STATE MINISTER FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT MEMORY COVID-19 CALLS FOR CAN LOSE THEIR SOULS TWO WEEKS LOCKDOWN MAY 21 - 23, 2021 VOL: 4- ISSUE 248 THESE TWINS LIVED TOGETHER, . IN COVID, THEY DIED TOGETHER THE LEGENDARY DIVA 30 GLOCAL PAGE 03 REALITY CHECK PAGE 05 COMMENTARY PAGE 07 LITERARY LIVES PAGE 09

Registered in the Department of Posts of Sri Lanka under No: QD/130/News/2021 Deadly ‘black fungus’ surges among India’s COVID-19 patients NEW DELHI - Special hospital wards will be set up in India's capi- tal New Delhi to fight 'black fungus', authorities said Thursday (20) as the life-threatening infection surged among coronavirus patients. A rare disease in normal times, authorities say thousands have developed Mucormycosis - or black fungus - across India as it bat- tles a COVID-19 wave that has killed more than 100,000 people in the past month. Some doctors say the high use of steroids to combat the coronavirus has caused the black fungus explosion. The disease kills more than 50% of sufferers within days. In some cases, eyes and upper jaws are removed by surgeons to stop the spread of the infection. New Delhi's chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said special wards would be set up at three hospitals to handle the increased number of black fungus cases. He also vowed to ensure that all patients will get the medicines they need, with anti-fungal drugs the latest shortage to hit India's already stretched healthcare system. There are more than 200 black fungus patients in New Delhi hos- pitals, with dozens on waiting lists for beds, according to media re- ports. Indian social media has been flooded with requests from rela- tives of Mucormycosis sufferers pleading for help to find medicines. The Rajasthan and Telangana states have declared black fungus epidemics. Maharashtra state alone has reported more than 2,000 cases. Authorities have not been able to give a figure for Mucormy- cosis deaths since the coronavirus wave hit six weeks ago. Black fungus is caused by organisms called mucormycetes, which can enter the body through breathing or skin injuries. These are naturally present in soil and decaying organic matter, but once inside humans, they can infect air pockets behind the fore- head, nose, cheekbones and between the eyes and teeth. -AFP EU COVID-19 vaccine certificate scheme clears key hurdle - MAHMUD HAMS / AFP BRUSSELS - EU negotiators struck an agreement on Thursday People wave the Palestinian flag Islamist movement Hamas in from rockets. Celebrations were joyful crowds also took to the (20) for the "digital green certificate" scheme, which holiday hubs as they celebrate in front of a the Gaza Strip. The cease-fire heard on Gaza streets in the streets. With no alerts sounding in see as a vital lifeline for the coming peak tourist season, according destroyed building in Gaza City came into force after 11 days of minutes after the truce began Israel to warn of incoming Hamas to sources from Portugal, which holds the EU presidency right now. early on Friday (21), following a deadly fighting that pounded the as cars honked their horns and rockets, the ceasefire appeared The breakthrough comes after several tough negotiation rounds cease-fire brokered by Egypt Palestinian enclave and forced some guns were fired in the air, to be holding in the early hours of involving representatives of the member states, the European Par- between Israel and the ruling countless Israelis to seek shelter while in the occupied West Bank, Friday liament, and the European Commission. It could help usher in freer travel within the bloc as soon as late June - just as many Europeans are getting ready for a summer break. According to the commission's original proposal, the document is to indicate whether a person: has tested negative for COVID-19; has recently recovered from the virus that causes the disease; or has been vaccinated with one of the four shots currently approved by US looks to rebuild Gaza, but aid the European Union's regulators. This could provide the basis for waiving the quarantine require- ments currently in place for many trips within the bloc. However, it remains up to each of the 27 member states to decide what kind of perks the certificate brings within its borders. could hinge on Hamas’ EU lawmakers had been pushing for the member states to make free COVID-19 tests available throughout the bloc - but the proposal met with resistance from some national governments. The EU executive branch set out its proposal in March, kicking off negotiations. Greece has already relaxed entry requirements for rocket arsenal foreign visitors who have been jabbed, and Spain allows EU tourists in on condition of a negative test. One sixth of the European Union's WASHINGTON — With a cease-fire ing brief remarks delivered at the White the prospects of brokering a broader adult population is now fully vaccinated, according to the European between Israel and Palestinian militants House, “and to enjoy equal measures of peace agreement between the two sides Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The commission's target underway, the Biden administration is freedom, prosperity and democracy.” will take a new look at the issue of Israeli is to raise this to 70% by September. now turning to how it can help rebuild the A senior Biden administration official settlements in the West Bank, said the -dpa besieged Gaza Strip — and in turn bring said the United States was planning to be senior official, who spoke on the condi- pressure, through promises of financial at the fore of an international response, tion of anonymity to describe internal support, on Hamas not to resume fight- most likely costing billions of dollars, to discussions. The Biden administration Even amid a pandemic ing. include restoring health and education will also refocus on how to build on new President Joe Biden had urged Prime services, and other reconstruction. alliances between Israel and Arab states Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel The senior official said that rebuilding that were brokered last year, largely at the More than 40 million people fled to accept a cease-fire, but it did not take Gaza — which will most likely be coordi- behest of President Donald Trump. effect until the violence had forced more nated through the United Nations — was The administration is also considering their homes than 72,000 Palestinians from their at the top of a list of festering diplomatic how to foster relations and coordination GENEVA - Storms, floods, wildfires — and to a lesser degree, con- homes in Gaza, pockets of which are now obstacles that the administration will face among rival Palestinian political factions flict — uprooted 40.5 million people around the world in 2020. It just piles of rubble where tall buildings between Israel and the Palestinian Au- in Gaza and the West Bank, as outlined was the largest number in more than a decade, according to figures once stood. thority now that the fighting was to wind in an analysis co-written in 2018 by Hady published Thursday (20) by the Internal Displacement Monitoring “I believe the Palestinians and Israelis down. Amr, now a deputy assistant secretary of Centre, a nonprofit group based in Geneva that tracks displacement equally deserve to live safely and secure- Biden is expected to consider other state for Israel and Palestinian issues. data annually. ly,” Biden said on Thursday (20) dur- initiatives. US diplomats who had shelved -NYT It was all the more notable as it came during the worst global pan- demic in a century. Extreme weather events, mainly storms and floods, accounted for the vast majority of the displacement. While not all of those disas- Trending News ters could be linked to human-induced climate change, the Centre’s Quote for Today report made clear that global temperature rise, fuelled by the ac- Bangladesh: Authorities impose a lock- on allegations of exaggerated election cam- Courage is fire, and bullying is cumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, “are increasing down in five Rohingya refugee camps in paign costs gets under way in Paris. smoke. the intensity and frequency of weather-related hazards.” the country’s southeast after a spike in -Benjamin Disraeli El Salvador: A team of forensic special- Last May, Cyclone Amphan alone displaced 5 million people coronavirus cases in recent days. in Bangladesh and India, as it whipped across the Bay of Bengal, ists take out the remains of at least 14 people Word for Today Antarctica : Researchers says an iceberg downed trees and power lines, and destroyed thousands of build- murdered and buried in the home of a former Obnubilate [ob-noo-buh-leyt, ings. In Bangladesh, weeks later, torrential rains upstream swelled nearly half the size of Puerto Rico and police officer who became a gang leader in the -nyoo] -verb (used with object) - to rivers, submerging a quarter of the country and taking away the as- known as A76 has broken off the edge of town of Chalchuapa. sets of its people — their homes built of mud and tin, their chickens Antarctica, becoming what is the world’s cloud over; becloud; obscure and livestock, their sacks of rice stored for the lean times. largest iceberg. Canada: The Superior Court of Justice of Ontario rules the shooting down of Ukraine Today in History In November, two ferocious hurricanes, Eta and Iota, pummelled USA: Senator Bernie Sanders introduces Central America in quick succession, washing away bridges, uproot- International Airlines flight PS752 was delib- 1991 - Former Indian Prime Minis- ing trees and causing widespread flooding and deadly mudslides. a resolution aimed at halting a $735 mil- erate and an “act of terrorism,” paving the way lion arms sale to Israel, following similar for possible compensation for victims’ fami- ter Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a The 2020 hurricane season was the most active Atlantic hurricane female suicide bomber near Madras season on record, with 30 named storms, 13 of them hurricanes. moves by progressive Democrats but with lies. very little chance of success. The largest numbers of displaced people, mostly weather-relat- UK: Princes William and Harry hit out at the Today is... ed, were in Asia, with 5 million in China, roughly 4.4 million each -President Joe Biden meets South Korean BBC and journalist Martin Bashir over “the de- in Bangladesh and the Philippines, and 3.9 million in India. The President Moon Jae-in at the White House ceitful way” Bashir obtained his explosive TV International Tea Day United States recorded 1.7 million displacements. Conflict-related to underscore a strategic focus on Asia. interview with Princess Diana, their late moth- displacement was highest in the Democratic Republic of Congo at A day to pay homage to the cup that 2.2 million and Syria at 1.8 million. France: After a false start in March, the er, in which she detailed her troubled marriage cheers, and more importantly to -NYT trial of former president Nicolas Sarkozy to Prince Charles. those working in the tea industry 2 MAY 21 - 23, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS BUSINESS

In US, 2.5 million Sri Lanka passes law to set up China-backed special unemployed soon to be economic zone without income COLOMBO – Sri Lanka on Thursday third majority to pass it in its original ernment process and improve the ease ment and that the ex-officio members WASHINGTON - States across America (20) passed a law to set up a China- form. The 148 votes for the Port City of doing business, he added. be included in the Colombo Port City are moving to cut pandemic unemployment backed dollarized special economic Commission law fell slightly short of the At the third reading of the committee Commission, instead of all being politi- benefits, a painful blow for millions of peo- zone, which is expected to fast-track in- 150 required for the two thirds majority. stage, the opposition Samagi Jana Bal- cal appointees of the President. ple who will soon be left without income. vestments and be protected against cur- State Minister for Money and Capital awegaya (SJB) moved amendments that By the proposal was rejected, with the With punishing jobless levels during the rency deprecation with 148 members of Market, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, said the were rejected by the government. ministers saying a majority of the ap- COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment ben- the 225 assembly voting for and 59 vot- Port City would bring US$ 15 billion Opposition member Harsha de Silva pointees would be Sri Lankans. A ma- efits had been extended - especially to the ing against. in investments and an added US$ 12 proposed that Parliament contribute a jority of the MPs also voted rejecting the self-employed - and extended further un- The Supreme Court earlier ruled billion each year to the gross domestic sum of money to the Colombo Port City SJB proposal. til September 6, even for those who had that 26 provisions were contrary to the product of the country. It would also be start-up financial fund to make it a State -economynext.com/ENCL reached the maximum duration. Constitution and it would require a two a test-bed for new ways of running gov- corporation coming under the Parlia- But now 21 out of 27 states governed by Republicans - including Missouri, Alaska, West Virginia, Indiana and Georgia - will Sri Lanka soon reduce or eliminate additional un- employment aid, according to a note from Central Bank says analysts at Oxford Economics out Wednes- day (19). This means that some 2.5 million people out of the 16 million unemployed Third wave of pandemic highlights Americans will receive no more help starting in June or July, depending on the state, the need for continued fiscal & analysts said. One million more unemployed people will lose the additional $300-a-week monetary support benefit. “It’s going to be devastating,” said Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Caro- COLOMBO - The Sri Lankan the corresponding period of the lina Appleseed Legal Justice Centre, an or- economy, which rebounded no- previous year. ganization that advocates for the rights of tably during the second half of However, the recent surge in low-income residents. 2020 and early 2021 as per avail- the global spread of COVID-19, “It’s going to have a huge effect if families able indicators, is experiencing could affect the recovery of the don’t have the stability of income coming in, renewed disruptions due to the tourism industry, while posing and they can’t keep the lights on, or they’re emergence of the third wave of renewed challenges to the exter- unable to keep up with their housing or rent the COVID-19 pandemic and nal sector. payment and all the other bills. All that has a related preventive measures, in- The Sri Lankan rupee depre- detrimental effect on kids,” she said. cluding isolations. ciated by 6.6% against the US Unemployment payouts vary from state “While its adverse effects on dollar thus far in 2021, and the – Foreign Ministry to state and ranges between $230 and $820 economic activity are expected to continuation of the existing re- per week, an amount that was raised by be lesser than during the first two strictions on non-essential im- Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in talks with Ambassadors of the European Union (EU) based in Colombo, on a range of issues of mutual interest, including EU-Sri Lanka cooperation, $300 as the effects of the pandemic hit. waves due to the selective nature ports and selected foreign ex- With the US economic recovery underway of mobility restrictions and the change outflows is expected to and the GSP Plus process. The ambassadors called on Gunawardena at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo on Tuesday (18). The two parties also discussed EU’s contribution towards many companies are now struggling to re- ongoing vaccination drive, the help ease the pressure on the do- cruit, but the jobs that remain unfilled can third wave has once again high- mestic foreign exchange market. the COVAX facility supporting global efforts to secure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines by countries, including Sri Lanka, in the context of the national action plan to inoculate its adult be low-skill, low-pay openings. lighted the disruptive nature of As at end April 2021, gross of- -AFP the pandemic and the challenges ficial reserves were estimated at population against the virus faced in sustaining the economic US$ 4.5 billion, equivalent to 3.2 recovery amidst the pandemic,” months of imports. This does not the Central Bank said. include the bilateral currency Oil falls with possible return of Iranian supply “It has also highlighted the swap facility with the People’s LONDON - Oil prices were on course for a talks. However, senior diplomats from Britain, in 2022 the (OPEC+) producer group is in a need for continued fiscal and Bank of China (PBoC). third day of losses on Thursday (20) after dip- France and Germany offered a note of caution relatively comfortable position to deal with in- monetary support to place the Meanwhile, the prevailing his- lomats said progress was made towards a deal on Wednesday (19), saying that while there creasing Iranian output without undermining recovery process on a firm foot- torically low interest rates have to lift sanctions on Iran, which could boost was some tangible progress with the contours the oil rebalancing," PVM analysts said. ing.” resulted in an acceleration of crude supply. of a final deal emerging, success was not guar- Concerns about the demand outlook in Asia The merchandise trade deficit private sector credit. Brent crude was down 81 cents, or 1.2%, anteed. also dragged prices down. Almost two thirds widened in March 2021, driven Inflation is expected to remain at $65.85 a barrel by 1152 GMT. West Texas Indian refiners and at least one European of people tested in India show exposure to the by a higher increase in expendi- within the 4-6% range in the Intermediate US oil lost 77 cents, or 1.2%, to refiner are re-evaluating their crude purchases coronavirus. ture on imports than the increase near to medium term. The Cen- $62.59 a barrel. Both contracts fell around 3% to make room for Iranian oil in the second half Speculation the US Federal Reserve might in earnings from exports. tral Bank further said that any in the previous session. of this year, anticipating that U.S. sanctions at some point start to tighten policy weighed Meanwhile, the notable in- pressures over the medium term Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in will be lifted, company officials and trading on the outlook for economic growth and has crease in workers’ remittances will be addressed with appropri- a televised speech on Thursday that sanctions sources said. prompted some investors to reduce exposure continued during the period ate measures. on oil, shipping, petrochemicals, insurance "With global oil demand growth projected to oil and other commodities. from January to April 2021, over -LBO and the central bank had been dealt with in the to be healthy for the balance of this year and -Reuters SriLankan eyes Sri Lanka Boeing aircraft Central Bank continues maintenance accommodative monetary policy to COLOMBO – State-run SriLankan Airlines said it had inked a deal with aircraft maker Boeing which would support sustained recovery lead to maintenance work on aircraft made by the American company. of economy “The new agreement would en- COLOMBO - The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its able both parties to explore airframe meeting held on Wednesday (19), decided to maintain the Standing De- maintenance, component main- posit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) tenance, training, and other com- of the Central Bank at their current levels of 4.50% and 5.50%, respec- mercial opportunities,” SriLankan