The falsehoods and uncalled for un –diplomatic utterances of Minister Rajitha Senaratne , the cabinet spokesman of the Sri Lanka (SL) government , has driven  the government of good governance  into a grave predicament and diplomatic faux pas internationally.

Lanka e news inside information division is in receipt of two such incidents  whose architect is no less a person than Rajitha Senaratne , who is also an important health  minister under the government of good governance .

The Diplomatic ties with  Nigeria at snapping point owing to Rajitha !

The first untwoward incident relates to the diplomatic agreement signed between Sri Lanka (SL) and Nigeria under the last government. Rajitha stated at a cabinet  media briefing that it pertains to the supply of arms to Bokoharam terrorists.

This  statement of the  cabinet spokesman was unfortunately  not contradicted  by the leader of the cabinet, president Maithripala Sirisena . Consequently , Nigeria had addressed a strong  letter contained in 6 pages expressing its disappointment on a diplomatic level . Later  an individual of the government of the highest echelons was met  by  an official representative of that country , who had also verbally condemned the SL cabinet spokesman’s utterances roundly when he met the government higher ups.

While the  country is fighting a war against the Bokoharam terrorists , the mendacious and misleading statement made by no less a person than a cabinet spokesman of SL himself has plunged the government into a huge embarrassment not only within  Sri Lanka   but even internationally, the Nigerian government  had pointed out. ( a statement made by a spokesman of the cabinet is construed as that country’s official statement )

Perhaps , Minister Rajitha and  president Maithripala are  thinking the diplomatic ties between SL and Nigeria are what were established during the Rajapakse era, but truly , these ties began in January 1970 towards the end of Dudley Senanayake era. Besides Nigeria is a commonwealth country. It is lamentable that minister Rajitha  made this rash statement , while president Maithripala Sirisena is the chairman of the commonwealth. If the ‘manjang’ (mendacious)  cabinet spokesman noted for his recklessness has no grey matter to  understand  that only  an ignorant  frog in the well would croak over the  agreement signed with that country , whether during the Rajapakse era or any other ,  at least the leader of the cabinet  , president Maithripala ought to have known better.  Sadly ,president too is   ignorant .

We are using the word ‘ mendacious’ on purpose, for this cabinet spokesman who is the epicenter of the diplomatic faux pas  , has on as many as 14 occasions lied brazenly. Yet President has failed to dismiss Rajitha from the position of cabinet spokesman and replace him with a suitable individual .( it is to be noted that president Maithripala has created an inglorious record as the president who appointed the most misfits to high ranking posts during the last ten months.)

Rajitha casts media freedom into dust bin and dumps journalists on the CID  fourth floor- whither good governance ?

While the government of good governance is plunged deeply in despair internationally owing to the cavernous mouth of reckless Rajitha , nationally too  the country is driven into chaos owing to  the statement made by him to the CID against the media.

Following the report in last weekend Sinhala newspaper regarding an interview relating to another individual , Rajitha has lodged a complaint with the CID headquarters  against the reporter who wrote the article and the editor of the newspaper . Based on the complaint the CID summoned the reporter and the editor.

It is very evident that these actions are reminiscent of the media freedom erosion and suppression during the Rajapakse era , and an index that same despotic  trend  is rearing its ugly head again.

If Rajitha was hurt over the report , he could have first notified the newspaper to rectify the error, if any. If that is not heeded, a complaint can be made to the Press council. If that is also not successful ,  the newspaper can be sued. When all these options are available ,  making a complaint to the CID and summoning the journalist for an alleged  wrongdoing reflects poorly on a government of good governance ,and such  things don’t happen in a country where truly there is   good governance.

Rajitha Senaratne despite being a most responsible minister and Cabinet spokesman acting most irresponsibly , has caused irretrievable damage to the country not only nationally but internationally too.

Currently  , the 2015  media suppression are  being rated in respect of   the countries of the world .  Rajitha’s rash and reckless conduct is going to affect SL ‘s ranking detrimentally . It is learnt that others of the government in the  high echelons are also thoroughly dismayed and disillusioned.

Might we recall when Mangala Samaraweera , Sripathy Sooriyaarachi and Wijedasa Rajapakse left the Rajapakse regime somewhere in 2006 after having understood the weaknesses and evils of the regime , to join with the opposition and work untiringly along with the people of the opposition in their struggle for nine years , Rajitha on the contrary stuck with the Rajapakses for the last 9 years serving and supporting them faithfully in all their crooked   and corrupt activities.

When Rajapakses hounded out and chased away the ex chief justice , it was Rajitha  who ‘heard’ the case. Rajitha who  somersaulted to the opposition at the latter stage (in the final  month ), surely cannot understand the aspirations of the people for good governance or the opposition struggle. Now he is conducting himself as an individual who is even above the president, while the latter  is behaving as if he is in the group mortally  scared of Rajitha.

The recent incident in which the president gave a phone call late in the night  to a son of a high profile minister , to inform  him not to criticize Rajitha in his face book , is a good illustration. In other words even   the  criticism of Rajitha in a page of the face book  of the youth is offending the president.

In any case the relevant  minister had given an answer to the president that was a ‘slap’ across the president’s face . The minister after  reminding the president on two recent unsavory episodes had stated to his face , ‘by these  alone you are unwittingly betraying that you are not the president of the country.’ ( we believe , for the moment these two episodes are not important  to be elaborated  to the people) .

In any case , the prime minister yesterday making a special announcement told in parliament that a counter rainbow revolution is  in motion . When the cabinet spokesman himself is supplying weapons locally and internationally (apart from provoking and fuelling  diplomatic disputes internationally) for these counter revolutions , the country being driven to the edge of a  precipice is inevitable and inescapable.

