Columns

The official residence allocated for the Speaker in Kotte is to be turned into a “Centre for Parliamentary Studies and Research” for the exclusive use of Members of Parliament and provincial and local councillors.

The premises opened in 2000 and has been occupied by several speakers, but since taking office, the National People’s Power (NPP) has shunned official residences and has chosen to live in private dwellings.

Is the Govt. putting to good use the sprawling Speaker's House complex?

The Parliamentary Staff Advisory Committee, which met this week, decided to appoint a project manager, likely a retired senior government officer, to coordinate, advise, and lead the planning and structuring framework of the centre for an initial period of six months.

The proposed centre aims to provide access to advanced research resource persons, specialised training, and policy analysis. The centre will operate under the supervision of the Parliament Secretariat, with initial funding expected from parliamentary allocations and future partnerships with international organisations such as the UNDP and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

While there is merit in setting up such a centre, given the lack of interest among MPs in using the resources available to them already in Parliament, including its well-stocked library and other resources, it is likely this will lie idle. It would be better to make the place a depository for the parliamentary history of Sri Lanka and make it accessible to the public.

Kandy school plays quidditch in selecting Games Captain

A popular proverb goes along the lines that ‘Good habits that are introduced at school will last long.’ It seemed that a popular school in Kandy took it very seriously when it came to selecting a ‘Games Captain’ in the school.

Several outstanding performers who brought recognition to the school from both local and international games lamented that they were not selected for the role. The reason—they failed to sweep the classroom to keep it clean and give proper ‘respect’ to the school teachers.

Therefore, many are the heartburns, not only for students but also for parents who are demanding answers as to why their children were not considered for the post despite their achievements and the recognition they brought to school.

One parent of an outstanding sports student was heard saying how students can clean the classrooms when they go abroad to participate in regional and international sports events. With the new policy adopted by the school, he stressed that nowadays students should give up those opportunities and stick to sweeping classrooms and ‘saluting’ their teachers.

Police suspensions on the rise

The news isn’t good for the Police Department in general. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala revealed this week that around 300 police officers have been suspended in the first half of 2025 for various offences—about 100 more than the number in the whole of last year.

Many have been engaged in various forms of misconduct and have been interdicted or sacked from the service, he said, adding that the actions of a few have tarnished the image of the entire police service.

Trump wows Mandy’s anti-climate rant

Mandy Gunasekera, an American married to Sri Lankan Surya Gunasekera, has emerged as a leading force in the anti-climate policies of US President Donald Trump.

Mandy Gunasekera: Climate denier

An environmental attorney and former Chief of Staff of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the first term of the Trump administration, Mandy is a Republican from Mississippi. She is also a counsel attached to Capitol Hill Consulting Group.

US President Trump has had a long-standing issue with turbines as early as 2006 and had to fight a court battle in 2013 to counter the Scottish government’s plans to construct a wind farm near his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland.

On his social media platform Truth Social last Wednesday, he referenced an appearance by Ms. Gunasekara on Fox Business’ Varney & Co., where she discussed what Trump called the “Environment Scam.” Ms. Gunasekera, a climate denier, is also a co-author of ‘Project 2025,’ the so-called unofficial manifesto of the Trump administration seeking to change the nature of how the US government works.

“Wow, she really gets it, including the biggest Hoax of them all, WINDMILLS!” he wrote, adding, “We won’t be approving any of those money losing monstrosities in the Trump Administration. Great job, Mandy!” US President Trump wrote in his post on Truth Social.

Guten Tag, Sri Lanka!

The newly appointed Deputy Head of the German Embassy in Colombo, Sarah Hasselbarth, found a novel way to introduce her arrival in the country.

“I’m happy to be here in Sri Lanka & excited to start my journey…” she said, posting a photograph of herself inside a three-wheeler painted in the colour of the Federal Republic of Germany.

“….building friendships, partnerships & yes… starting it all with a tuk-tuk ride!’ she said in the post on the official X handle of the German Embassy in Colombo.

