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A former Indian Foreign Service officer and now India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, who is in the middle of a political storm after his name figured prominently in the Epstein files, is no stranger to Sri Lankans.

Mr Puri, who served as the First Secretary (Political) at the Indian High Commission in Colombo from 1984 to 1988, was one of the main actors directly involved in the negotiations around the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of 1987. He was tasked with negotiating the accord with LTTE leader V. Prabkharan, as revealed by the then Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, J.N. Dixit, in his book “Assignment Colombo”.

Hardeep Singh Puri seen to the left of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at the signing of the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord with Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene

“… the details of the agreement had been discussed by Hardeep Puri with Prabhakaran and his colleagues and some very senior LTTE sympathisers before Prabhakaran was brought to Delhi for discussion with Rajiv Gandhi,” Mr Dixit wrote in his book.

Mr Puri was also entrusted with organising the airlift of Prabhakaran, four members of the LTTE’s political committee, and Prabhakaran’s wife and children in Indian Air Force helicopters to Delhi via Madras prior to the signing of the accord to convince him to go ahead with the deal. Prabhakaran was given categorical assurances by the Indian official of safe conduct back to Jaffna regardless of whether he agreed or did not agree with the proposals in the accord.

Mr Puri joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, having retired from the Foreign Service, but has been making headlines across India these days since his name surfaced in the Epstein files.

According to foreign media reports, in the email exchanges between Mr Puri and the convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein that began in June 2014, Epstein wrote to Mr Puri about Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, to arrange a visit by Mr Hoffman to India. Following an exchange of emails, Mr Puri wrote a detailed pitch for investment opportunities in India to Epstein and Hoffman, laying out economic plans in India under the newly elected Modi government.

Mr Puri had denied any wrongdoing and told the Indian media that his interactions with convicted sex offender Epstein were strictly business-related, even though the main opposition Congress Party in the Indian Parliament has demanded his resignation.

Fencing the land released by military: Bimal blames officials

Transport, Highways and Urban Development Minister and House Leader Bimal Rathnayake was in the North this week to oversee the progress of the projects that were under his purview.

As an influential minister who is handling ‘Northern affairs’, Minister Rathnayake also touched on a critical pending issue which all past governments were very cautious to work on—releasing civilian lands held by the military while ensuring national security.

This time, too, Minister Rathnayake assured that all civilian lands under military custody would be returned to their rightful owners in the near future, stating that the government was working with the Defence Ministry on the thorny issue.

Speaking on the delay in returning those lands which were already vacated by the security forces in the region, the minister blamed senior state officials for their lethargic and inefficient behaviour.

Addressing a meeting in Jaffna, he said that when some of these lands were vacated by the forces and handed back to the respective Divisional Secretariats and District Secretariats, some have responded saying that they did not have enough funds to put up fences. “We are willing to release the lands in military custody, but they (officials) are saying there are not enough funds to put up fences,” he said.

Chinese spring brings fortune to FM Herath

Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath engaging in a lively conversation with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Chinese Spring Festival

The Chinese Embassy held a festival this week in Colombo to welcome the “Warmth of Spring, Embracing the Chinese New Year”.

The event was hosted by the Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong, with Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath as the chief guest. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and former MP Wimal Weerawansa were among the 700 guests at the gathering.

Once comrades-in-arms, Minister Herath and Mr Weerawansa were seen at the front and centre of the event but seemed poles apart.

However, the day proved to be lucky for Minister Herath when he emerged as the winner at the raffle draw held there. He won an electric shaver and a model of a horse, being the Chinese Year of the Horse, as a present. He also won a diplomatic prize while at the show when he received confirmation that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, had agreed to a telephone conversation with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake later that night to discuss Pakistan’s T20 World Cup boycott against India in Colombo. The discussion ended successfully with Pakistan agreeing to play India. The match is scheduled to be held today.

In Washington DC, Lankans join to welcome monks on peace walk

Sri Lanka’s ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe offering atapirikara to Ven. Pannakara Thera, who led the 2,300‑mile peace walk to Washington, D.C.

A group of Sri Lankans, including officials of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington, were on hand to welcome a group of Buddhist monks who completed their 2,300-mile-long, 15-week peace march across the states.

They were welcomed by a large crowd in the US. capital, Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, with Sri Lanka’s Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe among those lined up to welcome them. The peace march has ignited an interest in Buddhism as well as the call for peace, with thousands of people supporting the walking monks as they made their way through sometimes perilous conditions, including extremely cold weather.

Bike testing… 1, 2, 3

DIG Sujith Wedamulla test riding a beach bike

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Sujith Wedamulla, who is in charge of the Ampara District, conducted the annual examination of the Potuvil Police Station on Wednesday.

During the examination, the DIG also tested out the new quad bike that had been given to the police station for coastal protection duties.

President strikes tea-and-empathy note

During a visit to Nuwara Eliya this week, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made a stop near a plantation in Talawakelle to exchange some pleasantries with a group of tea pluckers.

During his encounter with women tea pluckers, the President was seen checking the tea leaf (dalu)-stained fingers of the women who spend countless hours plucking two leaves and a bud needed for the production of tea. The workers were pleasantly surprised to see the President and thanked him for looking into their welfare.

While his photoshoot with the tea pluckers went off smoothly, there were a few hiccups during his speech in Nuwara Eliya, when the man translating his speech from Sinhala to Tamil struggled to keep up with the President’s oratory skills.

Realising the break in the flow of the translation, the President briefly stopped his speech and allowed the translator to gather his thoughts. In between, he just wanted to let the translator know that he could understand the language. “They taught me Tamil in Parliament,” the President said, bringing some laughter and lightening the mood.

On Valentine’s Day, police urge sense in heads rather than hearts

A traffic police officer in a Valentine's mood

The Sri Lanka Police sent out a message ahead of yesterday’s Valentine’s Day, warning those celebrating with their ‘significant others’ to be aware of those who use the day to exploit others taken in by the aura of romance around the day.

Police spokesman F. U. Wootler said that while ‘VD’ is seen as an “official excuse to be extra romantic,” there have been many unsavoury incidents in the past which have been anything but romantic. These included Facebook-driven parties which ended with police raids and court cases and lovers being lured into sending compromising photographs which have ended with blackmail, some even ending in tragedy, and hence, the police spokesman’s request was for those celebrating to do so with respect and dignity and within the boundaries of the law.

Ranil makes Silk Route quip at sacred relic exposition

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe visited the Gangaramaya temple in Colombo on Wednesday morning to pay homage to the Devnimori sacred relics, brought from India.

While viewing the relics, Mr Wickremesinghe questioned an Indian official about historical details, asking if anything else was found in the casket at the archaeological site. When the official mentioned that silk was also found, he remarked with a smile, “So, you’ve been dealing with China since then, yet you shout at us now (when doing the same)?” The Indian official also responded with a smile.