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Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva participated in several of the 21 May Day rallies the ruling NPP held throughout the country on Friday.

While addressing crowds during the party’s Kalutara rally, he took aim at the opposition and its anti-government protests.

“They get about 10-15 people together and come and shout at some junction or in front of a house, calling on people to come and topple the government and to wage another Aragalaya (Struggle). We would like to tell them that if they want to learn about Aragalayas, they should come and take lessons from us. We were the ones who taught the country to wage struggles,” Mr Silva claimed.

Calling such opposition members “mentally deranged”, the JVP General Secretary said that it is the NPP government that is the “only government” that would be there to build the country from now on, and there is no room for any other government.

It may well be that what Mr Silva meant was that it is only the NPP government that was capable of developing the country. However, his past comments, particularly regarding his admiration for the one-party rule system practised in China, will only fuel more concerns regarding whether the JVP General Secretary truly favours the multi-party system currently in effect in Sri Lanka.

SLPP pays May Day tribute to Ilangaratne

SLPP leader Mahinda Rajapaksa paying floral tribute to the statue of Labour Leader T.B. Ilangaratne on May Day

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa joined members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramauna (SLPP) in paying tribute to yesteryear’s politician, the late T. B. Ilangaratne, under whose tenure as minister of labour, May 1 was declared a public holiday.

May Day (May 1), universally accepted as International Workers’ Day, became a holiday in Sri Lanka in 1956 and was one of the first acts of the then newly elected government of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

The late T. B. Ilangaratne was an active trade unionist who had served as the President of the General Clerical Service Union (GCSU) before taking to politics.

“Marking 70 years since May Day was declared a public holiday, I paid tribute to T.B. Ilangaratne, a distinguished leader who championed the rights and dignity of workers,” SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa said, having paid a floral tribute at the statue of T.B. Ilangaratne near Temple Trees, the Prime Minister’s official bungalow in Colombo.

The SLPP did not, however, hold a May Day rally like in past years, given the day also fell on a Full Moon Poya Day.

IPKF Commander Depinder Singh dies at 96

Lt Gen Depinder Singh, who functioned as the overall security force commander of the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka, passed away this week. He was 96.

As the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, he was appointed to head the visiting IPKF when the India-Sri Lanka Accord was signed in 1987, inter alia, to disarm Tamil militant groups, including the LTTE.

IPKF commander Depinder Singh with Prabhakaran

The operation to disarm the LTTE ended in disaster, with the Indian troops suffering a ‘bloodied nose’ at the hands of the terrorist group that was trained by its own intelligence agency, RAW. More than 1,100 Indian soldiers died and more than 3,000 were wounded. The IPKF was sent packing by President R. Premadasa, and the LTTE went on fighting for a separate state for two more decades before being defeated by the Sri Lankan armed forces in May 2009.

Lt Gen. Depinder Singh wrote a book on the IPKF experiences in Sri Lanka. In the book titled ‘Indian Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka (1987-1989)’, he recalled the challenges the Indian troops faced in a foreign land and the lack of planning that led to their debacle in Sri Lanka.

Deputy construction minister builds additional district

The National People’s Power (NPP) held 21 May Day rallies in 21 districts on Friday. It was billed as a series of rallies meant to project the ruling party’s strength.

During its May Day rally in Polonnaruwa, however, Deputy Housing, Construction and Water Supply Minister T.B. Sarath seemed to get carried away in his enthusiasm. He claimed that hundreds of thousands of working-class people had flocked to the NPP’s banner in “26 districts”. He repeated the claim at least three times, evidently without realising that the country only has 25 administrative districts and his party was holding rallies in only 21 of them.

One commentator on social media wondered whether the deputy minister had also counted a district in India when he referred to people flocking to the NPP’s banner.

Mr Sarath, a former trade union leader, is no stranger when it comes to making weird claims. He once referred to himself publicly as “Polonnaruwe Rajya Nayakaya” (Head of State for Polonnaruwa). The moniker has since stuck.

GL delivers Chelvanayakam lecture amid protests

Former Justice and External Affairs Minister G. L. Pieris was in Jaffna last Sunday (26) to deliver the annual S.J.V. Chelvanayakam memorial lecture organised by the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, which he founded.

Several party cadres and activists were taken aback, and some were critical of the invitation to Dr Pieris to deliver the lecture, given his past political stands and the role he had played in the previous government in various capacities. The opposition to his presence was reflected in the poor attendance at the event and the absence of some party officials.

