SRI LANKA BRACES FOR COLOMBO PORT CITY NOD MAJOR IMPACT TO CONFIRMS CHINA IS LANKA’S ENVIRONMENT MAY ‘BIG BROTHER’, NOT INDIA 28 - 30, 2021 VOL: 4- ISSUE 249 FINDING FAME IN . LIFE UNDER OCCUPATION OBSCURITY 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 Biden move to investigate COVID origins opens new rift in US-China relations BEIJING/WASHINGTON - Joe Biden’s decision to expand the US investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, with one intelligence agency leaning towards the theory that it escaped from a Wuhan laboratory, has opened a new divide in his adminis- tration’s already tense relationship with China. Biden said on Thursday (27) that he would publish the results of the 90-day inquiry, which has made a priority for the intelligence agencies. The move represents a dramatic turnaround from the ad- ministration’s policy until now of leaving the investigation to the World Health Organization (WHO). The US on Thursday called on the WHO to carry out a second phase of its investigation into the origins of the coronavirus, with independent experts given full access to original data and samples in China. “It is critical that China provides independent experts full access to complete, original data and samples relevant to un- derstanding the source of the virus and the early stages of the pan- demic,” said the US mission to the UN in Geneva. Beijing has reacted angrily, portraying Biden’s announcement as part of a broader geopolitical struggle. The Chinese government questioned Washington’s motives and railed against the “notorious track record” of US intelligence in the lead-up to the 2003 war in Iraq. However, as Biden acknowledged, the US intelligence com- munity is split over the likely origins of the pandemic. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) issued a statement on Thursday, admitting the disagreement, and the continuing lack of certainty over the facts. “The US intelligence community does not know exactly where, when, or how the COVID-19 virus was trans- mitted initially but has coalesced around two likely scenarios: either - J. Sujeewakumar/ENCL it emerged naturally from human contact with infected animals or it was a laboratory accident,” the statement said. Sri Lanka Navy personnel in hazmat suits the vessel, anchored just outside Colombo was declared off limits. Bulldozers scooped -The Guardian remove debris washed ashore from the harbour, heightening fears that it could break up tonnes of the polythene pellets that came -Read more on Page 6 Singapore-registered container ship MV up spilling its 278 tonnes of bunker oil. Navy from at least eight containers that fell off the X-Press Pearl, which has been burning for the personnel were sent on Friday to clean millions ship on Tuesday (25). Officials said the vessel ninth consecutive day in the sea off Sri Lanka's of plastic granules mixed with burned oil and was known to carry at least 28 containers of Colombo Harbour. Tonnes of charred plastic other residue that covered Negombo beach, the pellets that are used as a raw material in the Tycoon Jimmy Lai, 7 others pellets washed ashore near Colombo on Friday 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the capital. packaging industry. The fire broke out on May (28) as an international salvage effort dragged The plastic-covered beach, normally a draw 20 as the ship waited to enter the Colombo port handed new jail terms over into a ninth day. Thick black smoke rose from for tourists and known as a fishing centre, -Read more on page 3 Hong Kong protests HONG KONG - Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was among eight democracy activists handed new prison sentences on Friday (28) for attending protests on the 70th anniversary of the UN rights council orders inquiry founding of communist China that were followed by a sweeping crackdown. Lai, who is already behind bars for taking part in earlier protests, must now serve a total of 20 months after pleading guilty to organ- izing and participating in an unlawful assembly on October 1, 2019. into Israel after Gaza strife Seven other leading activists, including 25-year-old youth cam- paigner Figo Chan, as well as former lawmakers Lee Cheuk-yan and GENEVA — Spurred by the latest fight- protraction of conflict, including system- firing rockets at Israeli civilian areas and Leung Kwok-hung, were also given new jail sentences. ing in Gaza, the United Nations’ top hu- atic discrimination and repression based for locating military assets in civilian ar- The new sentences are the latest in a relentless and successful man rights body voted Thursday (27) to on national, ethnic, racial or religious eas in Gaza. campaign by China to smother dissent and dismantle Hong Kong's appoint a commission of inquiry with identity.” But Israel’s intense bombardment of democracy movement. Hong Kong was convulsed by months of unusually broad latitude to investigate Although the commission could theo- densely populated areas might also con- huge and often violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 in the most possible war crimes and other abuses retically investigate human rights viola- stitute a war crime, Bachelet said. “De- serious challenge to Beijing's rule since the city's 1997 handover. committed in Israel and the occupied Pal- tions by all parties, the resolution creat- spite Israel’s claims that many of these The clashes with police on China's National Day were some of the estinian territories. Israel denounced the ing it does not mention Hamas or other buildings were hosting armed groups or worst of that period. It was a vivid and embarrassing illustration decision as a one-sided sham. Palestinian militant groups. Critics who being used for military purposes,” she of how huge swathes of Hong Kong's population seethe under Bei- It was the third time in seven years that opposed the resolution said it lacked bal- said, “we have not seen evidence in this jing's rule as the government celebrated 70 years since communist the Human Rights Council in Geneva had ance. regard.” China's founding. While clashes between hard-core protests and decided to name such a panel, but this one Israel swiftly denounced what Prime Israel refused to cooperate with previ- police raged across the city that day, the march attended by the ac- differed in two important respects: Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a ous investigations into events in Gaza and tivists who were jailed on Friday remained largely peaceful. It is “ongoing” meaning the panel can “shameful decision” and criticized it for the occupied Palestine territories, and But it did not have official police permission, a requirement in pursue the inquiry indefinitely. That gives not acting against Hamas, the Palestinian there is little to suggest it will take a dif- Hong Kong. it a degree of permanence akin to inves- militant group that fired rockets into Is- ferent approach now. -AFP tigative bodies documenting atrocities in rael during the 11 days of fighting that was Still, the commission’s open-ended Syria and Myanmar. halted a week ago. mandate and the broad scope of the inves- And the commission is not limited to Addressing the council Thursday, the tigation may add pressure on Israel at a looking just at hostilities in Gaza and the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bache- time when Palestinian rights appear to be Germany recognizes colonial West Bank, but instead has been charged let, did in fact lay blame on Hamas, accus- attracting broader sympathy, including in with examining “all underlying root caus- ing it of “a clear violation of international the United States, Israel’s staunchest ally. crimes in Namibia as genocide es of recurrent tensions, instability and humanitarian law” for indiscriminately -NYT BERLIN - Berlin is recognizing the atrocities committed by Ger- man colonial powers against the Herero and Nama ethnic groups in what is now Namibia as genocide. Trending News Historians say some 65,000 of the 85,000 Herero and at least Quote for Today 10,000 of the 20,000 Nama were killed under the German empire Syria: President Bashar al-Assad is re- traZeneca coronavirus vaccine to make sure Courage is fear holding on a minute in what it then called German South West Africa from 1884 to 1915. elected for a fourth seven-year term, scor- everyone who has had a first jab can get a "As a gesture of recognition for the immeasurable suffering in- longer. ing an expected landslide in a presidential second within the recommended eight- to -George S. Patton flicted on the victims, we want to support Namibia and the descend- election dismissed by the opposition as a twelve-week window. ants of the victims with a substantial program of 1.1 billion euros sham. [1.3 billion dollars] for reconstruction and development," Foreign Covax: The global vaccine-sharing pro- Word for Today Minister Heiko Maas said Friday (28). Japan: Authorities extend a coronavirus gram says it needs $2.0 billion in additional Bovarism [boh-vuh-riz-uhm] -noun state of emergency in Tokyo and other funding by the beginning of June in order Delegations from both countries had earlier agreed on a political - an exaggerated, especially glamor- declaration after almost six years of negotiations, with both govern- areas until just a month before the Olym- to boost coronavirus inoculation programs ments now in agreement but the document yet to be signed. pics, in a move that is likely to fuel con- in lower-income countries. ized, estimate of oneself; conceit Germany's government plans to classify the killings as genocide cerns over whether the Games can be held Colombia: The country marks a full Today in History from today's perspective as part of the agreement. safely. month of anti-government protests that President Frank-Walter Steinmeir will also officially ask for for- giveness at a ceremony at the Namibian Parliament. Australia: Canberra moves ahead with have claimed dozens of lives and invited 1830 - US President Andrew Jackson a World Trade Organization case against international condemnation of its police The 1.1 billion euros will primarily be used to support projects in signs the Indian Removal Act which the Herero and Nama settlement areas. Chinese tariffs on barley imports, as response. strains between the two countries show denies Native Americans their land Germany's government is also emphasizing that its recognition Canada: The country formally apologizes rights and forcibly relocates them of the genocide and the establishment of the aid fund will not result little sign of abating. for interning more than 600 Italian-Cana- in any legal claims for compensation. They state that it is a matter -Five million weary Melbourne residents dians during World War II. of political and moral obligation. The negotiations were stalled for Today is... are put back under lockdown, straining lo- Russia: President Vladimir Putin and Be- a long time over the question of financial compensation for colonial cal resolve and testing the country’s “zero- Amnesty International Day exploitation and oppression. Namibia's President Hage Geingob larus strongman Alexander Lukashenko COVID” strategy of smothering outbreaks meet after the UN civil aviation agency an- A day that is about promoting hu- complained last year that the German government had agreed to an however small. "unconditional apology" to Namibia's government, but did not want nounced it will investigate the diversion of a man rights, raising awareness of their to use the term "reparations." WHO: The world health body says Africa passenger plane and the arrest of a journal- abuses and how our choices affect -dpa urgently needs 20 million doses of the As- ist on board in a growing diplomatic row. them every day 2 MAY 28 - 30, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS BUSINESS

Sri Lanka Biden to propose $6 trillion budget to make Central Bank announces credit relief for third US more competitive WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden coronavirus wave has proposed a $6 trillion budget on Friday COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s central bank of COVID-19, CBSL requests licensed (b) The deferment of capital, interest 31 August 2021. Licensed banks may (28) that would take the United States to its has announced credit relief involving commercial banks and licensed special- or both shall be granted for one or more charge interest for the deferred pe- highest sustained levels of federal spend- restructuring performing loans on re- ised banks (hereinafter referred to as of the existing credit facilities granted riod and only on the amount deferred ing since World War II as he looks to fund a quest at Treasury bill plus 1%, as a third licensed banks), to extend the follow- in Rupees or in foreign currencies, con- amount as stated in I (c) above. sweeping economic agenda that includes in- coronavirus wave gripped the country. ing concessions to COVID-19 affected sidering the financial difficulties and (f) Penal interest shall not be accrued vestments in education, transportation and “With the outbreak of the third wave businesses and individuals (hereinafter repayment capacity of the eligible bor- or charged during the concessionary fighting climate change. of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, requests referred to as the Scheme). rowers. period, i.e., 15 May 2021 to 31 August Documents obtained by The New York from many concerned parties and gov- Further, licensed banks may offer (c) In the case of any Rupee facilities 2021. Times show that the budget request, the first ernment authorities were received by additional concessions to businesses considered for the above deferment, (g) Licensed banks shall accommo- of Biden’s presidency, calls for total spend- the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to and individuals affected due to the licensed banks may charge an interest date any request from affected bor- ing to rise to $8.2 trillion by 2031, with defi- consider granting certain concessions third wave of COVID-19, on their re- rate not exceeding the 364-days Treas- rowers to delay the due dates of loans cits above $1.3 trillion throughout the next to the affected borrowers/customers,” quest, in a way that the overall benefits ury Bills auction rate as at 19 May 2021 repayment by few days (maximum 10 decade. The growth is driven by Biden’s two- the regulator said in a statement, re- to the borrower/customer are not less plus 1% per annum (i.e., 5.18% + 1% = working days) due to the ongoing travel part agenda to upgrade the nation’s infra- questing licensed commercial banks than the benefits offered under this 6.18% p.a.), for the deferred period and restrictions, without deferring or re- structure and substantially expand the social and specialized banks to extend a range Circular. only on the amount deferred amount. structuring such facilities. Licensed safety net, contained in his American Jobs of concessions to affected businesses Accordingly, this Circular is issued to In the case of foreign currency loans, banks shall not charge any additional Plan and American Families Plan, along and individuals. give effect to the Scheme in a consistent licensed banks may charge a conces- interest or other charges for such delay. with other planned increases in discretion- It has also said licensed banks may of- manner across all licensed banks, with sionary interest rate considering the (h) Borrowers who are currently en- ary spending. fer additional concessions to COVID-19 a view to easing the burden on the bor- prevailing low interest rates. joying deferment of lease repayments The levels of taxation and spending in affected businesses and individuals, on rowers of banks that are affected by the (d) Alternatively, licensed banks may under Circular No. 03 of 2021 issued Biden’s plans would expand the federal their request, in a way that the overall current disruption in business /income restructure the existing credit facilities on 13 March 2021 or moratorium un- fiscal footprint to levels rarely seen in the benefits to the borrower/customer are generating activities to duly repay their over a longer period, considering the der Circular No. 04 of 2021 issued on 19 post-war era to fund investments that his not less than the benefits offered. loans. repayment capacity of the borrower March 2021 are not eligible for conces- administration says are crucial to keeping 1. Deferment or restructuring of ex- and an acceptable revival plan. In this sions provided above. the United States competitive. That includes The statement in full: isting credit facilities in the performing case, the licensed bank and the bor- 2. Concessions for credit facilities in money for roads, water pipes, broadband in- With the outbreak of the third wave category as at 15 May 2021 rower shall agree on an interest rate, the non-performing category as at 15 ternet, electric vehicle charging stations and of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka, requests (a) Licensed banks shall defer recov- considering the prevailing low interest May 2021 advanced manufacturing research. It also from many concerned parties and Gov- ery of capital, interest, or both of the ex- rates. (a) Licensed banks may reschedule envisions funding for affordable child care, ernment Authorities were received by isting credit facilities of borrowers who (e) Licensed banks shall extend the the existing non-performing credit fa- universal prekindergarten and a national the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) are affected by the third wave of COV- due dates of revolving credit facilities, cilities as at 15 May 2021, over a longer paid