TNA to meet PMs of India and Britain

BY Lakshmi Jayakody -Wednesday, 20 Nov 2013

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is to meet Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and British Prime Minister, David Cameron.

TNA MP Suresh Premachandran, speaking to Ceylon Today said, though a final decision had not been arrived at as yet, consequent to an invitation extended by the British PM, when he had met the Northern Province Chief Minister, C.V. Wigneswaran, in Jaffna last week, he had extended an invitation to him to come to Britain, in connection with the issues faced by the Tamils in the Northern Province.

The TNA has also decided to hold discussions with the Indian Prime Minister, focusing on the range of issues exchanged between the TNA and the British Premier.

Meanwhile, TNA MP Mavai Senadhiraja, is to tour Australia at the end of the month to attend an event organized by the TNA Branch in Australia.

Decision on CHOGM limousines later

By Ravi Ladduwahetty-Wednesday, 20 Nov 2013

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said yesterday that no decision had been taken up to now, on how the limousines which were imported for the recently concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), were to be either used or disposed of. He was responding to a query made by Ceylon Today in this regard, during a breakfast meeting with newspaper editors and heads of media institutions, held at Temple Trees, yesterday.

Asked by the representative of this newspaper as to what his decision was, with regard to the 63 luxury limousines used during the CHOGM by the visiting Heads of States and country representatives, the President had said there was time to decide what should be done. "We will come to a decision later as that is not the immediate priority of the government."

There were 37 of the 53 Heads of State who had originally confirmed participation for the Colombo CHOGM but only 21 arrived, which meant that there was a minimum of three limousines for each country – the Head of State, the Foreign Minister and another vehicle for the rest of the officials.

Some were imported while others were leased through Diesel and Motor Engineering Co. PLC, the general sales agents for Mercedes Benz AG of Germany.

Elaborating on the infrastructure that took place in Colombo and the outstations in recent times, the President said, "Everybody including international leaders had been under the impression that all these developments were done to coincide with the CHOGM, but that was wrong. For instance, did people think that we constructed the Hambantota Port for the CHOGM?"

He also explained that all work in connection with development and infrastructure, had been carried out according to a long-term plan, and not designed for the CHOGM alone.

"What we did was put up national flags" he pointed out.

However, he also commented, on a lighter note, that the conference hall at Temple Trees which he had developed to meet voters during elections as well as to provide them with meals, was now fit to host international leaders as well.

"This was meant to be a local dana shalawa but it is now an international dana shalawa," he quipped.