The title of his lecture was “Federal principles and the path to constitutional reforms”.

During the lecture, Dr Pieris, who claims to have led Norwegian-facilitated peace talks with the LTTE on behalf of the government, stressed that the interim governance structure proposed by the LTTE was no less than a separate state.

He had also recalled in his memoirs of the Oslo talks with the LTTE delegation that its political head, Anton Balasingham, understood the geopolitical and ground realities of a ‘separate state’ dream and the eventual collapse of the talks.

While Lanka defers Vesak, UN marks it on Friday, highlighting Buddhism’s peace message

While Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Minister A.H.M.H. Abayarathna declared Vesak Week from May 27 to June 2, in accordance with a Cabinet decision, the United Nations and many Buddhist countries celebrated Vesak Day on Friday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent out wishes to all celebrating the sacred occasion, stating that guided by the Buddha’s example, “let us summon our shared humanity and build the more peaceful and sustainable world all people need and deserve.”

The late Lakshman Kadirgamar, as Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, took the lead by proposing to the United Nations General Assembly in 1999 that Vesak be officially recognised as an international event.

The General Assembly, by its resolution 54/115 of 1999, recognised internationally the Day of Vesak to acknowledge the contribution that Buddhism, one of the oldest religions in the world, has made for over two and a half millennia and continues to make to the spirituality of humanity. This day is commemorated annually at the UN Headquarters and other UN offices, in consultation with the relevant UN offices and with permanent missions, which also wish to be consulted. On Vesak Day, Buddhists around the world mark the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent out wishes on Buddha Purnima. “Our commitment towards realising the ideals of Lord Buddha is very strong. May his thoughts deepen the spirit of joy and togetherness in our society,” he said in a message on his X social post.

Perarivalan: Lawyer for prisoners' rights

Rajiv Gandhi case: Once a convict, now a practising lawyer

Released on remission in 2022, A.G. Perarivalan—one of the life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case—has now enrolled as an advocate at the Bar Association of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Mr Perarivalan (54) donned the black robes on April 2, according to Indian media reports. He would practise as a lawyer in the Madras High Court, focusing on legal aid for prisoners.

He was arrested in 1991 when he was 19 for supplying a 9-volt battery for an explosive device used in the assassination of Mr Gandhi in May 1991 by LTTE terrorists. He has claimed all along that he wasn’t aware of the purpose he was asked to get the batteries and said he was wrongly convicted.

Deep-sea dives deepen Lanka-India maritime partnership

Sri Lankan and Indian Navy personnel executed deep-sea dives, enhancing joint capabilities in underwater search, rescue and salvage operations, as part of a bilateral naval exercise held off the coast of Colombo.

India and Sri Lanka reaffirmed their growing maritime partnership through the fourth edition of the bilateral diving exercise ‘DIVEX’ held from April 21 to 28.

Indian and Sri Lankan navy personnel in underwater exercise

They carried out dives beyond 55 metres over the wrecks of the British steamship SS Worcester and cargo ship SS Perseus. Both ships were sunk after hitting German sea mines laid by the armed merchant raider SMS Wolf during the height of WWI.

Divers from both navies undertook extensive harbour and open-sea dives, demonstrating high levels of technical proficiency and operational expertise. “A key highlight was the conduct of mixed gas dives off Colombo over World War-era wrecks – SS Worcester and SS Perseus,” Indian media reports said, quoting the Indian Navy.

Viet Nam leader to address Lanka’s Parliament on Friday

Viet Nam’s President To Lam, who will be in Sri Lanka next week, will address Parliament on Friday, May 8.

President Lam, who is also the secretary general of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, will join select world leaders who have had the honour of addressing Sri Lanka’s Parliament.

Among the world leaders who have addressed the Sri Lankan legislature are Indian Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru (1962) and Narendra Modi (2015), British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (1985) and Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (2013).

Israeli envoy seeks security and facilities for Israeli tourists in Lanka

Israel’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Reuven Azar, who held talks with Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath this week, said that Sri Lanka would be the top tourist destination for Israeli nationals this year and requested the government to provide the necessary facilities for their stay in the country.

The New Delhi-based envoy said that Thailand and Sri Lanka are the favourite destinations among Israeli tourists. Minister Herath said that Weligama and Arugam Bay were popular destinations with the Israeli visitors, and they would be provided with the necessary facilities, including security, to ensure a pleasant stay.