tively. Airlines said. The Board said it had arrived at the decision after carefully considering SriLankan has a fleet of Airbus the macroeconomic conditions and expected developments on the domes- aircraft and its Engineering is cer- tic and global fronts. tified to perform third party checks “In the context of the prevailing low inflation environment and well an- and maintenance of Airbus aircraft. chored inflation expectations, and the renewed challenges posed by the Earlier this month it started con- third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board remains committed to maintaining the current accommodative monetary policy stance to sup- verting passenger aircraft to freight- port the sustained revival of the economy,” the Central Bank said. ers in collaboration with UK based The Central Bank said it will continue to monitor domestic and global Avensis Aviation. macroeconomic and financial market developments and stand ready to SriLankan has operated Boeing take proactive measures to help the economy to sustain the growth trajec- aircraft in the past including Boeing tory, while maintaining inflation in the targeted 4-6 percent range under 737 and 747 aircraft. the flexible inflation targeting framework. -economynext.com -LBO Transformational growth and innovative thingking Sri Lanka@100 host exponential growth webinar featuring innovation expert Paul D. Roberts COLOMBO - Sri Lanka@100, with support from the companies and individuals in our country starts think- United States, hosted a public webinar featuring Paul D. ing innovatively about ways to leverage emerging tech- Roberts, an expert in methods for companies and entre- nologies, we will start to see transformational growth. preneurs to leverage evolving technologies such as arti- SL@100 is helping to put ideas into action to create the ficial intelligence to drive accelerated business growth. next generation of high-income Sri Lankan businesses.” Attended by 300 participants, the session focused on SL@100 is a private sector-led business development how businesses can shape Sri Lanka’s economic future platform that was launched in 2020 with support from in a complex and rapidly changing environment. USAID. This initiative works with high potential small “This concept of exponential growth is critical in help- and medium enterprises (SMEs) to optimize internal ing Sri Lanka achieve high-income status so it can better operations, enhance product portfolios, access new compete on the world stage,” said Debra Mosel, United markets, and attract capital to help Sri Lanka become a States Agency for International Development (USAID) high-income country within 100 years of independence. Deputy Mission Director for Sri Lanka and Maldives. Webinars like this are part of SL@100’s capacity- “With initiatives like Sri Lanka@100, the United States building efforts and are open to a broad audience of is helping Sri Lankan firms to effectively navigate cur- SMEs, entrepreneurs, and young leaders. The Exponen- rent challenges, become more resilient, and increase tial Growth webinar was supported by leading Sri Lan- profits and employment.” kan organizations and businesses, including NDB Bank, SL@100 co-founder and Stax Managing Director Ru- SLASSCOM, AMCHAM, Daily FT, and the CFA Society windhu Peiris emphasized the vital importance of pro- of Sri Lanka. grams such as this to help build Sri Lanka's future: “At -To find out more about Sri Lanka@100, please visit Sri Lanka@100, we believe that when a large share of https://srilanka100.lk/. WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 21 - 23, 2021 3 GLOCAL

Express Newspapers (Cey) Pvt. Ltd., 185, Grandpass Road, Colombo 14, Sri Lanka Covid clusters Telephone: 0117 322 705 (Editorial) 0117 322 731 (Advertising) 0117 322 789 (Circulation) emerge at a Email – [email protected]/[email protected] Epaper - http://epaper.newsexpress.lk number of Facebook –News Express Sri Lanka factories COLOMBO - Small corona- virus clusters have begun to State Minister for COVID-19 calls for two weeks lockdown emerge in several garment fac- tories in Sri Lanka, the Public Says Sri Lanka’s daily virus toll likely to be three times what tests suggest Health Inspectors (PHI) ac- knowledged on Thursday (20), COLOMBO – With undetected daily The previously announced island-wide “People really must stay at home. I try to hide this epidemic, we’ll all perish,” with its Secretary, M. Baal- COVID-19 cases possibly three times movement restrictions will still be in urge the public to not step out of the she said. asooriya, revealing factories in what PCR testing suggests, Sri Lanka place from 11:00 p.m. Friday (21) to 4:00 house unless it’s absolutely essential,” Fernandopulle also defended moves to the Katunayake, Koggala and must be closed down for at least two a.m. Tuesday (25) and again from 11:00 she said, warning that asymptomatic car- treat asymptomatic COVID-19 cases at Thulhiriya Free Trade Zones weeks to contain the rapid spread of the p.m. the same day to 4:00 a.m. following riers could spread the virus everywhere. home. (FTZ) were currently affected virus, State Minister for COVID-19 Con- Friday (28), the spokesperson said. Fernandopulle recommended people “There are many positive cases. They as were factories in Wathupiti- trol Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle urged The 19-hour window on May 25 during go to nearby, ventilated grocery stores can’t all be admitted to hospitals at once. wala, Norwood, and Pallekele. on Thursday (20). what will otherwise be a curfew-style un- rather than enclosed spaces to buy what There should be a triage and priority be More than 130 cases have “We recommend people be confined official lockdown is for people to gather they need, and hurry home. given to patients over 60 and patients been reported from two gar- to their homes for at least two weeks to supplies, NOCPOC said. “The new strain is spreading fast and with underlying complications over ment factories in Wathupitiwa- contain the spread. The incubation pe- However, Dr. Fernandopulle stressed deaths have increased. People must act asymptomatic or younger patients. la, Nittambuwa and Norwood, riod for this virus is two to 14 days. If the need for what will essentially amount responsibly,” she said. “They can be at home but monitored Hatton, and over 130 of their people stay at home for those 14 days, the to a complete closure of the country. The state minister also defended a daily by doctors. They won’t be left to close associates have been iso- virus won’t enter the home and infected “The epidemic has spread widely. There health ministry circular dated May 19 their own devices. That is not what is lated, Baalasoriya said, adding people won’t be able take it outside,” Fer- is a pressing need for oxygen and equip- that has threatened disciplinary action meant by home quarantine,” she said. that nearly 450 employees in nandopulle told reporters, adding, “As a ment. Just yesterday 3,500 cases were against doctors and other officials in the Asked if the public can be trusted to two garment factories at the public health specialist this is what I rec- detected, and that’s just people who were health sector from speaking freely to the not further spread the virus during home Thulhiriya Free Trade Zone ommend in order to break the cycle.” tested. There may be more cases – per- media. quarantine, Fernandopulle said that (FTZ) and in Pallekele, Kandy, The state minister could not, however, haps as three times as many – in the “We can’t go to the media and say people must remember that the country operated by the same compa- guarantee that the government will defi- community,” she said, warning, “There whatever we want. It is a task for the ex- is dealing with an epidemic. ny, had also tested positive. nitely impose a lockdown. can be further spread to the community perts. Otherwise there could be inaccu- “They have a responsibility. What Meanwhile, Joint Secretary “I can’t give a decision on that. It is from those cases.” racies and misleading information,” she do you do when the system is overrun? of the Free Trade Zone and what I recommend,” she said. Despite repeated requests to stay at said. When it’s overcapacity, if both sympto- General Services Employees A spokesperson for the National Oper- home and only move on select days The doctor-turned politician denied matic and asymptomatic people are ad- Union, Anton Marcus said a ations Centre for the Prevention of COV- based on their national identity card allegations that the government is at- mitted, the doctors will be put in a dif- large number of the 300,000 ID-19 (NOCPOC) said no decision has (NIC) number, people can still be seen tempting to hide the reality of the situa- ficult position,” she said. employees in nearly 50 fac- been made yet to go for a total lockdown. out and about, the state minister said. tion. “I don’t think that is the case. If we -economynext.com tories in the Katunayake FTZ were found to have contracted the virus. Opposition SJB slams health ministry circular Estimating the number to be in the region of 50,000, he ac- barring doctors from speaking to media cused the managements of re- fusing to close the factories de- COLOMBO– Sri Lanka’s Ministry of and threatens to damage the people’s confi- spite demands by employees, Health has issued a circular barring doc- dence in the State health sector, the circular due to urgent pending orders. tors from speaking to the media about the points to provisions in the Establishment He noted that a garment country’s COVID-19 situation, opposition Code regarding state officials making state- factory in the Koggala Free leader Sajith Premadasa told Parliament ments to the media, and warns disciplinary Trade Zone was ordered to be on Thursday (20), noting, “No one in the action will be taken against those who vio- temporarily closed, after the medical profession is allowed to open their late the regulations. area Public Health Inspectors mouth about COVID-19.” The opposition leader in his speech in obtained a court order, citing A purported image of the circular went Parliament asked what the unions and pro- a large number of infected em- viral on social media on Thursday. Though fessional associations in the State health ployees. its authenticity could not be independently sector would have to say in response. Marcus also alleged that verified, neither the ministry of health nor a “Does this apply to them all? It’s basically though some factories were government spokesman has refuted Prema- telling doctors not to talk about the danger- conducting PCR tests, a major- dasa’s claims. ous crisis facing the country,” he said. ity have instructed employees The document purported to be signed by Acknowledging the impact of the circu- to do the tests on their own, re- Health Ministry Secretary Dr. S. H. Munas- lar on free speech, President of the Asso- sulting in many failing to do so inghe, notes that officials under the minis- ciation of Government Medical Laboratory due to the high costs involved. try and at the provincial level, either indi- Technologists, Ravi Kumudesh, updated Commenting on the new vidually or as groups, have been presenting his Facebook profile picture with a a plaster clusters emerging in the gar- incorrect information and data to the me- across his mouth and said “The pandemic is – J. Sujeewakumar/ENCL ment sector, Baalasooriya said dia, while publicly criticizing public health spreading fast. Travel restrictions imposed it was essential to prevent the A street vendor makes lanterns in a small stall in Colombo ahead of the Vesak policy. on mouths too!” further spread of the virus festival, also known as Buddha Jayanti to commemorate the birth, enlightenment, Claiming that trend has stood in the way -economynext.com/ENCL among factory employees, and and death of Gautama Buddha. The Vesak festival, on May 26 and 27, will however of effective administration of health services warned the situation could spi- be observed in near lockdown conditions due to an upsurge in COVID-19 cases ral out of control if factories linked to a New Year cluster commence 100% operations Borders closed for new arrivals beginning Friday under prevailing COVID-19 Parliamentary Council gives nod to COLOMBO - Sri Lanka’s borders will be drop in case numbers. The Sri Lanka Tour- spike in the country. closed for all arrivals for ten days beginning ism Development Authority (SLDA) said Over 3,400 new cases were Friday (21), the Civil Aviation Authority said over 4,000 tourists visited Sri Lanka in April reported on Thursday, taking appointment of Sanjay Rajaratnam as on Wednesday (19) while officials reported 2021, with Indians topping the list of arriv- the COVID-19 tally 154,786, a recorded over 3000 COVID-19 for the sec- als. However, early May, the government with 31254 deemed as active new AG ond straight day on Thursday (20). barred Indian tourists, citing the persisting cases receiving treatment at COLOMBO - The Parliamentary the meeting. The Parliament Coun- Sri Lanka is witnessing a raging third wave surge in cases in India. various designated hospitals Council on Thursday (20) concurred cil also agreed to concur with the of the pandemic, with health authorities re- Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has been carrying and hotels across the country. with a proposal by President Gota- recommendation to re-appoint San- porting over 2,000 cases a day over the last out its vaccination drive in phases, begin- Baalasooriya also pointed baya Rajapaksa to appoint Sanjay jeeva Jayawardena, PC as a member week, prompting the government to impose ning in January, with the India-donated out that there was a significant Rajaratnam, PC, Solicitor General of the Monetary Board of the Cen- travel restrictions, including lockdowns. 5,00,000 doses of Covishield vaccines. The spread of the virus among gar- (Acting), as the Attorney General tral Bank of Sri Lanka, according The country’s death toll – which was government placed an order for more vac- ment factory employees due upon the retirement of the incum- to the Secretary General of Parlia- among the lowest in the region during the cines with the Serum Institute, but its ar- to managements resorting to bent Attorney General, Dappula de ment, who added that the Council first wave – has rapidly risen in the last few rival has been delayed amid the significant Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT), Livera. also recommended the nomination weeks, reaching 1,051 on Wednesday. More rise in cases within India since. instead of PCR tests, noting The decision was taken at the Par- of H. Jayantha Shantha Kumara than 150,000 cases have been reported The Russian Sputnik vaccine as well as that some factory management liamentary Council meeting held un- Wickremarathne to the vacant post since the pandemic struck last year, of which China’s Sinopharm vaccines are currently were doing so due to the lower der the patronage of Speaker Mahin- of a Member of the Office on Miss- 30,200 are currently active, according to being administered by health authorities cost of RATs in comparison to da Yapa Abeywardane on Thursday. ing Persons (OMP). It also recom- data published by the Health Promotion Bu- and the military, who are tasked with man- PCR tests. Prime Minister Mahinda Raja- mended Major General (Retd.) W. reau. aging the pandemic. China on Wednesday He said Rapid Antigen Tests paksa, Leader of the Opposition Sa- P. P. Fernando to the vacant post of The decision to bar entry to international said it will donate a further 500,000 of Sin- were not as accurate as PCR jith Premadasa, Minister of Fisheries a Member of the Office for Repara- travellers comes as a blow to the govern- opharm vaccines to help Sri Lanka “build tests and could fail in detecting Douglas Devananda and Member of tions. ment’s efforts to revive the tourism industry the Great Wall of vaccines”. infected persons, posing a risk Parliament Kabir Hashim attended -CG from January this year, following a relative -The Hindu of a further spread of the virus in factories. In the face of the COVID urgency Meanwhile, Minister of La- AG issues fresh guidelines for bailing suspects to bour Nimal Siripala De Silva on Thursday requested the Aryasinha calls for contributions reduce prison overcrowding Commissioner General of La- bour to carry out an immedi- COLOMBO –Attorney General Dappula de Li- tice, M. M. P. K. Mayadunne, and Commission- ate investigation into the ap- from OSLs and friends vera has issued fresh guidelines for posting bail er General of Prisons, Thushara Upuldeniya. parel factory in Thulhiriya FTZ WASHINGTON - Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 vaccines from the in respect of several offences in order to imme- Covid-fear fuelled riots in the overcrowded where 400 employees are said Ambassador to the USA, Ravina- US, he said Sri Lanka’s urgent diately reduce prison remand population and Mahara prisons in November 2020, led to elev- to have contracted the virus. tha Aryasinha on Thursday (20) need for AstraZeneca vaccines overcrowding in the face of rising COVID-19 en inmates being killed garnering worldwide -CG/ENCL called on Overseas Sri Lankans had been well received by the cases, the AG’s Coordinating Officer State attention. (OSLs) and Friends of Sri Lan- US government in late April, Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said. Almost all prisons in Sri Lanka are over- ka in the US to contribute relief but the release of this vaccine to The AG has issued the guidelines to Inspector crowded, making it impossible for the authori- goods and make donations, in the all countries in need will have to General of Police (IGP) C. D. Wickramaratne at ties to control an outbreak within prisons. face of the urgency resulting from be preceded by authorization for the request of Secretary to the Ministry of Jus- -economynext.com the increasing number of COVID its use by the US Food and Drug infected persons being detected Administration (FDA). Following in Sri Lanka and the challenges the announcement on Monday Navy, fishermen asked to avoid east-central posed in treating them. (17) that the US will also share In a communication addressed already domestically author- Bay of Bengal to the community, Aryasinha ized vaccines, he said Sri Lanka said the immediate need is for is seeking to secure Johnson & COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s Department of Me- ing east-central Bay of Bengal around May 22,” ventilators, oxygen concentra- Johnson (J&J) vaccines through teorology issued warnings to the navy and the the Department said. tors, high flow oxygen units, this modality. Additionally, the country’s fishing communities to not venture It is very likely to intensify gradually into a multi-parameter monitors, PPEs Embassy had also facilitated dis- out to east central Bay of Bengal from Friday cyclonic storm over the subsequent 72 hours, including N95 masks, telemedi- cussions between the State Phar- (21) until further notice due to formation of a it added. cine platforms which could be maceuticals Corporation and the low pressure region. The Department urged those who have al- used by medical professionals in J&J Regional Manager in India, The Met Department said in a statement the ready ventured out to the sea areas in the east Sri Lanka. with a view to enabling the pur- situation will last for 72 hours from Saturday central region to return to the coast or relocate Providing an update on the chase of these vaccines. (22). “The low pressure area is very likely to to safer areas as soon as possible. efforts being made to procure -SL Embassy form over north Andaman Sea and the adjoin- -economynext.com 4 MAY 21 - 23, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS HOT TOPICS

