News
Minister and MP cross swords over racism, terrorism, violation of oath
By Saman Indrajith
There was discrimination against Tamils in this country, even in the remembrance of the dead, TNA Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran told Parliament on Saturday. “Nobody raises questions when the JVP remembers its fallen comrades and displays pictures of Rohana Wijeweera in berets. But when the Tamils remember their dead, the issue of terrorism is brought up. Isn’t this discrimination,” MP Sumanthiran queried.
He said so when Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd) Dr Sarath Weerasekera raising a point of order stated that MP Sumanthiran had attended a remembrance service of Pandithar, an LTTE leader.
Minister Weerasekera said that the MP had taken an oath not to divide the country and attending a remembrance of an LTTE leader was wrong.
The Minister raised to the point of order after MP Sumanthiran raised a privilege issue on commission of inquiry into political victimization had announced that he would be named for evading the commission sessions. “I have received from time to time summons from the Commissioner of Inquiry to attend before the commissions. I have been named a respondent in that summons. Since they were in Sinhala language I wrote to the commission that I be provided with the material to respond and to send an English to Tamil translations of those matters. I appeared twice before the said commission and made the same request. There the Commissioner ordered that I be provided with material and their translations. Nothing of the sort happened. Last week, I received another summons very late after I went home from parliament sittings, and I responded to the Commissioner the following day informing him of the fact that the material had not been provided to me in English or Tamil and I was not able to appear before the Commission when there were parliament sittings. Later, I read in the newspapers that Commissioner of Inquiry Upali Abeyratne had some MPs including me were not coming before the commission and we would be named. This is in breach of my privileges. I urge the Speaker to inform the Commissioner of Inquiry that I should not be named since I was attending parliament.”
Minister Dr Weerasekera said that MP Sumanthiran talked of MP’s privileges after violating the MP’s code of conduct by attending a funeral of a terrorist. “That was against the oath he had taken as an MP. The Speaker should ask him about it. Earlier this week, the TNA MP went to the home of Pandithar’s mother, in Valvettithurai, where he lit a lamp to commemorate the fallen LTTE leader. He was one of the LTTE leaders who had killed security force members in captivity,” the Minister said.
MP Sumanthiran: I do not need to answer the allegation, but I do so since my name was mentioned. Sinnathurai Maheswari was one of my clients. I appeared for her in a case at the Jaffna High Court where the learned judge told me that she could conduct remembrance in public places but was allowed to remember her son who was killed in 1985 privately at home. It was not even a home, it was a shack. I went there on that day and explained to my client the instructions given by the judge.
Minister Weerasekera: The dead person was an LTTE leader. He was a killer.
MP Sumanthiran: Yes, he was a member of the LTTE. Nevertheless, he was her son. Every mother has a right to remember her children. The Minister has never raised any questions with regard to the JVP remembering Rohana Wijeweera in the streets of Colombo. Even in the remembrance of the dead, there is discrimination against the Tamil people. I did not want to respond to the minister but I spoke because otherwise this would be used in racist propaganda.
Minister Dr Weerasekera: You are a racist. You are the one who talks about majority sovereignty. There is no such sovereignty. Sovereignty is for all the people. You gave a very childish excuse. The mother can remember her son there is no problem, but an MP cannot go to such a place.
On the other hand you cannot compare the LTTE with the JVP. The LTTE tried to divide the country. You should be ashamed of yourself to talk about MPs privileges after acting against the oath you have taken as an MP.
MP Sumanthiran: Why should I be ashamed? You are the racist you should be ashamed of yourself. Shame on you!
Minister Weerasekera: No, Shame on you!
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena moved the House for the next item.
Thirty-six (36) naval personnel completed an eight-month Basic Marine Qualification Course and received their Marine insignia at the main parade ground of SLNS Vidura in Sampur, Trincomalee today, (29 August 2026).
At the invitation of Commandant SLNS Vidura, Captain Ravindu Harischandra, the ceremony was graced by Rear Admiral Buddhika Liyanagamage, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy and Commander Eastern Naval Area.
The group, comprising 3 officers and 33 sailors, completed the 10th intake of the Basic Marine Qualification Course, after volunteering for the demanding training programme.
In recognition of exceptional performance during the training, trophies were presented to outstanding personnel. Lieutenant (S) VPA Sasanka was awarded trophies for Best Marine of the Course, Highest Aggregate in Overall Subjects, and Best Marksman.
Physical Training Instructor WMGDP Bandara received the trophy for Best Physical Fitness. Addressing the newly qualified personnel,
Rear Admiral Liyanagamage congratulated them on successfully completing the course. He urged them to use the skills and experience gained through their training to contribute to safeguarding the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also called on them to apply the courage and determination developed during the course both in their professional and personal lives, and to remain prepared to meet any challenge faced by the country.
He stressed the importance of keeping their knowledge and training up to date and maintaining constant vigilance while carrying out their duties.
Rear Admiral Liyanagamage also expressed his appreciation to
the Commanding Officer of SLNS Vidura and the directing staff for their contribution to the successful completion of the course.
