Sunday, October 05, 2014 Information that Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena was holding a news conference at 7.53 a.m. on Thursday. The riefing was to ta!e "lace in one hour and 3# minutes. $s last%minute ad&isories went' this one too! the ca!e. (ut the media were raring to go. (y now' it was widely !nown that Gunawardena had assaulted )hris *onis' Sri +an!a,s -igh )ommissioner to (ritain' after an argument in *ew .or!. *ews that the chief "rotagonist would now address journalists was hailed with unridled enthusiasm. $nother ad&isory came y /.3# a.m. instructing editors and news editors to gi&e the Ministry names of media "ersonnel attending the media conference. $ third came at 0.#1 a.m.' confirming the news conference. (y 0.23 a.m.' a fourth ad&isory was sent out and it read4 56e wish to inform you that the Press )onference scheduled for today' Thursday 3nd 7ctoer 3#12 at #03# a.m. at the Ministry of 89ternal $ffairs has een cancelled' due to unforeseen circumstances. 6e regret the incon&enience caused.: The media were flummo9ed. The rele&ant officer at the Ministry,s Pulic )ommunications ;i&ision had wor!ed tirelessly since morning to ensure that the message of the news conference was duly con&eyed to all concerned. -e tele"honed' te9ted and emailed. -e confirmed' corrected and reconfirmed. <ournalists were on the way. It did not matter that they had no idea what this riefing was aout. They only !new that the issue of 5that sla": would e raised. $nd that the "ulic would finally ha&e an answer. (y now' the story was all o&er the internet and had grown in "ro"ortion. The President had re=uested an emargo on it rea!ing in the Sunday news"a"ers last wee!' ho"ing he could sort matters out. It was eing re"eatedly shared on social media y Monday. $nd it had graduated from initial re"orts of a sla"' to a o9ing of the ears' to a ro!en tooth' to a full lown assault on a "rostrate *onis' to a fren>ied attac! in which Gunawardena had ro!en his toe while !ic!ing the -igh )ommissioner. So not only were the media disa""ointed when the news conference was called off' they were "i=ued enough to re"ort it. $ te9t message cancelling the riefing had said' courteously' 5;ear ?riends' the Press )onference has een cancelled as flight ad&anced. *ew date will e informed shortly. @egret the incon&enience caused.: )uriously' Mr. Gunawardena accom"anied President Mahinda @aja"a!sa to @ome in an afternoon flight that left Aatunaya!e "ast noon. So if the e9cuse of 5flight ad&anced: was to hold water' he either BneedlesslyC time%tra&elled forward and ac!ward%or noody in that infernal Ministry still !nows whether he or she is coming or going. $nd +an!ans who can laugh through any calamity ha&e this to say aout the "ending in=uiry that has een ordered y the President into the matter. MP Gunawardene denies ha&ing assaulted -) *onis. So' the &erdict isD -) *onis sla""ed himself. -e sla""ed himself so hard that he fell down and a ay ele"hant rought for the "arty tram"led him underfoot. The Secretary to the Ministry of 89ternal $ffairs will e issuing a circular ne9t wee! to $ll -eads of Sri +an!an 7&erseas Missions reminding them that under the 8stalishment )ode it is a &iolation for any -ead of Mission to sla" himself without the "rior a""ro&al of the Secretary to the Ministry. $nd as one wit utted in to sayD ;r *onis eing the good )atholic he is' when sla""ed on one side of his face' did indeed offer the other chee!. -uman -eart Val&e (an! The Go&ernment has decided to estalish a -uman -eart Val&e (an!. It will e located at the +ady @idgeway -os"ital in (orella. The mo&e comes on a recommendation y -ealth Minister Maithri"ala Sirisena. ?oundations on sha!y grounds More and more ministers are see!ing a""ro&al for the setting u" of ?oundations. 7ne such latest "ro"osal is from Social Ser&ices Minister ?eli9 Perera to estalish a Pandu (andaranai!e -ela <ana ?oundation. Power and 8nergy Minister Pa&ithra 6anniarachchi has sought a""ro&al for the construction of a uilding for the Sa&umyamoorthy Thondaman Memorial ?oundation. *ew I;s for cattle The Go&ernment has decided to carry out a cattle identification "rogramme free of charge for two years. This is after sus"ending the enforcement of a regulation under the $nimals $ct *o.30 of 105/ which sti"ulates a @s. 3# le&y for registering the cattle with the Go&ernment &eterinary surgeon as well as for fi9ing an ear tag with an identification numer on each head of cattle. The )ainet of Ministers on Tuesday a""ro&ed the sus"ension of the said regulation ased on a "ro"osal y $rumugam Thondaman' Minister of +i&estoc! and @ural )ommunity ;e&elo"ment. The Minister told his colleagues that cattle identification system was fundamental for tracing of an animal either for disease control or for reeding and that the ;e"artment concerned found it difficult to carry out the "rogramme. This was due to small farmers as well as large herd owners not e9tending their coo"eration in this regard. This seriously affects the dairy de&elo"ment "rogrammes of the Go&ernment. M@ ele&ated from ;ay 3 to ;ay 1 in General $ssemly ;uring the annual high le&el segment of the E* General $ssemly' there is always a mad scramle among amassadors to get "rime time for their own heads of state to address the world ody F "erha"s on the same day as high "rofile leaders. 