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Brompton's Mayor with Sri Lankan Canadians sponsoring the alleged genocide campaign

With Canadian politicians scrambling for every vote they can get, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has again fallen foul with the Indian Government for attending an event organised by a group of Khalistan Sikhs in the country.
India is accusing the Trudeau administration of giving space to Khalistan extremists, who are demanding a separate state in India.

Trudeau taking part in a Sikh religious event

No different is his own support for sections of the Sri Lankan Tamil community in Canada that has convinced him there was ‘genocide’ committed in their birthplace during a long and protracted insurgency with the demand for a separate state in Sri Lanka. This is notwithstanding repeated objections from the Sri Lankan government and the various other sections of the
Sri Lankan diaspora in Canada, including Tamils, Sinhalese and Muslims, to his references to ‘genocide’ in Sri Lanka.
A city council in Brampton has already moved to erect a monument in its area to commemorate this purported genocide. Local vote-bank politics is clearly taking precedence over bilateral relations. Please see the picture above. It shows the city’s mayor with those Sri Lankan Canadians sponsoring the call for ‘genocide’ in Sri Lanka. Note the business/corporate financial support for the mayor’s initiative in the background panel. Money talks in demo-crazy Canada, like everywhere, after all.

Justice Ministry to probe alleged misuse of electricity and water for judge’s official residence

The Justice Ministry has been asked to investigate whether electricity and water had been obtained illegally from the premises of a district court in a greater Colombo area for the judge’s official residence adjoining it.
The request comes following an initial inquiry after an electrician summoned to repair a power outage at the court premises in August last year was electrocuted. A report into the accident by the court complex’s technical officer noted that it had occurred after the electrician came into contact with a wire that had been laid illegally to tap electricity from the court complex to the judge’s official residence located next door.
Meanwhile, the new district judge, who had taken up the appointment, had also written to the Colombo High Court last month that electricity had been obtained from the court premises to the official residence’s guard room in the same manner. This prompted the High Court to call for a fresh report from the technical officer of the district court in question.

President’s Secretary declines invitation from Bogollagama
Rohitha Bogollagama, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, has sent an invitation to President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake to attend a diplomatic reception held to celebrate him presenting his credentials to King Charles III.
Mr. Bogollagama is to present his credentials to the King on May 30, and the reception is due to be held the same evening at Sri Lanka House in London.
The President’s Secretary has been invited as a guest of honour at the reception in his capacity as Head of the country’s Civil Service.
The Sunday Times understands that Mr. Ekanayake has politely declined the invitation saying “London is too far for me to reach.”

Pressure mounts against restrictions on local tourists to Sri Pada
Only foreign tourists are to be allowed to climb Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak) during the off-season.
Sri Pada’s Chief Incumbent, Ven. Bengamuwe Dhammadinna Thera, requested government officials prevent local tourists from travelling to Sri Pada during the off-season and only allow foreign tourists to come. The request was made during a meeting at the Nallathanniya Grama Niladhari office to discuss the end of the 2023–2024 Sri Pada pilgrimage season. The pilgrimage season will come to an end on May 24.
Ven. Dhammadinna Thera said he was making the request on the grounds that local tourists who visit Sri Pada during the off-season cause immense damage to Sri Pada and its environment.
As such, he asked government officials and police to prevent local tourists from accessing Sri Pada from any route during the off-season.
The request has already caused controversy, with some commentators questioning on social media why foreigners should get special treatment to access a site that is considered holy to a majority of Sri Lankans. Some have even drawn parallels between the move (which will have official sanction if it goes ahead) and incidents in the recent past of certain tourist establishments only serving foreigners while turning away locals.