By Catie Edmondson and By P. K. Balachandran Jim Tankersley Bangladesh journalists agitated Biden signs Asian over arrest of scribe under Americans hate Official Secrets Act Journalists in Bangladesh are up in arms against the crime bill arrest of Rozina Islam, a leading investigative journalist, WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden under the Official Secrets Act on charges of ‘stealing’ docu- signed a bill on Thursday (20) meant to ments from the health ministry. address a proliferation of assaults and In an unusual reaction, Rozina’s journalistic fraternity other crimes against Asian-Americans sought to join her in custody, while editors and interna- since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pan- tional rights watchdogs including Human Rights Watch demic. (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) condemned the Biden and Vice President Kamala arrest. The reaction to the arrest both at home and abroad Harris thanked Democratic and Repub- has embarrassed the Sheikh Hasina government, which lican lawmakers for joining together to - Mohammed ABED / AFP transferred the official who filed the case against her, even pass the legislation. Smoke billows above buildings during an Israeli air strike on Gaza City, on Thursday (20). as detectives told the media they would not be able to get “This bill brings us one step closer Israel and the two main armed groups in Gaza agreed to a ceasefire aimed at ending end to the bottom of the ‘espionage’ before July, and the Dhaka to stopping hate, not just against Asian 11 days of deadly violence Metropolitan Magistrate dragged his feet on granting Ro- Americans, but for all Americans,” Har- zina bail. ris said. By Adel Zaanoun and Guillaume Lavallee Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen acknowledged the She said lawmakers still had work to arrest was a regrettable and unexpected incident for the do to combat discrimination and hate. government, and said such incidents occur because of a “Racism exists in America,” she said. few government employees, and it should not be repeated. “Xenophobia exists in America. Anti- Israel and Gaza militants announce Rozina, who had exposed high corruption in the health Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, ministry, especially during the pandemic, in the Bengali transphobia, it all exists.” daily Prothom Alo, was detained when she went to the The law passed by a vote of 94-1 in the ceasefire ministry on May 17 to meet Deputy Secretary Shibbir Ah- Senate and 364-62 in the House. “We GAZA CITY / JERUSALEM Tor Wennesland was visiting Qa- areas in rubble and displacing mad on his invitation. She was detained for five hours at simply haven’t seen this kind of biparti- - Israel and the two main armed tar for talks with Ismail Haniyeh, some 120,000 people, according the office of an aide to Health Services Secretary Lokman sanship for much too long in America,” groups in Gaza agreed to a cease- the political leader of Hamas, as to Hamas authorities. Hossain Miah and then taken to Shahbagh Police Station Biden said. fire on Thursday (20) aimed at part of an effort to "restore calm," Overnight, Israel had continued around 8:30 p.m. where Shibbir Ahmed filed a case against “My message to all those of you who ending end 11 days of deadly vio- according to a diplomatic source. to pound Gaza with air strikes and her under the Official Secrets Act. Senior Dhaka journal- are hurting is, we see you,” Biden said. lence. German Chancellor Angela artillery fire aimed at destroying ists called the incident a sting operation. “And the Congress has said, we see you. A statement from Israeli Prime Merkel said "indirect talks" with Hamas tunnels and other infra- Writing in The Daily Star, Deputy Editor Syed Abraful And we are committed to stopping the Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Hamas were essential to advanc- structure, the military said. Haque said a journalist was being hounded like a crimi- hatred and the bias.” office said the security cabinet ing efforts toward an end of hos- One Israeli strike on Gaza on nal over her attempt to collect information, noting that any Over the last year, more than 6,600 had "unanimously accepted the tilities. Wednesday killed a disabled attempt by journalists to get hold of information is not a anti-Asian hate incidents have been recommendations to accept an "Of course Hamas has to be in- man, his pregnant wife and their crime but an act of courageous journalism and that en- recorded nationwide, according to the Egyptian initiative for an uncon- cluded, because without Hamas three-year-old child, the enclave's deavours to dig at information is made lawful by Article nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate. New York ditional... ceasefire." there will be no ceasefire," Merkel health ministry said. 39 of the Constitution. “Having been safeguarded by the had the largest increase in anti-Asian Hamas and Islamic Jihad then said, who also spoke to Palestin- "What did my brother do?" the Constitution, they use this freedom of expression to help hate crimes relative to other major cit- confirmed the ceasefire in a state- ian president Mahmud Abbas man's bereaved brother Omar fight corruption and injustices, and reveal what those in ies, according to the Center for the Study ment, saying it would come into Thursday, where they agreed the Saleha, 31, told AFP. "He was just corridors of power want to hide. So, it's not reporters but of Hate and Extremism. force at 2:00 a.m. Friday (2300 need "for a speedy ceasefire". sitting in his wheelchair". their harassers who should be put in the dock,” he added. The measure, led by Sen. Mazie Hi- GMT). Her foreign minister, Heiko Israel says it takes all steps to Haque wrote the intention of the government machin- rono, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Grace Meng, The Israeli statement did not Maas, speaking earlier near Tel avoid civilian casualties, includ- ery was quite apparent: suppress the flow of information D-N.Y., will establish a position at the mention as to when the truce Aviv, expressed Germany's "soli- ing by phoning residents to warn to media outlets, at any cost and that the Official Secrets Justice Department to speed the agen- would come into force. darity" with Israel but also called them of imminent strikes, and Act of 1923 and the Digital Security Act of 2018 were being cy’s review of hate crimes and expand The fighting has seen Israeli for an end to the fighting. blames Hamas for placing weap- used against journalists to stem the flow of information. In the channels to report them, in an ef- jets pound Gaza with air strikes "Israel has the right to defend ons and military sites in densely addition to the laws, the government order on public serv- fort to improve data collection around as militants fired thousands of itself against this massive and populated areas. ants to "say nothing to media" is also in full force, he added. attacks targeting Asian Americans. It rockets into Israel, after days of unacceptable attack," Maas said The United States, a key Israel The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called will also encourage the creation of state- tensions in Jerusalem sharply es- of the rockets Hamas first fired ally, has repeatedly blocked any on Bangladeshi authorities to immediately release Rozina, run hate crimes hotlines, provide grants calated on May 10. on May 10 after violent clashes joint UN Security Council state- withdraw the investigation into her, and stop arresting to law enforcement agencies that train Earlier Thursday in the south- between Israeli police and Pal- ment calling for a halt to hostili- journalists under the Official Secrets Act.“We are deeply their officers to identify hate crimes and ern Gaza town of Rafah, an AFP estinians in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa ties, including one proposed by alarmed that Bangladesh officials detained a journalist and introduce a series of public education reporter saw devastating Israeli mosque compound. France, saying it could undermine filed a complaint under a draconian colonial-era law that campaigns around bias against people of air strikes turn buildings into "The number of victims is ris- de-escalation efforts. carries ridiculously harsh penalties,” said Aliya Iftikhar, Asian descent. clouds of dust and rubble as an ing every day and this greatly Israel's bombing campaign CPJ’s senior Asia researcher. The bill amounts to the first legislative ambulance sped across town to concerns us". has left the two million people Legal experts point out that the Official Secrets Act con- action Congress has taken to bolster law help the wounded. A senior Hamas official told of Gaza, which has been under tradicts the Bangladesh Constitution. Questions have also enforcement’s response to attacks on Rocket fire from Gaza had in- AFP earlier Thursday that Qatar, Israeli blockade for 14 years, des- been asked about whether the Official Secrets Act is ap- people of Asian descent during the coro- tensified in the afternoon, send- a Gulf state that hosts Haniyeh perate for relief. The Internation- plicable to journalists. Supreme Court lawyer, Tanzim Al navirus pandemic. Experts testified be- ing Israelis nearby running for and sends financial aid to Gaza, al Committee of the Red Cross Islam, said the Official Secrets Act is contradictory to the fore a key House panel in March that at- shelters, according to Israeli army was at the heart of "intense" ne- warned that people in both Gaza Public-Interest Information Disclosure Act (Provide Pro- tacks targeting Asian Americans — many warnings. gotiations. and Israel "urgently need respite tection) of 2011 because the latter guarantees the protec- of them women or older people — have United Nations chief Antonio The Israeli army said Ha- from non-stop hostilities." tion of the people who disclose information and in some increased nearly 150% in the past year, Guterres had told the General As- mas and other Islamist armed The military conflict has cases stipulates rewards for them. Bangladesh journalists with Americans of Asian descent report- sembly Thursday that "the fight- groups in Gaza have fired 4,070 sharply heightened tensions and can use the Public-Interest Information Disclosure Act ing being spat on, shoved to the ground, ing must stop immediately". rockets towards Israel, but the sparked violence between Jews passed a decade ago, but they do not, pointed out lawyer beaten, and burned by chemicals. "If there is a hell on earth, it is overwhelming majority of those and Arab-Israelis, while Palestin- Jyotrimoy Barua. Nine Bangladeshi non-governmental or- Democratic Asian Americans in Con- the lives of children in Gaza," Gu- headed for populated areas were ian protesters in the West Bank ganizations said in a letter to Michelle Bachelet, the United gress earlier in the year had confronted terres added. News of the cease- intercepted by its Iron Dome air and east Jerusalem have repeat- Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, that UN the Biden administration about what fire deal came after US President defences. edly clashed with security forces. experts should publicly and vigorously express concerns they said was an unacceptable lack of Joe Biden called for a "significant The rockets have claimed 12 In the West Bank, the army has over continuing attacks on the media including arbitrary representation at the highest levels of his de-escalation". lives in Israel, including two chil- killed 25 Palestinians since the arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings, and use all pos- administration, culminating in the ad- Israeli Prime Minister Benja- dren and an Israeli soldier, with outbreak of hostilities. The worst sible means to urge the Bangladeshi authorities to protect ministration appointing a senior official min Netanyahu, who attended one Indian and two Thai nation- death toll in years in the occupied and respect freedom of expression. to focus on Asian American priorities. the evening meeting with top se- als among those killed, the police Palestinian territory includes sev- According Human Rights Watch, at least 247 journalists Hirono and Sen. Tammy Duckworth of curity officials, had earlier vowed say. Israeli strikes on Gaza have eral Palestinians who the Israeli were reportedly subjected to attacks, harassment, and in- Illinois had pledged to withhold their to push on until the military cam- killed 232 Palestinians, including army said had attempted to ram timidation by State officials and others affiliated with the votes on some nominees until Biden en- paign reaches its objective, "to re- 65 children, fighters and another or stab Israeli forces at check- Bangladesh government in 2020. More than 900 cases gaged more actively on the issue. store quiet and security" for Israe- 1,900 wounded, according to the points. were filed under the draconian Digital Security Act with -New York Times lis. UN Middle East peace envoy Gaza health ministry, leaving vast -Agence France-Presse nearly 1,000 people charged and 353 detained – many of them journalists. By Mark Landler By Siddhartha Kumar “Bangladeshi journalists are risking arbitrary arrest, torture, and their lives just to do their jobs,” said Angelita Baeyens, Vice President of International Advocacy and Lit- 25 years later, the BBC apologizes for Cyclone Tauktae toll hits 130 igation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, adding, “The UN and concerned governments should stand with jour- Diana interview As 49 confirmed dead in barge sinking nalists and make clear to the Bangladesh government that LONDON — Twenty-five years Bashir then showed the statements NEW DELHI – The Indian navy probe over why the barge remained freedom of expression is essential to democracy.” before Prince Harry and his wife, to Spencer to gain his trust and per- said it had recovered the bodies in the area despite storm warnings. In recent months, a number of Bangladeshi journalists Meghan, unloaded to Oprah Win- suade him to make an introduction of 49 people after a barge sank off The barge’s captain had ignored have been targeted for exposing government corruption or frey, Harry’s mother, Princess Di- to Diana. Bashir landed the inter- Mumbai during a powerful storm cyclone warnings and 14 of the for expressing dissent. At least 17 journalists, a majority ana, set the standard for the sen- view for the BBC program ‘Panora- that killed 81 others on the coun- life-rafts on the vessel had holes in of them photographers, were attacked and injured while sational royal tell-all, in her 1995 ma’, and it was as big a bombshell as try's western coast. them, its chief engineer Rahman covering protests over the visit by Indian Prime Minister interview with a BBC journalist, Winfrey’s recent interview on CBS. The barge, owned by State-run Shaikh told the Indian Express dai- Narendra Modi in March this year. Martin Bashir. “There were three of us in this Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ly. Cyclone Tauktae, the strongest Media critical of the ruling Awami League party is fre- On Thursday (20), an inquiry marriage,” Diana said to Bashir of (ONGC), was carrying 261 people cyclone to strike the region in over quently censored. The government has allegedly targeted concluded that Bashir deceived Di- her husband and Camilla Parker when it sank near an offshore oil- two decades, packed winds reach- websites and YouTube channels of Bangladeshi dissidents ana’s brother, Charles Spencer, to Bowles, whom he later married. field on Monday (17) evening as Cy- ing 200 kilometres per hour when abroad, media reports said. In March, for instance, the obtain the interview. And it faulted Nearly 23 million people watched clone Tauktae blew ashore. it made landfall in Gujarat state late Indian news website Scroll.in was inaccessible in Bangla- the BBC’s management for covering the Diana interview, which became Navy ships and helicopters, bat- Monday. desh, after publishing an article by a Bangladeshi writer up Bashir’s conduct. a pop-cultural landmark and turned tling extreme weather, managed The death toll in other storm-re- criticizing Gowher Rizvi, a top adviser of Prime Minister “Without justification, the BBC Bashir into a star. to rescue 186 people and found 27 lated incidents - mostly house and Sheikh Hasina. fell short of the high standards of Now 58, Bashir stepped down more bodies in operations since tree collapses on the Indian coasts HRW noted that authorities continue to use the Digital integrity and transparency which from the BBC last week, citing poor Wednesday (19) night, raising - rose to 81 on Thursday. Security Act (DSA) to harass and indefinitely detain jour- are its hallmark,” Lord John Dy- health. He has suffered severe heart the toll in the tragedy to 49, navy Fifty-three were killed in Gujarat nalists, activists, and others critical of the government, son, a former justice of the British problems and had a serious bout spokesman Vivek Madhwal said. and 18 in Maharashtra, of which resulting in a chilling effect on expression of dissent and Supreme Court, said in a 127-page with COVID-19 last year. Twenty-six people were still miss- Mumbai is the capital, state disas- warned “Bangladesh authorities are poised to undertake report on the inquiry, which he con- In a statement, Bashir said: “I ing but the death toll was likely to ter management officials said. An- even more prosecutions of DSA cases, as the law ministry ducted at the request of the broad- apologized then, and I do so again rise as hopes of finding survivors other 10 were killed in Goa, Karna- has approved a proposal to expand the number of special caster’s current management. now, over the fact that I asked for began to recede, with the rescue taka and Kerala states. Some 16,500 tribunals specifically for these types of cyber crimes.” According to the report, Bashir bank statements to be mocked up. It operation continuing into its fourth homes were damaged in Gujarat asked a freelance graphics designer was a stupid thing to do and was an day on Thursday (20). Survivors, as the storm forced evacuations of who worked for the BBC to create action I deeply regret.” wearing life-jackets, told local me- more than 200,000 people and cut phony bank statements document- But he insisted that “the bank dia that they were floating in the sea power for millions in the affected ing payments from News Interna- statements had no bearing whatso- for as long as 12 hours when they region. Premier Narendra Modi tional, a newspaper publisher, and ever on the personal choice by Prin- were rescued by the navy. took an aerial survey of Gujarat af- a company called Penfolds into the cess Diana to take part in the inter- ONGC said the barge was carry- ter which he announced financial account of a former employee of view” — an assertion that the report ing personnel for offshore drilling assistance of 10 billion rupees (731 Spencer’s, presumably to encourage generally supports. when it got caught in the storm. million dollars) for relief measures. the ex-employee to spy on his boss. -New York Times Federal authorities have ordered a -dpa WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 21 - 23, 2021 5 REALITY CHECK

