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Initially, the government wanted to keep the reopening of an access road in Palali in the north after 34 years as a low-key event for a couple of reasons: one was not to allow the opportunity to be used for political campaigning purposes ahead of the general election, and the other was not to leave space for elements in the south to stir controversy on ‘national security’ grounds.

Therefore, the event was planned as early as 6 am on Friday, and the road that connects Palali Road-Vayavilan junction and Tholakatty junction was reopened officially by Jaffna Security Forces Commander Maj Gen Chandana Wickramasinghe.

The 1.25-kilometre-long road was closed in 1990 due to the wartime situation and has ever since been under the custody of the security forces after the whole region was declared a High-Security Zone (HSZ).

However, former ITAK’s former Jaffna parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran turned up at the event. While speaking to the media, he urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to release the remaining military-occupied residential and agrarian lands without delay. In the recent past, Mr. Sumanthiran also appeared for several petitions filed in the Supreme Court by landowners seeking to access their traditional lands 15 years after the end of the war.

Hours later, President Dissanayake’s X handle published a tweet saying that it was an honour to fulfil the call of the Northern Province residents by reopening the
Palali-Achchuveli road after three decades. “With support from the Defence Ministry, we are committed to ensuring peace and development for our people.”

Underneath the tweet, a Sri Lankan responded that it’s time for the President to follow suit by reopening the Kandy Lake road that was closed after it came under attack by the President’s own party, the Peoples Liberation Front (JVP) in 1989 and later by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1998.

Controversial doctor describes his own group’s candidates as black sheep

Not so long ago, Dr. Ramanathan Archuna, a medical doctor turned whistleblower attached to Chavakachcheri Base Hospital as Medical Superintendent (MS), turned out to be a social media hero for his controversial claims on medical mafia and alleged corruption within the provincial health sector.

While facing at least eighteen legal cases against him in various courts in the North, the medical doctor turned politician is also contesting the upcoming polls as the lead candidate of an independent group.

His fellow candidates in the group included his school-time friends and contacts, but the group has been facing challenges lately over personal disputes and claims over the allocation of funds sent by the diaspora.

These days, the doctor is campaigning against three of his own colleagues, requesting his supporters not to give preferential votes for three particular candidates while naming them as ‘black sheep.’

Speaking on this debacle in a hospital clinic in Jaffna, a retired public servant was heard saying, “Tamil politics, once represented by qualified personnel, has gone to the dogs, as has been seen in the Tamil party leader asking his supporters not to vote for his fellow candidates!”

Money printing and WB aid: Foreign Minister accuses oppositon parties of mudslinging

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath sharply criticised what he claimed were “mudslinging campaigns” by some opposition parties over allegations of money printing and financial assistance received by the government.

Mr. Herath noted that the Central Bank (CBSL) had already issued a lengthy statement describing as inaccurate the claims that the CBSL had printed Rs. 100 billion on October 25.

He also referred to a claim being made in some circles that the government had obtained a new USD 200 million loan from the World Bank. “In reality, the loan referred to the Development Policy Financing (DPF) Programme of the World Bank. It was a two-year programme running from 2023-2024 amounting to a total of USD 700 million. The agreement was signed under the previous administration, and the USD 200 million has been received as part of the second phase of that programme,” he told the Sunday Times.

He also noted that the Chinese government recently gave Rs. 400 million as emergency humanitarian aid on top of Rs. 30 million in cash it had earlier given as flood relief. “Some people who don’t understand the difference between a grant, aid, and a loan and who are desperate to attack us using anythin governors g are saying this is a loan too,” he added.

NPP candidate’s threat to TUs stirs outcry, but he says comments taken out of context

Former parliamentarian and current National People’s Power (NPP) Colombo district candidate Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi sparked a firestorm of criticism this week
over comments that critics slammed as a threat to
trade unions.

Mr. Nipuna Arachchi’s comments at a public rally related to the innumerable trade union strikes that people had now begun to treat as part of their daily lives. “One day, it’s the teachers who are on strike; the next day, it’s the principals and then non-academic staff. One day it’s the doctors, then nurses, and then attendants. As you step on the road, there’s an SLTB strike or a private bus strike,” he told those in attendance.

“Remember the words I say to you today. Such strikes will be relegated to a thing of the past. Who are they going to strike against? If they have a problem against the government, they can discuss it with the government and resolve it,” he said.

Mr. Nipuna Arachchi added that the party would dissolve its trade unions in the future, as there was no point in them continuing to exist in a setting where strikes were a thing of the past.

After his comments sparked a fierce backlash, Mr. Nipuna Arachchi sought to clarify them. “What I meant was that what we have now is a people’s government. It is everyone’s government, including that of trade union leaders. This is the sort of government where you can discuss any issue and resolve it without having to resort to strike action,” he told the Sunday Times.

Regarding the comment about dissolving trade unions, the former MP said that could come about “someday in the future” as the country moved towards development. “The need to have strikes will end, and there will be no requirement to have trade unions. We will set an example by dissolving the trade unions that are under the party. However, some media have taken this out of context and run a story making it look as if I was calling for dissolving trade unions tomorrow,” said Mr. Nipuna Arachchi, lamenting the “state of the media today.”

Do governors become donkeys, or donkeys become governors?

A recently appointed provincial governor was having a meeting with senior officials in the province.

As the meeting went on, the new governor started criticising his predecessors and the programmes implemented by them. He used the word “donkey” often.

A senior official quipped to the officer sitting next to him, “Whether governors become donkeys or donkeys become governors, it’s one and the same!”

Two election officials off to US to study presidential election

One of the members of the Election Commission (EC) and an Additional Commissioner of Elections had gone to the US to observe Tuesday’s US presidential election, an official confirmed.

This is a sponsored visit, and no EC funds are being utilised for the visit, the source added.

He said the visit by the EC member and the official was a “study tour” and they would be studying how election officials in the US are organizing an election of such magnitude.

Nearly 186.5 million Americans are registered to vote at the 2024 presidential election. Polls show the race between Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump is currently neck-and-neck heading into Election Day on November 5.

Bicycle in vicious cycle of campaigning

When it comes to campaigning to gain votes, politicians and their supporters go to any extent to secure their votes by using various methods.

In remote areas, some political parties used graffiti in public places rather than pasting posters on walls.

Some northern candidates are pulling out various kinds of stunts, such as clearing the abandoned LTTE cemeteries and sitting on the floor to share a meal to secure votes.

One such move turned out to be counterproductive near the Navatkuli bridge, where the separate signs of bicycle lanes were erased by political opponents since one political party was contesting under the same symbol.

Not only did they erase the bicycle sign, but they also made sure to draw their party signs and preferential numbers next to it. The daily commuters say that it is regrettable that candidates go to the extent of damaging road signs for political gains.

Palmyrah Board in political polemics

The recent appointment of a chairman to the Palmyrah Development Board (PDB) in Jaffna caused controversy this week, and the chairman had to be replaced within two weeks due to political reasons.

On October 10, Selvin Ireneuss Mariampillai was appointed as chairman of the PDB, but just twelve days later he was replaced by Vinayagamoorthy Sahadevan, despite clear instructions given by the Election Commission on appointments during the election period.

Earlier this week, anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International Sri Lanka filed a formal complaint
with the Election Commission regarding the appointment.

According to election laws and the regulations issued by the Election Commission, all government institutions are prohibited from making new appointments, promotions, or transfers during the election period without prior approval from the Election Commission.

The talk among the higher-ups of the provincial governance circle is that the previous chairman was replaced due to his strong Tamil nationalistic stance after the ruling party’s district heavyweights exerted pressure on the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.