It is in old folk tales we have heard how a single foolish monkey of a good governance  King causes monumental destruction, but now we are witnessing that in reality . It is unfortunate  that the modern foolish monkey has been given the cabinet spokesman post in lieu of a sword .A foolish monkey wielding a Cabinet minister post of mordern times is much mre dangerous than a foolish monkey wielding a sword of ancient times.

Bhutan has offered to export hydroelectricity to Bangladesh at the cheapest price saying it country has the capacity to generate 30,000 MW of hydroelectricity.

Minister for Economic Affairs Norbu Wangchuk, who was in Bangladesh earlier in the week, presented the proposal when he met Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.

The Minister Wangchuk said Bhutan is currently generating 5,000 MW of electricity and the price is the cheapest in the world.

In reply, Prime Minister Hasina reiterated her government’s intention to import hydroelectricity from Bhutan and said Bangladesh wants to participate in Bhutan’s future power projects.

The Prime Minister mentioned that India is also positive towards Bangladesh’s intention to import electricity from Nepal and Bhutan under the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) framework.

In a magnanimous gesture of supporting the earthquake victims in Nepal, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay handed over Ngultrum 62 million, at par with US $1M, to Nepal’s PM Sushil Koirala.

The emotional Attachment: PM Tobgay and his Nepali counterpart Sushil Koirala embrace each other in Kathmandu (Picture courtesy: PM Tobgay’s Facebook)

According to BBS, Prime Minister Tobgay and Health Minister Tandin Wangchuk flew to Kathmandu 27th April in special flight to show support from the people of Bhutan.

Furthering to supporting the victims in another Shangri-la, Bhutan dispatched a team of sixty-three consisting medical persons, volunteers (Desupps) and Royal Bhutan Army personnels carrying tents, medical equipments, clothes and blankets.

While in Nepal, PM Tobgay also visited some of the historical sites devastated by the earthquake.

Prime Minister and Health Minister Tandin Wangchuk returned in the afternoon by the special Druk Air flight.

“Back in Paro after a long, emotional day. Pictured is the last group of the 231 stranded Bhutanese who were evacuated out of Kathmandu today. I’m deeply grateful to all officials, in Nepal and Bhutan, and our two airlines for making today’s important missions a success,” the PM wrote in his Facebook upon his arrival in Paro.

Meanwhile, Bhutanese national flag is hoisted half-mast to show the empathy over loss of thousands of lives, BBS writes.

Tremors are felt in Bhutan througout Saturday and Sunday. According to facebook post of Dr. Damber Nirola, shocks are felt in around 6:30 pm Sunday in Paro.

In light of continuing after shocks, the government in Bhutan has issued alert notice to take safety measures, in case quakes continue to jolt the ground.

Vice-president of the Druk National Congress –Democratic (DNC-D), Karma Chhoejay, has resigned quitting his position and even not sustaining his general membership.

“After a lengthy verbal explanation in DNC-D exile office in Kakarvitta, I came to my own conclusion to tender resignation on June 5, 2015,” Chhoejay said in a press statement sent to the Bhutan News Service.

Karma Chhoejay (Picture courtesy: Thinley Penjore)

“Upon the trust and faith bestowed in me, I have served the party not only in the capacity of a common member, but also as the party’s vice president.”

According to him, during his tenure with the party, he has neither made any remarkable achievements nor defamed the party, but served sincerely and to the best of his ability.

He further said, “I am confident that I have not performed any of such acts that would have hurt the sentiments of all or any central committee members of the party.  However, if there had been such incidents that had caused to misunderstanding or hurting the sentiments of our honorable members, I would like to beg for due apology for the human error.”

Chhoejay hasn’t said anything as regards to what he will be doing after quitting DNC-D.

Hunger strikers with their appeal/Photo: Yubaraj Sampang

Bhutanese Refugees languishing in Beldangi camp started hunger strike in response to the World Food Program’s (WFP) decision to curtailing the food commodities. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and WFP decided to reduce subsistence ration allowance that has been provided to refugees in Nepal, citing large-scale emergency funding need for refugees in other parts of the world.

“Refugees who do not fulfill the vulnerability criteria will receive 70 percent of the current ration starting early 2016. The composition of the reduced basket is currently under discussion with refugees’ representatives, so as to accommodate their preferences as much as possible. WFP will increase its monitoring of the nutritional status of refugees in order to detect new vulnerabilities,” WFP Nepal Country Director Pippa Bradford said in a statement published October 12, 2015.

According to Harka Jung Subba, president of Bhutanese Refugees Elderly Repatriation Committee (BRERC), the hunger strike kicked off on November 22, 2015. “We want continuous humanitarian assistance and durable solution to those willing to repatriate to Bhutan”, Subba told BNS. Subba further added, “around 7,000 refugees are willing to be resettled in third countries, while the remaining want to go back home”.

The Chairperson of Bhutanese Refugee Representative Repatriation Committee (BRRRC), Dr. Bhumpa Rai, visited the hunger strikers and expressed worry over the deteriorating conditions of exiled Bhutanese. He urged Nepal Government and refugee aid agencies to stimulate assistance to those remaining in camps and open the door of repatriation to those willing to return Bhutan earliest as possible.

Meanwhile, Bhutanese refugees have appealed Nepal government to negotiate with Bhutan government for repatriation. Submitting a memorandum to Home Minister Shakti Basnet on Tuesday, November 8, Bhutan Independent Peoples’ Forum (BIPF) urged Nepal government to raise the issue of Bhutanese refugees at SAARC and other international forums. “We got positive response from home Minister Basnet” DB Subba, one of the delegates of BIPF informed Bhutan News Service.

After resettlement marked 100,000 Bhutanese refugees in third countries, there are around 18,000 refugees left in the camp, according to the data of UNHCR and IOM.