Thailand wants Lankan labour after war with Cambodia

Amid an uneasy truce between Thailand and Cambodia following the recent border skirmishes, the Thai government is drawing up a plan to replace Cambodian workers who have returned to their country due to the ongoing border tensions with workers from Sri Lanka, according to the country’s Labour Ministry.

The Bangkok Post newspaper reported on Friday that the country’s Labour Minister Pongkawin Jungrungreangkit has estimated about 20,000 registered workers have gone back across the border to Cambodia.

To minimise disruptions to ongoing projects, the Labour Ministry is considering bringing in workers from Sri Lanka. The process, however, is still in its initial stages and contingent on the signing of an MoU, which is still currently being drafted, Mr. Pongkawin has told the newspaper.

Presidential guards removed after duty-free abuse

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has tried to consolidate his image as the ‘common man’s president’ since assuming office, and one way is by using the general departure/arrival lounges at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) instead of the VIP lounge.

Hence, every time he leaves or arrives in the country, it becomes a media event as well for clicking selfies with his fans and an impromptu walkabout through the airport’s passages. It is also a time when officials get some free publicity by staying close to him. The regulars are the Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasuriya and the Chairman of the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Harsha Abeywickrema, as well as a host of police personnel from the President’s Security Division (PSD).

However, some of the policemen who accompanied the President to the BIA departure lounge when he left for the Maldives on July 28 were in for a rude shock when they got marching orders after it was found that they had used their entrance to the airport to avail themselves of some duty-free goods. Seven have been transferred out as a result.

X blow for LTTE Diaspora

For diaspora-based pro-Eelamist groups, this week’s announcement by a group of French parliamentarians calling for an independent international investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka turned out to be another ‘small win’.

The announcement came in the wake of ongoing excavation activities at the Chemmani mass grave site. Parliamentarians from La France Insoumise (LFI) and New Ecological and Social People’s Union (NFP) were among those who signed the collective letter.

Pro-LTTE social media handles, particularly France-based ones, on various platforms had a field day welcoming the announcement, but the jubilation did not last for long for some users.

Some social media users of platform X were suspended on the basis of “violating community standards” when they tried to manipulate the statement with unverified truths and graphic content.

Political lessons in Lal Kantha’s about-turn

Politicians are known to say the wrong things often only to regret it later, as was the case for Agriculture and Irrigation Minister K.D. Lal Kantha, whose brave words in front of his supporters to tear down a hotel in Polonnaruwa owned by rice-mill owner Dudley Sirisena (brother of former President Maithripala Sirisena) caused him more than a little embarrassment.

After the uproar caused by his remarks, the minister toned down his statement to say that it was only the hotel fence that was encroaching on a reservation area of the Parakrama Samudraya in Polonnaruwa. Later, he backed off from that as well, getting agitated with a journalist who persisted in questioning him on threats to tear down the hotel.

”What is there to do when nothing illegal has happened?” the minister asked.

Good lesson for politicians—that playing to the gallery can cause a lot of egg-on-face later on.

In letter to President, Mujibur slams free visas for Israelis

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahman has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake protesting against the government’s “shameful decision” to include Israel among countries granted visa-free entry to Sri Lanka.

In a strongly worded letter, Mr. Rahman has stressed that the government’s decision allows “credibly accused war criminals to enter our motherland and possibly escape justice.” He has added that it is further alarming to note that Palestine is not among the nations whose citizens can enter Sri Lanka without a visa. “This is not what is expected from the leadership of a country that has consistently supported a Free Palestine.”

“Your government’s decision to open the country without due diligence, scrutiny and vetting to IDF members, war criminals, criminal settlers in the occupied West Bank, and Zionist extremists will inevitably land you and Sri Lanka among the international rejects complicit in the genocide. This will certainly outweigh the currency you expect to gain from tourism,” the MP has told the President.

He has urged President Dissanayake to withdraw the free visa facility offered to Israelis and include Palestine among the countries eligible for free visas for its stateless ‘citizens’ to visit Sri Lanka.