leave program. to consider granting certain conces- ID-19, on case-by-case basis, during the including but not limited to facilities period, considering the repayment Biden plans to finance his agenda by rais- sions to the affected borrowers/cus- period up to 31 August 2021, consider- such as working capital, pawning, tem- capacity of the borrower and an ac- ing taxes on corporations and high earners. tomers. ing the financial difficulties faced by the porary overdrafts, short-term trade fi- ceptable revival plan. In this case, the Administration officials have said the jobs Accordingly, with a view to meet- eligible borrowers, such as loss of job, nance facilities, etc., during the period licensed bank and the borrower shall and families plans would be fully offset by ing the challenges faced by businesses loss or reduction of income/salaries or up to 31 August 2021, provided such agree on the terms and conditions in- tax increases over the course of 15 years. and individuals due to the third wave sales, closure of business, etc. due dates fall during 15 May 2021 to cluding the interest rate. The documents forecast that Biden and Congress will allow tax cuts for low- and middle-income Americans, signed into law Boeing to pay $17 million for 737 production lapses by President Donald Trump in 2017, to ex- pire as scheduled in 2025. Biden has said he WASHINGTON - Boeing agreed to tially had parts that were not approved crashes, was approved to fly again in procedures to prevent installation of will not raise taxes on people earning less pay at least $17 million in a settlement by regulators. “Keeping the flying public November. Boeing asked airlines last parts that do not conform to approved than $400,000 a year. It is possible that he with the US Federal Aviation Admin- safe is our primary responsibility,” the month to stop flying some of the planes designs. Boeing could face up to $10.1 could propose to extend the Trump tax cuts istration (FAA) over production over- FAA administrator, Steve Dickson, said over electrical concerns, but it recently million in additional penalties if it fails for those earners in a future budget. sights involving hundreds of planes. in a statement. received approval for a fix that would re- to make the changes quickly enough. Under Biden’s proposal, the federal budg- The penalty stems from two produc- The agreement comes as Boeing seeks solve the issue. “We take our responsibility to meet all et deficit would hit $1.8 trillion in 2022. To- tion lapses, the FAA said on Thursday to resolve other production issues with The FAA said that Boeing would pay regulatory requirements very seriously,” tal debt held by the public would more than (27). In one case, Boeing had installed the Max and the larger 787 Dream- the $17 million penalty within 30 days. Boeing said in a statement. “These pen- exceed the annual value of economic output, equipment with unapproved sensors on liner. Boeing resumed deliveries of the The aerospace manufacturer also agreed alties stem from issues that were raised rising to 117% of the size of the economy in 759 narrow-body 737 Max and 737 NG Dreamliner in March after addressing to make certain changes to its proce- in 2019 and which we fully resolved 2031. planes, the agency said. In the other, the quality concerns with the plane. dures. in our production system and supply Republicans warned Thursday that manufacturer submitted 178 Max jets The Max, which was grounded world- The changes include more closely chain.” Biden’s spending and tax plans would saddle for certification when the aircraft poten- wide for 20 months after a pair of fatal overseeing suppliers and improving -New York Times the economy with dangerous levels of debt and accused him of abandoning his pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class. Speaker signs off on -New York Times controversial Port City Study says Economic Commission Bill UK switch to four-day COLOMBO – Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena placed his signature on Sri Lanka’s China-backed Colom- week could bo Port City Economic Commission Bill on Thursday (27), the Government Information Department said quoting ‘slash emissions’ the Speaker’s office. LONDON - Switching to a four-day work- The controversial bill was passed in Parliament on May ing week could slash the UK's annual green- 20 subject to amendments following a Supreme Court de- house gas emissions by a quarter in four cision, amid protest from opposition parties, activists and years, a campaign group said in a report re- members of the clergy. With the Speaker signing off on the leased Thursday (27). blueprint on a public holiday in Sri Lanka, the Colombo The report by the 4DayWeek campaign Port City Commission Act is now in effect. group claims that a transition from a five- day to four-day week with no loss of pay Critics including former president Chandrika Bandara- "could shrink the UK's carbon footprint naike Kumaratunga has accused the government of rush- by 127 million tonnes per year by 2025" or ing the bill and endangering Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. 21.3%. -economynext.com This is equivalent to more than Switzer- land's entire carbon footprint, it said. The proposal comes as the lockdown peri- od with many more working from home has Protesters in Johannesburg prompted greater interest in flexible work- ing and work-life balance. Some companies demand prostitution be legalized have trialled a four-day week. Greenpeace UK tweeted: "I think this is JOHANNESBURG - Around 200 sex workers took to something we can all get behind!", while the streets of Johannesburg on Thursday (27) to demand Green Party MP Caroline Lucas tweeted: prostitution be decriminalized. "An idea whose time has come." "This is what I wear to work," Dudu Dlamini, clad in The report argues that a shorter week hiking boots and a long dress, told AFP. "No high heels or would lead to energy savings from less use short skirts." of office equipment and less commuting in "It requires expertise and skills you have no idea about," cars. she added. Shorter hours would lead to a healthier lifestyle, with less consumption of fast food "I purchased my own house out of sex work," said Con- and less need for medical care, reducing the stance Mathe, who has been in the profession for 16 years. use of energy-intensive equipment, the re- A mother of two, Mathe used to be a domestic worker port argues. but only earned 1,000 rands ($72) per month. There would also be a benefit to mental An estimated 120,000 and 180,000 sex workers operate health, it argues: "By freeing one day a week in South Africa, according to aid organisations. for non-work activities, it is also mental But the country's prostitution laws date back to the space that becomes more available." apartheid era and punish sex workers and their clients. The report was commissioned by the cam- "Sex work is work, not a crime," Dlamini said at the pro- paign group from Platform, a UK-based ac- test. tivist and research group that campaigns for Around her, the group advanced with signs held aloft "social and ecological justice". The 4Day Week group likens the impact to reading "Where is the crime?" and "Decrim sex work now". the transition to a 35-hour working week in Some of the protesters marched with their faces cov- France in the early 2000s. It also examines a ered, flanked by police cars. sharper decrease to 32 hours by 2025. "The police harass us and ask us for money. And sex Currently the average working week is workers who are abused by their clients cannot just go to 42.5 hours, it said. the police station and file a case, because they would be In Scotland, the pro-independence Scot- prosecuted for being sex workers," explains Yonela Sinqu tish National Party is also considering a shift of the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce to a four-day working week, with party lead- (SWEAT). er and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying According to the organization prostitutes are often vic- it would promote better work-life balance tims of violence and rape. and higher employment. The SNP government has vowed to help SWEAT says around 10 sex workers are murdered each willing companies pilot such a move during year, but that many cases go unreported. this parliament. -AFP -AFP WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 28 - 30, 2021 3 GLOCAL

Express Newspapers (Cey) Pvt. Ltd., 185, Grandpass Road, Colombo 14, Sri Lanka Fight to douse Telephone: 0117 322 705 (Editorial) 0117 322 731 (Advertising) 0117 322 789 (Circulation) Ship fire could Email – [email protected]/[email protected] Epaper - http://epaper.newsexpress.lk take ‘days’ says Facebook –News Express Sri Lanka navy chief COLOMBO - An international fire- fighting effort to put out a huge blaze Sri Lanka braces for major impact to environment on a container ship off Sri Lanka’s COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s authorities have Meanwhile, fishermen in the Negombo area coast will likely take days, the coun- started a beach clean-up as charred debris have been banned from fishing as a result of try’s navy chief said Thursday (27), from the stricken vessel X-Press Pearl drifted the threat posed by the burning ship. amid mounting fears of a major oil ashore and the Marine Environment Protec- X-Press Pearl caught fire while anchored leak. tion Authority (MEPA) warned major dam- 9.5 kilometres off Sri Lanka’s coast, due to a Nine Sri Lankan ships and three age has already been caused to the environ- leak in containers with nitric acid. Indian vessels have been working ment. Singapore-based X-Press Feeders, said the with international salvage experts MEPA Chairperson, Dharshani Lahan- crew found a leak in the acid containers in the to douse the eight-day old inferno dapura, was quoted in the local media as Arabian Sea but ports of Hamad in Qatar and on the Singapore-registered X-Press saying environmental pollution, though ini- Hazira in India, where it had called to pick up Pearl. tially limited to a small area, has now spread and discharge cargo, had refused requests to The vessel was carrying nearly from Negombo, in the north of Colombo to offload the boxes, which then caught fire off 1,500 containers, including 25 Angulana in Moratuwa, south of Colombo, Colombo. tonnes of nitric acid, when a fire and that seven highly polluted areas have However, Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chair- broke out as it waited to enter Co- been identified with over 900 officers from man Daya Ratnayake told a private televi- lombo port. the military and other agencies deployed to sion channel on Thursday, officials were not It is believed that the fire was assess the damage. informed of the acid leak and that they were sparked by a leak of nitric acid on She has also said the impact to the environ- looking into the crucial omission. the 186 metre (610 feet) long ship. ment in parts of Colombo, including Wella- Meanwhile, Sri Lanka was continuing to Monsoon winds fanned the flames. watte, are being assessed, with testing of wa- clean up beaches north of Colombo where But easing winds in the Indian ter samples and monitoring of air quality. debris was washing up, while beachcomb- Ocean will make firefighting efforts Warning that marine life is expected to be ers were seen salvaging plastic granule sacks easier, Sri Lanka navy chief Vice Ad- seriously affected in the polluted areas, La- before they broke up and polluted the water. miral Nishantha Ulugetenne said, handapura has said the fish in these areas Police however said eight had been arrested. describing the sea and wind condi- will most likely consume the plastic and this Authorities had earlier warned the public tions as “favourable”. would pose a serious threat to people who to stay away from the beach, as the burn- - ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP “I hope in another few days we can extinguish this fire completely,” he consume the fish. ing cargo would generate chemical particles A man stands next to a burnt container washed ashore from the Singapore- She has also warned the plastic washed harmful to human life. told AFP. registered container ship MV X-Press Pearl, which has been burning for the Sri Lanka’s Marine Environment ashore will breakup into smaller pieces and -ENCL/Agencies ninth consecutive day in the sea off Sri Lanka's Colombo Harbour, at a beach in pose a long-term threat to the environment. Protection Authority (MEPA) has Colombo on Friday (28) said it fears the vessel could break up and leak oil onto coastal beaches. “The hull may not be stable for us Public services including ports, state 50,000 doses of Sputnik V to arrive in to tow the ship away from our wa- ters,” MEPA chairman Dharshani Lahandapura told AFP. banks, transport declared essential Sri Lanka today The vessel, now anchored, is car- COLOMBO – Sri Lanka will receive epidemiology unit shows that 241,541 rying 278 tonnes of bunker oil and As 12,000 Grama Niladharis continue strike 50,000 doses of the Russia-manufac- Sri Lankans received the second dose 50 tonnes of marine gasoil, she said. protesting vaccination favouritism tured Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine on of the AstraZeneca (COVISHIELD) vac- Lahandapura said the crew knew Friday (28), State Pharmaceutical Cor- cine out of 925,242 who have received about a nitric acid leak on May 11 be- COLOMBO – The government on Thurs- retariats) in high risk areas in the Western poration (SPC) Chairman Dr. Prasanna the first jab. With the government re- fore entering Sri Lankan waters and day (27) issued an extraordinary gazette Province – where daily COVID-19 cases Gunasena said, while Army Command- portedly desperate for more AstraZen- that the fire could have been avoided notification declaring a range of public remain high – have already received their er Gen Shavendra Silva said a further eca, 683,701 are still anxiously awaiting if they acted promptly. entities as essential services in a move first dose of the vaccine, but the trade un- 900,000 doses of the vaccine will arrive their second jab. The ship’s operator, X-Press Feed- to ensure uninterrupted services amidst ion is demanding officials island wide are at some point in June. The government was said to be con- ers of Singapore, confirmed they growing unrest over COVID-19 vaccination prioritized. Russian authorities sent 15,000 dos- sidering or had considered purchasing knew about the acid leak, but said favouritism. Dalpadadu said the GNA has been re- es for a trial rollout in early May. The AstraZeneca from private traders and attempts to leave the leaking con- The services declared essential include questing a spot in a vaccination priority vaccine was successfully administered even the black market. However, Astra- tainer in India and Qatar had failed. ports, petroleum, public transport includ- list compiled at the start of Sri Lanka’s roll- on 14,984 Sri Lankans in the 30-60 age Zeneca Plc, the British-Swedish phar- It said port authorities in the two ing railway, services offered by district out that was controversially discarded and group from high risk areas in the West- maceutical company, has reportedly countries had rejected requests secretaries and Grama Niladhari officers, then reintroduced amid mounting criti- ern Province. written to the SPC chairman that no because they did not have special- local government bodies, the Central Bank, cism. It was the GNs who have been han- State Minister of Pharmaceutical Pro- private sector supply, sale or distribu- ist facilities. Sri Lankan authorities State banks and insurance services. dling administrative matters in relation duction Supply and Regulation, Channa tion of the vaccine was currently avail- have lodged a formal complaint with Sri Lanka is under island-wide curfew- to Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 response at the Jayasumana, told reporters last week, able. police ahead of initiating legal action style movement restrictions imposed in an Grama Niladhari division level all over the a regular supply of the Russian vaccine So far, the first dose of Sinopharm against the ship’s captain. effort to contain the COVID-19 epidemic. island, he said. can be expected June onwards. has been given to 521,470 Sri Lankans, Lahandapura said a large quan- The movement restrictions are in place till “They said there were committees ap- Sri Lanka has set aside funds for sev- while 2,435 Chinese nationals employed tity of oil threatens to leak and pol- June 7 with 17-hour intervals on May 31 pointed in every area to manage COVID-19. en million doses of Sputnik V and plans in Sri Lanka have already received their lute the tourist and fishing region of and June 4 for people to purchase grocer- But in most areas, it was a one-man show. to acquire 13 million by December 2021. second dose. Negombo, 40 kilometres (25 miles) ies and medicine. Either way, committee or not, we reported Meanwhile, half a million doses of The Chinese workers were vaccinated north of the capital. Meanwhile, some 12,000 Grama Nilad- to duty,” Dalpadadu said, pointing out that the China-made Sinopharm vaccine before the World Health Organization “Our best option is to clean the haris (GNs) continued with their strike ac- three of the 50 infected officials have died that arrived in Sri Lanka in the early (WHO) approved the jab for emergen- beach and we suspect any clearing tion for the fourth day running on Thurs- of COVID-19, with another 100 quaran- hours of Wednesday (26) are now be- cy use. Health authorities proceeded operation will take a few weeks, if day, protesting being overlooked in the tined. ing