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The Finance Ministry recently granted permission to release USD 527,000 and 100 Sterling Pounds that Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka had received as campaign donations when he contested for the presidency in 2010.

The money had been held in a private bank account, and the funds were later frozen. Field Marshal Fonseka had noted that the funds had been given to the mother of his daughter’s then-husband to hold onto them temporarily. A case was filed against her later in the high court over the matter, where she admitted to an offence under the Exchange Control Act and informed the Attorney General and the court that the funds belonged to the Field Marshal. The MP had also filed a sworn affidavit in court claiming ownership of the funds.

The high court had ruled that the decision on whether to release the funds or not should be taken by the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry recently gave permission for the Field Marshal to withdraw the funds.

The MP accordingly went to the private bank branch in Thimbirigasyaya. When the safe was opened, though, he found much to his dismay that much of the cash in the safe had been devoured by termites. Many of the foreign currency notes that had escaped the termites had become too faded or discoloured. He also found that some of the notes were no longer in circulation.

Foreign currency amounting to about Rs. 50 million was salvageable. The Field Marshal has now written to the Finance Ministry over the matter and has requested that it take action to ensure that the funds that were lost to him are restored.

How President overcame protests by Kelaniya University students

President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited Kelaniya University on Wednesday to declare open the new building complex of the university’s Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies. His visit had earlier drawn protests from the university’s student union.

Despite a student poster campaign challenging the president to visit the Kelaniya University, the President visited the university to declare open a new building.

The student union, which is part of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF), held several protests in the days leading up to the president’s visit, claiming the university premises to be out of bounds for politicians. On Monday night, police used tear gas and water cannons to break up a student protest that was blocking a section of the Colombo-Kandy main road near the university.

The following morning, students surrounded the university’s main administration building as part of their protests. Amid the unrest, the student union also put up posters within the university premises, daring the president to visit the university. The president’s visit in this backdrop was seen as him accepting the student union’s challenge and essentially calling their bluff.

“There was a report from the CID saying that students were getting ready to hoot (at the President). Many advised him not to go, but he said that he had already accepted the university’s invitation and would go,” said a senior official from the president’s office.

The official claimed that some lecturers and a Buddhist monk were instrumental in inciting the students about the visit and that they were able to get through to most of them. In the end, the visit went off without a hitch.

The student union held another protest opposite the university while the president’s visit was taking place. However, it was a far less aggressive affair than the ones held previously and did not block traffic on the main road. They dispersed after burning an effigy of the president.

Tamil parties launch campaign to get ailing Santhan to see his aged mother

Tamil political parties have requested that the government secure the repatriation of Suthenthiraraja, alias Santhan, one of the seven released convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, considering his critical health condition. He was admitted to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in a critical condition last Sunday.

Mr. Santhan, 55, is suffering from cryptogenic cirrhosis—liver-related health complications—and expressed his wish to reunite with his aged mother, who resides in Jaffna. He h

d requested the Sri Lankan authorities provide travel documents, including a Sri Lankan passport, to return home.
Along with five other convicts—Nalini Sriharan, Sriharan, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran—Santhan was released after 32 years of incarceration over the assassination of the former Indian Prime Minister. All of them are currently detained at a special camp on the Trichy central jail campus since none of them possesses any travel documents or passports.

The Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) and the Tamil National Peoples’ Front wrote to both Sri Lankan and Indian authorities to secure the swift release of Santhan on humanitarian grounds after decades of incarceration. The newly elected ITAK Chief S. Shritharan too took up the issue with the Foreign Ministry to arrange necessary travel documents so the convict could return to Sri Lanka.

The aged mother and the family also met with Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda this week, pleading with him to take up the matter in the higher ranks of the government. The ailing mother told the minister that her last wish was to see her son alive and that she would like to spend some time with him in her final days.

As Parliament begins new session, uncertainty over committee chiefs

With the prorogation of Parliament at midnight on January 26, a majority of key Parliamentary Committees stand dissolved and will have to be reconstituted once the new session of Parliament begins on Wednesday.

All committees except the Liaison Committee, Committee on High Posts, Select Committees, and Sectoral Oversight Committees are now dissolved.

They included the Committee of Selection, the  Committee on Parliamentary Business, the Committee on Ethics and Privileges, the Committee on Public Finance (COPF), the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), and the Committee on Ways and Means.

The appointments of chairpersons for some of these committees will be closely watched. The main question is whether controversial COPE Chairman Prof. Ranjith Bandara will be back in the post. SLPP MP Prof. Bandara’s infamous hand gesture allegedly to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials during a hearing into the SLC stirred up a hornet’s nest. That gesture, together with allegations of undeclared conflicts of interests with SLC dating back years, eventually brought the entire COPE to a standstill, with some Committee members refusing to serve under his chairmanship and calling on him to resign. Prof. Bandara denied the allegations and vowed to resign if they were proven.

