Columns

A tourist in bikini near a grocery story in Ahangama where a public notice says that tourists are allowed to wear swimwear only on the beach

The recent reports of a ‘bikini’ ban in the Arugam Bay area caused such a commotion, particularly on social media, that it prompted the Tourism Deputy Minister Ruwan Chaminda Ranasingha to hurriedly call a news conference to deny there was any such ban.

Instead, he accused ‘certain groups’ of attempting to undermine the tourism industry with such rumours. The long and the short of the matter, however, are very different and have nothing to do with any organised attempt against the tourist industry.

The ‘No Bikini’ post that appeared on social media was a polite request to those visiting the Arugam Bay area to honour the local culture and respect their traditions, promoted by an incident where a foreigner was seen walking almost naked through the streets of the Arugam Bay area a few days ago. “There is no official ban on bikinis, but it is important that foreigners visiting any area in the country are sensitive to the local culture and conduct themselves accordingly. What they wear on the beaches draws little attention, but some foreigners are seen walking along streets with the minimum possible clothing on their bodies, which has upset some locals, and hence they have made a request for more modest attire when about town,” the deputy minister said.

However, skimpy clothing isn’t only drawing the ire of locals in the East. In several towns in the South too, boards have come up on lamp posts saying, ‘Swimwear is only allowed on the beach.” They should be told that dress codes in their countries are no different from those in Sri Lanka.

Comrade President’s fan sees red’s rise but fails to see that the left is the new right

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake seems to be having a fan following overseas as well, going by a comment from an Indian who calls himself an ardent supporter of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM).

In response to a post on the President’s official X account of a meeting he held with heads of institutions of the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, the man, A.V. Samikkannu, addressing the Lankan leader as Comrade President, said he is “deeply interested in the success of your party’s sincere efforts so that you and the government you head become a source of inspiration for all the Left and progressive forces of all other South Asian countries”.

Maybe a South Asian renaissance of the Left is in the making! Many left parties from India and elsewhere were represented on the JVP/NPP platform on May Day at the same time the Dissanayake government was negotiating with the IMF for the next loan and discussing tariffs with US President Donald Trump’s government in Washington. It looks like a case of signalling left and turning right, said a wag.

The iconic tree is no more

Lawyer goes to HRCSL to preserve archaeologically important Balapitiya court complex

The cutting down of a tree believed to be more than 200 years old in the premises of the Balapitiya court complex has been brought up with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka.

The complaint has been lodged by Balapitiya Bar Association branch president K.V. Lal Shantha.

The complaint claims that the tree had been removed to place a container to store court documents.

He has pointed out that the Balapitiya court complex is a historical legacy and a cultural heritage of Sri Lanka, considering the history of the judicial system.

It is one of the nine courts inaugurated by the first Chief Justice of Ceylon, Sir Codrington Edmund Carrington, in 1802. The Magistrate Courts and the prison of Balapitiya have been designed according to the ancient British architectural and sculptural arts.

The former High Court judge of Balapitiya, Dr Namal Bandara Balalle, considering the historical significance of the court complex, informed the Department of Archaeology in 2017 to take necessary measures to preserve it given the cultural value of this court complex.

The petition says the construction put up to accommodate the container has destroyed the cultural and historical value of the court premises. The President of the Balapitiya Bar Association branch wants the matter probed.

All-clear Tamil returnee remanded: Sumanthiran and Bimal in X exchange

While the government, on the one hand, has been inviting Sri Lankan Tamils living as refugees in India to return to the country, a 75-year-old man who returned this week after obtaining all necessary clearance from relevant agencies was detained by immigration officials at the Palaly airport, produced in court and remanded till June 5.

Former ITAK parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran raised the incident publicly on his X handle to disclose that the returnee had been identified as a ‘refugee’ by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and he had returned with the assistance of the UN agency. Instead of a warm welcome he expected on his return, the man was produced by the CID at the Mallakam Magistrate’s Court and remanded after the CID objected to bail.

In response to this episode, Minister Bimal Rathnayake took to his X account to state that the incident was due to the application of the law automatically to those who emigrated through non-legalised ports, saying this could have changed after the war easily if concerned people worked on it. He assured those concerned that he had spoken to Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala and that he will take immediate action to change the policy.

He added that he had visited refugee camps in India in 2007 along with his parliamentary colleague Ramalingam Chandrasekar and pioneered the passing of a law in 2008 granting citizenship to 28,500 Sri Lankans who were in refugee camps.

However, nearly 60,000 Sri Lankan refugees live in India, mostly in Tamil Nadu, with more than 10,000 registered to return.

In response to Mr. Rathnayake’s claims that the man had been issued a travel document by the Department of Immigration and Emigration, and it was given to him by the Sri Lanka Mission in India, Mr. Sumanthiran said, “Why couldn’t the immigration official who arrested him check on this then and there? Rather than hand him over to the CID and charge him in court?”

Only time will tell why immigration officials decided to detain a man who returned to the country with a valid travel document. Such incidents are likely to discourage anyone wanting to return home, some after decades in refugee camps abroad.

The police in pursuit	The Highway biker

Highway biker on the run

A motorcyclist abandoned his bike and fled on foot after encountering highway police officers, following an attempt to take his two-wheeler for an unauthorised joyride on the airport expressway.

The scene unfolded in the Seeduwa area when Highway Patrol officers spotted the biker. As the patrol closed in, the rider decided it was time for a quick exit, ditching his motorbike and fleeing the scene by jumping over the railings, allowing the riderless machine to travel a few more metres and fall on to the asphalt. Policemen gave chase to the traffic offender, to no avail.

Authorities are currently conducting investigations to identify and locate the suspect, who is still on the run. However, the bike is in police custody.

Police fee draws raps from monks

A group of Buddhist monks have questioned the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) on his decision to charge fees for providing a police escort for a perahera (procession) organised by them to coincide with the Vesak celebrations.

Venerable Akmeemana Dayaratna Thera, the leader of the Lanka Janata Party, said that a few hours before the perahera was to begin this week, they were informed that a fee of Rs. 4,500 each had to be paid for the two policemen deployed for duty and Rs. 400 per kilometre for the police vehicle.

“The IGP must tell us the rationale behind asking for payments for Buddhist religious activities. The Esela perehera will be held in August, and does this mean that they will charge money for the related activities as well?” he questioned.

In April, the Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya issued a new circular to all police stations revising the fees charged for a list of services provided to the public.

CID HQ a popular photoshoot spot

The Vedda Chief seen outside the CID headquarters

The head office of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo features regularly on television news bulletins, and it has become well known, not only to those living here but also to Sri Lankans living overseas, who catch up on local news regularly.

A Sri Lankan family visiting Sri Lanka after several years from overseas were sightseeing in the Fort area recently when they came across the famous (or infamous) entrance to the CID, and having instantly recognised it as the place they see often on TV, they posed in front of the building and took photographs.