administered in the Galle, Matara to administer it to Sri Lankan citizens not months,” she said. country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, de- “Given the risk to our lives, we asked the and Kurunegala districts in a targeted soon after. Sri Lankan soldiers were deployed spite three of their officer succumbing to authorities to give us the opportunity to rollout. Data from the health ministry’s -economynext.com Thursday to clean Negombo beach the virus. get vaccinated through the priority list,” he as debris from eight containers that Secretary, Grama Niladhari Associa- said, accusing the government of ignoring fell into the sea after the explosion tion (GNA), Thiraj Dalpadadu charged their request and instead vaccinating fam- washed ashore. Police also arrested that family members of Sri Lanka’s health ily members of health workers and military eight people who had been scaveng- workers and security forces personnel were personnel. “We are also officers working on Moratuwa Mayor arrested for disrupting ing for plastic raw materials and cos- being prioritized in the rollout, ignoring the frontlines. If family members of health metics that washed up for violating the GNs who he said have been engaged and military staff are considered a higher duties of health workers coronavirus lockdown regulations. in a “one-man show” at the village/small priority than us, why should we take a In September last year, an oil town level. Grama Niladharis (public offi- risk?” he asked. COLOMBO - Moratuwa Mayor, Sa- Fernando is a member of the ruling tanker caught fire off Sri Lanka’s east cials who head sub-units of divisional sec- -ENCL/economynext.com manlal Fernando, who surrendered Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna. coast after an engine room explosion to the Mount Lavinia police on Friday Separately, Police Spokesman, Depu- that killed one crew member. (28) morning, was arrested for disrupt- ty Inspector General (DIG) Ajith Roha- The fire on the New Diamond ing the duties of health workers. na said on Thursday, legal action would tanker took more than a week to Sri Lanka to co-produce Sinovac vaccines A tense situation was reported at be taken against a COVID-19 patient put out and left a 40 kilometre (25 a vaccination centre in Moratuwa on who escaped from a private hospital in mile) long oil spill. Sri Lanka has COLOMBO – Sri Lanka is planning to co- Sinovac is also a vero-cell inactivated vi- Thursday (27), when Fernando de- Colombo on Tuesday (25). demanded the owners pay a $17 mil- produce Sinovac vaccines in the island col- rus similar to Sinopharm. manded health workers vaccinate peo- The patient, identified as a resident lion clean-up bill. laborating with China, State Minister for It is in advanced stage of review and a ple he had given tokens to. of Ampara, was found on Thursday and The 25 crew on the X-Press Pearl Pharmaceuticals Channa Jayasumana told decision could come in the next few days However, the health workers had re- admitted to a treatment facility. were evacuated on Tuesday (25) fol- reporters. according to WHO information released fused to do so saying there was a proce- DIG Ajith Rohana said once the pa- lowing the explosion. Two suffered “A plant in Kundasale (in the Kandy dis- earlier in the month. dure to follow. tient is discharged from the treatment minor injuries, the owners said, and trict) is being readied for this,” he said af- It is not clear whether Sri Lanka is set- A heated confrontation had taken facility legal action will be taken against one, an Indian national, has tested ter a receiving stock of Sinopharm vaccines ting up a fill and finish plant or the vaccine place between a doctor on duty and the him, warning anyone refusing to com- positive for COVID-19. sent from China on Wednesday (26). will be made from scratch. mayor, following which the former had ply with the health guidelines after test- The ship was on its way to Colom- China’s Sinopharm was approved by the Vaccines made in plants in different lodged a complaint with the police at the ing positive for the novel coronavirus bo from India’s Gujarat state. The World Health Organization for emergency countries have to be individually approved. location that the mayor was preventing will face legal action. vessel is anchored 14 kilometres (7.5 use on May 7. -economynext.com her from carrying out her duties. -CG nautical miles) offshore and can be seen from Negombo. -AFP India keeping an eye on China-backed Colombo Port City project NEW DELHI - India on Thursday (27) said on Thursday. “But our concerns on sibility," the person said. “And of course The $ 1.4-billion Colombo Port City said it is keeping an eye on the China- this matter are evident," the person said that respects the sovereignty and territo- project is expected to play a key role in backed Colombo Port City project in Sri against the backdrop of reports that the rial integrity" of Sri Lanka. China's ambitious 'Maritime Silk Road' Lanka that is being touted as a big ticket Chinese backed project was at a distance “So I think those elements are impor- project in India's backyard. It is also said investment drawing scheme which would of about 300 kilometres from India. tant that it (the project) should be follow- to be the single largest private sector de- boost the island nation’s economy. New Delhi views China as a strategic ing internationally recognised norms... velopment in Sri Lanka. China has built The project has been in the works for a rival and the project in India’s sphere of and any development that happens so the port city on reclaimed sea, adjoining while but last week, the Sri Lankan Par- influence – ie within South Asia that New near to our country we will of course keep the Port of Colombo. liament approved the Colombo Port City Delhi considers its backyard – is a matter a very close eye on that, on whether in any The Port city bill aims to provide for a Economic Commission Bill after a two- of concern for India. way it impacts our security. But at this special economic zone to establish a com- day debate on it. The Opposition parties “We have certain benchmarks – it point I think there are discussions within mission to grant registrations, licences, in Sri Lanka are against the bill which they should be transparent, there is talk of who Sri Lanka, queries and questions, what authorizations and other approvals to say will lead to the creation of a Chinese will it benefit, is it China....we hope that are the implications of this for Sri Lanka operate business in such economic zones. colony in Sri Lanka. The 225-member Sri the concerns that the Sri Lankans have itself," the person said. On the importance of the bill, the Sri Lan- Lankan Parliament approved the bill 148- themselves raised are addressed within “If it is commercial venture only, then kan government on Wednesday (26) said 59, according to news reports. the framework of the Sri Lankan democ- we don’t have much to say, that’s their the port city would attract foreign direct “I don’t think we have formally raised racy and that if there are other issues to choice. But if there are other elements we investment, giving the much-needed im- this issue" with the Sri Lankan govern- it, it should follow the principles of open- will certainly have a look at it," the person petus to the economy. ment, a person familiar with the matter ness, transparency and financial respon- said. - livemint.com 4 MAY 28 - 30, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS HOT TOPICS

By Heritier Baraka Munyampfura By Abdi Latif Dahir and Norimitsu Onishi

Mass exodus as new In landmark Rwanda visit eruption of DR Macron acknowledges Congo volcano feared GOMA - Tens of thousands of people fled French part in genocide the eastern DR Congo city of Goma on NAIROBI— President Emmanuel Macron of Thursday (27), choking highways, after the France arrived in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, local governor warned in a dawn broadcast on Thursday (27), in a symbolism-laden trip of a possible new eruption of the volcano aimed at resetting relations after almost three Mount Nyiragongo. decades of recriminations over his country’s In a technical note seen by AFP, the role in the 1994 genocide. volcano’s monitors also pointed to a po- The visit, the first by a French president since tentially catastrophic scenario - a “limnic 2010, was aimed at writing “a new page in our eruption” that could smother the area with relationship with Rwanda and Africa,” Macron said Wednesday (26). It also represented an ex- suffocating carbon dioxide. -THOMAS COEX / AFP The city, located on the shore of Lake Palestinian men check items in a classroom at a school hit during shelling at the Zeitun neigh- tension of Macron’s efforts to improve ties with Kivu, has been on edge since Africa’s most bourhood in Gaza City, on Thursday (27). A ceasefire was reached late last week after 11 days the central African state and address France’s active volcano erupted last Saturday (22), of deadly violence between Israel and the Hamas movement which runs Gaza, stopping Israel’s role in the genocide that left at least 800,000 leaving 32 people dead. devastating bombardment on the overcrowded Palestinian coastal enclave which, according to ethnic Tutsis dead. “Right now we can’t rule out an erup- the Gaza health ministry, killed 248 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded more than Both countries have released long-awaited tion on land or under the lake, which could 1,900 people. Meanwhile, rockets from Gaza claimed 12 lives in Israel, including one child and an reports in the past two months about France’s happen very soon and without warning,” Israeli soldier role during the bloodshed in 1994 that conclud- said General Constant Ndima, the military ed that the European nation bore serious and governor of North Kivu province. overwhelming responsibility. He said an evacuation of part of the city UN rights chief says The findings washed away French denials of more than 600,000 - among some two that had poisoned relations for the past quar- million in the greater urban area - had ter-century, setting the stage for a series of been ordered, and urged residents to leave quick developments, including a meeting be- calmly. Israel’s Gaza strikes may constitute tween President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Ndima, warning that “the situation can former French army officers during a visit to change rapidly, and is being constantly Paris this month, and now Macron’s two-day monitored,” said authorities had arranged ‘war crimes’ trip to Rwanda. transport towards Sake, around 20 kilome- GENEVA - The United Nations hu- a 14-year-old Israeli blockade. She rights and respect for international Macron, in a speech at the Kigali Genocide tres (12 miles) west of Goma. man rights chief Michelle Bachelet pointed out that governmental build- law,” he said. Of the various speakers Memorial, where he also laid a wreath and ob- But Agnes Kahindo, trying to make her has said Israel’s recent attacks on the ings, residential homes, international to address the council’s session was served a minute of silence, said, “France has a way to Sake, said: “We don’t see these besieged Gaza Strip that killed more humanitarian organizations, medi- Muna El-Kurd, an activist and jour- role, a history and a political responsibility in means to leave Goma. There are too many than 200 Palestinians may constitute cal facilities and media offices had nalist from the occupied East Jeru- Rwanda.” He added: “It has a duty to confront traffic jams, and the price of motorbike “war crimes” if they are shown to be been hit in the enclave of two million salem neighbourhood Sheikh Jarrah, history and to recognize its part of the suffering taxis has shot up.” disproportionate. people. The UN has dubbed it “the where a number of families are facing it inflicted on the Rwandan people by letting Traffic was backed up for several kilo- Bachelet’s comments on Thurs- world’s largest open-air prison”. imminent forced displacement from silence prevail too long over an examination of metres on the road headed west, an AFP day (27) came as she opened a spe- “Despite Israel’s claims that many their own homes. the truth.” reporter said. cial session of the UN Human Rights of these buildings were hosting “We don’t want just your con- While Macron said that France was not com- One Goma resident said: “It’s fear, it’s Council, called at the request of Paki- armed groups or being used for mili- cern, we want you to stop this ethnic plicit in the genocide and, as expected, did not panic, everyone is fleeing!” stan – on behalf of the Organization tary purposes, we have not seen evi- cleansing in Sheikh Jarrah and in apologize, he said, “I’ve come to recognize our Another resident, Alliance Kimony, said: of Islamic Cooperation – and Pales- dence in this regard,” said Bachelet Palestine,” she said. responsibilities.” “No one seems in control of the situation. tine. “There is no doubt that Israel has She went on to describe the immi- During his trip, Macron is expected to inau- We are afraid the volcano can rise up at any The UN official said she had seen the right to defend its citizens and nent forced displacement Palestinian gurate a French cultural centre in Kigali, and time in any place... It’s better to leave.” no evidence that civilian buildings in residents,” she added. “However, families in Sheikh Jarrah, including attend a concert along with the Basketball Afri- The communication ministry backed Gaza hit by Israeli fighter jets were Palestinians have rights too. The her own, are facing. Half of El-Kurd’s ca League quarterfinals. He also participated in Ndima’s warnings in a statement from being used for military purposes. same rights.” own home was taken over by Israeli a joint news conference with Kagame where the Kinshasa, saying: “The persistent threat of “If found disproportionate, such The council was debating a draft settlers in 2009, in what she said was two leaders spoke about improving economic, eruption and repeated seismic tremors ob- attacks might constitute war crimes,” resolution to launch a broad, inter- a systematic collusion between the political and cultural relations. ligate the government to activate a phased Bachelet told the 47-member Geneva national investigation into violations Israeli government and settler or- In his speech at the event, Kagame said the evacuation plan as soon as possible.” forum. She also urged Hamas, which surrounding the latest Gaza violence, ganizations. The imminent expulsion world should tackle “racism and genocide ide- Tens of thousands of residents fled Goma runs Gaza, to refrain from firing but also of “systematic” abuses in the of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jar- ology” and said relations with France would last weekend after Nyiragongo erupted on rockets indiscriminately on Israeli Palestinian territories and inside Is- rah led to widespread protests from grow stronger in coming years. Saturday night, but many returned. territory. rael. Saleh Hijazi, Middle East and Palestinians, which drew harsh Is- “President Macron is someone who listens But strong aftershocks have continued The 11-day offensive on the Gaza North Africa deputy regional director raeli crackdown and raids on Al-Aqsa and is committed to supporting Africa based to rattle the city, causing some buildings to Strip, which began on May 10, killed of Amnesty International, welcomed Mosque – considered the third-holi- on what Africa itself has chosen,” Kagame said. collapse and leaving residents fearful. at least 253 Palestinians, including the draft resolution as a means to “es- est site in Islam. Palestinian factions “This is different. It is better and it can last. The volcano spewed out two rivers of 66 children, and wounded more than tablish an investigative mechanism in Gaza, including Hamas, said they Fundamentally this visit is about the future, molten rock during the eruption, one of 1,900 people, according to the health that collects and preserves evidence fired rockets against Israeli actions in not the past.” which came to halt on the edge of Goma ministry in Gaza. that cooperates with the ongoing in- occupied East Jerusalem. Macron’s visit to Rwanda’s main genocide after obliterating villages in its wake. At least 12 people, including three ternational criminal court investiga- Israel launched the military offen- memorial, where the remains of 250,000 vic- The UN humanitarian agency OCHA foreign workers and two children, tion into the situation in the occupied sive after the rocket attacks began, tims are interred, was the fruit of a long, tortu- said more than 4,500 homes were de- were killed in Israel by rockets fired Palestinian territories”. but it has been criticised for use of ous and fitful process of reconciliation between stroyed, affecting some 20,000 people. by Hamas and other armed groups “It is important that these moves disproportionate force in the Pales- Rwanda and France. It was clinched by some- Local volcanologists have recorded hun- from Gaza during the same period. tackle arms transfers and lead to a tinian territory. thing far rarer: the achievement of a shared dreds of aftershocks since Nyiragongo, “Although reportedly targeting comprehensive arms embargo on Is- Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian understanding, by an African nation and a for- which sits just a dozen kilometres (eight members of armed groups and their rael and Palestinian armed groups,” Authority foreign minister, said the mer colonial power, of a monumental historical miles) from Goma, roared back to life. military infrastructure, the Israeli