By Rebecca Ratcliffe By Vivian Wang ‘Pray for Myanmar’ For Hong Kong’s domestic workers during COVID Miss Universe pageant gets political Discrimination is its own In the months leading up to the Miss Uni- verse pageant, most contestants were busy epidemic making promotional films and rehearsing for their moment in the limelight. Thuzar HONG KONG — The noodle shop was doing a brisk WintLwin of Myanmar was on the streets Friday evening business, with diners crowded at shared of Yangon, protesting against the country’s tables. Eni Lestari, a migrant domestic worker in Hong brutal army. Kong, spotted a seat near another woman and hurried to As the military used increasingly deadly claim it. Suddenly, the woman stood, and, according to force to crush rallies opposing its Febru- Lestari, declared that she would not sit near her. ary coup, she visited the relatives of those She did not give a reason. But hours earlier, the Hong who had been killed, donating her savings. Kong government had ordered virtually all of the city’s Online, she raised awareness of military 370,000 migrant domestic workers — mostly Southeast violence, despite the risk of retaliation. Last Asian women in an otherwise largely racially homogene- Thursday (13), Thuzar WintLwin appeared ous city — to take coronavirus tests and vaccines. Offi- on stage in Florida, where she sent a pow- cials said they were “high risk” for infection, because of erful message to viewers around the world. their habit of “mingling” with other migrant workers. - Gregory Raymond Raphael via The New York Times “They don’t think about us as humans who also have Striding out in the traditional dress of the Ralfred Gregory, 24, left, and his twin brother, Joefred in an undated Chin ethnic minority, she unfurled a ban- a social life,” said Lestari, who came to Hong Kong from ner that read: “Pray for Myanmar”. family photo Indonesia 20 years ago. “The frustration and anger of the Hong Kong public during COVID-19 — now it’s directed “Our people are dying and being shot by By Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj the military every day,” she said in a video at the domestic workers.” message filmed for the pageant. Lestari ordered takeout instead. Thuzar WintLwin, 22, had been deter- Around the world, the pandemic has exposed the plight mined to take part in the competition, she These twins lived together, in COVID, of migrant and other low-paid workers, whose labour said on Facebook, because she wanted to undergirds local economies but is often unrecognized or use her platform to “let the world know of exploited. Hong Kong has one of the world’s highest den- our country and how our freedom, human sities of migrant domestic workers, who make up about rights and right to live are threatened”. She they died together 10% of the working population. managed to pass safely through Yangon air- NEW DELHI — Joefred and But there were none of those older ventilators in the intensive care Even before the outbreak, the workers — whose jobs port earlier this month. Ralfred Gregory moved through brother-younger brother issues. unit a few beds apart, Joefred encompass cooking, cleaning and caretaking — faced She won the prize for best national cos- life as one. “They were equals,” said their in Bed 10, Ralfred in 14. On the widespread discrimination. They are guaranteed only tume, for a traditional dress worn by Chin They went to the same college. father, Gregory Raymond Rapha- morning of May 13, Joefred, the one day off each week and are legally required to live in women in north-west Myanmar. The dress, They studied the same thing. el. “They argued, yes. But I never older twin, was losing his battle. their employer’s homes. Their minimum wage is $596 which features intricate weaving, and is They wore matching clothes. They saw them hurt each other.” His blood oxygen levels dropped per month, with no legal limit on working hours. While worn with a crown of feathers adorned with trimmed their beards the exact They went by nicknames: Joefi to 48%, his father said. Noth- most foreigners who live in the city for seven years qual- beads, is associated with the KhwangCawi same way. and Ralfi. ing could save him. The twins’ ify for permanent residency, the law excludes migrant festival, when tributes are paid to coura- Identical twins, they were two As young men, they studied to- mother, Soja, was visiting the ICU workers. In the pandemic, government officials and em- geous and admirable women. handsome young men in north- gether: same year, same univer- at that moment. The doctors told ployers have invoked public health to impose more re- Dr Sasa, a spokesperson for Myanmar’s ern India who above all else really sity in southern India, same sub- her to leave. A few minutes later, strictions. national unity government, which was set loved each other. And when they ject, computer science. They wore around noon, they broke the news Domestic workers — euphemistically called ‘helpers’— up by pro-democracy politicians, includ- both were struck by COVID-19 their hair in the same style. They that Joefred had died. have described being barred from leaving their employ- ing some who have been detained, praised last month and hospitalized, it looked like mirror images. The mother, overwhelmed with ers’ homes on their day off, in the name of preventing Thuzar WintLwin “for her bravery in the was like they shared one sick Few people, besides their par- grief, then went back into the ICU infection. Those who can leave say they are harassed by face of so many obstacles”. Her actions had body. Hours after Joefred died, ents, could tell them apart. They to check on Ralfred, who kept ask- police and passersby. The government has repeatedly ac- helped raise awareness of “the plight of Ralfred’s mother told him that were the same height, around ing, “Where is Joefred? Where is cused the workers of violating social distancing restric- Myanmar’s brave citizens under the hand his brother was still alive, to keep 6 feet, with the same muscular Joefred?” tions, though other groups, including expatriates and of these cruel terrorist murderers,” he said his spirits up. But Ralfred sensed build. Friends said that at wed- His mother told him that his wealthy locals, have been at the heart of the city’s major in a statement. his brother was no more and said, dings, birthday parties and just brother had been transferred to a outbreaks. Officials singled out domestic workers with Over recent days, thousands of people from his hospital bed, “Mummy, about all community events, Joe- bigger hospital. their first, and only, vaccination order. The requirement in Myanmar’s Chin state have been forced you’re lying.” The next day, on fred and Ralfred not only dressed “We thought his condition did not apply to the workers’ employers, with whom they to flee their homes, following escalating May 14, Ralfred died too. the same but also stuck together would get worse if we told him are in daily contact. The Hong Kong government eventu- fighting between the military and activists The touching story of the twins in a crowd. what happened,” his father said. ally relented, after a public backlash. opposed to the coup, who have formed the who lived and died together has “It was like they were merged,” But Ralfred knew. He said to his “We have to defend ourselves from the employers’ Chinland Defence Force. The group used spread fast and wide on Indian said Manoj Kumar, a neighbour mom, “Mummy, you lied. You tell pressure, and also from the public and also from the gov- traditional hunting guns to fight the army social media, puncturing this na- and family friend. “There was im- me the truth.” But she didn’t. ernment,” said Lestari, who founded the Association of in the town of Mindat, while the military tion’s numbing statistics — the mense love between the two of Ralfred then went into depres- Indonesian Migrant Workers. “It’s been very intense.” fired artillery shells into the town and used daily case numbers, the death them." Both were computer engi- sion, his doctor said. And the next The testing and vaccination requirement was announced helicopters to bring in extra troops. Chin- counts, the infection rates. neers, most recently working from morning, less than 24 hours after April 30, after two workers tested positive for variant land Defence Force told Reuters earlier this This is a country that has suf- home in Meerut, and on April 24, his brother died, so did he. strains of the virus. Officials said that all 370,000 do- week that it had pulled back to spare civil- fered so much and keeps suffer- they came down with fevers at the As word spread, leading Indian mestic workers, except those who had already been vac- ians from being caught in the crossfire. The ing. Although India’s overall case same time, their father said. The newspapers ran stories, show- cinated, would need to be tested. UN Office for the Coordination of Humani- numbers have dropped this past family treated them at home, with ing the two brothers side by side Workers would also need to be vaccinated before re- tarian Affairs said providing humanitarian week, the deaths keep going up. some over-the-counter medicine, in identical suits. Television sta- newing their visas. While vaccine hesitancy is high across assistance to people fleeing the violence, or On Wednesday (19), India but began to worry as their condi- tions jumped in as well, with their Hong Kong, Law Chi-kwong, the city’s labour secretary, those still in the town, was challenging due broke a world record for the most tion worsened. doctor talking about how thor- said in a news conference that the workers were in a “dif- to the insecurity. reported COVID deaths in a sin- In late April and early May, In- oughly the virus had destroyed ferent situation” than locals. If they did not want to get More than 800 people have been killed gle day: 4,529. However alarming dia was suffering the worst surge their lungs. Of all the thousands vaccinated, he added, “they can leave Hong Kong.” by the junta, according to the advocacy that number is — three Indians of infections that any country had of deaths in recent days, these two Workers denounced the announcement as racist. Offi- group Assistance Association for Political dying every minute because of the seen since the pandemic began. seemed to really unsettle people, cials from the Philippines and Indonesia — Hong Kong’s Prisoners. Thousands more have been de- coronavirus — experts say that it So many people were getting in- perhaps because the twins were primary sources of migrant labour — objected. A few days tained, including elected politicians, pro- is just a small fraction of the true fected at the same time, especially just in their 20s and had looked later, Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, withdrew democracy activists and protesters. toll and that the real numbers are in northern India, where Meerut so healthy, or maybe it was simply the vaccination requirement, though she maintained the The military has also cracked down on far higher. is, that hospitals couldn’t cope. their closeness. Across social me- only consideration had been public health. But the test- cultural figures who have criticized the Joefred and Ralfred, 24, had a Sick people were being turned dia, people exchanged messages ing requirement remained — and last week, Lam ordered coup, announcing wanted lists on military special bond. Although their par- away. They were dying in the such as “This is so heartbreaking!” a second round, even though the first had yielded just TV in the evenings. Celebrities – from po- ents gave them similar names, streets, in the back seats of cars and “How devastating it must be three positive cases. ets to beauty bloggers and influencers – are they said they didn’t raise the parked in vain outside hospital for the parents. So young …” “What is the scientific basis?” said Dolores Balladares, among those sought or held by security twins to copy each other. Still, gates, at home, gasping for air. Their father says he feels like a Filipina worker and spokeswoman for Asian Migrants forces. Many are taken during night raids, neighbours said that where you There was a deadly shortage of his heart has been torn from his Coordinating Body, an advocacy group. “Are they not fed when security forces stalk the streets and saw one, you saw the other, even lifesaving oxygen and medicine. body. “I keep thinking that maybe up with thinking that migrant domestic workers are virus search the homes of anyone they suspect after they reached adulthood. It was the COVID nightmare that I shouldn’t have brought them to carriers?” of supporting protesters. There have been They grew up, along with an older all nations have feared since the the hospital,” he said. “Maybe I For many workers, the latest announcement was the repeated reports of torture inside detention brother, in a one-story bungalow pandemic began, exploding with should have kept them at home. most blatant example of their unfair treatment during facilities. in Meerut, a satellite town of New a fury. A week into their sons’ ill- There is a parental love that the the pandemic. Officials have stepped up patrols at popu- It is not clear where Thuzar WintLwin Delhi. Their parents were teach- ness, the family decided to seek hospital can’t give.” lar gathering spaces for workers and deployed “mobile will stay after the pageant. There were un- ers at a Christian school. The fam- help and found space in Anand “But there’s no use of saying, ‘If broadcasts” to remind them to stay apart. In December, confirmed reports on social media that the ily was among the few Christians Hospital, a private facility with a this could have happened, or that a lawmaker proposed locking down workers on their day Myanmar regime had issued an arrest war- in a mixed, middle-class neigh- good reputation not far from their could happened,’” he said. “My off. She did not propose any restrictions during the week, rant since her Miss Universe protest. bourhood. house. Both sons tested positive children are gone now.” when they often buy groceries and run other errands. In an online video message, she said: As boys, they batted cricket for COVID-19 and a doctor at the Every day, he said, he visits the Law, the labour secretary, rejected that proposal at “Myanmar deserves democracy, and we balls together in a vacant lot. hospital said that by that point, graveyard. Beneath a young neem the time, noting that the infection rate among domestic will keep fighting and I also hope that the Together they hunched over the the disease had progressed fright- tree, Joefred and Ralfred Gregory workers was half of the rate in the general public. international community will give us the carrom table, a popular Indian eningly fast. are buried in two coffins but one Maricel Jaime, a Filipina worker who has been in help that we desperately need.” game played on a wooden board. Both sons had very dangerous grave. Hong Kong for six years, said she had come to expect -The Guardian Joefred was three minutes older. lung infections. Both were put on -New York Times constant supervision on Sundays, when most domestic workers are off. During Christmas, she and her friends were careful to gather in small groups and to maintain distance. Still, whenever they briefly got close — to pass By Richard C. Paddock around food, or to retrieve something from a bag — of- ficers hurried over to chastise them, she said. “The police Fed up with toxic air, Jakarta residents holding breath for court ruling are around us, always checking. Even if we are following the rules, the police are still hassling us,” Jaime said. The JAKARTA - Five years ago, a scan and everyone needs health.” A three- government’s efforts are adequate cause their bodies are still develop- police also monitor restaurant and bar districts popular of IstuPrayogi’s lungs showed the judge panel is expected to rule as and fulfil their responsibilities under ing, she said. among locals and expatriates. While those groups can kind of damage that comes from early as this week whether the presi- the law. Studies show that vehicle emis- also gather in private, domestic workers have no choice smoking cigarettes. But in his case, dent, three of his Cabinet ministers One of the 32 plaintiffs in the suit sions are the largest single source of but to socialize in public spaces — in parks, under foot- he had never smoked. Instead, he and three provincial governors have is YuyunIsmawati, a co-founder of air pollution in Greater Jakarta, fol- bridges — because they have no space of their own. Legal spent hours a day in traffic in Jakar- been negligent by failing to curb the the environmental group Nexus3 lowed by coal-fired power plants. recourse is limited. Hong Kong enacted an anti-discrim- ta, the capital of Indonesia and one city’s air pollution. Foundation and a recipient of the Vehicle inspections, to the extent ination law 12 years ago. But the Equal Opportunities of the world’s most polluted cities. The Indonesian suit seeks to re- 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize. they occur, are inadequate, Yuyun Commission, the group that investigates complaints, has A computer science teacher, Istu quire national and local govern- She points out that Indonesia’s air said, and the power plants do not never taken a racial discrimination case to court on be- began wearing a face mask, as his ments to set stricter standards for pollution standards are much looser have adequate filters. half of a complainant, said Puja Kapai, a law professor at doctor recommended, but that was hazardous pollutants and actively than the levels recommended by the Another major source is small- the University of Hong Kong who studies ethnic minori- only a short-term solution. So he enforce them in the Jakarta metro- World Health Organization. scale industrial activity that often ties’ rights. joined a rare citizen lawsuit against politan area, a megacity of more than But even these standards are not relies on primitive methods that lack Despite the attention that the pandemic has brought to the government seeking to force In- 29 million people. adequately enforced, she said, and environmental safeguards, such as the difficulties faced by migrant workers, Kapai said she donesia’s president, Joko Widodo, Since the suit was filed two years as a result, many people suffer from melting and recycling lead batteries, doubted that governments would embrace reform. Hong and other government officials to ad- ago, some government agencies have asthma and other respiratory ill- and burning wood, plastic or tires Kong’s economy has been battered by the outbreak, mak- dress the city’s pervasive pollution. made efforts to tighten their stand- nesses. to generate heat. These often go un- ing pay raises for domestic workers unlikely, and few lo- “For me personally, it’s very urgent,” ards and to improve enforcement. Children are especially vulnerable regulated. cal residents have spoken out in the workers’ defence. he said, “because everyone needs air In court, they have argued that the to ailments caused by pollution be- -New York Times -New York Times 6 MAY 21 - 23, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS RETHINKING AMERICA

