President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who attended the Badulla District Development Council meeting last week, stayed overnight without returning to Colombo as he had to attend a Passing Out Parade at the Diyathalawa Army Camp the next day. He took this opportunity to visit Ella to see its tourism development activities.
President Wickremesinghe is no stranger to Ella, having visited the city with his parents many times in his younger days. The President, a lifelong nature lover, stayed over at the family-owned Arcadia Bungalow in Diyathalawa during these visits.
The President has expressed his opposition to plans that could alter the natural outlook of Ella. But social media had distorted these sentiments. One of the first to inquire about this was UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara, who asked the President “what’s this story about a tea cup?”.
Then the President said that travellers come to Ella to enjoy its natural beauty and not to see any artificial attractions. Most people did not understand this aspect, the President said. Although the President was to return to Colombo on Saturday, helicopter flights were not possible due to bad weather and he stayed over at the Arcadia. The next day too the weather was not conducive, but the Presidential entourage came to Wellawaya by road and then by air to Colombo.
He then proceeded to meet his Climate Change Advisors Erik Solheim and Ruwan Wijewardene in Colombo. The President apprised them that the Climate Change Act would be presented to Parliament soon and he also inquired about the progress made on the proposed Climate Change University. Wijewardene said the work on this could begin soon, at which point Solheim suggested holding an International Summit on Climate Change in Colombo next year. The President agreed with this proposal.
Christmas Carols
On Sunday night, the President witnessed the Carols presented by the Tourism Ministry, Police and Security Forces near the Presidential Secretariat. Ministers Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara were also present.
Minister Nanayakkara noted that the President was seated on the steps leading to the statue of D.S. Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of Independent Ceylon. “I am fortunate to be sitting under the benevolent gaze of the founder of our Party,” the President replied.
He urged the two Ministers to enable the people to celebrate the festive season despite the economic difficulties. Minister Fernando interjected, saying the business community had urged him to create a conducive environment for Christmas festivities, which would also facilitate tourist arrivals.
On Monday, the President’s attention was focused on a special report on the incidents at the Buddhist and Pali University, which he discussed with Presidential Secretary Saman Ekanayake and Chief of Staff Sagala Ratnayake. They agreed that the Cabinet should be apprised of this situation, which the President did that evening.
The Cabinet agreed that the University should be closed until the Most Ven. Mahanayakes come to a decision. The President then instructed the Information Director General Dinith Chinthaka Karunarathne to give a clear picture on this situation to the media at the next Cabinet news briefing.
On Tuesday, the President convened a meeting of Security and Police Chiefs and inquired about the narcotics and crime situation. He told them to take all possible steps to prevent the entry of narcotics to schools.
On Tuesday evening, the President met the members of the UNP Management Committee and the main topic under discussion was the upcoming Local Government (LG) Elections. General Secretary Range said the UNP should be ready to face the LG polls. Former MP Wijewardene however pointed out that the National Elections Commission (NEC) has requested an allocation of Rs.10 billion for the LG Polls, which would not be easy to procure under the present circumstances.
MP Vajira Abeywardena joined in, saying that there would be around 8,000 candidates and each of them would have to spend around Rs. 2-3 million for propaganda. He pointed out that printing money to hold the election would drive up inflation. Former MP Akila Viraj Kariyawasam too agreed on the cost, but forecast a higher figure of Rs.20 billion.
In the end, the group agreed that the Party should get ready for LG Polls in any case and gave the responsibility for calling nominations to Range Bandara, who will liaise with the grassroots level UNP organisers.
Responsibility to the country
President Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed that everyone should unite to fulfill their responsibility to the country, sidelining the traditional political system of trying to grab power at the next election by palming off all the responsibility on the Government.
The President also said that he has not forgotten the difficulties the people are facing today due to the increase in the prices of goods as a result of inflation, and that he will solve the country’s economic problems step by step and provide more relief to the people by next year.
At a progress review meeting of the food security district program at the Nuwara-Eliya Town Hall, on Thursday, the President requested all to cast aside political differences and join hands to make the food security program a success.
President Wickremesinghe said that he has not engaged in politics since assuming the office of President, and assured his commitment to revive the country’s fallen economy by providing relief to the people who are suffering from the high cost of living burden.
He said that the people today have rejected not one group but the entire political system. The President said that people’s trust can only be regained by working together and rebuilding the country.
SLPP ready for polls
SLPP Parliamentarian Rohitha Abeygunawardena said the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is ready for an election at any time, while refuting the Opposition’s claims that the Government was trying to postpone the Local Government Elections.
At a recent SLPP press conference, Abeygunawardena said that the SLPP has already called for applications for candidates and is ready for an election on any date the Election Commission announces.
He said, “We have made three consecutive victories at elections, and our party will go forward despite the criticism coming its way. Our grassroots level network is strong. However, an election is not the priority of the people now. They are more concerned with how to face the economic crisis. People face hardships as the Cost of Living has spiraled.
New alliance
Chief Government Whip Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said a future election will be faced through a new alliance and the symbol of the alliance will be decided in due course. Replying to a question raised by a journalist after a recent ceremony about whether his party the SLPP would form an alliance with the United National Party in the future, Minister Ranatunga said that there is a Ranil Rajapaksa Government in the country now.
He said these two parties have a lot of experience, so there is no problem with forming an alliance between the two parties. He also said that negotiations are already underway to add some other political parties to this alliance.
Ranatunga said that SLPP has already begun political activities and is ready to face any future elections. We are confident that we will be able to win any future elections. Journalists also asked Minister Ranatunga about the statement made by former President Maithripala Sirisena that he would form a new alliance. Responding to that, the Minister said that it would be good for everyone to unite and come to one place.