he said, speaking from the occupied failure of the international commu- crime. Ndima said the latest data “indicates the attacks resulted in extensive civil- West Bank city of Ramallah. nity to hold Israel accountable for its The visit is a win for Kagame, whose gov- presence of magma under the urban area ian deaths and injuries, as well as “This is a real test, specifically for crimes has only served to encourage ernment in 2006 severed diplomatic relations of Goma, with an extension under Lake large-scale destruction and damage the European Union states, to walk it to continue committing them. with France over a case linked to the genocide. Kivu.” to civilian objects,” said Bachelet, the walk when they talk about ac- “There can be no peace without the While diplomatic relations were restored three The governor said the interaction be- highlighting the scale of the destruc- countability, to not make Israel an end of Israeli occupation,” he said. years later, tensions continued, and France has tween magma and the lake posed addition- tion in Gaza, which has been under exception when it comes to human -Al Jazeera/Agencies not had an accredited ambassador in Kigali al risks, including “the emission of poten- since 2015. tially dangerous gases at the surface”. By Karan Deep Singh Macron’s trip also comes as the Rwandan “In anticipation of this possible catastro- government faces renewed scrutiny over its hu- phe, the evacuation is mandatory,” he said. man rights record, its campaign of assassina- “People should take the bare minimum Twitter calls on Indian government to respect free speech tions and kidnapping of exiled dissidents and with them, to make sure everyone has a NEW DELHI — Twitter on Thurs- service, as well as with core elements campaign has taken on a new edge its long entanglement in conflicts in neighbor- chance to get on,” he added. day (27) pushed back against India’s of the new IT rules.” as the government has come under ing states. In the technical note seen by AFP, the increasingly heavy-handed efforts to The company also said it had re- growing public criticism for its han- France’s actions during the genocide, cou- Goma Volcano Observatory (OVG) warned police online speech, calling on the ceived a notice of noncompliance dling of India’s second coronavirus pled with the inaction of the United States and of a possible worst-case scenario in which government there to respect freedom with India’s information technology wave, during which infections and other Western powers, had infuriated a gen- an eruption occurs beneath the floor of of expression and criticizing what it laws in connection with a request to deaths have soared and some hospi- eration of leaders in Rwanda and in the rest of Lake Kivu. called “intimidation tactics” by the remove content posted by journalists, tals have run out of beds, supplemen- Africa. This could cause carbon dioxide dis- country’s police. activists and politicians related to the tal oxygen and other lifesaving neces- The Rwandan government’s report, pub- solved in the lake’s depths to rise to the In a statement, the San Francisco- government’s handling of the corona- sities. lished in April, stated that France played a “sig- surface, releasing invisible clouds of suf- based social media service said it virus. The notice also included posts Twitter’s statement came just days nificant” role in “enabling a foreseeable geno- focating gas. planned to push leaders in India to related to protests mounted by farm- after officers belonging to an elite an- cide” and “did nothing to stop” the killings. In In a “limnic eruption” of this kind in change regulations that have given ers angry over new agricultural laws ti-terrorism police unit paid an even- March, a report commissioned by Macron and 1986, more than 1,700 people and thou- authorities greater say over online passed last year. ing visit to the company’s New Delhi written by historians, noted that France bore sands of cattle died in Lake Nyos, in Cam- media and internet platforms. Under Indian law, Twitter’s India offices, bearing a notice protesting “overwhelming responsibilities” for the geno- eroon. “Right now, we are concerned by executives could face up to seven the way the company had labelled a cide, because it remained allied with the “rac- Tens of thousands of people immediate- recent events regarding our employ- years in prison and a fine if the com- series of posts by senior officials with ist, corrupt and violent” Hutu-led government ly headed towards the Rwandan border, an ees in India and the potential threat pany fails to abide by government the BJP. even as those leaders prepared to slaughter the AFP correspondent said. to freedom of expression for the peo- orders to remove content that it con- Those officials had posted docu- Tutsis. The report, however, cleared the French Vehicles of all kinds, including cars full ple we serve,” the statement read. siders subversive or a threat to public ments on Twitter that they said of complicity. of families, vans and trucks, waited to cross Citing new information technology order and national security. proved that opposition politicians Establishing the historical truth could pro- into Rwanda, mainly to the city of Gisenyi rules that the government has imple- Government officials couldn’t im- were planning to use the stumbling vide a base for a new relationship between Afri- with a population of some 90,000. mented, it added that “we, alongside mediately be reached for comment. coronavirus response for political can and Western nations, said Vincent Duclert, Goma’s streets were jammed with people many in civil society in India and The statement follows a rash of purposes. But Twitter labelled them a French historian who led the commission walking or running, carrying mattresses, around the world, have concerns moves by the government of Prime “manipulated media” following accu- that produced the report for the French gov- sports bags or a few meagre possessions in with regards to the use of intimida- Minister Narendra Modi and his sations that the documents had been ernment. plastic bags, and holding on to frightened tion tactics by the police in response Bharatiya Janata Party to curb dis- forged. “A common history is now emerging,” Du- children. to enforcement of our global terms of sent in the country of 1.4 billion. That -New York Times clert said. “There must be equality. Europe People were also massing at Goma’s can no longer explain to Africa what it needs Lake Kivu port hoping to board a boat to to know. It’s up to Africa to explain to Europe Bukavu, to the south. But the authorities, China rejects new US investigation into origin of coronavirus what it’s doing.” But the reconciliation is also probably fearing overcrowding and possi- the result of more prosaic calculations by Ma- ble capsizing, barred lake traffic on Thurs- BEIJING - China rejected US Presi- escaped from a Chinese laboratory ic. He also suggested that the corona- cron and Kagame, two leaders facing different day. Thousands more headed north to- dent Joe Biden's order for a new following an accident. He stressed virus could have originated from a US kinds of pressures in Africa, where people are wards Rutshuru, making their way on foot investigation by US intelligence that World Health Organization military laboratory. clamouring for more accountability, even as because the road was made impassable by agencies into the origins of the coro- (WHO) experts had concluded in "There are many doubts about [the new and resurgent powers, like China, Russia a lava flow. navirus, accusing the US of trying to February that a leak from a lab was lab] at Fort Detrick - and the US has and Turkey, are increasingly outmuscling old A so-called strato-volcano nearly 3,500 politicize the search. "extremely unlikely" after they had more than 200 biological laboratories powers like France. metres (11,500 feet) high, Nyiragongo Chinese Foreign Ministry spokes- conducted investigations in the cen- in the world," he said. If the US asked For Macron, a political disrupter at home straddles the East African Rift tectonic di- man Zhao Lijian on Thursday (27) tral city of Wuhan. "Some people in China to participate in a full investi- who has sought to reset France’s relations with vide. accused the US of trying to pin the the US are turning a blind eye to the gation, he said, China in turn would Africa, the reconciliation amounts to his most Its last major eruption, in 2002, claimed blame for the pandemic on China and facts," Zhao said, adding that they are ask the US to follow China's lead and successful attempt at finding friends and busi- around 100 lives. defended his country against suspi- trying to distract from their own "in- allow international investigations. ness partners in new corners of the continent. -Agence France-Presse cions that the coronavirus may have competent response" to the pandem- -dpa -New York Times WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 28 - 30, 2021 5 REALITY CHECK

By David M. Halbfinger and Adam Rasgon

-Dan Balilty/The New York Times Muhammad Sandouka’s children demolish their home in East Jerusalem on Nov. 30, 2020. Even in supposedly quiet periods, when the world is not paying attention, Palestinians from all walks of life routinely experience exasperating impossibilities and petty humiliations, bureaucratic controls that force agonizing choices, and the fragility and cruelty of life under military rule, now in its second half-century Life under Occupation

The misery at the heart of the conflict

JERUSALEM — Muhammad Sandouka mitted house after another. Now it was Jerusalem residents, too. Hers remained allowed him to work in the fast-growing to put it out of mind,” he said. “When built his home in the shadow of the Tem- Sandouka’s turn. West Bank green. West Bank settlements, where work- you’re hungry, you think about food.” ple Mount before his second son, now 15, Plans showed a corner of the house en- Both her husbands lived in Shuafat ers are paid half as much, searched was born. croaching on a future tour-bus parking refugee camp, a lawless slum inside the each morning and supervised by armed In the bubble They demolished it together, after Is- lot. Jerusalem city limits but just outside Is- guards all day. No Palestinian is insulated from the oc- raeli authorities decided that razing it ZeevHacohen, an authority official, rael’s security barrier. West Bankers are Which is how he came to be the fore- cupation’s reach — not even in the well- would improve views of the Old City for said erasing Sandouka’s neighbourhood not allowed to live there, but the rule is man on a crew that remodels Jewish to-do, privileged “bubble” of Ramallah, tourists. was necessary to restore views of the Old not enforced. homes and expands Israeli buildings on where Israeli soldiers are seldom seen. Sandouka, 42, a countertop installer, City “as they were in the days of the Bi- She had thought she was marrying up. land the Palestinians have long demand- Everyone SondosMleitat knows bears had been at work when an inspector ble”. Instead, she said her husbands “always ed as part of their hoped-for state. the scars of some trauma. Her own: Hid- confronted his wife with two options: “The personal stories are always pain- made me feel inferior.” In a small way, it’s like digging his own ing with her little brother, then 5, when Tear the house down, or the government ful,” he allowed. But the Palestinian After the second divorce, she was left grave, Omar said. “But we’re living in a Israeli tanks rolled into Nablus, where would not only level it but also bill the neighbourhood, he said, “looks like the on her own, with her green ID, to raise time when everyone sees what’s wrong she was raised. Sandoukas $10,000 for its expenses. Third World”. all five children with their blue IDs. The and still does it.” In the dark, she said, he pulled all his Such is life for Palestinians living un- Sandouka hired a lawyer and prayed. distinction could be life-threatening. eyelashes out, one by one. der Israel’s occupation: always dreading But he was at work a few months ago When a daughter accidentally inhaled The checkpoint Today, Mleitat, 30, runs a website con- the knock at the front door. when someone knocked on his door housecleaning chemicals, al-Rajaby tried Violence is often sudden and brief. But necting Palestinians with psychothera- The looming removal of six Palestinian again. This time, his wife told him, cry- to race her to the closest hospital, in Je- the nagging dread it instils can be just as pists. families from their homes in East Jerusa- ing, it was a police officer. rusalem. Soldiers refused to let her in. As debilitating. Instead of reckoning with their linger- lem set off a round of protests that helped a teacher in Shuafat, she had a permit to Nael al-Azza, 40, is haunted by the Is- ing wounds, she said, people seek safety ignite the latest war between Israel and The night raid enter Jerusalem, but only until 7:00 p.m. raeli checkpoint he must pass through in social conformity, in religion, in the Gaza. But to the roughly 3 million Pales- The knock at the door is not always just It was 8:00. while commuting between his home in approval gleaned from Facebook and In- tinians living in the West Bank and East a knock. Her children are older now, but the Bethlehem and his job in Ramallah. stagram likes. But all of those, she said, Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the Badr Abu Alia, 50, was awakened distinction is just as keenly felt: Al-Ra- At home, he lives behind walls and cul- only reinforce the occupation’s suffocat- 1967 war and has controlled through dec- around 2:00 a.m. by the sounds of sol- jaby allows herself to be excluded from tivates a lush herb and vegetable garden ing effects. ades of failed peace talks, the story was diers breaking into his neighbour’s home joyful moments and rites of passage so in the backyard. “This is all about control,” she said. exceptional only because it attracted an in Al Mughrayyir, a village on a ridge in her children can enjoy advantages una- But nothing protects him on his drive “People are going through a type of tam- international spotlight. the West Bank. vailable to her. to work, not even his position as a man- ing or domestication. They just surrender For the most part, they endure the When they got to his door, a familiar She stays behind on the Palestinian ager in the Palestinian fire-fighting and to it and feel they can’t change anything.” frights and indignities of the Israeli oc- ritual ensued: His children were rousted side of the security barrier while they ambulance service. After her uncle was killed by Israeli sol- cupation in obscurity. from bed. Everyone was herded outside. head off to Jaffa or Haifa, or on shortcuts Recently, he said, a soldier at the check- diers at a protest, she said, his younger Even in supposedly quiet periods, when The soldiers collected IDs, explained to Hebron through Jerusalem, a route point stopped him, told him to roll down brother was pushed into marriage at 18 the world is not paying attention, Pales- nothing and ransacked the house. They forbidden to her. “West Banker,” they his window, asked if he had a weapon. He “to protect him from going down the tinians from all walks of life routinely ex- left two hours later, taking with them a tease her, waving goodbye. said no. She opened his passenger door to same path.” perience exasperating impossibilities and teenager from next door, blindfolded. One daughter is 21 now and engaged take a look, then slammed it shut, hard. But a nation of people who reach adult- petty humiliations, bureaucratic controls He had taken part in a protest four and goes on jaunts into Israel with her He wanted to object. But he stopped hood thinking only about settling down, that force agonizing choices, and the fra- days earlier, when an Israeli sniper shot fiancé’s mother. “I should be with them,” himself, he said: Too many confronta- she said, is not a nation that will achieve gility and cruelty of life under military and killed a teenager who was wandering al-Rajaby said. tions with soldiers end with Palestinians independence. rule, now in its second half-century. among the rock-throwers and spent tear- Last summer, al-Rajaby moved out of being shot. “They think they’re getting out of this Underneath that quiet, pressure builds. gas canisters. Shuafat to a safer neighbourhood just “If I want to defend my property and bubble, but they’re not,” she said. If the eviction dispute in East Jeru- Al Mughrayyir was one of the few vil- outside the Jerusalem city limits, in the my self-respect, there’s a price for that,” salem struck a match, the occupation’s lages still mounting regular Friday pro- West Bank. That means her children he said. Homeless provocations ceaselessly pile up dry kin- tests. They began after settlers cut off could lose their blue IDs if Israel deter- His commute is a 14-mile trip as the Muhammad Sandouka earns about dling. They are a constant and key driver access to some of the villagers’ farmland. mined that their primary residence was crow flies, but a 33-mile route, because $1,800 in a good month. He hoped the of the conflict, giving Hamas an excuse to The boy’s death became a new rallying with her. Palestinians are diverted in a wide loop lawyer could quash the demolition order. fire rockets or lone-wolf attackers’ griev- cry. “I’m not allowed to live there,” she said around Jerusalem along a tortuous two- “I thought they would just give us a fine,” ances to channel into killings by knives The army says it raids Palestinian of Shuafat, “and my daughters are not al- lane road of steep