation. The complaint was over the previous Government’s probe on the procurement of MiG-27 aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force.

The Commission is chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Upali Abeyaratne, while the other members include retired Court of Appeal Justice Daya Chandrasiri Jayathilake and retired Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando.

Mr. Weeratunga was once Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Russia.

Earlier, acting on his complaint, the Commission summoned the Financial Crimes Investigation Division’s former chief, the retired senior DIG Ravi Waidyalankara, to testify. It came after Renuka Jayasundera, SP, gave evidence on how she came to record a complaint from the Sunday Times journalist.

Mr Weeratunga is now a Co-ordinating Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

COVID message: Dial D for deaf ear

Mobile phone operators have chipped in their own might to the Government’s drive against Covid-19.

When a call is initiated, the dialler hears a recording that advises subscribers who have fever or other ailments to consult a doctor.

Well and good. But the volume of the recording is so deafening it could cause a headache or even a nervous breakdown. Moreover, the dialler is unable to discern whether the number he or she dialled is ringing.

Is making the recording louder is their way of extending support? They should think it over.

A match not made in heaven but on Zoom!

As the second Coronavirus wave spreads across the country traditional matchmaking practices have gone digital.

In Urumpirai, Jaffna, a traditional matchmaking ceremony took place this week with the bride’s family here connecting with the groom and his relatives who reside in Denmark, via zoom.

The groom was scheduled to visit Sri Lanka mid year to finalise the marriage and the wedding was to be held here, when the global pandemic turned their plans upside down.

But undeterred the families turned to digital tools to finalise plans.

Accordingly, the bride and groom all decked up connected via Zoom with family members from both sides also joining in as witnesses.

When asked why the family rushed to finalise the matchmaking virtually they said for the bride astrologically all had to be completed before the end of the year.