By Michael Wilson By Charles M. Blow New York City History can be erased cautiously reopens It often has been On Wednesday (19) night, the House voted under a relaxed to create a commission to look into the Jan. 6 insurrection. mask mandate Thirty-five Republicans joined Demo- crats to pass it, but they did so over the NEW YORK - New York City’s reopening objections of House Minority Leader Kevin — a milestone longed for over the last 14 McCarthy, who opposed the bill. Earlier months — arrived at last on Wednesday (19). Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch It was less a grand gala than a soft opening, McConnell joined him in opposition. a finish line at the end of a long race that no The Republican leadership in Congress one wanted to be the first to cross. seems to be engaged in a coordinated effort 423 days since the city shut down, on a to reduce and minimize the attack on the Sunday in March 2020, when it accounted US Capitol, or even erase it all together. for half the nation’s coronavirus cases, its One reason used to oppose the commis- first day fully back in business was messy sion is that it would be redundant of work and inconsistent and confusing. In short, it already being done by the Justice Depart- was New York City, and a single set of new ment and Congress itself. rules state-wide was widely superseded by -Doug Mills/The New York Times But another, used by McCarthy, was spe- the personal comfort levels of the city’s mil- President Joe Biden speaks with Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), left, and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), cifically to muddy the water by widening lions of residents. right, upon his arrival in Detroit on Tuesday (18), where he was confronted by Tlaib over his sup- the inquiry to include investigations into Masks, no longer a hard requirement for port for Israel amid the violence in Gaza anti-fascists and Black Lives Matter. It was the vaccinated in most situations, remained a clear attempt to establish an equivalency, firmly in place by the majority of people, to reduce the historic nature of the insur- whether in the big-box stores and tiny bou- By Michael Crowley and Annie Karni rection while simultaneously elevating is- tiques of Manhattan or the shaded paths of sues with other groups. They want to flat- Prospect Park in Brooklyn. ten all of this into a single mass of things “It’s still store policy,” said Raj Lalbatch- that happened during the pandemic, none an, 23, a worker at Victoria, a clothing store better or worse than the other, things hap- in the Bronx. Nearby, Elisabeth Ocasio, 51, pening on the ideological left as well as the a server at the restaurant La Isla, said it is Publicly supportive, Biden is right. standing firm with the status quo. “We don’t But, these things are not equal … at all. know who’s vaccinated and who’s not,” she They know this. But this is how propaganda said. “We’re doing everything the same is born and history is buried. It is shock- here.” said to sharpen his tone with ingly easy to do and has been often done. Across United States, other states were We are just weeks away from the 100th an- also moving to reopen amid a drastic drop niversary of the Tulsa Massacre, in which in new cases and expanded vaccine eligi- white citizens of that city — aided by the bility to those 12 and older. But the pace of Netanyahu in private National Guard, it should be noted — de- average vaccinations has declined precipi- stroyed the Greenwood section, a prosper- tously since mid-April and even some in- ous, self-sufficient community known as concerns commanded far more fered assurances that he and the oculated Americans have shown some scep- WASHINGTON — President Black Wall Street, killing as many as 300 attention than Palestinian griev- Israeli leader were “still buddies.” ticism of the new federal guidance allowing Joe Biden has maintained his people and leaving 8,000 others homeless. ances — and that his approach Michael Oren, who served as Is- for fully vaccinated people to go without a public support toward Israel One of the most remarkable things about has less to do with the military rael’s ambassador to Washington mask in most circumstances. As of Tuesday even as he adopted a somewhat that massacre was the concerted effort by situation on the ground than with from 2009 to 2013, said that in (18), 48% of people have received at least sharper private tone with Prime the city to erase it from history, and just domestic politics and his broader an Obama administration where one shot, according to federal data. Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a how effective that campaign was. foreign policy agenda, including many senior officials mistrusted Outside the US, France loosened its rules calculus shaped by Biden’s long- Now, to be sure, that massacre happened nuclear talks with Iran. Netanyahu’s Likud government on Wednesday, and the European Union time relationship with the Is- before the time of television, the internet, For his part, Netanyahu is and shut out Oren, Biden served agreed to reopen its borders to visitors who raeli leader as well as by growing social media and cellphones. But there fighting for his political life at as his main interlocutor. have been fully vaccinated with an approved hopes that Israel’s military oper- were images, not to mention the scores of home while trying to sustain sup- “He exhibited, I thought, great shot, just in time for summer tourists. And ations against Hamas are nearing families who lost loved ones. There were port for his country in Washing- insight into the personality of yet, the virus continued to ravage India, an end. graves. As The New York Times has report- ton. With Biden now in the Oval Benjamin Netanyahu,” Oren which recorded 4,529 COVID-19 deaths In a phone call Monday (17), ed: “After the massacre, officials set about Office, the men are again try- said. He said Biden saw that ten- on Tuesday, the pandemic’s highest single Biden warned Netanyahu that erasing it from the city’s historical record. ing to sustain mutual trust amid sions between President Barack known daily death toll in any country so far. he could fend off criticism of the Victims were buried in unmarked graves. larger forces driving them apart. Obama and Netanyahu made for As the virus was crushing New York City Gaza strikes for only so long, ac- Police records vanished. The inflammatory Martin Indyk, a former US “a very flammable environment last year, testing was limited, hospitals were cording to two people familiar Tulsa Tribune articles were cut out before ambassador to Israel, said that that he did his best to ease down.” full and thousands were dying every day. with the call. That conversa- the newspapers were transferred to micro- Biden had bought himself private Oren added that Biden always The living retreated to their apartments and tion was said to be significantly film.” The Times continued: “City officials space to persuade Netanyahu to threw “a great Rosh Hashana” the city, almost overnight, transformed into stronger than an official summa- cleansed the history books so thoroughly wind down the strikes in Gaza, party at his vice-presidential a shadow of itself. The city’s known death ry released by the White House. that when Nancy Feldman, a lawyer from which were launched in retalia- residence to celebrate the Jewish toll sits at more than 33,000 people. It affirmed Israel’s right to self- Illinois, started teaching her students at the tion for Hamas’ indiscriminate New Year. But on Wednesday, scenes of joy along- defence and did not repeat calls University of Tulsa about the massacre in rocket attacks on Israeli cities. Today, the president hopes side those of caution played out throughout by many congressional Demo- the late 1940s, they didn’t believe her.” Indyk also said that Biden was that Netanyahu can help him the city. The owner of DuPont Dry Cleaners crats for an immediate cease-fire. We sometimes underestimate human trying to get the Israeli leader avoid becoming mired in an on Amsterdam Avenue in the Upper West That phone call and others impulses and human nature when we sim- to agree to a cease-fire “by mak- Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Side, Byong Min, 64, spent 90 days in a hos- since the fighting started last ply assume that the memory of a thing, a ing clear publicly that he was in dim prospects of resolution at a pital suffering from COVID last year, the week reflect Biden and Netan- horrible thing, will last forever. Israel’s corner, that Israel has a time when he has been focused scar from his tracheotomy visible above his yahu’s complicated 40-year re- Often the perpetrators of the offence des- right to defend itself and that he on other foreign policy priorities, collar. On Wednesday morning, a customer lationship. It began when Net- perately want to let the stigma fade, and has Netanyahu’s back.” including climate change, coun- arrived and asked tentatively: Could she en- anyahu was the deputy chief of the victim hesitates to pass on the pain of “That was very important for tering China and restoring the ter without a mask? mission at the Israeli Embassy it to children and family. Everyone awaits the moment that has now come, 2015 Iran nuclear deal. He said yes. But he regretted it moments in Washington and Biden was the healing power of time, like the jagged in which he has to turn to Net- “I think the Biden administra- later. a young senator with a passion rock thrown into the river that eventually anyahu and say, ‘Time to wrap it tion was caught a bit off-guard “She told me she was vaccinated and I for foreign affairs. Since then, becomes smooth stone. up,’” Indyk said. here,” said SanamVakil, the am vaccinated, but wow, maybe I should they have rarely seen eye to eye That happened in Tulsa. The first full his- In keeping with Biden’s long- deputy director of the Middle be more careful,” he said. “I wasn’t really but have forged an occasionally tory of the massacre was not written until time view that foreign policy is East and North Africa program thinking. I just said OK.” chummy working relationship 1982 when Scott Ellsworth wrote ‘Death driven by personal relationships, at the London-based think tank In Red Hook in Brooklyn, the Chelsea through seven US presidencies in a Promised Land’, and a commission to he has repeatedly made clear Chatham House. “It has taken Garden Centre, a bustling nursery, con- — Netanyahu has been prime fully study what happened in Tulsa wasn’t over the years that his sometimes them a few days to mobilize and sidered removing its two-customer indoor minister for four of them — and established until 1997. Its report was issued exasperation with Netanyahu’s find their footing.” limit, but stopped short. “It’s a little scary raging political battles over the in 2001. We have a tendency to drift away right-wing policies never rup- On Tuesday, the White House to change things,” said Bethany Perkins, an Iran nuclear deal and Israeli set- from the fullness of history even when the tured the men’s bond. press secretary, Jen Psaki, told employee. “We’re so used to the rules right tlement policy. truth isn’t actively suppressed. Think about Biden has spoken publicly reporters aboard Air Force One now.” Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednes- Today, that relationship is things such as how horrible Christopher about how he once sent Net- that Biden “has been doing this day morning that he planned to keep mask as complicated as ever. Biden’s Columbus actually was, or the massacres anyahu a photograph with the long enough to know that the rules in place at city offices because there juggling act on Israel, always of native people and all the broken trea- inscription, “Bibi, I don’t agree best way to end an international would be a mix of vaccinated and unvacci- a challenge for a US president, ties that helped grow the geography of this with a damn thing you say, but I conflict is typically not to debate nated people there, and that he planned to is especially difficult given that country, or how many of the pioneers of gay love you.” it in public.” wear a mask in most cases out of an abun- Democrats are no longer solidly rights were trans people and drag queens. And after tensions between “Sometimes diplomacy needs dance of caution. in Israel’s corner. We are horrible transmitters of the truth. Netanyahu and the Obama White to happen behind the scenes — it “When you’re not sure, my personal ad- Middle East experts and for- We are also horrible receptors. It is like the House over Iran’s nuclear pro- needs to be quiet, and we don’t vice is wear a mask,” the mayor said, adding mer US officials say that many of game you played as a child when something gram burst into public view in read out every component,” she “we’ve done it, for god’s sakes, for a year, we Biden’s calculations are rooted in was whispered from child to child, and late 2014, Biden, during a speech said. can do it a little bit longer to finish the job.” a different era of US-Israeli re- what the last child hears bears no resem- to a Jewish American group, of- -New York Times -New York Times lations — when Israel’s security blance to what the first child said. Even when we record things, in writing, or by photography or even video, some- thing gets lost in the transfer: the severity, By Edgar Sandoval and Dave Montgomery the solemnity, the impact. This is why memorials and monuments are important in society, to aid collective Near-complete ban on abortion is signed into law in Texas memory and reflection. This is also why SAN ANTONIO — Gov. Greg Ab- from Mississippi that could under- tory. Texas lawmakers have taken a 40% of respondents identified them- monuments are often used as tools of prop- bott of Texas signed into law on mine Roe v. Wade, the 1973 deci- hard-right approach to a number of selves as ‘pro-life’ and 41% as ‘pro- aganda, because they have helped create Wednesday (19) one of the nation’s sion that established a constitutional major issues and culture war sub- choice’. false narratives that alter collective mem- most restrictive abortion measures, right to abortion. The case will be the jects, including voting, gun owner- Joe Pojman, executive director ory. Many Confederate monuments were banning the procedure after six first on abortion under the court’s ship, policing and LGBTQ rights. with the Texas Alliance for Life, an erected precisely for this purpose. weeks of pregnancy. new 6-3 conservative majority, giv- Republican victories in last year’s anti-abortion advocacy group, said So, when I see Republicans trying to alter The legislation, also known as the ing anti-abortion activists hope that election repelled an attempted Dem- he was confident the state’s new law our perception of the insurrection, I do not ‘heartbeat law’, amounts to an out- their strategy of passing restrictive ocratic ‘blue wave’ and further solidi- would prevail despite the ‘steep hill’ take that lightly. There is nothing silly or right ban on abortion, as many wom- laws in state legislatures and cre- fied the GOP’s long-standing hold on it would face in the courts. trivial about it. Memory is malleable. This en are not aware they are pregnant ating a long pipeline of new cases state government. Christian D. Menefee, the chief civ- tactic may now fail on 50 and work on five, at the six-week mark. It also would will pay off. Texas is among at least The legislation drew support from il lawyer for Harris County, the most but years from now it may be the inverse allow any private citizen to sue doc- a dozen states to recently adopt re- anti-abortion groups and condem- populous county in Texas, called ratio. We absorb the stories we are told, tors or abortion clinic employees strictive measures. nation from abortion rights activists, the new law “morally reprehensible, too often without circumspection, imbuing who would perform or help arrange The bill in Texas comes two weeks who are gearing up to challenge it unconstitutional, and nothing more them with the authority of the tell. So, when for the procedure. before the end of one of the most in the courts. According to a recent than a blatant attempt to limit wom- authorities tell a lie or diminish something, This week, the Supreme Court an- staunchly conservative biennial leg- survey of Texans by the University of en’s access to health care.” many people will accept it as told. nounced it would consider a case islative sessions in recent state his- Texas and The Texas Tribune, about -New York Times -New York Times WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 21 - 23, 2021 7 COMMENTARY

By Kassapa Are we heading for the worst health catastrophe in a century? If you are one of those who subscribe only to main- stream media and observe what was going on in Sri Lanka, you would be excused for being under the impression that the coronavirus pandemic, while still a problem in the country, is just one of the many issues it is facing. This week, for instance, there were other issues to be dealt with. The Port City legislation had to be rushed through Parliament despite the Supreme Court deciding significant sections of it were uncon- stitutional and had to be endorsed by the people at a referendum. Then there was the 12th anniversary of the end of the Eelam war, justifiable cause for celebration that it is, which had to be commemorated, pandemic or not, so we could hark back to the dynamic leader- ship of then President Mahinda Rajapaksa and then – army.lk Defence Secretary and now President, Gotabaya Ra- President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the 12th National War Heroes’ Day commemoration at the at National War Heroes’ japaksa. Monument on Wednesday (19) In the midst of events such as this, the dull dai- ly statistics of the number of cases of corona virus infections and related deaths is not exciting news. By Sharmila Seyyid On the day of writing this, for example, the coun- try recorded the highest number of cases, more than 3500. That same day, 36 people died from the ill- ness. People without memory can lose their souls Meanwhile, the government’s Department of In- formation, keen to eliminate any emotion from the Over three decades of civil war has touched been greatly helped by truth and reconciliation of traditions they cherished and a future they be- issue of the pandemic, calmly announced that the the lives of Sri Lankans of all ages, all races and processes. lieved in. The meaning of their sacrifice rests with ‘New Year cluster’ had reached 50,000 cases. Ironi- all social classes. Fathers, sons, daughters and Injustices cannot be remedied if they are not our collective national consciousness. cally, on the same day, a senior physician attached to wives were killed in action while others they acknowledged. The suffering of the Roma peo- The connection between remembrance and hu- the Infectious Diseases Hospital, the nation’s main were wounded and thousands who returned were ple is barely acknowledged. If it was, perhaps man rights ought to extend both backwards and treatment centre for the pandemic warned that Sri forced to live the rest of their lives with the physi- governments across Europe might take stronger forwards in time. Terrible events that have been Lanka was heading for a ‘catastrophe’. cal and mental scars of war. measures to assist a people whose memories are brought about through human action or inaction For the Department of Information though, this Yet for many of us, war is a phenomenon seen still raw and do more to stamp out continuing dis- deserve to be remembered partly as a sign of re- was just another cluster similar to the now infamous through the lens of a television camera or a jour- crimination against them. spect to the victims who perished or otherwise ‘Minuwangoda cluster’ and the ‘Peliyagoda cluster’ nalist’s account of fighting in distant parts of the In our country we still do not take accountabil- suffered. Yet the forward looking aspect of re- and not a raging pandemic that was wreaking havoc world. Our closest physical and emotional experi- ity for the crimes. The government does not admit membrance is equally important, and much more across the country. If only someone asked the De- ence may be the discovery of wartime memora- to the wrongdoings and crimes committed on its often neglected, particularly when it involves the partment, they would have even suggested helpfully bilia in a family attic. But even items such as pho- part. Governments have spent the past 12 years need to recognize our own role in causing terrible that there was no ‘community transmission’ and all tographs, uniform badges, medals and diaries can debating the grounds for justifying crimes. events. cases could be linked to those who went shopping seem vague and unconnected to the life of their When crimes are committed, there is a need for Official remembrance is normally organized for the New Year! owner. For those of us born during peacetime, all a full investigation and for those responsible to be by governments and governments are not always Then, remember how President Gotabaya Raja- wars seem far removed from our daily lives. condemned and brought to trial. The government prepared to admit to past mistakes or to having paksa and General Shavendra Silva, two military We live in a country that only