switchbacks. Even so, he said. or automobiles. And the provocations do homes at night because it is safer, and lowed to live here.” it ought to take less than an hour — but Then he got another panicked call from not stop when the fighting ends. ransacks them to search for weapons, Constrained as she is, al-Rajaby wants often takes two or three, because of the home: “The police were there, making my in routine crackdowns aimed at keeping even more for her children than freedom checkpoint. family cry.” Home on the edge militancy in check. to move about Israel. The Israelis consider the checkpoint Khalas, he said. Enough. He would tear No homeowner welcomes a visit from But the raids also inspire militancy. In 2006, her daughter Rana, then 7, essential to search for fleeing attackers or it down himself. the code-enforcement officer. But it’s en- Abu Alia seethed as he described see- was burned in a cooking accident. An illegal weapons or to cut the West Bank Early on a Monday, his sons took turns tirely different in East Jerusalem, where ing his son outside in the dark, “afraid, Italian charity paid for treatment at a in two in case of unrest. Palestinians call with a borrowed jackhammer. They Palestinians find it nearly impossible to crying because of the soldiers, and I can hospital in Padua. Mother and child it a choke point that can be shut off on a almost seemed to be having fun, like obtain building permits and most homes do nothing to protect him.” stayed for three months. soldier’s whim. It is also a friction point, wrecking a sand castle. were built without them: The penalty is “It makes you want to take revenge, The experience opened al-Rajaby’s motorists and soldiers each imagining Finished, their moods darkened. “It’s often demolition. to defend yourself,” he went on. “But we eyes. She saw green parks, children in themselves as the other’s target. like we’re lighting ourselves on fire,” said Sandouka grew up just downhill from have nothing to defend ourselves with.” nice clothes, women driving cars. Idling and inching along, al-Azza com- Mousa, 15. the Old City’s eastern ramparts, in the Stone-throwing must suffice, he said. “It was the moment of my liberation,” pared traffic to blood flow. Searching one “They want the land,” said Muataz, 22. valley dividing the Temple Mount from “We can’t take an M-16 and go kill every she said. “I started thinking: ‘Why do car can mean an hour’s delay. The sol- “They want all of us to leave Jerusalem.” the Mount of Olives. settler. All we have are those stones. A they have this? Why don’t we?’” diers are so young, he said, “They don’t In 2020, 119 Palestinian homes in East At 19, he married and moved into an bullet can kill you instantly. A little stone Today, she urges all her children to see feel the weight of stopping 5,000 cars.” Jerusalem were demolished, 79 of them old addition onto his father’s house, then won’t do much. But at least I’m sending the world, and holds out hope that they He thinks only of those delayed. “When by their owners. began expanding it. New stone walls a message.” might emigrate. they impede your movement and cause When all was rubble, Sandouka lit a tripled the floor area. He laid tile, hung Settlers send messages, too. They have “Why,” she asked, “should someone you to fail at your job, you feel like you’ve cigarette and held it with three beefy fin- drywall and furnished a cozy kitchen. He cut down hundreds of Al Mughrayyir’s keep living under the mercy of people lost your value and meaning,” he said. gers as it burned. His pants filthy with spent around $150,000. olive trees — vital sources of income and who have no mercy?” A few nights each week, delays force the dust of his family’s life together, he Children came, six in all. Ramadan ties to the land — torched a mosque, van- him to sleep at work and settle for video climbed atop the debris, sent photos to brought picnickers to the green valley. dalized cars. In 2019, one was accused of Working for the occupation calls with his three children. the police and contemplated his options. The kids played host, delivering cold fatally shooting a villager in the back. The Try as they might to make their accom- On weekend outings, the checkpoint Moving to the West Bank, and sacrific- water or hot soup. His wife prepared case remains open. modations with Israel, Palestinians often takes a different toll on his family. ing Jerusalem residency, was unthink- feasts of maqluba (chicken and rice) find themselves caught in the occupa- “I try to keep my kids from speaking able. Moving elsewhere in Jerusalem was and mansaf (lamb in yogurt sauce). He A family divided tion’s gears. about the conflict,” he said. “But they unaffordable. walked with his sons up to Al-Aqsa, one For Majeda al-Rajaby, the pain of occu- Majed Omar once earned a good living see and experience things I have no an- A friend offered a couple of spare of Islam’s holiest sites. pation never goes away. It slices straight as a construction worker inside Israel. swer for. When we’re driving, we turn the rooms as a temporary refuge. Sandouka’s In 2016, city workers posted an ad- through her family. But in 2013, his younger brother was music on. But when we reach the check- wife demanded permanency. dress marker over Sandouka’s gate. It felt A twice-divorced teacher, al-Rajaby, spotted crossing through a gap in Israel’s point, I turn it off. I don’t know why. I’ll “She told me if I don’t buy her a home, like legitimation. 45, is divided from her five children by security barrier. A soldier shot him in the see them in the mirror: All of a sudden, that’s it — everyone can go their separate But Israel was drifting steadily right- the different ways Israel treats Palestin- leg. they sit upright and look anxious — until ways,” he said. ward. The state parks authority fell under ians depending on where they are from. Omar, 45, was collateral damage. Isra- we cross and I turn the music back on.” He turned his eyes uphill toward the the influence of settlers, who seek to ex- She grew up in the West Bank, in He- el revoked his work permit just in case he Deadly scenarios constantly play out in Old City. “These people work little by lit- pand Jewish control over the West Bank bron. But both her ex-husbands were Je- had ideas about taking revenge — some- al-Azza’s head: What if a tire blew out or tle,” he said. “It’s like a lion that eats one, and East Jerusalem. Citing an old plan rusalem residents, allowing them to trav- thing Israel says happens too often. his engine stalled? What if a young sol- and then another. It eventually eats eve- for a park encircling the Old City, the el anywhere an Israeli citizen may go. The He sat unemployed for 14 months. dier, trained to respond instantly, mis- rything around it.” authority set about clearing one unper- children were entitled to the blue IDs of When Israel reissued his permit, it only construed it as a threat? “It’s not possible -New York Times 6 MAY 28 - 30, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS RETHINKING AMERICA

By Carl Hulse By Gail Collins After skirting issue, Feel free to fantasize Democrats near a about Trump filibuster fight behind bars So many investigations, people. WASHINGTON — With a showdown coming “This is a continuation of the greatest Witch over the creation of an independent commission Hunt in American history,” Donald Trump said, to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol assault, Demo- complaining about the multiple probes into his crats are finally bumping up against the limits of business practices. what they can accomplish in the evenly divided That was in an online statement practically Senate without changes to the filibuster rules. no one seems to have read. Truly, of all the for- Republicans who see the commission as a threat mer president’s problems, his greatest woe has to their midterm election hopes were poised to to be that Twitter ban. As The Washington Post employ the procedural weapon to block the forma- cruelly reported, the new website he’s put up as tion of the inquiry as early as Thursday (27), po- a replacement has “attracted fewer estimated tentially dooming it while underscoring the power visitors than the pet-adoption service Petfinder of a determined Senate minority to kill legislation and the recipe site Delish.” even if it is popular and has bipartisan support. Well, yeah. Take your pick: a new puppy, a It is the sort of clash that lawmakers have been new pasta recipe or a new post-presidential anticipating since the first day of this Congress, -Doug Mills/The New York Times whine. when it was clear that the 50-50 breakdown in President Joe Biden speaks to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday (25). Biden ordered But Trump is certainly getting a lot of atten- the Senate would make it nearly impossible for US intelligence agencies on Wednesday (26), to investigate the origins of the coronavirus, indi- tion on the non-fan front. Here in New York he Democrats to deliver on President Joe Biden’s cating publicly that his administration takes seriously the possibility that the virus was accidentally just lost an 18-month battle to keep the Man- agenda unless they could do away with the 60- leaked from a lab, as well as the prevailing theory that it was transmitted by an animal to humans hattan district attorney from peeping at his fi- vote threshold for advancing legislation over the nancial records. As we all know, Trump is an ab- objections of any senator. By Michael D. Shear, Julian E. Barnes, Carl Zimmer and Benjamin Mueller solute shrinking violet when it comes to his tax But rather than court confrontations with Re- returns, and he made two trips to the Supreme publicans — a strategy that many progressive Court trying to keep them out of the hands of lawmakers and activists argued was necessary to anybody with the power of subpoena. make the case for scrapping the decades-old prac- In Georgia, prosecutors are investigating tice — Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, the majority Biden orders intelligence Trump’s post-election call to Secretary of State leader, has skirted the issue. After resorting to a Brad Raffensperger. You’ll remember the one fast-track budget manoeuvre to muscle through in which he asked Raffensperger to “find” him Biden’s nearly $1.9 trillion stimulus law with a some more votes. It does seem possible the simple majority vote, he has focused on moving Donald is going to spend the rest of his life a series of bipartisan bills, and allowed time for inquiry into origins of COVID-19 struggling to stay out of jail, doesn’t it? negotiations between Republicans and Democrats Darn. before trying to force action on a host of other is- WASHINGTON — President repeatedly blamed for the pan- findings and having intelligence The Manhattan DA, Cyrus Vance Jr., has re- sues. Joe Biden ordered US intelligence demic. Some scientists attributed officials issue a public statement. portedly convened a grand jury that’ll be look- Democrats argue that the grinding approach agencies on Wednesday (26) to the renewed focus on the lab to Seizing on a lull on the Sen- ing into Trumpian … issues. The whole probe has been necessary to demonstrate a willingness investigate the origins of the coro- Trump’s departure from the White ate floor Wednesday night, Sens. could take six months and readers, I want you to work with Republicans, as Biden pledged he navirus, indicating that his admin- House — and being less identified Mike Braun of Indiana and Josh to send out a couple of good thoughts every now would try to do. They also say it is necessary to istration takes seriously the pos- with the theory — while others Hawley of Missouri, both Republi- and then to those grand jury members. How prove to centrist Democrats who oppose tinker- sibility that the deadly virus was said it reflected the deep frustra- cans, passed their bill to declassify many times have you rejoiced that you don’t ing with the filibuster that Republicans will never accidentally leaked from a lab, in tions with the recent WHO report intelligence related to any poten- have to think about Donald Trump every single agree to legislation on the scale that Democrats addition to the prevailing theory that was co-written by Chinese sci- tial links between the Chinese lab day anymore? How would you feel about half a want and the public is demanding, and that chang- that it was transmitted by an ani- entists. and the origins of the pandemic year of constant contemplation? ing Senate rules is the only way to achieve the “big, mal to humans outside a lab. Even before Biden’s order, US through unanimous consent. It Vance is now working with the state attorney bold” results their party has promised. In a statement, Biden made it intelligence agencies had inten- came after the Senate on Tuesday general, Letitia James, who has been investi- But the approach has prompted mounting frus- clear that the CIA and other in- sified their work on the origins (25) unanimously agreed to in- gating — among multitudinous other things — tration among some activists who say that Demo- telligence agencies had not yet of the pandemic, according to clude two Republican provisions a $25 million tax deduction Trump took for a crats have squandered their opportunity to make reached a consensus on how the American officials, driven at least to a huge package of China legisla- failed housing development project in Califor- the case for ending the filibuster, and with it their virus, which prompted a pandem- in part by the growing openness of tion aimed at prohibiting sending nia. chance to push through their most ambitious pri- ic and has killed almost 600,000 some scientists to the theory that US funding to the Wuhan Institute If Trump has any genuine business acumen, orities. Americans, originated in China. the coronavirus might have acci- of Virology or to China-based “gain it’s been his ability to simultaneously present With the Memorial Day holiday looming as an But he directed them to conduct dentally leaked out of the research of function” research, in which sci- himself as a real estate genius for the purpose informal deadline for legislative progress, Sen- a deeper investigation and report lab. entists intentionally try to make a of bank loans while also claiming massive busi- ate Democrats have made no move to take up a back to him in 90 days. In recent weeks, more officials pathogen more powerful. ness losses when he’s dealing with the Internal sweeping voting rights bill, new gun safety legis- “I have now asked the intel- have said it is at least a possible “For over a year, anyone asking Revenue Service. lation, expansions of labour and LGBTQ rights, a ligence community to redouble explanation and it deserves seri- questions about the Wuhan Insti- But be fair: You could certainly make a lot measure to overhaul policing, or legalization for their efforts to collect and analyze ous examination based on some tute of Virology has been branded of good arguments for Trump’s being a loser. millions of immigrants, among others. information that could bring us new intelligence. Details of that as a conspiracy theorist,” said If any of his business has survived, it’s at least All of them have passed the Democratic-led closer to a definitive conclusion,” information remain unclear, but Hawley. “The world needs to know in part because you the taxpayer were helping House, face stiff Republican opposition in the Sen- the president said. officials concede there is no major if this pandemic was the product to bail him out by paying Trump properties for ate and were once thought to be prime candidates Biden’s statement, his most new material that has decisively of negligence at the Wuhan lab, rooms the Secret Service rented while guarding to elevate the filibuster fight by highlighting the public and expansive yet on the shifted internal thinking or al- but the Chinese Communist Party the Trumps. partisan obstruction and demonstrating the kinds question of how the virus spread lowed them to draw higher-confi- (CCP) has done everything it can And remember the $600,000 you the taxpay- of initiatives that would die without a change in to humans, came as top health of- dence conclusions. to block a credible investigation.” er spent in 2019 to shuttle Mike Pence between the rules. Instead, most of the focus has been on ficials renewed their appeals this Avril Haines, the director of In the past several days, the meetings in Dublin and his accommodations at the bipartisan infrastructure negotiations and week for a more rigorous inquiry. national intelligence, has been White House had played down the the Trump hotel 180 miles away? By the way, nominations to fill out Biden’s administration. And it followed mounting criti- working with various intelligence need for an investigation led by whatever happened to Mike? Well, he seems to “We haven’t had any of those table-setting votes cism of a report from an interna- agencies, bringing together offi- the United States and insisted that have moved back to Indiana to prepare to run yet,” Brian Fallon, executive director of the pro- tional team of experts convened cials with divergent views to dis- the WHO was the proper place for for president in 2024. Dwell on that for a min- gressive group Demand Justice, said about the by the World Health Organization cuss them, to review the shifting an international inquiry. Biden’s ute. idea of drawing out Republicans on the liberal is- (WHO) that largely dismissed the science and to push for additional statement on Wednesday was an Anyway, when it comes to making money off sues. “The more time Republicans buy themselves possibility that the virus had