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Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader R. Sampanthan has written to President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressing alarm over the recent unrest over the building of a Buddhist temple at Illuppaikulam in Trincomalee, warning that it could jeopardise planned foreign investments in the region.

Mr Sampanthan has informed the President that the building of the temple in a region where he claims 99% of the area residents are Tamil has led to unrest amongst people of the area and if it persists, it could lead to “undesirable consequences and unpleasant developments which we should try and avoid.”

While stating that he is not suggesting that any Buddhist monuments found at the site should not be maintained, the TNA leader has stressed the social environment should not be disturbed, particularly when substantial development with foreign investment is contemplated. While stressing that both Trincomalee and the country at large need development, Mr Sampanthan has pledged to extend the fullest support for such efforts.

The fact that there were Tamil-Buddhists seems to have eluded the erudite lawyer-politician.

Protocol matters: Questions over who should meet whom

Eyebrows have been raised over the move by a top-ranking official of a UN agency to pay an official visit to the leader of the ‘Red Brothers’ this week.

Photos of the meeting were splashed on the pages of many local newspapers along with articles on what the leader and his comrades told the representative.

The meeting, however, has raised concern not just among the diplomatic community but at the highest levels of the government. A top government source noted that while ambassadors were known to go beyond the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Protocol once in a while and engage in such conduct, it was virtually unprecedented for a top official of a UN agency to do so. The UN representative has now definitely set a new precedent, the source said.

Of course, talking of protocol, there have been numerous instances when government leaders, officials and even armed forces top brass have thrown caution to the wind on protocol. Some years ago a President, no less, crept into a foreign high commissioner’s residence for a private dinner. When the story broke out, he said “What the heck. I’m like a prisoner at Temple Trees. I wanted to go for a biryani feed. What’s wrong with it?”

Selective foreign envoys have unlimited access to the powers-that-be so they bypass institutional procedures. Foreign Ministers attend national day functions of other countries and recently, military top brass stood up when a foreign ambassador came to address them. Some lessons in protocol seem an urgent need these days. Or, say to hell with such an outdated thing as protocol.

As a Child, US senator loved Lanka; now he watches Perahera with President

For the visiting US Senator, Chris Van Hollen, Sri Lanka is no foreign country as he spent significant time here as a child when his father—the late Christopher Van Hollen—served as US ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 1972-1976.

He called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday at the President’s House in Kandy.

The visiting US Senator Chris Van Hollen being shown around the President's House in Kandy. With him were President Ranil Wickremesinghe and US Ambassador Julie Chung

A Sri Lankan from an influential political family in Kandy, Mano Ratwatte, who migrated to the United States later recalled meeting the young Senator and his father during a lunch at the President’s House in Kandy decades ago. In a letter to the Editor’s page in a local English daily, he stated that his first impression of the Van Hollen father and son was: “how tall his father and he were. To me, they were like characters out of a storybook with a green giant.”

At the end of the meeting, President Wickremesinghe also gave a brief tour of the iconic President’s House to the visiting Senator who recalled his fond memories of visiting the place decades ago. Later, he got a seat next to the President to watch the grand finale night of the Esela perahera as well.

MEP holds annual pooja for unitary state

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena on Thursday attended an “Adisthana Pooja” his Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) party held for 29 consecutive years at the Kataragama Kiri Vehera.

The pooja is being held annually to invoke blessings for the protection of the unitary state.

Aside from senior MEP figures, including its Deputy General Secretary and the PM’s son Yadamini Gunawardena, others in attendance included Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakse, State Ministers Janaka Wakkumbura, Piyal Nishantha, Anupa Pasqual, Shasheendra Rajapaksa and Jagath Pushpakumara and MPs Gayashan Nawananda and Gevindu Kumaratunga.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister made a pledge to protect the unitary status of the country, its territorial integrity and sovereignty. He also pledged to protect Buddhism, the Maha Sangha and democracy. Mr Gunawardena said he would work towards introducing a mixed electoral system to elect representatives to Parliament and other people’s representative bodies, and to give equal opportunities to women and youth.

Mullaitivu tension: Wigneswaran confident President would control it

In recent times, ethnic tensions were hyped up by individuals with vested interests from both Sinhala and Tamil communities over an archaeological site in Mullaitivu. This resulted in the authorities stepping up measures to maintain ethnic harmony.

Some political observers are of the view that if communal elements are reactivated after being in a deep slumber mood for some time, it is an indication that elections are around the corner.

Given the recent political history of the country, the issue was raised during a discussion with Jaffna Parliamentarian and former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran by a diaspora-based social media channel on Friday.