celebrates the has not presented any information on the disap- undertaken actions that have had severe conse- men tasked with fighting a war against a virus, victory of war and where people who have com- pearances of those who surrendered in the final quences in terms of human rights. Governments proudly declared that the country will not be locked mitted mass crimes are not punished but allowed battle and even during the war. tend to remember their own victories and their down again because it would cripple the economy? to walk on the streets. They are the ones who sit Compensation is for all affected parties. But own victims but they very rarely acknowledge the We can be proud that it hasn’t. Yes, there are on the thrones today and make laws for the coun- even today some people are still living in camps victims of other races. ‘travel restrictions’ for days on end, your ability to try. This war-torn country has been pushed to the while the army occupies their land. If remembrance is to help us avert future mass purchase groceries depends on the last digit of your point where it cannot reach the premise of restor- Without acknowledgement, condemnation, violations of human rights, we need to be honest National Identity Card number and only essential ing justice. compensation and remembrance, it is likely that about looking at ourselves. We need to be aware workers are allowed to travel. There are four essential elements in restoring the memory of injustice and mass human rights of the consequences of official policies in our Flights have been suspended, schools are closed justice to victims of terrible crimes: violations will be used to justify actions. The ma- country that may bring about violations of human indefinitely and ‘normal’ life as we know it has come 1. Acknowledge the crime nipulation of collective memories for the purpose rights. We need to acknowledge mistakes we may to a screeching halt but these are merely ‘restric- 2. Condemn the actions that led to it of national political agendas remains a serious have made in the past and notice those we may be tions’- so President Rajapaksa and General Silva 3. Compensate the survivors threat across the North and East. committing now. Only then can we begin to learn can claim once again that they didn’t ‘lockdown’ the 4. Remember what happened so that the We are compelled to try to connect communi- from them. country. After all, a ‘lockdown’ by any other name actions are not repeated ties and focus on repairing that harm through People who have lost memories are those who must be as effective! Acknowledging what has happened helps in- a process of remembrance in an environment have lost their identity. Not only the future of All this begs the question: should the mainstream dividuals and countries to come to terms with where the whole structure of restorative justice is those who have forgotten the past, but also the media and the relevant medical professionals also the past and to move on socially, politically and distorted. future, is dark. take some of the blame for the disaster that Sri economically. An acknowledgment might be a Therefore, we must remember. Only through Kenyan writer and academic NgũgĩwaThiong’o Lanka now finds itself in- the country’s worst health formal apology by a state. In South Africa after remembrance can we save history. Only through says, “A people without memory are in danger of crisis in nearly a century and more importantly an the apartheid era, in Morocco, Chile and Argen- remembrance can we heal our wounds. Remem- losing their soul.” entirely preventable one, given how effectively the tina and in the former Yugoslavia, the process of ber the comrades who died for land, for their -This article was originally featured on ‘first wave’ of the pandemic was managed by the acknowledging responsibility for atrocities has homes and families and friends, for a collection groundviews.org same government? The mainstream media has chosen to air the views of the government ad nauseam, pretending a pan- By Rajni Gamage demic did not exist and there was no community transmission, when medical and scientific opinion was clearly to the contrary. It also chose not to give Sri Lanka’s independent foreign policy paradox sufficient airtime to the views of medical experts Facing unique challenges during the COVID-19 ments problems. This ‘dependence’ includes the from the deal. The official Sri Lankan discourse who had a different view to that of the government. pandemic, mounting public debt and interna- well-known 99-year lease of the southern Ham- that accompanies backtracking on these develop- In fact, it did the opposite. There were many a tional condemnation of human rights violations, bantota Port to the Chinese state-controlled China ment agreements is particularly interesting. news report and many a talk show that highlighted Sri Lanka’s foreign policy straddles conflicting Merchant Port Holdings, which holds a 70% stake The decision to unilaterally call off the ECT the so-called ‘Dhammikapeniya’, a spurious concoc- domestic and international demands. At home in a joint venture with Sri Lanka Ports Authority. agreement was portrayed as the result of unrelent- tion devised by a charlatan purely for financial gain. and abroad, the country’s leadership has adopted In March 2021, Sri Lanka announced a US$1.5 bil- ing trade union and civil society group protests Even when the pandemic was raging, they gave pub- strongman politics associated with the ruling Ra- lion currency swap with the Chinese central bank against privatization of State-owned corporations. licity to some ‘doctors’ and an actress who claimed japaksa family. and that it would partner with China in developing Meanwhile, a turnaround on the MCC Agreement they had discovered a pill to cure the corona virus. This type of strongman politics appeals to sec- two irrigation reservoirs in a UNESCO-protected was framed by the government in terms of uphold- They say that careless talk cost lives and in this in- tions of the majority Sinhala Buddhist population, heritage site, the Sinharaja Forest Reserve. Now a ing the country’s sovereignty against foreign inter- stance it did, as we are now seeing daily death tolls especially after the national security negligence of proposed Colombo Port City Economic Commis- ference. of over thirty. the previous government during the 2019 Easter sion Bill, pertaining to the single largest private- Despite official pronouncements about inde- In the medical community, there were a few pro- bombings. Yet despite claiming its foreign policy sector development on the island, is facing contes- pendence and sovereignty, the country’s economic fessionals who spoke out individually and a few upholds Sri Lankan sovereignty and independ- tations within government and civil society over and political trajectory is increasingly dependent more organizations that issued the occasional state- ence, the government has paradoxically become concerns it could become a ‘Chinese colony’. on finding alternative sources of financial and de- ment. Within the profession though, it is an open more dependent on external forces to achieve its China also extended economic and medical as- velopment assistance from abroad. This depend- secret that the most clout is wielded by the doctors’ foreign policy goals. sistance to Colombo as part of its ‘pandemic diplo- ence is sustained by a militarized form of neolib- trade union, the Government Medical Officers’ As- Sri Lanka’s foreign policy dilemmas include macy’, after COVID-19 dealt a major blow to the eral development supported by key sections of Sri sociation (GMOA), a lap dog of this government. the risk of being ensnared by China’s ‘debt-trap island’s tourism industry and foreign remittances Lanka’s ruling elite. The local patronage networks The Association, which stridently opposed the diplomacy’ and the need to manage larger states from the Middle East. These foreign policy over- they sustain are essential for managing domestic importation of Indian ambulances and also opposed competing for regional dominance. The alleged tures have triggered regional anxieties over Bei- unrest over increasing living costs, political rights trade agreements with other countries, during the debt-trap diplomacy refers to China funding white jing’s role in Sri Lanka. and environmental destruction. previous government, deliberately chose to main- elephant infrastructure in poorer countries with These anxieties are foremost among members Yet this discourse has considerable purchase tain a deafening silence until the late stages of the high interest loans so that recipient states, like Sri of the ‘Quad’ — an informal alliance of India, Ja- with a government under pressure to introduce pandemic, when medical experts were predicting Lanka, acquiesce to Beijing’s strategic objectives. pan, the United States and Australia — who see a new constitution — a reform that would limit the government was not doing enough and a disas- Yet this narrative has been debunked by several China as competing for dominance in the Indian the devolution of power through the existing ter was in the making. That is how self-serving and reports, citing Sri Lanka’s relatively low percent- Ocean Region. Provincial Council system. It also lends domestic unprofessional this unscrupulous doctors’ organiza- age of debt owed to China. Incompetence and ad The Quad completed its first summit in March legitimacy to a government facing international tion has become. hoc decision making — within both the Chinese this year. But the Chinese government sees it as pressure over human rights violations, especially Now they are compelled to take issue with the and Sri Lankan governments — better explain the an ‘exclusive clique’ sowing regional division by after the UN received a mandate to investigate war government because the evidence is overwhelming poor performance of joint Chinese–Sri Lankan de- playing up the ‘China threat’ narrative. While crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s civil war that and other medical professionals and organizations velopment initiatives. many Quad states provided pandemic-related ended in 2009. are speaking out anyway. Even then, the criticism is Sri Lanka’s ballooning foreign debt stems from assistance, especially India as part of ‘Operation The UN resolution was criticized by Sri Lankan muted, tempered no doubt by the debts their offi- global changes to international commercial bor- Maitri’ and its Neighbourhood First Policy, subse- Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena as a West- cials owe to the current regime. rowing. Since attaining middle-income country quent foreign policy moves by the Rajapaksa ad- ern-backed move to dominate the Global South, That is the sad story of how the pandemic was status in 1997, it is much easier for Colombo to ministration weakened the island-state’s so-called with China being among those states who voted mismanaged in Sri Lanka- not only by the govern- obtain financing through bilateral loans than from ‘non-alignment’ stance. against the resolution. ment but also by the mainstream media and the traditional lenders like the International Mon- Such moves include cancelling the US$480 mil- Given the combination of the domestic and in- most powerful medical professional body. etary Fund (IMF), which often require political– lion United States’ Millennium Challenge Corpo- ternational demands the Sri Lankan government When history records this tragedy of lives lost due economic restructuring as conditionalities to their ration (MCC) Agreement and Colombo Port’s East faces, a truly independent foreign policy seems in- to negligence, it is not only the government that will loans. Container Terminal (ECT) development project, creasingly unlikely in the foreseeable future. have blood on its hands, the media and the GMOA Last year, the IMF prematurely ended its US$1.5 finalized in partnership with India and Japan. Al- – Rajni Gamage is a PhD candidate in the will too because, as someone famously said, cruelty billion loan program to Sri Lanka. Difficulty in though the Sri Lankan government subsequently School of Political Science and International by ‘bad’ people is only possible because of the silence repaying large amounts of commercial foreign finalized an agreement with India’s Adani group Studies at the University of Queensland (UQ) of ‘good’ people. debt has driven Sri Lanka’s deepening reliance on to develop the West Container Terminal of Colom- and this article was originally featured on -This article was originally featured on countries like China to tide-over its balance of pay- bo Port, the Indian government distanced itself East Asia Forum counterpoint.lk 8 MAY 21 - 23, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS MIDDLE EAST PERSPECTIVE

By Fawaz Turki By Nicholas Kristof Israeli attack on Gaza US’ ‘unshakable’ media offices bonds of friendship An act beyond with Israel are shaking redemption If you oppose war crimes only by your en- No props needed. The setting is perfect, as is, emies, it’s not clear that you actually oppose for Dante’s Inferno. And that is what the war war crimes. That’s a thought worth wrestling in Gaza, now in its second week, has become, with as many experts suggest that both Ha- with little infernos here and little infernos mas and Israel are engaging in crimes of war there, all across the length and breadth of this in the current Gaza conflict. For the same rea- little 140-square- mile tormented strip of land son that we deplore Hamas’ shelling of Israel, by the Mediterranean Sea, as its little people, shouldn’t we also demand that Prime Minister their choked psyche gasping for breath, seek Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel accept a cease- haven and find none. fire and stop bombings that kill far greater I interject myself into this column to tell numbers of innocents? you that fearfully awry images evoked by two The United States was the first country to of these little infernos have preyed on me. recognize Israel upon its founding in 1948, The one took place on Saturday (15) morn- and one of the few things that Democrats and ing — as I sat, God forgive me, in my comfort- -Hosam Salem/The New York Times Republicans have mostly agreed on over the able, assuredly safe home in Washington — Friends and relatives prepare for the funeral of a man in Gaza City who was killed during Israeli strikes decades is unwavering support for Israel. when an Israeli air strike caused the collapse on an apartment building overnight on Wednesday (19) “The deep bonds of friendship between the of three buildings on a main street in Gaza US and Israel remain as strong and unshak- City, resulting in the death of 42 Gazans, in- By Ramzy Baroud able as ever,” President Barack Obama wrote cluding 10 children. soon after taking office. By an ironic coincidence, Saturday was Yet today, especially within the Democratic Nakbah Day, the day that Palestinians com- Party, those bonds are shaking as Netanyahu memorate every year to mark the catastrophe resists a cease-fire in Gaza. He leaves us won- Unity at last: The Palestinian dering: Why should our tax dollars subsidize that had befallen them on May 15, 1948, when their ancestral homeland was dismembered a rain of destruction that has killed scores of — a catastrophe almost Homeric in scale that children, damaged 17 hospitals and clinics and saw Diaspora Palestinians wandering the forced 72,000 people to flee their homes? earth, much in the manner of those lost souls people have risen President Joe Biden has blocked the Unit- that populate the Odyssey, in search of a shel- ed Nations Security Council from calling for tering refuge, all the while carrying on their From the outset, some clarifica- single chant for freedom. The not only from millions of ordinary a cease-fire. He apparently believes that he backs, like heavy cargo, shattered yet rich tion regarding the language used to leaders of this new movement are individuals across the globe, but can accomplish more with private diplomacy fragments of their lost Eden. depict the ongoing violence in oc- Palestinian youth who have been also from celebrities – movie stars, than with public rebukes. “Progress occurs in The other little inferno had played out cupied Palestine, and also through- denied participation in any form footballers, mainstream intellec- the Middle East when everyone knows there earlier, when another air strike destroyed out Israel. This is not a ‘conflict’. of democratic representation, who tuals and political activists, even is simply no space between the United States a high-rise building downtown that had for Neither is it a ‘dispute’ nor ‘sectar- are constantly marginalized and models and social media influenc- and Israel,” Biden said in 2010. the previous 15 years served as a media hub ian violence’ nor even a war in the oppressed by their own leadership ers. The hashtags #SaveSheikhJar- Alas, it’s difficult to spot this “progress”. Ne- in Gaza, one that housed not only the offices traditional sense. and by the relentless Israeli mili- rah and #FreePalestine, among nu- tanyahu has used American cover to expand of the US-based Associated Press (AP), which It is not a conflict, because Is- tary occupation. They were born merous others, are now interlinked settlements and pretty much destroy any hope employed a dozen or so reporters, freelanc- rael is an occupying power and the into a world of exile, destitution and have been trending on all so- of a two-state solution. He has winked at do- ers and stringers, but several other news out- Palestinian people are an occupied and apartheid, led to believe that cial media platforms for weeks. mestic extremism, so that at least 100 new lets as well, including the pan-Arab network nation. It is not a dispute, because they are inferior, of a lesser race. Israel’s constant attempts at pre- WhatsApp groups in Israel (with names like Al-Jazeera and the Gaza Centre for Media freedom, justice and human rights Their right to self-determination senting itself as a perpetual victim ‘Death to Arabs’) encourage violence against Freedom, which trained local journalists and cannot be treated as if a mere po- and every other right were post- of some imaginary horde of Arabs Palestinians. And now he is bombing Gaza monitored press freedom in the Strip. litical disagreement. The Palestin- poned indefinitely. They grew up and Muslims are no longer paying and igniting street fighting that President And that is the one little inferno I find my- ian people’s inalienable rights are helplessly watching their homes dividends. The world can finally Reuven Rivlin of Israel has called a ‘civil war’. self compelled to address today. Why com- enshrined in international and hu- being demolished, their land being see, read and hear of Palestine’s Some progress! Some young Americans see pelled? I’ll tell you. The retrenchment of our manitarian law and the illegality of robbed and their parents being hu- tragic reality and the need to bring the rise of this hawkish, more extremist Israel ‘right to know’, a right that enables us to com- Israeli violations of human rights miliated. this tragedy to an immediate end. and perceive not a plucky democracy but an prehend and master the workings of our des- in Palestine is recognized by the Finally, they are rising. None of this would be possible oppressive military power. What strikes them tiny, is a form of carnage that inflicts irrepara- United Nations itself. Without prior coordination and were it not for the fact that all Pal- most isn’t democratic values so much as what ble damage on our minds. I can deal with that, If it is a war, then it is a unilat- with no political manifesto, this estinians have legitimate reasons Human Rights Watch calls “crimes of apart- but I cannot deal with that other kind of car- eral Israeli war, which is met with new