ac- intelligence collection. abrupt shift, though officials de- the government, the Trumpian beat goes on. on infrastructure, the more they are running out cidentally escaped from a Chinese Still, Biden’s order was an clined to be specific about what Recently we learned that the minute he left the the clock.” laboratory called the Wuhan Insti- abrupt example of presidential had changed behind the scenes to White House and moved to Mar-a-Lago, he be- Wednesday provided a fresh example of how tute of Virology. intervention in the collection of warrant the presidential order. gan charging the Secret Service about $400 a the quest for bipartisanship can slow things down. Deep uncertainty remains about raw data by those charged with “What has changed is he wants night for a room at his resort. The timing of a Senate vote on the Jan. 6 commis- the origins of a virus that spread collecting and analyzing intelli- to give another 90 days to dig a lit- It’s possible that the only part of the real es- sion remained uncertain as Democrats sought a to every part of the globe over 17 gence on his behalf. Presidents are tle deeper, to double down — the tate business Trump is actually any good at is way to nail down final approval of a measure im- months. The assessments of scien- often hesitant to appear becoming IC (intelligence community) to finding ways to bill the taxpayer for this kind of proving competitiveness with China — legislation tists are largely unchanged: Many overly involved in the preparation double down their efforts,” said stuff. But once the poor grand jury finishes its with strong backing by members of both parties — believe that a so-called natural of the intelligence briefings they Karine Jean-Pierre, the deputy labours we may know a whole lot more. Some of even as Republicans sought more debate. spill-over from animal to human receive, though Biden has been White House press secretary, re- his minions are apparently jabbering to investi- Top Democrats say the filibuster fight will soon remains the most plausible ex- active in asking for intelligence re- ferring to the intelligence commu- gators like cicadas. come to a head with the debate over creating the planation. While US intelligence ports on issues including Russian nity. “The WHO doing their thing Here in New York, besides all the investiga- independent commission and a commitment by agencies have collected some new aggressions and domestic terror- and the IC, doing what they’re do- tions, the city has been trying to can the Trump Schumer to hold a vote on the sweeping voting evidence, the additional informa- ism. ing currently is not mutually ex- company that runs its public golf course in the rights legislation before August. Sen. Mitch Mc- tion is not enough to allow them to The president had asked in clusive.” Bronx. The family — led by son Eric — is de- Connell, R-Ky., the minority leader, and nearly draw definitive conclusions about March for an internal assessment The scientific and political de- manding $30 million in return. every other. long-simmering theories regard- of the virus’s origins, which was bate about how the virus became a New Yorkers, would you rather: Senate Republican adamantly oppose both, and ing the lab in the city of Wuhan, delivered to him two weeks ago global threat to humans has been a) Cough up some money to make Trumps go they seem destined for filibusters that will rekin- the centre of the outbreak. in his Presidential Daily Brief of simmering since the beginning of away. dle the calls to eliminate the tactic. But the president’s carefully intelligence, according to a senior the pandemic. For much of that b) Find a mayoral candidate who will coun- “We hope to move forward with Republicans,” worded directive underscored White House official and an ad- time, scientists around the world tersue for $30 million worth of public irritation. Schumer told reporters Tuesday (25), “but we’re a new surge in interest about ministration official. That started have concluded that it most likely c) Turn the golf course into a pest control cen- not going to let them saying no stand in our way.” the lab, which President Donald a discussion, the officials said, emerged from an infected animal. tre named the Donald Trump Animal Shelter -New York Times Trump and some of his top aides about declassifying some of the -New York Times for Mistreated Rodents. Experts say this fight could go on for years. Meanwhile, north of the city, concerned citizens By Thomas Fuller, Shawn Hubler and Kellen Browning have been trying to erase Trump’s name from a state park, located on land he donated after the collapse of his original plan to build a golf Transit worker kills 8 in shooting rampage at San Jose rail yard course. The Trump Organization says it may go to court if there’s a change. Lots of ways of get- SAN JOSE, Calif. — A municipal tran- Clara Valley Transportation Authority, ment employee, called “heartbreak- call of the American people, includ- ting around this, but I do like the one proposed sit worker opened fire as the Wednes- said Sgt. Russell Davis, a spokesman ing.” ing the vast majority of gun owners, to to PolitiFact by a legal expert, who mentioned day (26) morning shift was gathering for the county sheriff’s office. He did “You could hear the screams and help end this epidemic of gun violence the possibility of a sign saying, “Unnamed State for work at a San Jose rail yard, killing not identify the weapon used or offer a cries of the families,” he said, adding in America.” Park, next right.” eight people in the latest of the mass possible motive, although Mayor Sam that he heard “a mother screaming, The shooting was first reported at It’ll be a long while before we find out how shootings that have plagued the United Liccardo of San Jose said co-workers ‘My son, my son.’” 6:34 a.m. in downtown San Jose. Of- these investigations turn out. But it’s already States this year. had “expressed generalized concerns By Wednesday evening, the county ficers were dispatched from the San crystal clear that if you took a sweeping view California law enforcement offi- about his mental health.” medical examiner’s office had released Jose Police Department and the Santa of Trump’s empire, the two perpetually recur- cials identified the gunman as Samuel At the rail yard, workers said, panic the names of the victims, including Clara County Sheriff’s Office. Local fire ring motifs would be “golf” and “failed develop- James Cassidy, 57, a maintenance erupted as word spread of gunfire. Michael Joseph Rudometkin, 40; Paul crews, meanwhile, raced to Cassidy’s ment”. worker who had been with Silicon Val- While bomb squads searched for ex- Delacruz Megia, 42; Taptejdeep Singh, home in the Evergreen neighbour- This gives me the opportunity to note that ley’s regional transit agency for at least plosives there, fire-fighters were re- 36; Adrian Balleza, 29; Jose Dejesus hood. during one of those early real estate disasters, I a decade. Authorities said he appeared sponding to a blaze at Cassidy’s empty Hernandez III, 35; Timothy Michael Family court records show that Cas- wrote a column referring to him as “an extreme- to have killed himself at the scene. home, about eight miles away. Romo, 49; Abdolvahab Alaghmandan, sidy was married for 10 years; the cou- ly well-dressed pile of debt, wearing an unusual It was unclear how many people were Survivors of the shooting were led to 63; and Lars Kepler Lane, 63. ple had no children and divorced in haircut.” That was in 1992, and next year I want wounded, but at least one person was a separate building where some were In a statement, President Joe Biden 2004. In 2009, he sought a restraining you to remind me to celebrate my 30th anniver- in critical condition, officials said. The reunited with family members, a scene said: “Once again, I urge Congress to order against his former girlfriend. sary of making fun of Donald Trump. gunman was an employee of the Santa that James Kostmayer, a local govern- take immediate action and heed the -New York Times -New York Times WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 28 - 30, 2021 7 COMMENTARY

By Kassapa Vaccine roll-out, a litany of errors The government’s handling of the vaccination roll out against corona virus has been a litany of errors, trying to cover up one blunder with more blunders and would have been ridiculously funny if not for the fact that it is the general public who are paying the ultimate price for these errors- with their lives. Ironically, at the outset, they got it right. When the very first stocks of the vaccines arrived in the island, a decision was made to vaccinate healthcare workers as a priority as they were the most at risk. Within days, the entire sector, from top medical specialists to hospital orderlies, was vaccinated. This was some time ago, when the government heeded calls from medical experts for a lockdown and the pandemic was carefully managed, leading to a period where, for most of last year, Sri Lanka

- Agencies remained a model for how to deal with the out- break, while the rest of the world was struggling. President Xi Jinping speaks with then president Mahinda Rajapakse as they formally open construction work on the Then came the complacency- and the claims that Chinese-funded $1.4 billion Colombo port city on the last day of his visit to Sri Lanka in Colombo on September 18, ‘we did it the best’ from no less than the highest in 2014 the land. While other countries which suffered high death tolls due to the coronavirus rushed to place By K. S. Dakshina Murthy orders for the vaccine, Sri Lanka preferred to engage in watchful expectation and masterly inactivity. The result was that the only vaccines we got were from a few donations- handouts from the World Health Colombo Port City nod confirms China is Lanka’s Organization (WHO), and a few hundred thousand each from the only ‘friends’ we have in the world: India, China and Russia, but hardly enough to vac- cinate a population of 22 million people. ‘big brother’, not India With high demand and low supply, market forces The contest for Sri Lanka is all but over. China has Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe – a direct result of Sri Lanka firmly on its side. The China-Lanka axis were at play, Sri Lankan style. That meant that poli- emerged as the principal influencer of the strategi- the larger China-India rivalry. On assuming power, will prove to be a major strategic and foreign policy ticians called the shots. You had to be somebody’s cally located island nation, displacing the incum- the high-level of Chinese debt incurred by the ear- headache for South Block’s foreign policy experts. somebody to get the vaccine. There was no organ- bent overseer India. lier Mahinda Rajapaksa government forced the Siri- Handling this will require a level of sagacity that the ized, methodical roll out of the vaccine. Only those The parliamentary approval last week, amidst op- sena government to hand over the Hambantota port government in New Delhi has not shown it is capa- who knew someone’s someone got the jab. position concerns over sovereignty, for the crucial on a 99-year lease to Beijing. Wickremesinghe then ble of, so far. Sri Lankan Tamil politicians, during Most countries had a method to distribute the Chinese-backed Colombo Port City project simply attempted to make amends by suspending Chinese the debate in Parliament on clearing the Colombo vaccine. People were categorized according to age means that Beijing is well and truly entrenched in involvement in construction activities at the port. port deal last week, feared that pushing India be- and those who had medical conditions that made the island nation – just an arm’s length away from With too much at stake, Beijing applied pressure yond a point could prove counter-productive. They them vulnerable to the virus. They were given prior- India’s southern coast. on Sirisena who dismissed Wickremesinghe and were referring to a time during the Cold War when ity. Not so in Sri Lanka. If you didn’t know someone The Colombo Port City, developed and man- replaced him with the pro-China Mahinda. Eventu- Sri Lanka moved close to the US, prompting pro- who called the shots, you didn’t get the shot. aged by the China Harbour Engineering Company ally, the tussle led to elections in 2019. Soviet India to back the Tamils in their separatist That led to chaos. There were large queues out- (CHEC), is spread across 269 hectares (660 acres) Gotabaya (who had been the defence secretary struggle. But such doubts have not had any impact side vaccination centres. Even after waiting for sev- mostly on land reclaimed from the sea. It is slated to during the final years of the Tamil conflict) was on the Chinese-fixated Rajapaksa brothers. eral hours, people, including very elderly persons, be a mini-city with its own rules on trading, invest- elected president and he quickly inducted his broth- From Colombo’s point of view, its relationship were turned away because stocks had run out. Vac- ment and in doing business. The $15 billion project er Mahinda as prime minister. China had asserted with China over the last 15 years has proved benefi- cination centres themselves turned out to be ‘at risk’ was launched in 2014 when Mahinda Rajapaksa its clout unequivocally. cial. The Sinhala lobby that struggled to defeat the areas because large crowds gathered there. was president during a visit by Chinese President Ji As for India, though the Rajapaksa brothers have Tamil separatist movement now feels secure under What was tragic about all this is that Sri Lanka has Xinping. The port city is the second major project occasionally made the right diplomatic noises, in- Beijing’s protection. Internally, they may even hope one of the most robust immunization schemes for for China after the acquisition of the Hambantota cluding visits to New Delhi by Gotabaya, their pro- that the deep involvement of China will preclude any young children not only in Asia but the entire world. port on a lease for 99 years. These are just two of the nounced China leanings are there for the world to future attempts by Tamils to fight for a separate na- The health systems were therefore already there, if multitude of infrastructure and other projects that see. For example, in February, Sri Lanka abruptly tion. Now, this type of assurance can never be given only they were utilized properly. They weren’t - be- China has signed with Sri Lanka as part of the Belt dropped India and Japan from the East Container to Colombo by New Delhi as no central government cause the military was dictating health policy! Then and Road Initiative (BRI). The Chinese juggernaut Terminal project in Colombo port under Beijing’s can afford to antagonize its own Tamil population came the ‘third wave’ several weeks ago. Questions is unstoppable. Days after the Port City clearance, pressure. The Rajapaksa government’s complete within India by appearing to work for Sinhala inter- about the retarded vaccine roll out were raised. The on Monday (24), CHEC bagged another project – to identification with China, while hurting India’s ests. For Colombo, the experience of working with government was caught flat footed. It responded build a 17-km four lane highway in Colombo. The interests, has larger geopolitical ramifications. India since the 1980s, climaxing with the entry of with another blunder- a publicity stunt, importing Rajapaksa brothers – Mahinda, the prime minister Already, South Asia is in the grip of Beijing, with the Indian peace-keeping forces into northern Sri a few hundred thousand AstraZeneca vaccines and and Gotabaya, the president – have had a special Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives tied up with China Lanka, is evidence of New Delhi’s limitation. using them in an indecent hurry. relationship with China over the last 15 years, their economically under the BRI. Over the last one year But Sri Lanka by getting into an exceedingly close In the rush, someone forgot to do the maths. They bond growing stronger after Beijing’s help with in particular, China has noticeably been more bel- relationship, including militarily, with China and al- didn’t divide the total number of vaccines available arms and ammunition in the Tamil separatist con- ligerent on the border with India. lowing Beijing to work on vast and strategic swathes by two- because every individual needed two doses. flict that ended with a Sinhala victory in 2009. The formation of the US-led Quad group of na- of land and port could end up diluting its own sov- They just wanted to say that so many people were With India maintaining a hands-off approach to tions is potentially an anti- China axis. For India, ereignty and independence. Lankan dependence on vaccinated. As a result, 600,000 people who had Sri Lanka after the LTTE’s assassination of former the only hope to salvage some foothold in Sri Lanka Chinese financial largesse is also growing exponen- the first dose, didn’t have the second dose. