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The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka locked horns this week over the exhibits at the World Press Photo Exhibition which opened in Colombo on February 27.

The Dutch embassy issued a statement on Wednesday in which it condemned alleged attempts of the Russian Embassy in Colombo to limit freedom of expression and the public’s right to information over demands to remove photographs related to Russia’s war in Ukraine from the World Press Photo Exhibition.”

The World Press Photo Exhibition's Colombo leg sparks a diplomatic war of words

A statement issued by the Dutch Embassy noted that the Russian Ambassador visited the exhibition during the weekend (7-8 March) and demanded that photographs related to Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine be removed, whilst warning of staging a protest if the organisers failed to comply.

“The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands deplores the attempts by any party to compromise the people’s right to know and right to freedom of expression. It also amounts to a violation of the host country’s sovereignty if an embassy attempts to decide what and which content its citizens should see and not,” it added.

The Russian Embassy hit back shortly afterward. Issuing a statement, the embassy pointed out that the materials presented at this exhibition relating to events in Ukraine are completely biased and anti-Russian in nature. “The photographs deliberately ignore the atrocities committed by Ukrainian Nazis during the 2014-2022 periods in the Donbass and during the invasion of the Kursk region in 2024. Such a non-objective presentation of materials is further evidence of the hypocrisy of the West,” the Russian Embassy said.

“The Dutch Embassy should think carefully about the fact that it is defending the puppet Nazi regime in Kiev. Instead of spreading prejudiced and one-sided information, the Dutch Embassy should seriously consider correcting the mistakes of its country’s colonial past and returning the historical treasures it plundered from Sri Lanka,” the Russian Embassy statement added.

The unusual diplomatic spat has so far not disrupted the exhibition, which will continue till March 17 at Sahas Uyana in Kandy.

Northern PS passes West Asian peace resolution; ITAK stays away

A resolution passed by a local council in Kilinochchi on recent global development in the Middle East saw the grand old Tamil party—the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK)—distancing itself from it this week.

Unlike passing resolutions on local affairs, the ITAK majority-Pachchilaipalli Pradeshiya Sabha passed a resolution on Tuesday calling for “world peace” in West Asia following the war started by the United States and Israel against Iran.

The resolution particularly addressed the incoming US ambassador, Jayne Howell, and was titled “Support for the efforts to maintain world peace”.

“Expressing support for the efforts made by the United States and Israel with the aim of establishing world peace, the parties involved in the war should act in accordance with international legal provisions, not disrupt world peace and give priority to humanitarian issues,” the letter addressed to the embassy read.

Police raid Indian Dish TV service providers in Jaffna

Following a directive from the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), Jaffna police raided the town’s electronic shops that sell satellite-based Direct to Home (DTH) Dish TV network units, which are illegal.

At least five India-based Dish TV networks that provide their services directly through their sets were seized by police officers.

In addition, the TRCSL also warned the public in the North that several service providers are advertising unverified services through social media platforms and cautioned against making any payments to those wonders.

During the police raid, it came to light most of those DTH units were smuggled into the country from India via sea.

Vijitha recounts nuclear fear

Russian Ambassador Levan S. Dzhagaryan seen discussing the oil crisis with Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando

Russian Ambassador Levan S. Dzhagaryan met with Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath this week to discuss the purchase of fuel from Russia.

At the onset of the meeting, Ambassador Dzhagaryan said in a lighter vein that had Sri Lanka agreed to a Russian suggestion to build a nuclear power plant in the country, it would not be grappling with energy shortage issues today.

Mr Herath, however, said Sri Lanka’s emphasis was on renewable energy and talk of nuclear power scares the Sri Lankan people. “People still remember the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and fear that having a nuclear plant can cause such accidents,” he said.

Minister faces lift let-down

The lift doesn't work, Harshana was told. Pic by L.B. Senaratne

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara visited the Kandy Courts Complex this week to a warm welcome but was a little perturbed to find that the lifts in the building are ‘out of order’.

So instead of taking the lift, he had to climb a few flights of stairs of the three-storey building for a discussion with judicial officials and staff members.

At the meeting he enquired about the faulty lift and was told that there was a problem with the electricity line into the building. This prompted the minister to direct that measures be taken to get the lift working as soon as possible with the assistance of the Ceylon Electricity Board.

Wimal’s anti-war protest to  feature teddies

National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa is asking people to donate teddy bears for a planned protest to highlight the impact of war on children.

In a statement on Friday, Mr Weerawansa said that teddy bears symbolise the innocence of children and would be displayed on the day of the planned protest. Those who wish to can drop off the teddy bears of any size before March 17 at the National Freedom Front headquarters located at No. 428/1, Robert Gunawardena Mawatha, Battaramulla.

War sparks fertiliser warning from think tank

The ongoing conflict affecting the Gulf region could lead to a fertiliser shortage in countries including Sri Lanka, according to an article published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The Gulf region is a key producer not only of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and oil products but also of fertiliser, and about one-third of global seaborne trade in fertilisers typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz. The disruption of shipping through the strait could disrupt the flow of Gulf fertiliser to export markets such as Sudan, Brazil, or Sri Lanka, the article said.

Harsha makes RoyTho  international 

Cricket and camaraderie: Harsha with high commissioners

The Royal-Thomian big match is a much-looked-forward-to event on the school’s annual cricket calendar, but it also draws attention internationally among cricketing nations.

In attendance yesterday on the last day of the three-day match at the SSC in Colombo were Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha, British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick and Australian High Commissioner Matthew Duckworth.

SJB MP Harsha De Silva, an old Royalist, posted a photograph with the trio on his X account yesterday with the caption “Made the RoyTho international. Invited the Indian, Australian and the British HC to the tent.”

Mano challenges AKD to hold PC polls

For Tamil political parties, conducting the long-delayed provincial council polls is a critical one for many reasons. At every opportunity they get with diplomats or visiting international leaders, the leaders of minority parties take up the issue to pressure the government to conduct polls that have not been held for over a decade.

But the government’s consistent position has been ‘PC polls will be conducted early next year’. As one former Northern Provincial Council member said in a meeting recently, ‘We just don’t know which year it is going to be.”

Meanwhile, Tamil Progressive Alliance leader Mano Ganesan never misses a chance to raise the issue of the longstanding delay. Addressing a gathering, he asked why the NPP government is hesitant to conduct polls when previous regimes conducted them even when they knew the results wouldn’t be favourable to them.

Mr Ganesan, in a post on X, asked, “If Mahinda Rajapaksa, who fought a brutal war in the North & earned the resentment of Tamils of the North, could still hold the Northern Provincial Council election, why can’t president AKD do the same, despite walking around the North in shorts at dawn, taking selfies, hugging people & publicly displaying affection?

“My dear friend Anura, this question is for you!”