The COPF chairmanship, meanwhile, was beset by many political manoeuverings. It was only in June last year that Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha De Silva was appointed as Committee Chair after months of controversy with the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) accused of blocking his appointment to the post. It took the personal intervention of President Ranil Wickremesinghe in the end to resolve the deadlock. In a crucial election year, it remains to be seen if the post will again be subject to such controversy.

Ronald Perera: UNP campaign chief

BOC chairman Ronald Perera to lead Ranil’s election campaign

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as Leader of the United National Party (UNP), has appointed Bank of Ceylon chairman Ronald Perera PC to be the party’s campaign manager for the upcoming elections.

Mr. Perera is expected to resign from his bank job and get appointed as a Deputy General Secretary of the UNP to head the party’s campaigns.
The UNP campaigns are to liaise with a separate national campaign for the re-election of President Wickremesinghe, where the President is due to present himself as a ‘National Candidate’ with the support of political parties that wish to re-elect him.

Several party members have been appointed to both campaign committees in readiness for elections due towards the latter part of this year.

Top official on joy rides at public expense

A key ministry’s senior official has raised eyebrows for gallivanting overseas on taxpayer funds despite repeated instructions for officials to curtail their foreign travel. The official, who has vast responsibilities in ensuring the country’s safety and security, chose to fly recently to an East Asian country at the invitation of a private contractor.

“The country is bankrupt, but are wasting public funds to go on joy rides,” said another senior official who could not hide his disdain for the way his colleagues are continuing to thumb their noses at government directives.

Sanath Nishantha’s death: Social media posts add insult to agony

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was shocked by the death of State Minister Sanath Nishantha last week. The party was seemingly taken aback by the social media reaction to the state minister’s death, with MPs and activists noting many posts celebrating the late state minister’s passing.

However, the vast crowds that attended Mr. Nishantha’s funeral strengthened their minds. One minister claimed that it was only one particular political party’s “uneducated rabble” who were making and sharing offensive posts regarding the late state minister.

Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa, whose political family the state minister faithfully stood by, said that Facebook is not a reflection of politics at the grassroots level. He made sure to emphasise the point to the late Mr. Nishantha’s wife and children, telling them that whatever insults may be hurled at their husband and father, the crowds that came to bid him farewell should serve as ample evidence of just how well he served the people and how much he was loved.

Holidaying has become geopolitical in our region

As the English proverb “killing two birds with one stone” goes, it was evident when India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar urged Indian holidaygoers to visit Sri Lanka given the recent developments in the neighbourhood.

Speaking at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Mumbai under the theme of “Why Bharat Matters” on Thursday, the top Indian diplomat spoke in detail about how India came forward to assist Sri Lanka during the worst economic crisis in 2022 when no other nations were willing to do so.

“The next time you want to take a holiday, go to Sri Lanka. I’m serious. Please go to Sri Lanka and I say this to all of you. Mix with normal persons in Sri Lanka and ask them ‘what do you think about India?’ And I can tell you, you feel yourself grow with that answer. For the average Sri Lankan, even when the world turned its back on Sri Lanka, the only country which came forward—not in a small way—we actually committed USD 4.5 billion to Sri Lanka—much more than the package the then Sri Lankan government was negotiating with the International Monetary Fund at that time,” Dr. Jaishankar said, recalling his past visit when the country was running out of food, essential supplies, and fuel.

Coincidentally, the message to visit Sri Lanka comes at a time when Indo-Maldives relations have soured after the recent Maldives elections that brought in a new government, and Indian travel agents have begun boycotting the Maldives as a tourist destination for Indian travellers.

There is no need, therefore, for Sri Lanka’s tourism minister to take his buddies and promote Sri Lanka tourism abroad, burning limited foreign exchange at road shows with this kind of free publicity by such senior figures from foreign governments.

With India scheduled to go for national polls in the coming months, the message is also aimed at ordinary Indians about how the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government put India’s position in the region amidst geo-political challenges and Indo-China rivalry in the neighbouring countries.

Many local politicians, including Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, were quick to acknowledge the promotional message from the Indian Minister and expressed their gratitude on their social media channels.

One Colombo-based foreign diplomat was heard saying even ‘holidaying’ has become geopolitical in the region, referring to recent incidents where Prime Minister Modi visited Lakshadweep to promote Indian beaches as alternatives to the Maldives, and now his foreign minister is a ‘brand ambassador’ for Sri Lanka tourism.