President’s Office rejects inquiry based on anonymous petition
The Presidential Secretariat has informed the Ministry of Public Administration that, as a matter of policy, it does not provide observations and recommendations on the contents of anonymous petitions.
This was in response to a query by the Ministry over an anonymous petition the Public Administration Ministry had received regarding an administrative officer at the President’s office.
It is suspected that the petition against the official came from some junior staff members at the Presidential Secretariat. The President’s Office, however, has long maintained that it will not hold any inquiry over petitions sent against its officials anonymously. This is on the grounds that those levelling the accusations must be willing to stand by them.
A senior Presidential Secretariat official explained that this precedent had been set more than 30 years ago, during the time of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Ironically, this was following a response from a ministry to a letter by the Presidential Secretariat itself over an anonymous petition. In 1992, the President’s Office sent a letter to a ministry asking it for a response regarding an anonymous petition it had received over the conduct of a senior official at that ministry.
At the time, Charitha Ratwatte was the secretary of this ministry. Mr. Ratwatte had responded that, as a policy, his ministry would not launch an inquiry into one of its officials over an anonymous petition. This was on the grounds that those making the allegations were hiding behind anonymity and were not willing to stand by their allegations or testify against the said official. The Presidential Secretariat had accepted this explanation. Moreover, it too had decided that anyone sending a petition against any official must be willing to come forward and stand by their allegations.
“Anybody can write anything, but they will not be willing to stand by those allegations. One should have the backbone to come forward. We are not going to investigate such complaints. It is a waste of time and money,” said the senior Presidential Secretariat official regarding the decision not to inquire into the petition against one of their officials.

Embarrassing gaffe for unions representing best of public servants
The Joint Committee of Government Executive Officers’ wrote to the President’s Secretary on Monday, informing him of upcoming trade union action over what it claims is a failure by the government to resolve issues faced by professionals in the public service. The letter signed by 18 trade unions said that government executive officers belonging to these unions would engage in a two-day sick-leave campaign as a mark of protest. Presidential Secretariat officials, though, were initially confused as the letter, dated April 29, stated that the unions would go on a sick-leave campaign on April 2 and 3. Some wondered whether the unions had already gone on their sick-leave campaign and were only informing the President’s Office later.
It took a while before the realisation dawned that it was a mistake on the part of the letter, and what it should actually have said was that the sick-leave campaign would take place on May 2 and 3. It was an embarrassing gaffe for a collective of unions, which are supposed to represent many of the best and brightest in public service.

On BJP invitation, SLPP, UNP send representatives to observe Lok Sabha poll
Following an invitation extended by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) earlier this month to have a ringside view of the Lok Sabha polls and its campaign strategies, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the United National Party (UNP) have sent their representatives.
They held meetings with senior officials, including India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, this week.
Not long ago, the SLPP’s electoral strategist and chief architect, Basil Rajapaksa, said that the SLPP, which shares the same symbol of the lotus flower, just like the BJP, was formed after carefully studying the BJP’s campaign strategies and electoral tactics to win votes, even though the India’s ruling party came under severe criticism for its divisive nature and usage of digital tools.
The newly formed party returned with landslide victories in local polls in 2018, followed by presidential polls, which led to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa assuming power on a nationalistic platform.
Following the BJP’s invitation, the Election Commission of India is also organising
the International Election Visitor Programme (IEVP) during the ongoing Lok Sabha 2024 elections.
As part of this initiative, a 10-member delegation from Sri Lanka will be participating, comprising two representatives from the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and eight from PCOI (Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Make Recommendations for Election Law Reforms), according to a statement issued by the Indian High Commission yesterday.

Relays and delays: Multiple hurdles for Lankan team to go to Bahamas
Earlier this week, the US Embassy in Colombo took special measures to ensure the participation of Sri Lanka’s men’s 4x400m relay team in the Olympic Qualifier in the Bahamas to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
This was after witnessing the team’s performance at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, from September 23-October 8 last year. Six athletes were included in the ‘Ready to Olympics’ team, but they could not secure visas and relevant logistics in time, resulting in the cancellation of their airplane tickets.
On May 2, US Ambassador Julie Chung took to the platform X, previously known as Twitter, to say that the US Embassy cleared their visa procedure under short notice. “Off and running: We were glad to support Sri Lanka Athletics in smoothing logistical hurdles and ensuring Sri Lanka’s men’s 4×400 metres relay team can travel to the World Relays in the Bahamas! Let’s cheer them on as they represent Sri Lanka with pride and compete for a chance to qualify for #Paris2024 Olympics!”
Hours later, the Department of Sports Development issued a statement to declare that despite all their attempts and special assistance from the US Embassy, the team could not make it on time.
“..although the United States offered to consider granting the required visas on May 2, the unavailability of one athlete and a coach in Colombo, coupled with medical concerns raised by another athlete, Kalinga Kumarage, further influenced the decision-making process. Ultimately, the unavailability of seats on scheduled flights in the route to Colombo/Doha/Miami/Bahamas necessitated the unfortunate decision to withdraw from competition,” the statement issued by Prof (Rear Admiral) Shemal Fernando, the Director General of Sports, said.