Palestinian generation is now and are speaking in unison. In their heid”. Netanyahu also undermined bipartisan nage — harrowing, unspeakable carnage that humble, but real and determined making its voice heard, sending an spontaneous reaction and genuine, American support for Israel by undercutting is beyond all rational understanding — today. Palestinian resistance. unmistakable, resounding message communal solidarity, all Palestini- Democrats like Obama and aligning himself The air strike was beyond redemption. The Actually, it is a Palestinian upris- to Israel and its right-wing chau- ans are united, from Sheikh Jarrah, at the hip with Donald Trump and America’s president and chief executive of AP, Gary ing, an Intifada unprecedented in vinistic society, that the Palestinian to all of Jerusalem, to Gaza, Nab- right wing. Many of us admire a great deal Pruit, immediately called it “an incredibly the history of the Palestinian strug- people are not passive victims; that lus, Ramallah, Al-Bireh and even about Israel. At home it has a robust democra- disturbing development” that “shocked and gle, both in its nature and outreach. the ethnic cleansing of Sheikh Jar- Palestinian towns inside Israel – cy that gives more rights to Arab citizens than horrified” him, adding that “the world will For the first time in many years, rah and the rest of occupied East Al-Lud, Umm Al-Fahm, KufrQana its neighbours do: Thank God Israel treats its know less about what is happening in Gaza we see the Palestinian people unit- Jerusalem, the protracted siege on and elsewhere. In Palestine’s new Arab citizens better than Egypt, Syria or Saudi because of what happened today”. ed, from Jerusalem Al Quds, to Gaza, the ongoing military occu- popular revolution, factions, geog- Arabia treat their Arab citizens. The prestigious Washington-based Nation- Gaza, to the West Bank and, even pation, the construction of illegal raphy and any political division are Yet there’s also the other Israel that system- al Press Club in a statement claimed the at- more critically, to the Palestinian Jewish settlements, the racism and irrelevant. Religion is not a source atically discriminates against Palestinians in tack “followed bombings by Israeli warplanes communities, towns and villages the apartheid will no longer go un- of divisiveness but of spiritual and the occupied territories and seems to think it of other buildings housing more than a dozen inside historic Palestine – today’s noticed; though tired, poor, dispos- national unity. can indefinitely control them and grab their media outlets on May 12 and 13 ... This trend Israel. This unity matters the most, sessed, besieged and abandoned, The ongoing Israeli atrocities in land and water without giving them voting prompts the question whether Israeli forces is far more consequential than Palestinians will continue to safe- Gaza are continuing, with a mount- rights. Defenders of Israel’s policy in Gaza are attacking these facilities to impair inde- some agreement between Palestin- guard their own rights, their sacred ing death toll. This devastation will note that Israel sometimes warns people be- pendent and accurate coverage of the con- ian factions. It eclipses Fatah and places and the very sanctity of their continue for as long as the world fore destroying their buildings, that Israel, flict”. To impair independent and accurate Hamas and all the rest, because own people. treats the devastating siege of the in contrast to Hamas, is not trying to kill as coverage of a news story represents no less without a united people there can Yes, the ongoing violence was in- impoverished, tiny Strip as if irrel- many civilians as possible, and that Hamas than a deadly challenge to the very values, not be no meaningful resistance, no vi- stigated by Israeli provocations in evant. People in Gaza were dying often locates military sites in civilian areas in to mention the major building block of the sion for liberation, no struggle for the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood long before the Israeli airstrikes ways that make collateral damage more likely. journalistic enterprise. justice to be won. in East Jerusalem. However, the began blowing up their homes and All true. But America should aspire to have al- We have the right, I say, to know. Journal- Right-wing Israeli Prime Min- story was never about the ethnic neighbourhoods. They were dying lies with a higher moral standard than “bet- ists, tasked with writing “the first draft of his- ister Benjamin Netanyahu could cleansing of Sheikh Jarrah alone. from the lack of medicine, polluted ter than Hamas.” It’s also troubling that while tory”, often risk their own lives in order that never have anticipated that a rou- The beleaguered neighbourhood is water, the lack of electricity and the the destruction of Gaza helps Netanyahu po- we, ordinary folks, are able to exercise that tine act of ethnic cleansing in East but a microcosm of the larger Pal- dilapidated infrastructure. litically, it doesn’t seem to have any strategic right. Consider how they often take those lives Jerusalem’s neighbourhood of estinian struggle. We must save Sheikh Jarrah, but purpose. Indeed, it arguably helps Hamas. into their own hands when they report from a Sheikh Jarrah could lead to a Pal- Netanyahu may have hoped to we must also save Gaza; we must “This is Israel’s most failed and pointless war zone or when they go to places, say, where estinian uprising, uniting all sec- use Sheikh Jarrah as a way of mo- demand an end to the Israeli mili- Gaza operation ever,” wrote Aluf Benn, the coronavirus is spreading, as they have readily tors of Palestinian society in an un- bilizing his right-wing constituency tary occupation of Palestine and, editor of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. done over the last year, in order to document precedented show of unity. around him, intending to form an with it, the system of racial dis- So bravo to Sens. Bernie Sanders and Jon and report, despite the attendant risks of con- The Palestinian people have de- emergency government or increas- crimination and apartheid. Inter- Ossoff for showing leadership in Congress by tracting the disease, cided to move past all the political ing his chances of winning yet a national human rights groups are standing up to Netanyahu. It’s notable that Destroy a news outlet and you disrupt the divisions and the factional squab- fifth election. His rash behaviour, now precise and decisive in their both men are Jewish, for today the strongest ability of journalists to report the news — and bles. Instead, they are coining new initially compelled by entirely self- depiction of this racist regime, with supporters of Netanyahu’s hard-line policies report it “without fear or favour”, about what terminologies, centred on resist- ish reasons, has ignited a popular Human Rights Watch – and Israel’s are not American Jews but white evangeli- is happening all around us in this global vil- ance, liberation and international rebellion among Palestinians, ex- own rights group, B’tselem, joining cal Christians. A Pew survey last year found lage we all, all together, inhabit today. solidarity. Consequently, they are posing Israel for the violent, racist the call for the dismantlement of that fewer than one-third of young Jews in And that translates, at best, into an en- challenging factionalism, along and apartheid state that it is and apartheid in all of Palestine. the United States rated Netanyahu as good or croachment on our sacrosanct right to know with any attempt at making Israeli always has been. Speak up. Speak out. The Pales- excellent, and barely one-quarter strongly op- and, at worst, it translates into an intolerable occupation and apartheid nor- Palestinian unity and popular tinians have risen. It is time to rally posed the BDS movement to boycott Israel. debasement of the civilized norms of that vil- mal. Equally important, a strong resistance have proven successful behind them. In a recent column, I asked why giving $3.8 lage. Palestinian voice is now piercing in other ways, too. Never before -Ramzy Baroud is a published billion a year in military assistance to a rich — Fawaz Turki is a journalist, academic through the international silence, have we seen this groundswell of author, journalist and the Editor country like Israel is the best use of that mon- and author based in Washington compelling the world to hear a support for Palestinian freedom, of The Palestine Chronicle ey, instead of, say, vaccinating people in poor countries against COVID-19. I braced myself for a torrent of criticism. There was some, much of it making legiti- mate counterpoints. But what struck me was New political pressures push US and Europe to stop Israel-Gaza conflict how many people simply agreed with me in a way that would never have been true a dec- BRUSSELS — A diplomatic flurry was an escalation. And in Europe, operations, including rocket fire at velopments represented a more de- ade ago. One last thing: Suggesting that the from the White House and Europe France and Germany, both strong Israeli cities, the officials said. Pros- termined Western effort to halt the United States condition aid to Israel inevita- added pressure on Israel and Pales- allies of Israel that had initially held pects that a cease-fire agreement conflict between Israel and Hamas bly provokes charges of anti-Semitism, so let’s tinian militants in Gaza on Wednes- back from pressuring Netanyahu in would materialize were not clear. In militants in Gaza, the impoverished be clear-eyed. Anti-Semitism is a genuine con- day (19) to halt their 10-day-old the early days of the conflict, intensi- past conflicts, cease-fire agreements coastal territory of 2 million Pales- cern and no doubt infuses some denunciations conflict before it turned into a war fied their push for a cease-fire. have broken down and violence has tinians ruled by Hamas since 2007. of Israel. But it cheapens the authentic strug- entangling more of the Middle East. A senior Israeli official familiar resumed. Violence had flared throughout gle against anti-Semitism to fling such charges President Joe Biden spoke with with the negotiations said that Israel French diplomats, in the mean- Wednesday, spilling beyond Gaza lightly. Just as anti-Semites shouldn’t use this Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas would most likely reach time, sought to advance their pro- into the occupied West Bank and in conflict to promote hate, supporters of Israel of Israel — their second phone call in a cease-fire agreement within the posed UN Security Council resolution northern Israel, where the Israeli shouldn’t use anti-Semitism as a screen to three days — telling the Israeli leader next two days. Two others corrobo- that would call on the antagonists to military exchanged fire with mili- hide actions from honest criticism. he “expected a significant de-esca- rated that account. stop fighting and to allow unfettered tants across the border in Lebanon. It isn’t Islamophobic to denounce Iran’s lation today on the path to a cease- A cease-fire would include halt- humanitarian access to Gaza. Ger- So far, Israel’s Gaza bombardment nuclear program. It’s not anti-Christian to re- fire,” administration officials said. ing all Israeli attacks on Hamas in- man Foreign Minister Heiko Mass has killed at least 227 people, includ- proach President Donald Trump for condon- Although they portrayed the call as frastructure and stopping Israeli said he hoped to fly to Israel on ing 64 children. In Israel, 12 people ing white nationalism. And it’s not anti-Semit- consistent with what Biden had been attempts to kill senior Hamas mem- Thursday for talks with Israelis and have been killed by Hamas rockets. ic to criticize Israel for possible war crimes. saying, his decision to set a deadline bers. Hamas would agree to halt all Palestinians. Taken together, the de- -New York Times -New York Times WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 21 - 23, 2021 9 LITERARY LIVES

Leontyne Price – 1927 By Jennifer Szalai ‘King Richard’ finds fresh The Legendary Diva drama in Watergate Before delving into Michael Dobbs’ rich and ka- leidoscopic new book about Richard Nixon and Sir Christopher Ondaatje, concludes his two-part series on the extraordinary musical journey of the Watergate, it’s worth thinking a bit about the min- revolutionary soprano with many firsts to her credit, including the first African American singer to iature kaleidoscope contained in its title. There is the literal meaning of ‘King Richard’ — the fact that achieve an international reputation in opera, dubbed the ‘most important opera singer that there was’ Nixon’s mother named him after Richard the Li- onheart, the 12th-century English king who spent most of his 10-year reign waging crusades in the Holy Land. And then there are the Shakespearean Richards: Richard II, who was forced to abdicate the throne; and Richard III, the murderous tyrant. Dobbs’ title also happens to echo the title of ‘King Lear’, Shakespeare’s tragedy about a monarch whose need for flattery invites treachery, precipi- tating his own downfall. Dobbs himself plays up this lugubrious element with the ‘American tragedy’ in his subtitle and in the arc of the book itself, which is explicitly struc- tured as a classical tragedy, he says, albeit with four acts instead of five. But in his wry and absorbing narrative, I sensed an ironic dimension, too — a portrait of a petulant, insecure man who fancied himself king, or something like it; who told British journalist David Frost: “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” Garry Wills, in a 2017 preface to his 1970 classic, ‘Nixon Agonistes’, called him “the stuff of sad (al- most heartbreaking) comedy,” whose “real tragedy is that he never had the stature to be a tragic hero.” Considering there hasn’t been a shortage of volumes about the 37th president, ‘King Richard’ -Walter Mori/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images distinguishes itself in part by limiting its narra- tive mostly to the first hundred days after Nixon’s second inauguration, when the victorious president Posing with costume during the rehearsal of Verdi’s ‘Aida’ at the Scala looked poised to coast through another four years Theatre of Milan in April 1963 before the wagons of the Watergate scandal started to circle closer and closer. An author whose previ- ous subjects include the Cuban missile crisis and the collapse of the Soviet Union, Dobbs explains She travelled less to Europe. She classes at Juilliard and, prompted that he is fascinated by “hinge moments,” citing sang Aida in Hamburg in the early by RCA Victor in 1997, wrote a chil- Barbara Tuchman’s preference for “history by the 1970s, and returned to Covent Gar- dren’s book version of Aida, which ounce” over “history in gallon jugs”. den to sing Trovatore and Aida. became the hit Broadway musical by This circumscribed frame allows Dobbs to deploy However, she sang mostly in recitals Elton John and Tim Rice in 2000. his observational gifts to full effect. He has taken in Hamburg, Vienna, Paris, and the the vast literature about his subject, along with the Salzburg Festival where she was es- Price avoided using the term ‘Af- 3,700 hours of Nixon’s tape recordings that were - Jack Mitchell/Getty Image pecially popular appearing six times rican American’. She simply called released to the public in 2013, to recreate the daily Leontyne Price in her prime between 1975 and 1984. herself an American. dramas of an increasingly paranoid Nixon and his increasingly paranoid co-conspirators. Out of this In the US she had become an iconic “If you are going to think black, raw material, Dobbs has carved out something inti- PART ll “Once you get on stage, everything figure, singing on important national think positive about it. Don’t think mate and extraordinary, skilfully chiselling out the “We performers are monsters. We is right. I feel the most beautiful, com- occasions. She sang at the funeral of down on it, or think it is something details to bring the story to lurid life. are a totally different, far-out race of plete, fulfilled. I think that’s why in President Lyndon Johnson in 1973. in your way. And this way, when The book starts cozy, with Nixon sitting in his fa- people. I totally and completely admit, the case of noncompromising career At the invitation of President Carter, you really do want to stretch out, vourite room of the White House after his inaugu- with no qualms at all, my egomania, women, parts of our personal lives she gave a nationally televised recital and express how beautiful black is, ration, having won a landslide victory and basking my selfishness, coupled with a really don’t work out. One person can’t give from the East Room of the White everybody will hear you.” in an approval rating of 68%. He was about to se- magnificent voice.” you the feeling that thousands of peo- House in 1978; and when Pope John -Leontyne Price cure a peace agreement with the North Vietnamese. -Leontyne Price ple give you.” Paul II visited the White House the The break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters -Leontyne Price following year. She also sang for On September 30, 2001, when she at the Watergate, which took place seven months Finally Rudolf Bing hired Leontyne Presidents Ronald Reagan, George was seventy-four years old, Price was before, seemed to be loosening its grip on the public Price and Franco Corelli to make their Despite the fame and popularity of W. Bush and Bill Clinton. asked to come out of retirement to imagination. joint debut at the Metropolitan Opera Leontyne Price at the Met, troubles sing a memorial concert at Carnegie But if you looked closer, the cracks were starting on January 27, 1961 in Il Trovatore. The started brewing in September 1966. Price made nostalgic returns to Vi- Hall for the victims of the September to show. The elaborate secret taping system that performance ended with an ovation The American composer Samuel Bar- enna and Salzburg in the late 1970s 11 attacks. She sang her favourite Nixon had installed in 1971 worked so efficiently that lasted forty-two minutes. ber had created a new opera Antony – again under the direction of von spiritual ‘This Little Light of Mine’ that he “no longer gave any thought to the fact that and Cleopatra for the Metropoli- Karaĵan. In the fall of 1981 she re- followed by an unaccompanied ‘God he was recording himself,” Dobbs writes. Nixon was “Price’s voice is warm and luscious, tan Opera House at Lincoln Centre. placed an ailing Margaret Price in Bless America’, ending with a bright, obsessed with his legacy, and the tapes were sup- and has enough volume to fill the house Samuel Barber had written the role Aida – a role she had not sung since easy B-flat below high C. posed to help him write his memoirs — but they ... She even took the trills as written, especially for Price, visiting her home 1976. Luciano Pavarotti sang oppo- also happened to record him and his aides chatting and nothing in the part as Verdi wrote with the new score. In reviews of the site her as Radames – his first as- In 2017, at the age of ninety, she and gossiping and plotting, which would prove to it gave her the least bit of trouble ... premiere she was praised – but the op- sumption of the role. appeared in Susan Froemke’s The be a boon to investigators and to writers like Dobbs. No soprano makes a career of acting. era was panned by most of the critics Opera House – a documentary about ‘King Richard’ makes vivid use of the tapes to Voice is what counts, and voice is what who found Franco Zeffirelli’s produc- In 1982, in what Price believed to the 1966 opening of the new Metro- convey a White House that seemed to be an unholy Mrs Price has.” tion confusing, disorganized and suf- be her final performance at the Met, politan Opera House in Lincoln Cen- combination of the grimly