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The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s Executive Committee met this week at the residence of its Chairman, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Prior to that meeting, however, SLPP MPs and ministers supporting President Ranil Wickremesinghe met with the president at the Presidential Secretariat. They assured the president that he had no reason to worry about the SLPP and insisted that everything that goes on within the party happens according to their wishes. President Wickremesinghe, however, clearly had some doubts.

Those doubts proved true when the meeting finally got underway and the topic of who the SLPP would field as its presidential candidate started to be discussed. An MP supporting the president got up and was just starting to speak on the importance of the SLPP supporting Mr. Wickremesinghe’s candidature when he was interrupted by several others, who insisted that the party did not need “outsiders” as its candidate. They stressed that they needed a candidate from the SLPP to contest.

It was left to former Finance Minister and SLPP founder Basil Rajapaksa to calm things down. Mr. Rajapaksa said the party would look into who it could field as a candidate. Noting that the presidential election is still several months away, he said the SLPP should conduct several more studies to see who the most popular candidate among them is. “We need more time. We will in the future decide whether we are fielding one of our own as a candidate or we go with Ranil,” he told the gathering.

The statement was a blow to Ranil loyalists, who had been upbeat about their chances of getting the SLPP to support the president’s candidature.

JVP meeting: Front-row pix has diplomat in a political fix

The Foreign Ministry is to call for the explanation from a diplomat based in a Western nation after he was spotted attending a meeting chaired by Janata Vimukti Peramuna-led National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake in that country.

Photographs from the meeting show the diplomat seated in the front row and they have drawn the attention of those at the highest levels of the government. The Foreign Ministry has now taken steps to initiate an inquiry into the matter, and explanations will be called for from the diplomat.

Foreign Ministry sources say that the diplomat may well be recalled if the inquiry finds sufficient grounds to conclude that he acted inappropriately.

Karuna adopts wartime strategy for political comeback

With elections around the corner, politicians are reviving old formulas to stay relevant and increase their worthiness to bargain for votes.

Former militant turned politician Vinyakamoorthy Muralidharan, alias Karuna Amman, seemed to have adopted the ‘wartime strategy’ to keep him involved in Eastern regional politics.

The former minister and one-time deputy leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party contested the last parliamentary polls and failed to secure a seat. Addressing a media conference on Friday in Batticaloa, Mr. Muralidharan said he had formed a new outfit called the ‘Amman Brigade’ to support the welfare and interests of former LTTE combatants who were released to society after undergoing rehabilitation.

What caught the attention of many was not his sudden interest in caring for his one-time battlefield colleagues, but the name of the outfit, which is similar to what his dominant Eastern fighting force was known as within the now-defunct LTTE.

Mr. Muralidharan said that with the financial support of diaspora-based organisations and well-wishers, he
would use those funds for the betterment of ex- cadres in the two provinces.

Premier Gunawardena meeting China's President Xi Jinping

President Xi recalls long-standing links with Premier Gunawardena’s family

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who was on a six-day official visit to China at the invitation of the Chinese government, met many Chinese leaders during his visit to the country.

They included Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang.

Premier Gunawardena’s meeting with President Xi was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

President Xi was full of praise for the Gunawardena family during his meeting with the Premier. He recalled that the relationship China had with Premier Gunawardena’s father, Philip Gunawardena, and the rest of the Gunawardena family went back decades. “We see your visit as one undertaken by an old friend,” the Chinese President told the PM.

The Prime Minister’s mother, Kusuma Gunawardena, was the first chairperson of the Sri Lanka-China Friendship Association in 1950. In 1951, his father, Philip Gunawardena, was part of the first-ever Sri Lankan delegation to visit China after the Chinese Revolution.

Premier Gunawardena’s brother, the late Indika, was a member of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka before joining the People’s Alliance as a cabinet minister.

The premier’s son, Yadamini Gunawardena, was also part of the Sri Lankan delegation to visit China this week, as were State Ministers Shehan Semasinghe and Ashoka Priyantha.

