Not
for them
Various relief assistance has been flowing in for tsunami victims.
Most of them have come in handy and timely for the affected.
But the pro-guerrilla Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) had
an unusual consignment along with medical supplies they had received.
That was six packs of Viagra capsules.
The
consignment was from the TRO office in Australia and had been collected
from well-wishers there.
'May be they thought that the Viagra would provide some relief to
the affected', a TRO officer quipped.
However the consignment was not dispatched to the north-east.
It had been destroyed in Colombo.
Signs
of the times
It was the 23rd anniversary of the national television
station and a grand do was planned. Food was ordered for 750 people
but attendance was very poor with less than 100 showing up.
Among the notable absentees was the Director General of the Corporation
Nishantha Ranatunga. There was more bad news as the Corporation
embarked on another year. The Corporation's news ratings have dropped
from 22 per cent in November to eight in February. It's no wonder,
given all the internal bickering in the Corporation in recent times.
They
want security too
The employees of the heavily guarded Ministry in which
Minister Douglas Devananda works no longer feel safe. The reason
is that one employee was assaulted allegedly by the Minister in
the Ministry premises last week. They say the Minister is well armed
and prepared and that they too will need that kind of security now.
The employees say they will take up the matter with the Human Rights
Commission soon.
Mix
up by Info Dept.
Journalists were informed on Thursday that the weekly
Cabinet press briefing would be held at the Agriculture Ministry
in Battaramulla. Many thought it was an attempt by one section of
the Government to soothe the ruffled feathers of the JVP who have
been under attack by the President in recent days and appease it
by having the briefing at the Ministry run by a JVP member of the
Cabinet.
A
large number of journalists showed up hoping to learn what Cabinet
decisions had been made, only to realise it was not for that purpose
the briefing had been called.
It
was that Agriculture Minister Anura Dissanayake wanted to announce
new loan facilities available to buyers of paddy. The wrong information
apparently was sent out by none other than the Information Department
and had many a scribe irate. |