determined and aggres- -Harold C. Schonberg focatingly elaborate. Zeffirelli ignored Price returned to sing Leonora in Il tre. sively puerile. We have Nixon chortling at his own New York Times Barber’s intimate score for Price with Trovatore, but the Met persuaded jokes and railing against the media, gloating about ridiculously giant scenery, supernu- her to return for several Forzas in Leontyne Price turned 94 on having “really stuck ’em in the groin.” His special Leontyne Price had reached an emi- meraries, as well as two on-stage elev- 1984, and a series of Aidas in 1984 February 10, 2021. In The Grand counsel, Chuck Colson, listening to Nixon prepare nence that no other African American en year camels. It was confusing and – 1985. She sang her farewell Aida Tradition, a 1974 history of oper- for a speech, “emitted a moan of pleasure down had reached in opera. She was the first it struggled under Bing’s scheduling on January 3, 1985 and the perfor- atic recording, the British critic J.B. the phone line.” Bob Haldeman, Nixon’s chief of prima donna, and the first to open a of three productions in the first week. mance ended with twenty-five min- Steane wrote “One might conclude staff, speculated that the White House counsel, Met season. It was too much for everyone includ- utes of applause, and the singer’s from recordings that Price is the best John Dean, must have been taking out “all his frus- ing the technical crews and especially photograph on the front page of the interpreter of Verdi of the century.” trations in just pure, raw, animal, unadulterated Rudolf Bing in 1961 announced that Price. Her performance was highly New York Times. The Times music In his 1983 autobiography Placido sex.” And then there’s the national security adviser the Metropolitan Opera would no long- praised but she never really forgave critic Donal Henahan wrote the fol- Domingo writes, “The power and Henry Kissinger kissing up, effusively praising Nix- er perform to segregated houses. But Bing and the Met for the way she was lowing day: sensuousness of Leontyne Price’s on’s Vietnam speech: “The overwhelming reaction this created problems for the Met when treated. She began to appear with the voice were phenomenal – the most is ecstasy.” But Nixon wasn’t the only one taping they toured the segregated Deep South. Met less frequently. “The fifty-seven-year-old soprano beautiful Verdi soprano I have ever conversations. After the Senate voted 77-0 in Feb- Price, being the huge star that she had took an act or two to warm to her heard.” The sopranos Renée Flem- ruary 1973 to establish a committee to investigate become, would have to be included in Frustrated with the number of new work, but what she delivered in ing, Kiri Te Kanawa, Jessye Norman, Watergate and other “illegal, improper and unethi- the tour. She was, and gave her first productions at the Met, and also with the Nile Scene turned out to be well Leona Mitchell, Barbara Bonney, cal” campaign activities, the people surrounding performance by an African American her role as the token of racial progress worth the wait.” and Sondra Radvanovsky; and the the president started to turn on one another, using with the Company in the south singing in the country, Price cut back her oper- mezzo-sopranos Janet Baker and their own recording devices. Each man seemed to Fanciulla in Dallas. Two years later she atic performances and spent more time In twenty one seasons with the Denyce Graves also spoke of Price as believe that he could be the hero of his own story — sang Donna Anna in Atlanta. Neither on recitals and concerts. They were Metropolitan Opera Leontyne Price an inspiration. or could, at least, present himself that way. Dobbs performance triggered any incident. highly successful and for the next two sang two hundred and one perfor- catches Haldeman at one point feigning ignorance decades her programs of arias with or- mances, in sixteen roles, both in the Jazz musicians too idolized her. “for the benefit” of his own hidden recorder; two Price now demanded and received chestral support were much in demand. house and on tour. pages later, Dobbs has John Ehrlichman, Nixon’s top fees at the Met. By 1964 she was She was a mainstay in all the major “Man, I love her as an artist. I domestic policy adviser, insisting on his own igno- paid $2,750 a performance – the same American cities and universities. She After her final farewell perfor- love the way she sings ‘Tosca’. I rance “for the benefit of his hidden tape machine.” as Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, and knew that she had to keep her presence mance at the Met, Price continued wore out her recording of that, wore Toward the self-pitying figures in this book, Renata Tebaldi. Only Brigit Nilsson re- at the Met and the San Francisco Op- to appear in concerts and recitals in out two sets. Now, I might not do Dobbs is empathetic, but he isn’t sentimental. ceived more at $3,000 a performance, era and returned there for short runs of the United States for the next twelve ‘Tosca’, but I loved the way Leon- “Sometimes it was the small things that tripped up because of her ability to sing both Ital- three to five performances. They were years. Her longtime accompanist tyne Price did it. I used to wonder a Watergate conspirator,” he writes, as he recounts ian and Wagnerian roles. less demanding and sometimes a year David Garvey usually arranged the how she would have sounded if she the increasingly frantic efforts of everyone involved or more apart: Giorgetta in Puccini’s programs combining Handel arias, had sung jazz. She should be an in- to get their stories straight. “Events began to speed Von Karaĵan too fulfilled his ambi- Il tabarro; Puccini’s Manon Lescaut; lieders by Schumann and Leo Marx, spiration for every musician, black up, like the final scenes of an elaborate Broadway tion and conducted Price in Il Trova- and Ariadne in Richard Strauss; Ari- perhaps two operatic arias or French or white. I know she is to me.” farce.” Some of the scenes are so farcical that they tore in Salzburg, and Tosca and Donna adne auf Naxos. She returned to the melodies, and sometimes American -Miles Davis shade into depravity. “Just remember you’re doing Anna in Vienna. She was also the sopra- Met in 1973 to sing Madama Butterfly, art songs. She liked to end her recit- Miles: The Autobiography the right thing,” Nixon told Haldeman, who was no soloist in Karaĵan’s performances of and in 1976 she performed Aida direct- als with ‘This Little Light of Mine’ about to resign. “That’s what I used to think when I the Verdi Requiem. ed by John Dexter. The next year von which she said was her mother’s fa- Perhaps the famed jazz trumpeter killed some innocent children in Hanoi.” Karaĵan directed her in a performance vourite spiritual. should have the last word on this ex- Dobbs prefaces “King Richard” with a long list Price added seven roles to her Met of Brahms Requiem, with the Berlin traordinary woman. of dramatis personae, but he could have added one opera repertoire between 1964 and Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. As Price grew older her voice be- -End more — the automatic taping system itself, which 1969: Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, Pamina came darker and heavier, but her up- didn’t have an on-and-off switch and seemed to in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi “I am here and you will know that I per register held up amazingly well take on a life of its own. It went from being a harm- in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Tatyana in am the best and will hear me. The col- and she still exhibited an infectious less fly on the wall to a witness to the president’s Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Amelia our of my skin or the kink of my hair delight in singing. On November 19, “dreams and nightmares,” Dobbs writes, becom- in Un ballo in Maschera, Cleopatra in or the spread of my mouth has nothing 1997 she sang her last recital at the ing the “monster that Nixon could neither slay nor Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra, and to do with what you are listening to.” University of North Carolina – with- tame.” Leonora in La forza del destino. -Leontyne Price out announcing it. She gave master -New York Times 10 MAY 21 - 23, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS SPORTS

COUNTER PUNCH

By The Line Judge SLC elections much ado about nothing

Aravinda unveils new carrot and stick policy to improve player performance Sanity seems to have prevailed at the Maitland Sri Lanka cricket, which had sunk to a low in a 1996 World Cup winner, took the unprecedent- are some of the key performance indicators in Place headquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) all three formats of the game being rocked by ed step of axing veterans Angelo Mathews, Di- awarding contracts. after the high-stakes battle to grab power in the sex scandals and former players being slapped muth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Thisara The bottom line is players have to deliver and richest sports body in the country fizzled out into lengthy bans for corruption by the ICC (Interna- Perera and Nuwan Pradeep in a major revamp display more commitment. a no-contest. The virtual incumbent Shammi tional Cricket Council). On a positive note, a for- before the next World Cup. Thisara pre-empt- “As past players we are happy to see the pre- Silva on Thursday (20) regained control of SLC mer Sri Lanka ‘A’ coach, Avishka Gunawardena, ed his omission by retiring from international sent players build a career out of sport, that’s why in one of the most smoothly conducted elections was cleared of corruption charges by an inde- cricket. Wickramasinghe argued that Sri Lanka we have made it an incentive-based contract. At in the history of the governing body for cricket, pendent ICC panel last week. needs to prepare in advance as England did in the moment if you look at our performances, we after the opposing camp led by a former Board However, there was intense opposition to the run-up to their World Cup victory in 2019. are right at the bottom of the rankings and that vice-president K. Mathivanan officially threw in moves by Aravinda, who heads SLC’s Cricket The Sidath Wettimuny-led selection committee is one reason why we thought this would be the the towel a few days earlier. Advisory panel, and the new Director of Cricket, too ruffled a few feathers when they sacked leg- ideal opportunity to try and implement some of Former SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga former Australian World Cup winner and former ends Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillakaratne, the things that needed to be implemented some who roped in Sri Lanka’s first ever Test captain Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody, to offer players Roshan Mahanama and Aravinda de Silva after time ago,” said Aravinda. Bandula Warnapura on board, had spearheaded performance-based contracts. Meanwhile, the the 1999 World Cup debacle. But the decision “I think this (contract) shouldn’t be the reason a campaign against the administration of Sham- newly appointed chairman of selectors, Pramo- paid off in the long run. for the player to be playing cricket. The contract mi Silva alleging their term of office ended on dya Wickramasinghe, also decided to crack the Under the revamp, Kusal Janith Perera was gives them some security for the future. At the February 20. In a master stroke, Sports Minis- whip and bank on young blood with an eye on appointed captain of the ODI team with Kusal same time there is a lot of responsibility on them ter Namal Rajapaksa, after seeking advice from the 2023 World Cup. Mendis as his deputy. “Our interest is not to to perform and represent our country. That part the Attorney General, issued a backdated gazette Prof. Arjuna de Silva was at the helm for just please anyone but to make Sri Lanka cricket has to be achieved through the process, which is on March 29 dated February 15 legitimizing the six weeks but during this time the SLC com- great once again,” reiterated Wickramasinghe what our main interest is,” he added. SLC Executive Committee, which submitted the mittee streamlined payments, brought in more More significantly, with national cricketers Although Kusal Janith Perera is a rookie when audited accounts only February 25, and appoint- transparency and increased the emphasis on being lulled into a sense of complacency assured it comes to leading the national team, he has ed a management committee headed by Prof. players’ fitness. of fat pay cheques irrespective of whether they embarked on his maiden assignment in Bangla- Arjuna de Silva to run SLC until the elections. “I enjoyed my job, more than teaching medi- performed or not, Aravinda is determined to desh with gusto urging the team to play a “fear- The Mathivanan camp were mulling legal ac- cine to medical students and looking after pa- stem the rot. Top players had to endure massive less” brand of cricket without fear of losing. “We tion against the ruling but backed off in the face tients,” quipped Prof. de Silva of his role in pay cuts in their annual contracts. However, on must be fearless and aggressive to win matches. of political pressure. It was a case of much ado stabilizing the administration of cricket in the the flip side of the coin they have been offered You should not be anxious about losing or worry about nothing. country. performance-based incentives. about your place in the side or that you won’t be SLC’s interim management committee, which Even though his was an interim arrangement, The earnings of players will increase if they able to give 100 percent,” he said before their included the legendary Aravinda de Silva, should he brooked no nonsense taking the bull by the are able to beat the top ranked teams often. For departure. Bold words indeed from the 30-year- be lauded for the manner in which it handled is- horns when handling trouble makers. “The se- instance, beating the number one ranked team old southpaw who has been given the license sues such as selections and contracts during the lectors have been very bold and innovative. From will earn the players a bonus of $75,000 while to play with freedom to lift Sri Lanka fortunes transition period, preventing the image of the the medical side we have fitness where everyone beating a team ranked number two will see them with an aggressive approach like his idol Sanath- sport from descending into a joke. The com- is on the same plane,” said the genial doctor. earning $65,000 additionally. Players’ fitness, Jayasuriya. mittee faced challenges on different fronts with Former Sri Lanka fast bowler Wickramasinghe, leadership, professionalism and future potential -ENCL India to play extra games in Sri Lanka to ease virus losses COLOMBO - India have agreed to play tours cancelled last year but said simi- more games on a tour of Sri Lanka in July lar requests to play more matches will be to help overcome the national board’s fi- made to other teams. nancial losses from the coronavirus, a top Sri Lanka are scheduled to host South official said Thursday (20). Africa in August, Scotland in September Sri Lanka will also ask other visiting and Afghanistan in November. teams to play extra games to boost tel- England pulled out of a series in March evision revenues, said Shammi Silva, who last year but returned to the island in De- was re-elected as Sri Lanka Cricket presi- cember to play two Tests without specta- dent on Thursday. tors at Galle. India were to play three Twenty20 in- Sri Lanka are currently in Bangladesh to ternationals in Sri Lanka but have added play three one-day internationals. three one-day internationals. The country has been battered by a new “India agreed to double the number of wave of the pandemic that has hit South matches in their upcoming tour and this Asia. It has banned airline passengers means we will get more revenue from tel- from entering until the end of May in a bid evision rights,” Silva told reporters. He did to contain a surge in infections. not say how much the board had lost from -AFP Shakib returns for Bangladesh in Sri Lanka series DHAKA - Star all-rounder Shakib Al have been kept as stand-by. They would Hasan returned Thursday (20) as Bangla- also remain in bio-bubble,” said chief se- desh named a 15-man squad for a three- lector Minhajul Abedin. match one-day international series against The three ODIs against Sri Lanka, which Sri Lanka, beginning on Sunday (23). will be held all in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla Shakib skipped the country’s previous National Stadium, respectively on May 23, ODI series in New Zealand when his wife May 25 and May 28, are part of ICC’s ODI gave birth and also took a break from a championship. Test tour in Sri Lanka in April to play in Squad: Tamim Iqbal (Capt), Liton Das, the lucrative Indian Premier League. Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Batsmen Nazmul Hossain, Mohammad Mhammad Mithun, Mahmudullah Ri- Naim and pacer Al-Amin Hossain have yad, Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, been excluded from the squad that trav- Mohammad Saifuddin, Taskin Ahmed, elled to New Zealand in February-March. Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar, “We felt we don’t need too many players Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan and for a home series. This is why some play- Shoriful Islam. ers have been rested. A few other players -AFP Maradona doctors face premeditated murder charge over star’s death BUENOS AIRES - Seven people under five daughters against Luque, who they investigation over the November death blamed for their father’s deteriorating of Argentine footballing legend Diego condition after the brain surgery. Maradona face charges of premeditated Prosecutors believe Maradona’s death murder, AFP has learned from a judicial was not the result of malpractice or neg- source. ligent actions of his doctors, but that they The accused - which include Maradona’s knew the former soccer star would die and neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychia- did nothing to prevent it. trist Agustina Cosachov and psychologist The prosecutors obtained a series of Carlos Diaz - face eight to 25 years in pris- messages and audio that show the medical on if found guilty. team were aware that Maradona was using The indictment is based on findings by alcohol, psychiatric medication and mari- a board of experts into Maradona’s death juana in the last months of his life. from a heart attack last year, a source from Among the conclusions of the report, the San Isidro Attorney General’s Office, the medical board said that “the signs of which is leading the investigation, said life risk” shown by the former Naples and Wednesday (19). That report concluded Barcelona star were ignored, and that his that the footballing icon received inad- care in his final weeks was “plagued by de- equate medical care and was left to his fate ficiencies and irregularities”. for a “prolonged, agonizing period” before The recriminations and accusations his death, which came just weeks after un- over Maradona’s death are taking place dergoing brain surgery on a blood clot. alongside another case, over his disputed “After so many injustices, the case has inheritance, involving his five children, come full circle,” the source told AFP. his brothers and Matias Morla, his former The accused are prohibited from leaving lawyer. Maradona is an idol to millions the country and must appear ahead of an of Argentines after he inspired the South inquiry between May 31 and June 14. American country to only their second The legal proceedings were prompted World Cup triumph in 1986. by a complaint filed by two of Maradona’s -Agencies PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS (CEY) PVT, LTD. NO - 267, RAJA MAWATHA, EKALA - JA - ELA