Minister Ranatunga, replying to another question whether there was any attempt to compensate those whose houses were burnt on May 9 by rioters, said that requests have been made to the Government to compensate those whose houses were destroyed.
He said the Frontline Socialist Party and the JVP should be held fully responsible for the incidents that took place on May 9. They will never come to power in this country democratically. They wanted to kill and remove us from politics to establish their power. Now the people have understood what the truth is.
The people who were in the struggle now tell the true situation to the country. They say not to go to struggles again. Now it has been revealed it was drug addicts and cannabis addicts who had taken over the struggle. They were not peaceful fighters. They hijacked the peaceful struggle and led to the destruction of the country.
“Economic situation better”
Former Minister Navin Dissanayake said the country’s situation has become better as President Ranil Wickremesinghe accepted the challenge during a critical time.
He told the media at the UNP headquarters, Sirikotha, that Sri Lankans had no hope to celebrate a New Year. However, due to the President’s ability to accept and face the challenges, he has been able to bring the country to the present status.
He said, “We expect that the country’s financial situation will be better by February next year. We will be able to control the cost of living by appreciating the Rupee. Inflation would go up if we print more money. We have to continue the debt restructuring process as well.”
The former Minister also said that the country’s foreign reserves have gone up due to the recent improvements in the tourism sector. The foreign exchange received from the migrant workers has also increased.
Baseless allegations
SLPP General Secretary MP Sagara Kariyawasam said some are making baseless allegations over holding the Local Government election, when the Elections Commission has clearly stated that moves will be taken to hold the LG election in due course.
Kariyawasam told the media on Tuesday at the SLPP headquarters, that the Elections Commission has stated that the date for the election will be fixed. But with the fear of facing the election, certain political parties filed a case in the Supreme Court in this regard.
It indicates none other than the fear of these political parties for an election. He questioned whether these parties are trying to bring people to the streets again by arousing people. “These parties did the same thing some time ago by arousing people.”
He said the SLPP is ready to make an alliance with the parties that can accept the policies of the SLPP.
Tourism campaign
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, PC met the Heads of Sri Lanka Missions and other related stakeholders recently for a focused promotional campaign on tourism.
The session, chaired by Minister Sabry, focused on tourism-centric promotional campaigns that they plan tocarry out, and was attended by the Heads of Sri Lanka Missions overseas and stakeholders within the tourism industry. Taking to Twitter, Minister Sabry reiterated that tourism is currently one of the key catalysts in bringing in foreign currency to Sri Lanka amidst the ongoing dollar crisis. Thus, he said that a collective effort in this regard is imperative for Sri Lanka’s economic revival.
Independent groups
Three political groups which quit the Government and became independent in Parliament are now discussing how they should contest future elections. These three independent groups are the SLFP led by former President Maithripala Sirisena, ‘ Uttara Lanka Sabhagaya’ led by Wimal Weerawansa and Freedom People’s Council led by Prof. G.L,.Peiris.
The three groups had extensive discussions during the past couple of days on their future political programs. The key biggest issue that they face is under which alliance and symbol that they are going to contest future elections. Although a suggestion had been made to contest from the betel leaf under the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), it has become an issue as the majority of the coalition parties of the UPFA have now aligned with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
Indian HC visits Seethawaka Botanical Gardens
On the invitation of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Indian High Commissioner Gopal Bhagle visited the Seethawaka Botanical Gardens on Wednesday where he planted a sapling in the garden in celebration of India’s 75th Independence Day.
The Prime Minister said, “The Indo-Sri Lankan friendship is not limited to a few years. It spans over many centuries. Bilateral relations between the two countries have become stronger every time. By this year, India has become one of the most powerful countries in the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the current Chairman of the G20 group granted numerous benefits to the neighbouring countries as well.
“The participation of a High Commissioner of one of the world’s most powerful states in this event further strengthens the friendship between the two countries. Therefore, today is a special day for the people in the area of Seethawaka. Environment is not limited to one generation. It is everyone’s responsibility to protect such botanical gardens full of biodiversity. The kingdom of Seethawaka played a special role in the country’s freedom struggle. The nature of this unique environment also triggered it,” he said.
Indian High Commissioner Gopal Bhagle said, “India’s support for Sri Lanka’s green development process is deserved. The relations between the two countries are not limited to economic cooperation. India’s full support is given to Sri Lanka in the program of promoting renewable energy.
“It is very important to use natural resources in the development process without harming the environment. The history of great bilateral relations and people like the Prime Minister’s father, Minister Philip Gunawardena, who strengthened those great relations should be gratefully remembered at this time,” he said.
The High Commissioner outlined the need to promote economic partnership between the two countries and work with the joint efforts of both countries to create environment-friendly policies that combat climate change.
Leisurely discussion
Last weekend was not politically busy for UNP Chairman MP Wajira Abeywardena. Therefore, he had fully reserved the weekend to sort out the issues of party activists and supporters who came to office at his residence. As Abeywardena was not politically busy, those who came to his residence were able to discuss their issues leisurely with him and discuss the current political situation in the country.
Most of those who came to meet UNP Chairman Abeywardena said “Minister now the country is stable. The President plays this match very well. You as the President’s shadow support him to bat well. However, getting a ministerial post by you is getting delayed day by day. When do you take oaths as a Minister?”
Abeywardena told the supporters, “At this juncture, we should not give priority to offer ministerial portfolios or conduct elections as demanded by the Opposition. We all should have one particular goal at this juncture. That is to get the country out of the current crisis. For that purpose, now President Ranil Wickremesinghe goes countrywide and commits to sort out the issues faced by the people. Therefore, we all should extend our fullest support to the President. After we rescue the country from the current crisis situation, we can think of elections or other things.”