6ith more than 135 "olitical leaders in town' the joc!eying goes on to get there ahead of others. 7n the original list of s"ea!ers released in $ugust' President Mahinda @aja"a!sa was scheduled to s"ea! on the third day. (ut in an ele&enth%hour switch' he was listed to s"ea! on the first day' along with heads of state from the ES' South Aorea' Gatar' ?rance' S"ain' ?inland' Tur!ey and Indonesia. )ountries re"resented only y their ministers get to s"ea! at the tail end of the $ssemly sessions when the ca&ernous hall is &irtually em"ty. Traditionally' the Maldi&es has een the last s"ea!er on the last day Be9ce"t when its head of go&ernment is in townC. This year was no e9ce"tion. The listed s"ea!er was a s"ecial en&oy from the Maldi&es. (ut when the Maldi&ian ?oreign Minister' the late ?athulla <ameel' made his annual "ilgrimage to the General $ssemly sessions in the late 107#s and early 10/#s' he had no =ualms aout eing the last s"ea!er. $fter each s"eech' in another long tradition' delegates and well%wishers line u" to congratulate the s"ea!er when he returns to his seat. <ameel was told y a Sri +an!an friend that he could rustle u" aout 35 Sri +an!ans to line u" to congratulate him after his address to the $ssemly F ut on one condition4 <ameel has to sha!e hands with one hand and deli&er a "ac!et of Maldi&e fish with the other. $nd those were the days when Maldi&e ?ish was not a&ailale in any store in *ew .or! city. <ameel said he would e more than ha""y to do it F ut unfortunately his E* mission did not ha&e a di"lomatic "ouch to carry the delicacy from Male to *ew .or!. Pissing, in trouled waters It is no secret that "ulic officials under this Go&ernment are e9"ected to mind their Ps and Gs or suffer dire conse=uences. It might also e ad&isale for them to mind their Ps' ?s and S-s in future. $t a to"%le&el meeting at the 89ternal $ffairs Ministry related to a warning y the 8uro"ean Enion aout )hinese craft carrying out Illegal' Enre"orted and Enregulated BIEEC fishing "ractices under the Sri +an!an flag' a ?isheries official referred to some 5"issing: issue Bmuch to the emarrassment of the women officials "resent in the roomC. They were confused F until it ecame clear that the senior official was actually alluding to the 5fishing: issue. $nd it was a good thing too. Sri +an!a has enough "rolems on its "late. $ 5"issing: issue would ha&e een one too many to handle. State appoints gossip monger This is "erha"s a first in any "art of the world. $ Ministry where the "ulicity machinery wor!s o&ertime has tas!ed one officer to write what is titled 5Gossi": e&ery wee! and distriute it among the media. 7f course' he is "aid from the ta9"ayer,s money. If @i"ley,s (elie&e it or *ot hears aout it' there will sure e a "lace for this State%aided gossi" mongering. <VP "roclaims' no he can,t The <anatha Vimu!thi Peramuna B<VPC is to launch a countrywide cam"aign to e9"lain that President Mahinda @aja"a!sa cannot contest a third term in office. The decision was made at a recent meeting of the Political (ureau of the "arty. Vijitha -erath' MP has een "laced in charge of the cam"aign. The (ureau decided that the cam"aign should egin within two months. (esides meetings' it will also include a "oster cam"aign. Meanwhile' "ro%Go&ernment grou"s on Thursday launched a cam"aign for President @aja"a!sa,s third term on the theme 5.es' he can:. (ernard Soysa4 $ "ostal%mortem @oads are eing re%named regularly in and around )olomo' ut it seems that the Postal ;e"artment is not !ee"ing its staff u"dated. In May this year' Airula @oad' *arahen"ita was renamed as (ernard Soysa Mawatha in honour of the late &eteran +SSP "olitician ut a letter that was sent four months later to an address on the re%named road was re%directed y the Postal authorities to Moratuwa. The letter went to Moratuwa and as there was no (ernard Soysa Mawatha there' it was returned to sender. In this case fortunately there was a return addressD otherwise it is li!ely the letter would ha&e ended in a in somewhere. Posted by Thavam