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Not many in Jaffna are aware that there used to be a bird sanctuary along with a park in the heart of the city until someone went to court and tried to secure an order against the proposed construction of an indoor stadium by removing decades-old, if not centuries-old, trees at the site.

A Jaffna-based environmentalist said one of the trees is believed to be around 100-120 years old.

Last Friday, the Jaffna Magistrate issued an interim order against the government’s initiative to build a Rs 170 million funded indoor stadium at the Old Park complex site, once frequented by British colonialists.

The Jaffna heritage site at the centre of a legal dispute

Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, President’s Counsel M. A. Sumanthiran presented the facts about the five-acre property, arguing that it is registered as a charitable trust property since it was donated as a gift by the first British colonial Government Agent, Sir Percival Ackland Dyke, in 1853.

Less than two weeks ago, Transport, Highways and Urban Development Minister Bimal Rathnayake and NPP MP K. Ilankumaran were among the chief guests at the event where a foundation stone was laid for the indoor stadium following Cabinet approval obtained on November 10.

The court was told that the petitioner came to know about the government’s plan to build an indoor stadium through media reports and sought the court’s intervention, expressing concern over the environmental impact on the bird sanctuary and the park itself if the project is to be implemented.

Even during the height of the separatist conflict from 1990 to 1995, when Jaffna was under military control of the now defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the property was protected, the court was told.

The court was also informed that a ten-member trust committee that consists of current District Secretary M. Piratheepan decided, following a meeting on May 20, not to grant approval for any development work at the site since several government institutions were constructed in the past, but no revenue is collected from those bodies.

During the meeting, the trust committee also rejected a proposal to construct an open-air theatre and a swimming pool. Instead, it was proposed that since the property came under the purview of the Department of Archaeology, a protective fence should be erected around it.

The indoor stadium project was proposed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports with the objective of promoting indoor sports and improving access to modern sporting facilities in the region. The court is scheduled to hear the case next Friday.

Northern fishermen threaten to dump India and embrace China or US

Tired of staging protests against illegal bottom trawling by Tamil Nadu fishermen in Sri Lankan waters, over a thousand Northern fishermen folks from across the district staged a protest on Friday demanding the government put a full stop to their activity.

Handing out petitions to the Northern Governor’s Office and District Secretary, the fishermen sought an urgent meeting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake as well. In their petition, they expressed their profound gratitude for India’s humanitarian assistance during recent floods but pleaded ‘not to rob their livelihood”

When speaking to the media during the protest, one fisherman from Delft Island, where fisherfolk lost their fishing nets and equipment last week after a Tamil Nadu bottom trawler trawled them along, was emotional.

He said that if the government failed, their next protest would be in front of the Indian Consulate General office demanding to vacate the Jaffna region, and they would invade the office as well. Going one step further, he said, “We don’t want India; we will give space for China or America. The government is trying to take action, but it is under pressure, and it cannot.”

Farah Rumy being congratulated by Swiss MPs

Lanka’s Farah elected a vice president of Swiss Parliament

Sri Lankan-born Swiss parliamentarian Farah Rumy was officially elected Second Vice-President of the National Council in early December, becoming the first Swiss federal parliament leader of Sri Lankan heritage.

Ms Rumy was born in Sri Lanka and moved to Switzerland as a child. A trained nurse and medical specialist, she entered politics through her work during the COVID-19 pandemic — an experience that pushed her to join the Swiss Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2020. She first served in the Canton Council of Solothurn.

In parliament, the 34-year-old has championed healthcare reforms, social equality, foreign policy, peace initiatives, and human rights. Ms Rumy is the first Swiss federal parliamentarian of Sri Lankan descent and now becomes the first to hold a leadership position within the National Council’s praesidium, Swiss media reported. She was a co-president of a labour union for nursing staff and worked as a teacher in a vocational school.

She is the daughter of Mohamed ‘Rumy’ Mohideen, an IT systems expert, and Izfiya Rumy, the family name being Mohideen. Schooled at Bishop’ College, she relocated to Switzerland with her parents at the age of six.

