Not to court, but to Singapore

Retired Major General Asoka Thoradeniya was Master General Ordnance (MGO) when then Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka was Commander of the Army.

In that capacity, he was the authority vested with the responsibility for procuring the Army's ordnance needs. When he retired, with then Lt. Gen. Fonseka's blessings, Maj. Gen.(retd.) Thoradeniya served a stint as Chairman of the State-owned Petroleum Corporation.

Last week, the second General Court Martial probing alleged irregularities in military procurements under then Lt. Gen. Fonseka's tenure as Army Commander, summoned Maj. Gen. (retd.) Thoradeniya.

A Military Police officer who went to serve the summons was unable to meet Maj. Gen. (retd.) Thoradeniya. Eventually, he was compelled to paste the summons on the wall of his house. Later, the officer concerned has made a statement to the Police of what he did.

It has now become known that Maj. Gen. Thoradeniya, also a one-time head of the Military Police, has flown away from Sri Lanka. He boarded a Singapore-bound flight.

Lie in the sky

The boss, already in the eye of a storm over acquiring property and violating environmental laws, is in the news again. This time, it is over selecting new flyers. One of the applicants, picked during the initial process, failed his medical test.

Many were surprised when it transpired that someone above had overruled the medical findings and declared the applicant was fit enough. That is for a job that requires absolute medical fitness. Yet, things were not that rosy for the ambitious would-be flyer. It turned out that the young man is the sibling of the sister of a charming woman politico in the opposition.

The matter has been brought to the attention of those at the highest levels. Not so surprising when the boss had bended the rules and bundled in his own sibling earlier. If that that was bad, someone even dubbed the sibling the best of the lot when it came to passing out. More is to follow, they say.

In that midst, the sibling had a birthday party (whilst in training) just weeks ago. Of all places, it was in a 'restricted area' which was out of bounds for all trainees. Little wonder there is plenty of turbulence in the organisation.

Out-of-job Mayor stays in-house

Former Colombo Mayor, Uvais Mohamed Imtiyaz, has won time to remain in his official bungalow at Cambridge Place, Colombo at least for the time-being. This came after he had a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Mr. Imtiyaz has now joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). He became Mayor thanks to the bungling of the United National Party (UNP), but with its backing.

This week, Mr. Imtiyaz, went back to his old job - a three-wheeler taxi driver. He told friends that he worked only for known people and family members.

Friend, you are not guilty

Most did not believe it would last long when Highways Deputy Minister 'Dr'. Mervyn Silva, was stripped of his portfolio and suspended as Kelaniya electorate organiser of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).
The all-powerful 'Dr'. Silva had tied a Samadhi animator to a tree for not attending a meeting he had summoned to discuss matters relating to dengue control.

The animator in question, funny enough, has said he tied himself to the tree as a lark - no doubt, a magical act - despite all the damning evidence of the journos who covered the event 'live'.

A three-member SLFP committee that probed the incident has ruled that Dr. Silva is not guilty. It was headed by Jayantha Weerasinghe, President's Counsel and comprised lawyer N.M. Shaheed. Mahinda Samarasekera, a retired Commissioner of Agrarian Services functioned as Secretary. He is now the media co-ordinator for Health Minister, Maithripala Sirisena.

Mr. Weerasinghe is a strong supporter of the 'accused' 'Dr' Silva. His family owns a cigarette agency in the Gampaha District, of which 'Dr.' Silva is an MP. 'Dr'. Silva was an honoured guest at Mr. Weerasinghe's oaths party at the Waters Edge after his appointment as a President's Counsel not long ago. The Gampaha Distrtict parliamentarian told guests "Ada parliamenthu davasak vunata mama gedera gihin andegana awey Weerasinghe Mahattayage partyata. (Though today is a Parliament day, I went home, got dressed and came for Mr. Weerasinghe's party).

What are friends for, after all. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

The tree story follows Mervyn

He may tie a Samurdhi animator to a tree or deny such a thing ever took place. However, UPFA Parliamentarian 'Dr'. Mervyn Silva is still a most sought after man. Last Friday, he was invited to be the chief guest at the opening of an international school in the Wattala area.

His first task was to pull up his security staff for driving their Defender Jeep obstructing other vehicles on the road. That he did after arrival at the new school and just before he was received with garlands.

The school children were waiting with flags -- both Sri Lankan and the United States. The one time Deputy Minister had noticed only the US flags and queried from the organizers whether the Sri Lankan flags were not available. He threatened to leave if they were not there. Then he went on to say the function should be restricted to 10 minutes as he had to leave for another event.

Embarrassed organisers were forced to adjust their programme. They cut short the dance performance of the school children. They had trained for weeks. The function began with the national anthem, but '’Dr’ Silva soon interrupted it saying the organist was not getting the tune correct. He wanted the guests and children to sing the anthem without the music. They did.

The most embarrassing moment came when the MP was invited for snacks and tea. He called all his personal security staff and police officers on duty to join him. One of the female constables was reluctant. "Why are you waiting? Go and have your tea", the minister exhorted as the organizers looked on. The frightened female cop rushed in.

A teacher was heard to remark to a colleague "otherwise, she would have been tied to a tree." The colleague replied "no, no. She would tie herself to a tree."

Mehe-born Mahinda knows all

"Mama Sorbonne nemai. Mama mehe born," (Meaning he was not a product of Sorbonne but born here) declared President Mahinda Rajapaksa when he addressed a joint meeting of the Ratnapura and Badulla Development Councils -- a dig at his predecessor.

Ex-President Chandrika Kumaratunga claimed she passed out of Sorbonne University in Paris. The remarks came after Mr. Rajapaksa pulled up officials for not carrying out development work. He cited examples of roads which had not been repaired. Those present were surprised that the President was aware of what has been going on.

CBK on Tiger hunt

Even if she failed to defeat the Tigers of the two legged guerrilla kind, former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has not lost interest in the feline species.

She is heading to north India shortly to see the four legged kind with her son Vimukthi, an animal lover, and her Bridgeteen friends.

Guess, who came late to dinner?

I had erred last week in saying Yadimini is the son of Water Supply and Drainage Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena. In fact she is the daughter and her wedding took place only two weeks ago at a five-star hotel.

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga also turned up for the event but her late arrival ensured she did not have to run into her successor President Rajapaksa.

Top-level swap at Ministry

Foreign Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe is to be named the new Permanent Representative for Sri Lanka at the United Nations, according to sources at the office that is foreign. He is to succeed Dr. Palitha Kohona, who is to return to Sri Lanka. The talk in External Affairs Ministry circles is whether he will again take over as Secretary in that Ministry.