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A tiara stolen during the daring robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris this week contained 1,083 diamonds and 24 Ceylon sapphires.

The sapphire diadem was once worn by Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Louis Bonaparte’s wife, Queen Hortense, and Queen Marie-Amélie.

Sri Lanka’s blue sapphires, long celebrated in royal crowns, engagement rings, and museum showcases, have once again captured global attention after the robbery considered the biggest heist in French history.

A sapphire tiara, necklace and earring set, which was once worn by French queens Hortense and Marie-Amelie, were among the jewels stolen from the Louvre Museum in Paris. AFP

In what French art recovery experts are calling “a national disaster” and a “national disgrace”, four masked men pulled off a seven-minute heist at the famous museum in Paris, making off with royal jewels worth over 88 million euros (around 31 billion rupees).

Investigators believe that the motivation for the robbers was the fact that the jewels and precious metals can be broken up and sold.

Louis Bonaparte was a monarch in his own right as King of Holland from 1806 to 1810, when Holland (the Netherlands) was a client state of France at the time. Queen Hortense was his step-niece, the daughter of Empress Josephine (Napoleon’s wife).

The Dutch ruled parts of Ceylon from 1640 to 1796, and it is possible that the Ceylon sapphires were taken away at the time they were conquerors through the Dutch East India Company.

In late 2023, the Netherlands returned six colonial-era artefacts, including the Cannon of Kandy, after they were taken as war spoils (though they could never invade the Kandyan Kingdom). These artefacts are now in the National Museum, which also saw a break-in on March 17, 2012.

On Europe visit, Archchuna seeks diaspora funds—receives sharp response

It has become a norm for some minority politicians to go on the annual pilgrimage to Geneva during UNHRC sessions whenever Sri Lanka is listed on the agenda, even though they can only make statements on the sidelines through time allocation made available for civil society outfits.

It would help them to score some political points back at home to claim that they are taking up the “Tamil issue at the UN”. The latest to join the pilgrimage is the medical doctor turned politician from the Jaffna district, Dr R. Archchuna, who is touring Europe after ‘attending’ sessions in Geneva.

It was a known secret that he managed to secure millions of rupees from diaspora-based supporters to fund his campaign using his social media. He even declared in his assets declaration to Parliament that he received over Rs 10 million as a ‘gift’ from the diaspora.

However, he came up with another appeal for donation on Thursday while going live on his Facebook page during his Europe tour. He pleaded with his well-wishers and supporters to send some funds to his personal account to meet the expenses in Europe since the money he had was enough to survive only a couple of days.

In the comment section, one diaspora member left the following message: “We are also struggling to put food on the table here. Literally, we are doing all kinds of petty odd jobs to manage expenses. If you really want our hard-earned money, let us know.”

Pink to the fore, as House backs breast cancer campaign

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya (top) and Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa posing for photographs
with the pink-clad staff at an event to mark breast cancer awareness week

There was a special day in Parliament on Wednesday (October 22) to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when pink was the dominant colour.

To mark the day, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and many others were presented with awareness badges and wristbands.

In support of this initiative, both MPs and parliamentary staff arrived dressed in shades of pink, while on the initiative of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus, a special debate was held on the importance of breast cancer prevention on Thursday.

Auditor General’s grim report on fleeing doctors: Unpaid security deposits and fines top Rs. 1.1 billion

Medical officers heading overseas for employment are setting an unhealthy precedent by not paying the security deposits and fines due to the government, resulting in outstanding amounts of over Rs.1.1 billion by October, 2024, a report by the Auditor General’s department revealed.

The report said that although agreements had been entered into with the medical officers concerned, as of October 31, 2024, Rs. 1.1 billion was outstanding from 705 medical officers who had violated those agreements.

The audit revealed that due to the failure to take action on time, weaknesses in the internal control systems and the security deposits and fines not being collected on time had made the recovery of the monies difficult.

