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A hole in this politico’s bucket of tears
View(s):There are tears, fears and cheers for politicians as the campaign for the January 8 presidential election goes on amid seasonal festivity. A Minister from an area that provides vegetables and fruits for the dining tables not only in the City but also many other towns literally shed buckets of tears at a public meeting.
The man whose name was on top of the list of likely ‘crossovers’ was pouring his heart out about the love for the party. His father, a poet of sorts, had cared for the party so much. He even sold sheets with his poetry to fund the organisation. Now, the injustice within the party was not falling on the ears of the leadership. There were fellow politicos in the area who were producing spirits that cheer but ruin the morals of the youth in the area.
Onlookers listened intently thinking that his next sentence would speak about severing connections with his party. Instead he pledged that whatever happens, he would not leave his party. “When I try to leave, I am reminded of my father,” he moaned. By that time his handkerchief was so wet that he had to leave it on the table.
It took a onetime Foreign Service officer to realise that there were other reasons than the late father. Our politico’s son and daughter were serving as political appointees in Sri Lanka’s diplomatic service in West Asia. His crossover, the witty official said, would have meant that the duo would have had to cross the seas and return home to Colombo.
As the official says, at least for now, all three jobs are safe. If they are not, he will cry again, said the official. The fears were for the UPFA propaganda types who got used to having breakfast meetings at a place in Kotte that has come to be known as ‘our village.’ Two of the stalwarts in the campaign team decided that they too should ‘cross over’ and support Maithripala Sirisena. Their bosses were incensed. The embarrassment was too much, as the men knew the propaganda strategies. So, one boss put out a story that at any given time, no one had any idea of what strategies were being pursued. The reason – different persons in different locations were being given specific tasks.
Cheers were for Parliamentarian Jayantha Ketagoda, who succeeded former General Sarath Fonseka in Parliament. UPFA sources say he is set to join their ranks in the coming week.
Contrasting delegations
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 18th SAARC Summit in Kathmandu.
This photograph was among those distributed by the Indian Prime Minister’s office. It shows the Indian delegation on Mr Modi’s left. They are External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson and Joint Secretary (External Publicity) Syed Akbaruddin. Sri Lanka’s team at the meeting in order of seating is External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris, President Rajajapaksa’s youngest son, Rohitha, and Monitoring MP to the Ministry of External Affairs Sajin de Vass Gunewardena.
Hirunika, Malsha change their minds
The Western Provincial Council (WPC) Budget was passed on Wednesday.
During the two day debate, all eyes were on two of the fair members from the UPFA — Hirunika Premachandra and Malsha Kumaratunnga. The latter is the daughter of Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga.
The two were rumored to be in negotiations for a possible ‘crossover’ to support the National Democratic Front (NDF) candidate Maithripala Sirisena. When it came to voting time, they voted for the Budget. Ms. Kumaratunga was later seen chatting with Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunga who advised her that if she had any problems; she could solve them through discussions and not to take any hasty decisions.
As for Ms. Premachandra, she seemed appeased of her worries after a visit to Temple Trees earlier in the week to meet President Rajapaksa. She was seen on the stage at a ceremony at Kolonnawa where President Rajapaksa was present.
Yet, the speculation over her continues.
Talisman father, talisman son
Many have been eager to know more about the talisman that President Mahinda Rajapaksa carries in his hand whenever he is seen in public.
Last Friday, when he met representatives of the electronic and print media, he let it rest on the table ahead of him.
Recently his son Namal Rajapaksa MP too was seen holding a similar object. It transpired that the brass talisman is a Vajras – the thunderbolt as it is known in Sanskrit.
Vajras can either be peaceful or wrathful. When paired with a bell they can represent Mettha or compassion. The spokes of the peaceful vajra meet at the tip whereas those of the wrathful one slightly are splayed at the end. It is believed that the vajras can help one get freedom from cyclic existence.
Journalism jokes at Jayantha’s awards show
When Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency bestowed its 2014 International Achievement Award for Nuclear Disarmament to Jayantha Dhanapala last week, the UN ceremony turned out to be a virtual all-Sri Lankan affair.
Besides the award winner, one of the keynote speakers was Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative Palitha Kohona who considered Dhanapala “a role model” and described him in glowing terms as an outstanding sportsman, exceptional diplomat and international statesman.
“Of course, he also hails from the same town as myself — Matale, Sri Lanka”, said Ambassador Kohona, addressing a predominantly UN audience, including diplomats, senior officials and General Assembly president Sam Kutesa of Uganda.
The master of ceremonies, another Sri Lankan, was IPS UN Bureau Chief Thalif Deen and a former columnist of the Sunday Times, who said he had at least three things in common with Dhanapala.
“We are both from the same country. We were contemporaries at the University in Sri Lanka, and after graduating, we worked for the same newspaper, the Daily News.”
And then, said Deen, Dhanapala abandoned journalism, switched professions and went onto join the foreign service to distinguish himself as an international diplomat.
“I always wondered: what if Jayantha had continued to be a newspaperman, and I Iended up as a diplomat,” he said amidst laughter.
Still, said Deen, Jayantha may have gone onto to achieve the ultimate in journalism: the Pulitzer Prize.
As for Deen, quipped former Sri Lankan Ambassador Ernest Corea and ex-editor of the Daily News, “if he had become a diplomat, he may have helped trigger World War III.”
And Corea should know, because Deen was a cub reporter working for him in the 1970s before he headed to the United States.
UPFA back on private talks shows
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reversed a ban on UPFA members taking part in talk shows hosted by private television networks.
Earlier, requests by these networks for nominees from the UPFA were turned down. On Wednesday a minister walked out of a talk show when embarrassing questions were asked from him by a caller – whom the Government now claims is an Opposition MP.
Name game: Indian HC plays it safe
Different diplomatic missions issue statements to keep the Sri Lankan public educated about visits by their dignitaries.
There was one by the Indian High Commission on the visit of Ajith Doval, National Security Advisor — an official who holds Cabinet rank.
He was the guest speaker at the Galle Dialogue and was invited by Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The media statement simply said that he called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and held bilateral meetings with External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris and the Defence Secretary.
Then the High Commission added; “Representatives of various political parties also met the National Security Advisor.”Who are they? The High Commission statement was silent. We learnt that it was Opposition UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga and presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena.
We asked the spokesperson of the Indian High Commission why those latter names were left out. Her response; “We deliberately left out the names of those whom he met, unlike in the statement issued by Sri Lanka. We thought that the names were not important to be added.”By Gad, Ma’am, are you saying that the Leader of the Opposition, a former President and a Presidential candidate, important enough to meet, not important enough to mention.