Taboo
on beef and pork
It has been decided that beef and pork would no longer be on the
menu in the Parliament canteen. This follows a request from Deputy
Speaker Geethanjana Gunawardena as well as members of the Jathika
Hela Urumaya.
Along
with this development, JHU's Kolonnawe Sumangala Thera last week
moved an adjournment motion that sought to stop the slaughter of
cows in the country. The monk's motion was supported by the CWC's
V.Putirasigamani. The CWC was given an assurance by Agriculture
and Livestock Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake that his Ministry
would soon introduce legislation to regulate the slaughter of cows.
Where
is the money coming?
Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle had a good explanation
for the reasons why the UNP lost the last general election.
He said the two years that the UNP ruled, the country was like the
man who wore a loin cloth, did not live or eat well, was undergoing
all possible hardships a human could endure, all the while having
a big, fat bank account. He said the UPFA was going to be different.
It was going to spend the money and let people live a more comfortable
life.
Where
the money for this purpose would come from, he did not say.
Bullet
proof visit
The US Consul Marc H. Williams visited Jaffna last week.
He took an aircraft to Jaffna but his bulletproof car was not far
behind. It left early and took the tedious A 9 route to Jaffna to
be on time to receive him and take him round the northern city.
Boost
for peace?
A state run English paper carried a news headline last
week which occupied more than half the front page. After seeing
the big bold letters a person not conversant in English had inquired
from the newspaper seller whether World War Three had been declared.
Fortunately it was no such gloomy news.
It
was only a peace day message from the President sent to all media
institutions but was obviously felt by one paper to deserve that
kind of attention.
No
sympathy
EPDP leader Douglas Devananda was among the invitees to
the Saudi Arabian National Day celebration in Colombo last Thursday
– the day on which one of his senior party members was shot
dead in Wellawatte.
Most
heads of missions present walked up to Mr. Devananda to inquire
about the incident and expressed their sympathies. Conspicuously
it was only the Norwegian Ambassador who avoided Mr. Devananda. |