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, the space was is if the Quad, particularly the United States, acts on tially. In fact, various political parties cutting across Fools rushed in where angels had feared to tread. strategically filled by China. Since then, Beijing has behalf of New Delhi. While there are no signs of that Sinhala-Tamil lines expressed deep concern on Enter ChannaJayasumana, a medical doctor and worked its way into Sri Lanka, a nation that was at the moment, it may just be a matter of time be- these issues in parliament last week. a professor to boot. He wanted the Chinese Sin- historically close to India, culturally and politically. fore Colombo feels the pressure from Washington. According to reports, opposition political parties opharm vaccine approved, just like that. The data India’s dominance was seen right through the 1970s The US is already on the side of countries de- during discussions described the Colombo port city for that was not available. The National Medicines until the killing of Rajiv Gandhi two decades later. manding action from the United Nations against the as a “Chinese enclave” as many of Sri Lanka’s laws Regulatory Authority (NMRA) refused. He sacked During these years, it was India which dictated poli- Sri Lankan government for its alleged war crimes would not be applicable there. Senior Tamil politi- its experts! When data was made available, the Sin- tics in Sri Lanka, playing a huge role in its internal during the final stages of the 2009 Tamil separatist cian C. V. Wigneswaran was quoted by The Hindu opharm vaccine was eventually approved by the affairs. However, from 2009, irrespective of who has conflict. At a meeting with a visiting Chinese mili- newspaper as asking whether “One Country, One WHO. Newly recruited presidential media advisor been in power in Colombo, the government has had tary delegation in Colombo last month, Gotabaya law” meant “Chinese law”. Kingsley Rathnayake then made it known that the to accommodate Chinese interests in that nation. made it amply clear that Sri Lanka was with Bei- The moot question is: whether Sri Lanka by em- WHO approved the vaccine on the same day that When Mahinda Rajapaksa was defeated in the pres- jing in all possible ways. Interestingly, a “military bracing China in a tight hug and discarding India President Gotabaya Rajapaksa asked them to do so! idential election of 2015, his successor-government assistance protocol” was signed between the two like an unwanted spouse, is jumping from the pro- Faced with an acute shortage of the vaccine and under President Maithripala Sirisena was seen to be countries. A Lankan defence ministry statement verbial frying pan into the fire. a rapidly spreading pandemic that was claiming closer to India. But as it turned out, three years lat- talked specifically of military cooperation too in the -This article was originally featured on lives by the dozens every day, the government an- er, a schism developed between Sirisena and Prime near future. For India, it is obvious that China has thefederal.com nounced another hare-brained idea- they were con- sidering mixing and matching vaccines. No other country had done that and it was only a research idea at best. Port City Law in a two-step dance Now the latest wave of the pandemic is fully es- tablished, more than a thousand have died and the country is finally in lockdown, a decision President While the world is coming together to redouble its efforts to tackle illicit financial flows, TISL warns Rajapaksa had to be dragged in to, kicking and Sri Lanka has created a financial hub that falls short of taking sufficient steps to address the issue screaming. Vaccines are still in short supply with reports that the government will now “buy at any COLOMBO – On May 20, 2021, the Parliament of that the establishment of offshore banks and com- detrimental effect on the country’s ability to obtain price”. Sri Lanka passed the Colombo Port City Economic panies could open pathways for money laundering foreign aid, loans and lawful investments. Accord- That didn’t stop those who wield power from Bill into law. Two days prior to the vote on the Bill, and illicit financial flows. The Supreme Court de- ing to the Tax Justice Network, an estimated US$21 abusing their privileges. The trade union of doc- the Speaker of Parliament revealed to the members termination has eased some of these concerns by TO $32 trillion of private financial wealth is located, tors, the Government Medical Officers Association of Parliament and the general public the determina- expressly stating that The Convention on the Sup- untaxed, in secrecy/offshore jurisdictions around (GMOA), members of which sought nomination tion given by the Supreme Court of the Country with pression of Terrorist Financing Act No. 25 of 2005, the world. These offshore jurisdictions result in cor- from the Sri Lanka PodujanaPeramuna at the last regard to the constitutionality of the Bill. Transpar- Prevention of Money Laundering Act No. 5 of 2006 porate tax abuse, private tax evasion, capital tax, as election, according to Basil Rajapaksa, swung into ency International Sri Lanka (TISL) was one of the and the Financial Transactions Reporting Act No. well as cross border illicit financial flows. Target- action. petitioners that had challenged the Port City Bill. 6 of 2006 apply within the Area of Authority of the ing the United Nations Special Session of the Gen- They sent lists of names of extended family mem- While welcoming the determination of the Supreme Colombo Port City. However, the Registrar of Com- eral Assembly (UNGASS) against Corruption that bers of doctors, so they could ‘jump’ the vaccine Court, TISL continues to have serious concerns panies has limited control over offshore companies, is scheduled to be held on June 24, 2021, Trans- queue. Relatives of doctors are at a higher risk and about the new legislation. and the Supreme Court has not expressly stated parency International (TI) has submitted a public deserve priority but what of other healthcare work- At the outset it should be noted that the manner whether the Banking Act would apply to these off- interest petition calling for “an end to the abuse ers such as nurses who spend more time on the in which the legislation was rushed through, was shore Banks. of anonymous companies and other legal vehicles wards? Why were these lists sent surreptitiously? an affront to the right to information of the citizens The recently enacted Port City Bill does not make that facilitate cross-border corruption and other The issue raised such a stink that Gramasevaka- of Sri Lanka. The proposed bill was not gazetted in it mandatory for Companies operating out of the crimes”. It urges the United Nations Member States Niladharis threatened to go on strike, if they too advance, and there was no opportunity given for Port City, to disclose beneficial ownership informa- to make firm commitments to create online public were not given priority. The Ministry of Home Af- public consultation and public review, even after tion. Disclosure of information of individuals who registers of the beneficial owners of companies. Fol- fairs had to quickly reassure them that they will the Supreme Court determination was announced, ultimately own the companies is paramount to pre- lowing the exposure of Panama Papers and Paradise be vaccinated on a priority basis. So much so for a as the Bill was debated soon after and passed, even vent misuse of legal entities for money laundering Papers since 2006, TI expects that identifying the smooth vaccine roll out by the authorities! amidst the height of the third COVID-19 wave in the or terrorist financing. While law enforcement may beneficial owners will end secrecy and uncover sys- Amidst all this, there has been one voice of reason country. Such timing of this critical Bill raises the be able to access such information, the lack of public temic corruption and legal entities that enable com- in the government. That of Dr. Sudarshani Fernan- concern as to whether the constitutionally guaran- accessibility would result in minimal scrutiny over panies around the world to hide proceeds of crimes, dopulle, who ironically carries the title State Min- teed fundamental right to information of the people such entities by the public, which will lead to many launder public funds and evade taxation. ister of Primary Health Services, Pandemics and of Sri Lanka was respected in this crucial endeavour illicit transactions not being apprehended. Publicly TISL notes with regret that while the world is COVID Prevention. Unfortunately, her voice has to impose a law with such far reaching impact on accessible beneficial ownership information is not coming together to redouble its efforts to tackle il- been ignored. She doesn’t make vital decisions. the country. TISL notes with grave concern that this only a best practice, but also allows for the observa- licit financial flows through beneficial ownership The current trauma the nation is undergoing was process did not even provide sufficient time for Sri tion of trends and red flags in transactions. transparency, Sri Lanka through the passage of the entirely preventable, if only the government man- Lanka’s Members of Parliament to fully review and The rise of risks pertaining to attracting and fa- Port City bill, has created a financial hub that falls aged the vaccine rollout professionally, listening to understand the changes made and to reach an in- cilitating black money, could also lead to Sri Lanka short of taking sufficient steps to address the issue the experts and without bias or corruption. They formed decision. One of the primary concerns that being downgraded in the Financial Action Task of illicit financial flows. didn’t. So, we are now paying with our lives. TISL raised through its petition against the Bill, was Force (FATF) rankings, which in turn would have a -TISL - counterpoint.lk 8 MAY 28 - 30, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS PERSPECTIVES

By Fawaz Turki By Anton Troianovski Gaza war shifts perceptions Belarus plane crisis of the Palestinian cause tightens Lukashenko’s What do we talk about when we talk about Gaza? Its wars, whose costs have always been beyond all awkward embrace of Putin rational understanding? The infirm, rent body of MOSCOW — He may be the Kremlin’s closest ally, its society, long whistled clean of hope? but his loyalty remains in doubt. Its people, whose dead last week seemed as if When Alexander Lukashenko, the eccentric and they were reaching out to the living to haul them brutal leader of Belarus, forced down an European into the void six feet under, where they would fi- passenger jet Sunday (23) to arrest a dissident, he nally be assured of no more suffering? ushered in a new and even more brittle phase in one Or do we talk about how latent in our sensibility of the post-Soviet region’s most convoluted and con- — the sensibility of outliers comfortable in their sequential relationships: the one between Lukashen- homes in the Palestinian Diaspora — lay a fearful ko and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. guilt at having missed being there with one’s peo- - WISHMA RATHNAYAKE/FACEBOOK The two are increasingly leaning on each other ple at their rendezvous with hell last week? in the face of conflict with the West, but they have As we contend for answers to our lofty ques- Wishma Sandamali died on March 6, having lost 20kg in detention over a stress-induced sharply diverging interests. Lukashenko, who has tions, Gazans soldier on, in the aftermath of war, stomach condition ruled for 26 years, relies on his iron grip on his coun- with their quotidian ones. Consider this. After a try to assure his survival. Putin wants to expand Rus- ceasefire was declared late last Thursday (20) By P. K. Balachandran sian influence in Belarus, undermining Lukashenko’s night, bringing to an end a devastating 11-day authority in the process. Now, with a summit meeting war, Gazans emerged from their homes, or the with President Joe Biden looming in June, Putin faces public shelters where they had sought refuge, to a choice over how much political capital to expend to survey the unspeakable damage inflicted on their continue supporting Lukashenko, whose comman- tormented, long-blockaded 140-square-mile strip Wishma Sandamali’s death deering of the Ryanair plane has complicated the of land by the Mediterranean Sea. The toll was, in Kremlin’s efforts to smooth relations with the West. both senses of the word, ruinous. Yet as Gazans Russian officials and pro-Kremlin news outlets have surveyed a scene that evoked imagery straight out taken Lukashenko’s side in the furore, but Lukashen- of Picasso’s Guernica, you would’ve expected to and human rights in Japan ko’s leading Belarusian opponents believe that the see a people sombrely enacting their private an- Kremlin’s support is only skin-deep. “In the Russian guish on a public stage. But that was not the case. The recent death of 33-year-old Anti-death penalty advocates imported. During World War II Foreign Ministry, in the Kremlin, I think that people Gazans, who, like other Palestinians, are im- Sri Lankan student, WishmaSan- have long raised concerns about people from the conquered coun- can’t stand Lukashenko,” FranakViacorka, a senior bued in the constitution of their worldview more damali, in a Japanese Immigra- death row inmates having inad- tries, especially Koreans, were re- adviser to exiled Belarusian opposition leader Svetla- with the teleological than the empirical spirit of tion Detention Centre, allegedly equate access to legal counsel, cruited for “dangerous and dirty” na Tikhanovskaya, said in a telephone interview. “But history, knew instinctively how to heal the trauma due to callous neglect on the part being notified of their execution jobs. These people were looked at the same time, since there’s not anyone more pro- of war — they took to the streets to celebrate. What of the authorities, has exposed only on the day it takes place, and down upon and discriminated Russian, they prefer to keep Lukashenko for now.” we saw on our television screens were crowds in a Japan’s underbelly, opening up some being executed after their against. Local governments have Some Western politicians have called for sanctions collective, joyous mood, waving flags and flashing the larger issue of human rights lawyers file a request for retrial, carried out campaigns among on Russia over the Ryanair incident. But the reality victory signs, with some dancing in folk circles — a in that country. HRW pointed out. Japanese employers to persuade is more complicated, Lukashenko’s Belarusian op- traditional hands-on-shoulders dance formation Specifically, the areas of con- Japanese criminal procedure them to treat their foreign em- ponents and critics say. In a flurry of diplomacy this known as dabka, a free-for-all where anyone can cern are the plight of foreigners law continues to allow suspects ployees, especially Koreans, re- week, Belarus’ opposition has been urging Western join in on whim without the need for partners. in immigration detention camps, to be detained for up to 23 days spectfully. governments to stay focused on Minsk — not Moscow If you wondered, as many did, what on earth the Japanese attitude to foreign prior to prosecution without the Between 1948 and 1996, Japan, — in their response, insisting that Lukashenko should these Palestinians were celebrating anyhow, then immigration and the overall hu- possibility of release on bail. It which struggled to rebuild itself not be seen as Putin’s puppet. “Lukashenko doesn’t you missed the point anthropologists, not to men- man rights situation in that coun- prohibits lawyers from being after World War ll, had in place listen to anyone,” Viacorka said, rejecting the idea tion therapists, have made in their studies about try. All three areas need urgent present during interrogations. the obnoxious Eugenics Protec- that the ruler must have sought the Kremlin’s permis- how communal celebrations often act as a form attention and reform if Japan, Japan’s rape law requires pros- tion Law (EPL) which sought to sion before forcing down the Ryanair plane. “He’s an of sublimation in the collective psyche of a people known to be a modern democ- ecutors prove violence or intimi- prevent people with physical and absolutely unpredictable, rather impulsive person.” bruised by trauma. But what Palestinians were do- racy, is not to be bracketed with dation was involved, or that the cognitive disabilities from being Belarus is a country of just 9.5 million people the ing in these celebrations last week, albeit uncon- human rights violating countries. victim was “incapable of resist- able to have children. The steri- size of Michigan, but for Putin, it is both a critical ally sciously, was to share a moment of group ecstasy Sandamali, who had over- ance”. A major problem in Japan lization law also targeted lepers and an enormous headache. In Putin’s worldview of with fellow-Palestinians — all in the wake of a war stayed her student visa wanting is that immigration rule violators and those with mental illness. a Russia threatened by an expanding and aggressive where everyone had partaken of the suffering in to work in Japan, was detained do not want to be deported. They Human rights organizations NATO, Belarus is the last remaining friendly buffer equal measure and where now the stratified social in a camp for illegal immigrants demand asylum, which Japan is believe at least 25,000 people, state between his country and the West. Lukashenko, fabric of the strip was made to melt away and re- in Nagoya in August 2020.While totally against giving, which leads 16,500 of who did not give their recognizing his special role, for years took advantage weave itself into an egalitarian whole. she was fighting her case for re- to detention with harsh condi- consent, were sterilized in the 48 of it by playing Russia and the West off against each To be sure, not just Gazans but Palestinians lease, she complained of sick- tions, perhaps meant to persuade years the law was in existence. other — demanding cheap oil and gas from Russia everywhere had ample reason to celebrate: The ness, which became progres- the inmates to agree to depor- The law was finally revoked in even as he started building closer ties with