Mr. Wigneswaran, who is seen as supporting President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s initiatives to address the ‘ethnic conflict’ through constitutional avenues, stressed he was hopeful that the President would be able to resolve the longstanding issue.

In nearly an hour-long interview, he said even before President Wickremesinghe became Head of the State or Prime Minister, his visionary path to recover the country from the current challenges while as a sole MP from the UNP National ticket was impressive.

When the focus of the discussion shifted towards recent tensions in Mullativu, and protests that were staged in front of the private residence of fellow parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam in the heart of Colombo, the interviewer asked whether there would be another outbreak of communal violence similar to the July 1983 violence, in the future.

The one-time Supreme Court Justice who witnessed the racially motivated violence in the capital city decades ago under then President J.R. Jayewardene’s government expressed hopes that his (President Jayewardene’s) nephew–President Wickremesinghe–would not allow for such violence in the country. He said this was because his administration had secured some stability in the country compared to last year’s chaos and would use all his powers to control it, indicating how last year violence targetting politicians and their properties were brought under control within days.

Commenting on this further, Mr. Wigneswaran said even if such violence, sponsored by foreign governments or agencies were to be orchestrated in the future, the possibility of inviting the Indian armed forces was high. “If that happens, the Indian forces will not return home. We have to remember that, and President Wickremesinghe is also aware of that as well.”

The former Chief Minister was referring to India’s miscalculated, unwarranted intervention through the presence of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) from 1987 to 1990. This further escalated the armed conflict into a full-blown war later.

NAO highlights MPs’ poor show, breach of contract over housing

Though the current Parliament had sat for 101 days, there were only 12 occasions when more than 200 members of the 225-strong legislature were present, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

There were 81 occasions when 150 MPs or more were present while there were less than 150 MPs on 20 occasions that Parliament sat. The findings by the NAO have been included in Parliament’s 2022 Annual Performance Report which was recently presented to the House.

In other findings, the NAO has noted that the monthly rent on MPs’ official quarters in Madiwela has remained unchanged at Rs. 1000 since 1993.
The deposit for electricity, water and telephone bills too has remained at
Rs. 1000 without being reviewed
and revised.

As per the agreement signed between an MP and the Secretary General of Parliament when obtaining official quarters in Madiwela, an MP must vacate and hand over the residence immediately once he or she ceases to be an MP. A fine of Rs. 500 is levied for each day that an MP is late to hand over the residence. The NAO has observed that Parliament has failed to collect
Rs. 455,904 due as fines as well as unpaid electricity and water bills from six MPs who had failed to hand over their quarters.

Meanwhile, three ministers have also failed to hand over their MPs’ quarters even as of May 16 this year despite them having been allocated official residences meant for ministers.

According to a Cabinet decision taken on December 19, 2020, Rs. 75,000 a month has been paid to MPs who have been unable to secure Madiwela MPs’ quarters. It has been noted that Rs. 6.75 million has been paid this way to 10 MPs in 2021 and Rs. 4.8 million to eight MPs up until September, 2022.

Crisis over Jayasumana’s residence: Doors open and shut

An acrimonious dispute between the Ministry of Public Administration and former State Minister of Health Prof. Channa Jayasumana over the latter’s continued occupation of an official residence in Colombo 7 has now come before both the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) and the courts.

The Ministry has insisted that the former state minister, who now sits as an MP with the opposition, must vacate the official residence he occupied while serving as a state minister.

Prof. Jayasumana was supposed to have vacated the residence in November last year but has continued to occupy it despite a vacation notice issued by the Ministry. The MP, though, has noted that both his private residence and office were attacked and destroyed during the unrest that occurred in the country on May 9 last year. As he has no other place to stay, he has asked that he be allowed to stay on at the official residence until he is granted relief for his destroyed property.

Prof. Jayasumana subsequently complained to HRCSL over the matter and the Commission informed the Secretary to the Ministry in July not to take any further action until it has concluded its inquiry into the matter.

This week, however, the Colombo Additional Magistrate issued an eviction notice on the former state minister in a case filed by the Ministry over his continued occupation of the official residence. Prof. Jayasumana, though, filed a motion to inform the Colombo Magistrate’s Court of the HRCSL’s decision and to request that the court reconsider its decision. The Court has now issued notice to the Public Administration Ministry officials to appear in court on September 19.

A Public Administration Ministry senior official insisted that the Ministry would push for the MP to vacate the official residence given the shortage of official residences available to sitting ministers. “This has resulted in the government having to spend vast sums as rent for ministers who don’t have official residences,” said the official.