The SLPP''s newly appointed national organiser, Namal Rajapaksa

Namal as national organiser: Where will he go from here?

Hambantota District parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa appeared surprised last Wednesday when he was unanimously elected as the National Organiser of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). The post had previously been held by his uncle, Basil Rajapaksa.

The decision to appoint Namal as the SLPP’s National Organiser was made at the SLPP’s Executive Committee meeting chaired by Namal’s father, former President and SLPP Chairman Mahinda Rajapaksa.

It was MP Jayantha Ketagoda, seen as a Basil Rajapaksa loyalist, who proposed Namal’s name as the new national organiser, and it received unanimous approval. The decision seemed to come as a surprise to Namal, who had been in attendance to discuss the party’s May Day preparations. He was, however, promptly congratulated by those in attendance, including Basil Rajapaksa, Kanchana Wijesekara, Johnston Fernando, W.D. Weerasinghe, and Janaka Tissakuttiarachchi. Former local government and provincial council members were also eager to congratulate the younger Rajapaksa, with many noting that it was Namal Rajapaksa who unofficially visited their villages after the events of May 9, 2022. “You can now continue to visit the villages in an official capacity,” they joked.

Some councillors also complained that some SLPP MPs were campaigning to elect other candidates, such as President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and urged Namal to look into the matter. While saying that he valued their support, Namal insisted that their best course of action was to avoid a split within the party and work together.

Confucius unit to boost Chinese culture in Eastern University

A Chinese academic delegation led by Prof. Hu Jinming of Yunnan University, China, visited the Eastern University at Vantharumoolai in Batticaloa for academic cooperation and bilateral exchanges on education.

The visit, which was facilitated by the university’s management, also focused on the setting up of a Confucius Unit, a dedicated space for learning Chinese culture and language activities within the university premises.

A memorandum of understanding was also signed between the visiting delegation and the university’s vice chancellor, Prof. V. Kanagasingham, last Friday. The visiting team also inspected the proposed site for the unit.

Though this is the first time such an institute has been set up in the Eastern Province, a similar institute was also set up at the University of Colombo earlier.

I want to be a good man

Moonshine to sunshine: Kasippu mudalali says he’s now a reformed man

A man who sold illicit liquor has decided to publicly renounce his illegal trade and pledged to henceforth lead an honest life.

The reformed Negombo “Kasippu Mudalali” has hung a banner outside his home stating that he has decided to give up his illicit trade. He has freely admitted to carrying out the racket for several years, but has noted that he is now giving up his illicit business on the advice of Negombo’s Superintendent of Police.

The rare admission of wrongdoing, together with the pledge to follow a righteous path from now on, has drawn praise on social media.

SLPP split over presidential candidate: Basil plays role of peacemakerThe Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s Executive Committee met this week at the residence of its Chairman, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Prior to that meeting, however, SLPP MPs and ministers supporting President Ranil Wickremesinghe met with the president at the Presidential Secretariat. They assured the president that he had no reason to worry about the SLPP and insisted that everything that goes on within the party happens according to their wishes. President Wickremesinghe, however, clearly had some doubts.Those doubts proved true when the meeting finally got underway and the topic of who the SLPP would field as its presidential candidate started to be discussed. An MP supporting the president got up and was just starting to speak on the importance of the SLPP supporting Mr. Wickremesinghe’s candidature when he was interrupted by several others, who insisted that the party did not need “outsiders” as its candidate. They stressed that they needed a candidate from the SLPP to contest.It was left to former Finance Minister and SLPP founder Basil Rajapaksa to calm things down. Mr. Rajapaksa said the party would look into who it could field as a candidate. Noting that the presidential election is still several months away, he said the SLPP should conduct several more studies to see who the most popular candidate among them is. “We need more time. We will in the future decide whether we are fielding one of our own as a candidate or we go with Ranil,” he told the gathering.The statement was a blow to Ranil loyalists, who had been upbeat about their chances of getting the SLPP to support the president’s candidature.