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The United States (US) has already commenced laying groundwork to bring a new UN Resolution against Sri Lanka during the 46th Council meeting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, next March.

Leading the front, the US and UK are working together to introduce a fresh UN resolution after the government declared that it withdrew from the UN Resolution 30/1 which was co-sponsored by the previous ‘Good Governance’ government in 2015 after the Cabinet also upheld the decision. Thereafter, the same resolution was adopted twice as rollover resolutions numbered 34/1 and 40/1 respectively. The resolution deals with wartime accountability measures and reconciliation efforts in postwar Sri Lanka.

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The latest development on this front was a sudden meeting between US ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz and Spokesperson of Tamil National Alliance (TNA) M.A. Sumanthiran this week at the residence of the ambassador.

Mr Sumanthiran assured the support of the TNA to the initiative while highlighting that the resolution has to be modified with new inclusions as the government is involved in a new Constitution-making process to ensure that a solution to the ethnic conflict could be reached.

He had already reached out to his fellow parliamentarians from other Tamil parties such as Gajendrakumar Ponnambamal and retired Justice C.V. Wigneswaran who are of the view that Sri Lanka should be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its failures in wartime accountability since previous resolutions failed to achieve anything significant.

As a precursor to the move a new resolution against Sri Lanka, moves are underway in the diplomatic circles to facilitate the high profile visit of Rosemary A. DiCarlo, UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs by early next year.

Other influential diplomats of the western countries are also kept informed of the developments behind the scenes and their inputs as well as it was announced this week that the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant of Rs 89 billion would be discontinued to Sri Lanka “due to lack of partner country engagement”.

Maldivian politicos take on burial of Lankan Muslims

This week after the Maldives announced that it received a request from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa seeking Islamic  burials for Covid -19 victims in its soil after the government introduced mandatory cremation, the matter was raised at the virtual Cabinet briefing where Cabinet Spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella downplayed the issue saying that the topic was not discussed at the Cabinet.

The request from the Sri Lankan President also caught the attention of Maldivian opposition politicians who have close ties with Colombo.

Former Maldivian Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon said on Twitter: “I think we should invite Sri Lankan Muslims to move and live in Maldives. I am surprised that our Government and allied “sheikhs’ have not done so. I urge the Sri Lankan government to respect their Muslim minority’s wish to have last rites of Covid-19 patients as per our religion!”

Former Maldivan President Mohamed Nasheed said: “Good that Maldives & Sri Lanka trying to address this issue. Flag of Sri Lanka is our most valued friend and our cousin. We stick together in sickness and & health. Flag of Sri Lanka Muslims can be buried in Flag of Maldives. There r burial grounds for Maldivians in Flag of Sri Lanka- Jawatha mosque has 4 generations of Maldivian leaders.”

130 mn rupee question and the unlocking of a lockdown in 24 hours

There has been some confusion on the process when it comes to declaring selected areas as ‘isolated’ and lifting them subsequently. One might think, it would be the health authorities who would be the key decision makers but it turns out there are many factors involved in the mechanism.

This was evident when Jaffna District Secretary A.Mahesan announced last Sunday that the lockdown imposed on Uduvil Divisional Secretariat the previous day after some 30 persons tested positive was lifted with immediate effect. All of them were traced back to a public vegetable market in Maruthanarmadam, Uduvil. Those who were found through contact tracing were isolated in their residences .

A senior official attached to the DS division asked on what basis was the decision taken to remove the lockdown just 24 hours after it came into effect. By Saturday midnight, instructions were given from Colombo to compile data of how many families, state employees and Samurdhi beneficiaries were in the region. They had to get hold of the local Grama Niladharis at midnight to get data from the villages.

It was estimated that the government had to pay Rs 10,000 for each eligible family in the region. The amount was well over Rs 130 million. Then came the directive from Colombo to lift the lockdown in the area but to strictly follow the COVID-19  health guidelines in the area while enforcing home quarantine for identified families.

PCR negative person taken for a ride

When local health authorities are overwhelmed with COVID-19 related tasks with limited resources, it leads to some serious administrative flaws which impact individuals at grassroot level.

An individual from Uduvil, Jaffna who was subjected to a PCR test but not to have contracted the virus was falsely considered as a COVID-19 patient and sent to a quarantine camp along with another coronavirus positive person in the same ambulance.

The victim, who is a trader, was told to pack his bag to go to the Quarantine Centre even before his results came. The ambulance went around to collect other newly identified patients while he was inside the vehicle. By the time he reached the centre, the front desk officer told him his name was not in the list  therefore he could not be admitted.

The trader was concerned about returning home too since he came into contact with other persons who contracted the virus. Eventullay, he was dropped at his residence in the same ambulance by officials instructing him to undergo self-quarantine at home.

Toddy-tapper in  spin over high fine tells tale of woe to Prez

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday was visiting one of the difficult areas off Balangoda for his programme of have a dialogue with the people to resolve their issues. The programme known as ‘Gama Samaga Pilisandarak’  (Conversation with the Village) has been carried out in other areas too during the past year brining results.

The President accompanied by ministers and officials listened to many questions ranging from issues of infrastructure such as roads and  school buildings to the economic hardships of the residents.

The President was able to resolve some of the questions immediately  while some others were referred to the respective officials or ministries for solutions.

One of the interesting questions came from a youth who said he was tapping toddy as the village Ravanakanda had many Kitul trees around.

His issue was that the Police had charged him for the possession of Kitul toddy beyond the permissible level .

The youth said he was in possession of 16 bottles and the Police had charged him as well as his friend who helped him to tap the toddy a fine of Rs 50,000 each.

The question was referred to the Excise Department official who explained the permissible amount was one and half litres.

The President asked the youth what was his opinion on that. He responded ‘Sir, why should they charge two persons. Instead, they could charge one person and the fine will be less’.

The response of the youth obviously brought laughter among the other participants.

The President also responding with a smile asked him ‘So which one of the two should be fined?’

“The fine can be imposed on me’, the youth said.

Indian journo misses the train, but shares her story anyway

Announcements in Chinese-Mandarin language on Notice boards placed at the Mount Lavinia railway station became a hot topic last week after social media posts went viral claiming Sri Lanka had already become a Chinese colony. Even the Department of Railways, had to issue a directive to all the station masters of railway stations to obtain prior approval before showcasing any hoardings inside the station premises.

Since China and Mandarin were involved, a Colombo based Indian foreign correspondent went to the railway station directly to get a glimpse of the notice board hoping there would be a story to file for her media institution.  For her disappointment, a railway guard on duty told her that the said notice board was removed after it caused a controversy.

Not only that, he told her the real story of how the notice board was installed there by a prominent hotel for the assistance of Chinese tourists since the area is well known among foreign tourists.

He said that the notice board was installed years ago, until a irresponsible young fellow snapped some shots and shared it on his social media account to stir up a fresh controversy. The foreign correspondent returned empty handed but shared her experience of how she missed the story by delaying her visit soon after the controversy came up in a reporters’ column.

Ding-dong battle between DDC Chairs in Jaffna

The ongoing political conflict between District Development Committee (DDC) Chairs in Jaffna district reached a point where the Northern Governor told the District Secretary to ‘not to come to her seeking approval for projects that were not discussed in DDC committee meetings’ this week.

Along with Parliamentarian Angajan Ramanathan, Northern Governor P.S.M. Charles was appointed as Co-Chair of the Committee. Then there’s the Cabinet Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda who is keen on implementing the projects he initiated in the past. The committee met only once so far.