The insignia ceremony also included a demonstration showcasing the capabilities and skills of the Sri Lanka Navy Marine.
Rear Admiral Achala Silva, Director General Logistics; Rear Admiral Kusal Dissanayake, Commandant Naval Infantry; Commodore Sanjeewa Kodikara, Director Marine; officers
from Navy Headquarters and the Eastern Naval Area; senior officers from the Army, Air Force and Police; and parents of the newly passed out marine personnel attended the ceremony.
Norwegians are grieving the death of the beloved King Harald V, as a period of national mourning begins and his son Haakon VIII assumes the throne.
After Harald’s death was announced early on Friday, crowds amassed at the royal palace in Oslo, laying flowers and flags, some mourners visibly in tears.
The 53-year-old new king held an extraordinary council of state meeting with government ministers, saying he was taking on the royal family’s motto “All for Norway”.
Harald – who was on the throne for 35 years – died in hospital at 06:35 local time (04:35 GMT) aged 89, after being treated there for a rare blood condition. His coffin was later taken to the palace in a public procession.
Memorials outside the palace included a candle with the word “thanks” written on it (BBC)
An estimated 10,000 people lined the streets in the capital to see the late king go past, Norway’s public broadcaster reported.
The late monarch has been described as an inclusive, transparent and empathetic “people’s king” who modernised the Norwegian monarchy.
European royals, including King Charles III – whose mother Queen Elizabeth II was Harald’s second cousin – as well as political leaders and ordinary citizens, paid tribute to his service and the stability he brought to the country.
Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who laid flowers outside the palace and signed a book of condolences after greeting the new king, said the country was “united in grief and gratitude”.
In a televised memorial address – one of multiple eulogies by ministers – he said the late king’s “legacy lives on” and offered condolences to the royal family and Queen Sonja, who would have celebrated her 58th wedding anniversary with Harald on Saturday.
Støre was joined by ministers and a crowd of citizens grieving outside the palace (BBC)
Norway’s superstar footballer Erling Haaland thanked Harald for “everything you meant to Norway” in a post on Instagram, adding that it had been an honour to meet him earlier in the summer at the palace following the Fifa World Cup.
In the country’s capital, Norwegians shared their grief and affection for the late king.
“I personally will say he was everything for us, especially being an immigrant,” Biteya Terfassa, an Oslo resident who was born in Ethiopia, told news agency Reuters outside the palace.
“He made us feel at home and he made us feel loved. So he was like a grandfather that I never had.”
At noon, the Norwegian Armed Forces honoured Harald with a funeral salute of 21 shots from Akershus Fortress in central Oslo.
Later on Friday, a procession left the chapel at Rikshospitalet, where Harald died, taking his coffin in a hearse to the royal palace.
The date of Harald’s funeral is yet to be officially announced. Until then, he will be lying in state in the palace chapel so the public can pay their last respects.
During the national mourning period, flags will be flown at half-mast across the Nordic country, while Harald’s portrait will be displayed, candles lit and moments of silence held at professional events.
All non work-related social events will be cancelled or postponed. Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe, who was due to get married on Friday, even postponed her wedding,
King Haakon, who is Harald’s younger child, is now the monarch and his wife Mette-Marit queen.
He is due to take an oath before the Norwegian parliament on Tuesday and will later participate in a consecration service – a stripped-down version of a coronation, which Norway no longer has.
His daughter, the 22-year-old Ingrid Alexandra, who joined her father to meet ministers at the palace on Friday, is next in line to the throne as crown princess after the rules of succession changed in 1990 to allow firstborn women to inherit the crown.
Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, second from right, stood by her father’s side (BBC)
Haakon assumes his new role at a difficult time, as the royal family has faced health challenges and scandals this year.
Now-Queen Mette-Marit came under scrutiny earlier this year when it was revealed that she had a three-year friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, for which she has publicly apologised.
Later in the year, she received a lung transplant, after suffering from pulmonary fibrosis since 2018. Doctors will not declare her stable until next year, meaning her husband must balance his new official duties with her care.
Meanwhile, Mette-Marit’s son from a previous relationship, Marius Borg Høiby, was convicted in June of rape and other offences and sentenced to four years in prison. He is appealing.
Høiby is not a member of the royal family, but was raised with them since he was four years old, when now-King Haakon married his mother.
Although Harald remained popular until his death, a poll for newspaper Aftenposten earlier this year found that support for the monarchy had dropped from 72% in 2024 to 54%.
However, Norwegian royal experts told the BBC that the new king, while facing questions about the turbulence surrounding his family, was respected, hard-working and, they believed, able to move forward despite the challenges.
(BBC)
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Sun directly overhead Pallawarayankaddu, Akkarayankulam, Ariviyal Nagar, Puthukkudiyiruppu, Ananthapuram at about 12.11 noon today (29)
The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.
The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (29) are Pallawarayankaddu, Akkarayankulam, Ariviyal Nagar, Puthukkudiyiruppu, Ananthapuram about 12.11 noon.
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