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Out to please
all
The tycoon was conferring with his top colleagues in the trade that
Tuesday when the news arrived; 'President Kumaratunga had taken
over Defence, Interior and Mass Communication portfolios.'
Soon after
an aide whispered this to his ears, the man exclaimed: "Get
Mr. ………. (name of a senior official at the Presidential
Secretariat was mentioned) on the phone. We must send our best wishes
to her."
Soon he realised
he had made the remarks too loud. He whispered to an aide thereafter,
"We will attend to that quietly". A witty entrepreneur
who saw it all happen could not help but comment "big or small,
he is out to please all".
Parking
tickets for scribes
It being quite an eventful week for journalists themselves amidst
all the political upheavals. Firstly journalists who went to cover
the press briefing given by government spokesman G.L. Peiris at
the Gramodaya Centre on Wednesday were told by the security personnel
there that they could park their vehicles along Galle Road as the
limited parking space inside was taken up by the vehicles of the
ministers and their backup vehicles.
However when
the scribes returned after the briefing, all their vehicles had
parking tickets posted on their windscreens. No amount of arguing
would move the traffic cops who insisted they had parked in a 'no
parking' zone. In any case the Interior Ministry is no longer with
the government.
LTTE
cadres turned cameramen
Next it was the turn of the scribes who went to Kilinochchi to cover
the meeting between the Norwegian negotiators and LTTE leader V.
Prabhakaran.
It was a photo opportunity that all the media personnel were eager
for but with the tight security around the LTTE leader, the group's
cadres weren't taking any chances..
So instead of
disappointing their media friends, the LTTE cadres turned cameramen
for a short while taking the cameras with them to where the meeting
was in progress, clicking a few shots of the meeting and returning
the equipment to the rightful owners..
Tea
and politics
Another photo opportunity that media personnel were left out of
was the much-publicised meeting between President Kumaratunga and
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. There was a total blackout
on media coverage for the event but we managed to get a little bit
of inside information. When the President asked what the Prime Minister
would like to have during their meeting, he said a cup of plain
tea with 'inguru' (ginger) would do.
No
big deal for him
Parliamentary Affairs Minister A.H.M. Azwer had an opportunity
to turn broadcaster during the arrival of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
from the USA.
The Minister was asked to give an impromptu live broadcast to the
Canadian Tamil Broadcasting Service on Mr. Wickremesinghe's arrival
and all the commotion it was causing. Of course for a man who is
known for his gift of the gab, it was no big deal.
At least he won't have a problem finding employment if the President
decides to take over his ministry as well.
Step-motherly
treatment as usual
Two lifts in the left wing of the five storied Police Headquarters
have been out of order for several months. They have been repaired
from time to time but break down within a few days. Top shots in
the department starting from the IGP down work in the building.
Now instead of repairing, it has been decided to seal the lifts
altogether. The two remaining lifts that are in order have been
specially allocated for use by senior officials. So for the lower
rungs, it is more step motherly treatment, as has always been the
case in the Department. |
