Politics Unpacked

Bored with the hoarding?

There is a running battle that develops between the JVP and the MTV, every fortnight or thereabouts. The MTV has been displaying hoardings that are needlessly hostile to the JVP. But the JVP — does it rise to the bait? We are not sure, but each time the MTV does the dirty on the JVP, the posters get torn and defaced. Maybe that’s why the hoardings are unerringly in tear-able material.

Painting the Embassy Red

Guess who was the most nattily dressed, at the Korean Embassy party at the outgoing Ambassador’s Horton place residence last week? Somawansa Amarasinghe wore beige, a tie and tan shoes to match. Colour combination aside, he wore a Sri Lankan flag patriotically emblazoned across his chest.
Never met a Sahodaraya with such eelan.....

Good station

The news is now out that the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka is being transferred to China in what is a general reconfiguration of the Indian foreign service postings in the region. So of course it has nothing to do with Anura Bandaranaike, who tried to strike out only to see the target of his speechifying get a premium station —- the emerging super power, China. As those who are familiar with Indian politics of a different era would quip, nobody can gherao a Rao.

It matters, Marti

Somebody drew a cartoon of President Rajapaksa musing on the way to Havana that at last he is ‘’going to meet a real Marxist.’’ Comment is free and facts are sacred and no objection could be taken towards the cartoon in question. But how much does the commentarial know about Marxism anyway? Not much probably. Somebody heard that the First Couple had alighted at the Jose Marti International airport. Apparently the commentators in Colombo were scratching the back of their heads. Asked one “that must be somebody of our Thotalanga Marti, no?” N. M. at least, must be laughing in his grave.

Nirij’s nadir

What happened to the usurper candidate for the UN Nirij Deva? The Sunday Observer takes the credit for first exposing Nirij Deva’s bombastic bid for United Nations Secretary General as the candidate from nowhere. In the interview with our staffer, Deva was forced to admit that his candidature is not from Sri Lanka and would be from another Asian country. Having said that, he was naturally hard pressed to reveal this ‘phantom’ country that he was to be nominated from. Result: That country’s (Fiji’s) very emphatic statement that it’s not the backer of this loose canon hustler candidate.
As we said originally in these columns —- at this level of high comedy — what could you say but ‘deiyyo sakki.’

Access-goda

Milinda Moragoda gains access anywhere. Some may be, urm, a little jealous — envious? — about it, and there may be reams written in newspapers. But, as they say, what to do? Milinda has access, and he has the connections worth getting hooked on to. So why the cavil?