There was also Rs. 119 million due from 116 medical officers who had not submitted their personal files for audit and around Rs. 1 million paid in excess as salaries, allowances and loan balance to be recovered from five medical officers who had left the service but did not have contractual bonds with the government.

The AG’s report said that there is a significant increase in the number of medical officers quitting the service and vacating their posts for postgraduate training and for foreign employment, as well as for other reasons in the health sector.

However, this has led to medical officers not paying the security deposits and fines due to the government.

The report also observed that the specialist medical officers were not given appointments relevant to their field of expertise, personal files were not updated, a formal system was not developed to verify that the money due from medical officers who had vacated their posts and the government assets used by them were returned, and the Provincial Council Hospitals and Provincial Council Health Institutions had used the authority beyond the power of the Public Service Commission, which is the authority for appointing medical officers.

This report made recommendations to maintain procedural rules regarding all medical officers in the medical service, to identify medical officers who have violated contractual agreements and bonds through the preparation of a formal database, to take all relevant measures to promptly recover the money due to the government without delay, to take formal disciplinary action in accordance with relevant laws against officers who have negligently or intentionally failed to fulfil their responsibilities in this regard, and to take steps to strengthen the internal control process.

A novel way to discourage those who want to buy goods on credit

Goods on credit only after Lanka becomes a Singapore

Local traders use various methods to discourage customers from buying on credit. In rural areas, where small boutiques dot every nook and corner, many display signs at the counter warning customers not to request goods on credit.

However, in spite of such warnings, there is constant haggling between shop owners and customers.

A small boutique owner in Jaffna came up with a witty phrase to discourage customers from requesting goods on credit. He put up a board that read, “No credit until Sri Lanka becomes another Singapore.”

Archchuna’s pepper -spray guns backfire

Jaffna district Parliamentarian R. Archchuna requested the authorities to allow him to bring three non-lethal pepper spray devices and cartridges from abroad, citing self-defence purposes.

The MP, who had bought these devices—a revolver-style unit, a pistol-type unit, and a long-distance unit—wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya on October 18, seeking approval for Customs clearance.

In the letter, he claimed that “he was unaware at the time of the purchase that Sri Lankan Customs regulations require prior authorisation for importation of such items.”

He requested the police chief to receive and secure custody of the devices once he returned to the country, with a formal chain of custody, and arrange for a security assessment before they are handed over to him.

Meanwhile, Parliament’s Acting Secretary General Chaminda Kularatne sent a letter dated October 23 to Dr Archchuna, stating that the IGP’s letter—sent to the Serjeant-at-Arms—quoting a Defence Ministry security assessment concludes that the MP had not yet revealed a threat from extremists, terrorists and organised crime and is in the minimum risk level.

The senior parliamentary official also directed the MP to secure approval from the Defence Ministry directly to bring those devices while stressing that if credible intelligence reports suggest that an MP is at risk, the Ministry can consider issuing a government-owned firearm under a free firearm licence to such MPs.

Thailand ramps up calls to reclaim tuskers from Sri Lanka—with political backing

With pressures mounting from the Thai groups and animal rights activists, Thailand is set to reclaim and repatriate two gifted tuskers—Thai Raja (Pratupa) and Kandula (Sri Narong).

Thailand’s Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin, along with several other officials, will travel to Sri Lanka to assess the elephants’ health and ensure proper care by Sri Lankan officials while working on the diplomatic arrangements, Thai media reported.

The Thai campaigners claim that the two tuskers are mistreated in Sri Lanka and have started a campaign to get back all gifted elephants, starting from the remaining two Thai elephants in Sri Lanka.

Thai social media posts are gaining traction under the theme of ‘Reclaiming Thai Elephants’, with the appointment of current Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who assumed office in September, giving a political twist to the campaign. It seems that the elephants have become a means to score some political points in Thailand, with the government using the repatriation issue to win support among the people.

The government of Thailand gifted both Muthuraja and Kandula with hopes that both tuskers would be the bearers of the casket carrying the sacred relics of the Buddha. Their story unfortunately hasn’t been a happy one, which has resulted in calls for their return to their birthplace.