RANIL'S PANIC ATTACK

 Monday, 08 June 2015 

It is reported that Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is furious Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera partook in a meeting involving GTF's Suren Surendiran, TNA MP MA Sumanthiran, a representative

of former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge, and Norwegian facilitator Erik Solheim. 

GTF is a banned organisation in Sri Lanka, but the participation of Erik Solheim seems to have irked him. Solheim has levelled allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Rajapakse regime during its conduct of the final stages of Sri Lanka's civil war. Furthermore, he has been a witness and provided evidence to the OISL inquiry conducted by the UNHRC.

Wickremesinghe is fearful that Rajapakse could exploit this meeting to politically firm up support among Sinhala voters that could prove extremely damaging during the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Sources also say NPC chief Wigneswaran is also displeased and so are many TNA provincial councillors. President Sirisena is reported to be also against it.

On a separate note, many have also raised questions about the jet set nature and star rated lodgings of the GTF/TNA/Mangala pow wows in Singapore. The bill is picked up by the Swiss Foreign government. Given the huge outlays involved many have posed the question whether such an extravagance is appropriate when Sri Lanka's civil war victims struggle each day to obtain clean drinking water and scrape together one square meal. Most take the view that monies squandered on these meetings are better put to use helping the still suffering 80,000 war widows.

By Dutugemunu