Herath shrugs off criticism over Geneva envoy pick

Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has shrugged off criticism over the government’s pick of Sumith Dassanayake, a Sri Lanka Foreign Service officer, to serve as the country’s next Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Some of the critics have said the plum posting was offered to Mr Dassanayake because he was a university batchmate of the minister. However, Minister Herath said that Mr Dassnayake has served as Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union and was currently the Director General of the Oversees Administration Division (OAD) and, therefore, is a qualified officer for the post.

Meanwhile, career Foreign Service officers have also been picked to serve in Sri Lanka missions, including Malaysia and Romania. Their names will be forwarded to the High Post Committee of Parliament shortly for confirmation.

US think tank sounds alarm over hate speech by Hindu extremists

Hate-speech campaigns in Sri Lanka by certain groups against Christians and Muslims in recent years in the north and east have alarmed religious circles, particularly the Hindu community — and now a US think tank has taken note.

The US-based nonprofit, the Center for the Study of Organised Hate (CSOH), which studies organised hate speech both online and offline, found an active presence of Hindu nationalist groups on the island and examined the new patterns of hate and mobilisation
and their impact on minority communities.

In a latest report released last week, the think tank claimed that the narratives advanced by these Hindu nationalist groups centre on anti-Christian and anti-Muslim sentiment tied to religious conversion, women’s attire, cattle slaughter, and interfaith marriages.

Their activities also include attempts to influence electoral behaviour through appeals to Saiva-Hindu identity, mobilisation around contested Hindu religious and archaeological sites, and the cultivation of transnational linkages with Indian Hindu nationalist digital platforms, politicians, and public figures, as well as tactical collaborations with Sinhala-Buddhist actors, it noted.

Overall, the report stressed that the emergence and growing viability of these groups reflects a shifting political landscape in Sri Lanka, shaped in part by the weakening of both Tamil nationalist parties and Sinhala-Buddhist ultra-nationalist formations as well.

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The true public servant

Exemplary service by Grama Sevaka

A commendable act of exemplary service was observed when D.L. Gayan, the Grama Niladhari in charge of the Badulla East 78 B Grama Seva Division, personally carried disaster relief supplies on his shoulder, going door-to-door to distribute them to the affected people of Sumanathissagama, Badulla.

Mr Gayan said his main objective is to provide an honest and dedicated service to the people affected by floods and landslides.

Will UN ditch toilet paper?

The United Nations will no longer provide paper towels in restrooms servicing office spaces in its headquarters in New York City and has encouraged more use of the electric hand dryers installed in these areas.

The step, announced on Dec. 10 in a UN-system-wide email, is the latest in a series of small and big changes that the organisation has been making this year to cut costs as it grapples with a crippling financial crisis.

As to the paper towels, the UN Department of Operational Support (DOS) said in the Dec. 10 email that the transition to using “high-speed” commercial hand dryers will save the organisation “over” $100,000 annually, barely a drop in the $1.87 billion owed by member states. But it appears that paper towels will nevertheless still be stocked in UN restrooms used by the public. Will the next cut be of toilet paper? is a valid question.

Easter blast suspect wins asylum appeal in UK; fresh case looms

A Sri Lankan national who faced arrest in connection with the devastating 2019 Easter bombings has succeeded in his appeal against the UK Home Office’s rejection of his asylum claim, British media reported this week.

The man whose real name was withheld and identified solely as ‘YA’ secured victory at the immigration Upper Tribunal in Birmingham after challenging the initial decision. Following the Upper Tribunal’s intervention, the case must now undergo a fresh hearing.

The man entered the UK in 2022 with his spouse, both asserting they had faced persecution in their homeland. Prior to his departure from Sri Lanka, authorities had detained him regarding the coordinated Easter Sunday attacks, which struck churches and hotels across Sri Lanka in April 2019. British media reported that the date for the new hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Namal’s degree swipe at Govt.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa was asked by journalists this week about the CID team sent to the UK to probe the authenticity of the invitation letter sent by the University of Wolverhampton to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe—a document at the centre of the probe surrounding an alleged misuse of over Rs. 16 million in state funds.

Journalists wanted to know if Mr Rajapaksa believed a similar effort will be undertaken to check the authenticity of his law degree, which is also being questioned.

“I would have preferred them (CID) to have visited my UK university to check on that too while they were there. They could have easily saved some money that would have been spent on a second visit,” Mr Rajapaksa quipped.