the Euro- Gaza war had dramatically shifted perceptions of sively worse. She was vomiting tation. But about 40% of them 1996. pean Union and the United States. the Palestinian cause in the Western world. Never whatever she ate and was rapidly are persons who had committed In 2015, the Shinzo Abe gov- Then came the uprising against Lukashenko last again would its seminal truths be seen as negotia- losing weight and even the ability crimes and fear going back. ernment refused to admit refu- summer, when demonstrations that began over ble. to move in her bed. But the au- According to Prof. Hiroko Aki- gees affected by conflicts in the the ruler’s blatantly fraudulent claim of re-election In the US, a big power complicit from day one in thorities declared her a psychiat- zuki of the Asia University, this Middle East and Africa, favouring swelled into the hundreds of thousands in anger perpetuating the misery of the Palestinians, poll- ric case or as one feigning illness cannot be an excuse to keep peo- instead short-term working visas over police violence against protesters. The Kremlin ing now suggests that growing sympathy for the to secure release. ple in detention under inhuman for migrant workers to “work and initially vacillated, then threw its support behind Lu- Palestinian cause among Democratic lawmakers is When Japanese human rights conditions, who also notes that raise incomes for a limited period kashenko, even offering to send security forces. matched by a similar shift in public opinion, which bodies took up her case, they length of detention and condi- of time, and then return home”. Russian officials appeared to be similarly caught off has come to see the call by Palestinians for justice were blithely told that nothing tions at the facilities have been In 2018, the Justice Ministry guard by events Sunday, when Lukashenko scrambled as being organically linked the Black Lives Matter was wrong with her. She died on criticized internationally, calling received 10,493 applications for a fighter jet and directed a Ryanair passenger plane movement, which has grown over the last six years March 6, alone in her tiny cell. for improvement in regard to hu- refugee status, largely by people flying between two EU capitals to land in Minsk be- into a potent political force whose activists last Reports quoting Sandamali’s man rights. from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Cam- cause of a purported bomb threat. Belarusian security week responded forcefully in support of Gazans two sisters, who travelled to Ja- Japanese are believed to have bodia. But the ministry recog- forces then arrested a dissident journalist on board, during the war. And on Capitol Hill, a faction of pan for her funeral, said the au- an atavistic fear of being over- nized only 42 people as refugees, Roman Protasevich — who had been on a Belarusian the Democratic Party, made up of high-profile thorities had refused to release whelmed or swamped by foreign- while another 40 were classified list of ‘terrorists’ because he co-founded a social me- progressives like Bernie Sanders and members of video footage of Sandamali in ers. Hence the harsh treatment of as needing humanitarian as- dia outlet that galvanized and organized last year’s the Squad, have not been coy about how they ex- the detention centre prior to her illegal immigrants or over stay- sistance, allowing them to stay protests. On Monday (24), the Kremlin’s spokesper- pressed their support for Palestinian rights. death, prompting many to chal- ers. Historically, the Japanese in Japan. In 2019, authorities son, Dmitri Peskov, told journalists in his regular dai- Equally not coy about expressing her views on lenge the country’s opaque de- have resisted foreign incursions granted asylum to less than 1% of ly briefing that he could not comment on the Ryanair the matter has been Detroit-born House Rep. tention practices. Many prisoners of any kind and the fear is re- applicants. incident. “It is up to the international authorities to Rashida Tlaib, the oldest of 14 children of Pales- in Japan are put in solitary con- flected in the very restrictive im- In contrast to its Western al- assess the case,” he said. It took another 24 hours for tinian immigrant parents, and the first Palestinian finement in a small dark room, migration laws existing now. lies, Japan has not been in the the Kremlin to formulate its final message; Belarus’ American elected to serve in the US Congress. with one electric light, with its Between 1640 and 1853, Ja- international human rights actions were “in line with international regulations,” Her views on the Palestine Question, includ- switch located outside the cell. pan followed the Sakoku (closed movement. Amnesty Interna- Peskov said Tuesday (25). ing her call for a one-state solution, are now de Punishments for even minor in- country) or isolationist foreign tional and HRW have noted that By Wednesday (26), Lukashenko was appealing rigueur in the mainstream media — so de rigueur, fringements are harsh, one of policy because it wanted to pro- Japan has abstained from almost for Russia’s sympathy. Repeating his frequent de- in fact, that after she stood face-to-face with the which is to stare motionless at a tect itself from Portuguese, Span- all Myanmar-related resolutions scriptions of the domestic uprising against him as a president of the United States on an airport tar- given point for a time period set ish, Dutch and British Christian at UN forums, including those Western plot, Lukashenko claimed that the real aim mac last week and, for eight minutes, engaged him by the warder. missionaries who were using related to atrocities against the was to lay the groundwork for a revolution inside Rus- in an animated conversation about the Gaza war, As the Human Rights Watch class differences in Japanese so- Rohingya Muslims. sia. The result, he warned in a speech to Parliament, The Washington Post titled the front-page news (HRW) report for 2020 pointed ciety to stir revolts against the could be “a new world war”. “We are a training ground story, “After Biden talk, Tlaib’s viewpoint gains out, Japan has no law prohibit- native rulers. Relations and for them, a venue for experiments before their push relevance”. The reason the Palestinian cause — ing racial, ethnic or religious dis- trade between Japan and other to the east,” Lukashenko said. “Having tested their which has outlasted a full century of attempts to crimination, or discrimination countries were severely limited. methods over here, they will head over there.” Euro- make it seem like a mere passing instant in histo- based on sexual orientation or Nearly all foreign nationals were pean airlines cancelled flights to Minsk this week, as ry’s purpose — remains relevant today is because gender identity. Japan also has barred from entering Japan. directed by EU leaders who voiced outrage over what it has the-will-to-meaning encoded in its genes. no national human rights institu- But after Japan opened up in they called Lukashenko’s “hijacking”. But speaking in -Gulf News tions. the 1860s, Korean workers were a marble-panelled hall of the Minsk House of Govern- ment, Lukashenko was defiant, claiming that a bomb Editorial of The Hindu threat against the plane had arrived from Switzerland. “Don’t you cast blame on me!” Lukashenko thun- dered, jabbing his finger into the air. “I acted legally Naturally, selection defending my people, and it will also be thus in the future.” In Moscow, Lukashenko is widely seen as a On vaccinating the vulnerable in 18+ group frustrating and fickle partner. Despite his reliance on the Kremlin, for instance, he still has not recognized When supply is finite, it is a no- tions and infections; a study in Tamil 18-plus age group, it will be prudent in this entire pandemic, must draw as valid the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which brainer that a burgeoning demand Nadu showed that the percentage of to draw up a priority list even in the up a list of priority categories that many Russians see as Putin’s crowning foreign policy will not be met. Tailoring supply for people over 60 years infected in the 18-44 age category, as Kerala, Kar- each State can then adapt to its local achievement. “It’s a pretty serious mistake to think optimal effect would then be the pru- second wave had come down by 7%, nataka and Tamil Nadu have done, requirements. that Moscow can snap its fingers to solve its problems dent way ahead, a strategy that the even as the numbers in other age for instance. While Kerala seeks to While lockdowns, in force in most in Minsk,” said Pavel Slunkin, a former Belarusian Centre would do well to employ in groups rose. This age segment was prioritise those with co-morbidities, States, will slow down the pace of diplomat who resigned last year in protest against Lu- its COVID-19 vaccination program. among the early priority groups for disabilities and 43 categories of field transmission and give health-care kashenko’s policies. “Lukashenko will try to avoid fur- Though the ideal, distant at this vaccination. staff of various departments, Kar- resources a much-needed break, ther dependence on Moscow in every possible way.” stage, is to achieve vaccination of the With the government opening up nataka has included 18 categories the way ahead is certainly vaccina- After Russia propped up Lukashenko in his hour of entire population or enough to create vaccinations for all adults, it is im- of people in its priority list for the tion — and prioritised vaccination. need last summer, long-sought benefits were expect- herd immunity, supply considera- perative that some line list of priority 18-plus age group — including bank Once vaccine supply picks up, a more ed to accrue to the Kremlin. Lukashenko could have tions will necessarily mean prioriti- be readied, on the basis of vulner- workers, forest department staff and expansive first-come, first-served signed an agreement for a Russian military base in zation of groups for vaccination. ability and societal role. construction workers. basis, as in the private sector now, Belarus or allowed Russian investment into major Be- While the vaccines have been Primary among them are peo- Tamil Nadu has determined a can be adopted. Until then, it is the larusian enterprises on favourable terms. But despite shown to be effective in prevent- ple in the services sector — those broad list of categories including government’s bounden duty to en- three face-to-face meetings between Lukashenko and ing death or severe disease by and whose jobs mandate interactions the disabled, vendors, e-commerce sure an equitable coverage among Putin since last September — a fourth is expected in large, the vaccine’s effect on inter- with multiple people. This would in- staff, pharmacy and grocery store vulnerable groups of people who are the coming days — none of that materialized. rupting or reducing transmission is clude those in banks, delivery agents, staff, those in the transportation sec- most at risk, and carry a higher risk “You’d think: The regime was saved, and he should also an important consideration in transportation staff, store workers, tor, and school and college teachers, of transmission, because of the sheer have paid,” Kortunov said of Lukashenko. “But we’re deployment. Studies have shown an vendors, lawyers and journalists. As besides media persons. The Centre, number of people they interact with not seeing that.” inverse correlation between vaccina- States begin free vaccinations for the which has assumed a sutradhar’s role daily. -New York Times WEEKEND EXPRESS MAY 28 - 30, 2021 9 LITERARY LIVES

William Gerhardie -1895 – 1977 By Jennifer Schuessler A lost Brontë library Finding fame in obscurity surfaces Brontë artifacts have a way of making dramatic reap- pearances. Sir Christopher Ondaatje revisits the life and work of the Anglo-Russian novelist once described as In 2011, a miniature book created by 14-year-old Charlotte Brontë prompted a bidding war that climbed a genius by George Bernard Shaw and Evelyn Waugh and yet mostly forgotten by the larger public, past $1 million. In 2016, the Brontë Parsonage Museum until now announced that it tracked down a book filled with doo- dles and inscriptions by the Brontë children (including an unknown poem by Charlotte) that had once survived a shipwreck. And now, a trove of Brontë family manuscripts — all but unseen for a century — will be auctioned by So- theby’s as part of what the auction house is billing as the sale of a legendary ‘lost library’ of British literature treasures. The Honresfield Library, a private collection assem- bled by two Victorian industrialists that vanished from public view in the 1930s, contains more than 500 man- uscripts, letters, rare first editions and other artefacts from a number of canonical authors, including the man- uscripts of Walter Scott’s ‘Rob Roy’ and Robert Burns’ ‘First Commonplace Book’. But it is the Brontë material — based on hoopla sur- rounding past Brontë auctions, and the estimates for this one — that is likely to cause the biggest stir. High- lights, which will be exhibited at Sotheby’s in New York from June 5-9, include a handwritten manuscript of Emily Brontë’s poems, with pencil edits by Charlotte. It carries an estimate of $1.3 million to $1.8 million. The trove also includes family letters, inscribed first editions and other relics that offer a glimpse into life in the Brontë household, like the family’s heavily anno- tated copy of Bewick’s ‘History of British Birds’ (which features in the opening scenes of ‘Jane Eyre’). Illustration by Joe Ciardiello Gabriel Heaton, Sotheby’s specialist in English lit- Gerhardie, pronounced jer (as Ger in Gerald) erature and historical manuscripts, called the Honres- hardy, with the accent on the a: jer-har’dy, in field Library the finest he had seen in 20 years, and the caricature Brontë cache the most important to come to light in a generation. “The lives of these sisters is just extraordinary,” he said during a video interview, before offering a first peek at the materials. Looking at the manuscripts “takes you right back to the incredible moment where you had these siblings scribbling away in the parsonage.” Claire Harman, the author of ‘Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart’, said she had been “hyperventilating” since she got wind of the auction, which will be held online in July, after additional previews in London and Edin- burgh, Scotland. “It’s just absolutely gobsmacking,” she said. “Schol- ars and readers have known these things exist, but you forget when they are in private hands. It’s like Sleeping Beauty — there but not there.” The Honresfield Library took shape not far from the parsonage at the edge of the West Yorkshire moors, where Charlotte, Emily, Anne and their brother, Bran- well (born between 1816 and 1820), grew up creating elaborate shared imaginary worlds. It was assembled - jamespetersnell.wordpress.com starting in the 1890s by Alfred and William Law, two self-made mill owners who had grown up less than 20 William Gerhardie miles from the Brontë home in Haworth (which is now the Brontë Parsonage Museum). The Laws’ collection, held in the library at their home, Honresfield House, included what Heaton called “grand “If a book is worth reading at all, it is worth His second novel The Polyglots (1925), also country-house books” like a Shakespeare First Folio reading more than once. Suspense is the lowest about Russia, is considered to be his masterpiece. (long since sold off). But the brothers, less typically, of exitants, designed to take your breath away (A polyglot is a person who knows and is able to were also keen collectors of manuscripts, acquiring the when the brain and heart crave to linger in no- use several languages.) Graham Greene, Edith Brontë cache from a dealer who had bought them di- bler enjoyment. Suspense drags you on; appre- Wharton, H.G. Wells and Evelyn Waugh champi- rectly from Charlotte’s widower. ciation causes you to linger.” oned his work. After the deaths of the brothers (who never married), -William Gerhardie the collection passed to a nephew, who granted access “I have talent, but you have genius.” to select scholars, and had facsimiles made of some William Alexander Gerhardi (he added the ‘e’ -Evelyn Waugh items. But after his death in 1939, the originals fell out in later years) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, entered a bleak period of poverty-stricken obliv- of public view. on November 21, 1895 – the fifth of six children According to William Boyd, the novelist, it may ion, but lived to see two of his “collected works” By the 1940s, the collection had become “well-nigh of Charles Alfred Gerhardi, a British expatriate have been the most influential novel of the twen- published by Macdonald in 1947–1949. They untraceable,” as one scholar put it at the time. In recent industrialist, and his wife Clara Annie. He was tieth century. It tells the unforgettable tale of an were revised in 1970-1974 with introductions by decades, some artefacts from the collection, like Char- educated at the Sankt Annenschule and Reformi- eccentric Belgian family living in the Far East dur- Michael Holroyd (the author of Lytton Strachey, lotte’s writing desk (now at the Brontë Parsonage Mu- erte Schule in St. Petersburg, before finishing his ing the turbulent years after the First World War, 1967-1968 and Augustus John, 1974-1975) who seum), have come up for auction. But the whereabouts schooling at Worcester College, Oxford in Eng- which displaced them, and the Russian Revolu- continued to champion Gerhardie’s work. A study of the rest remained unclear. land. tion, which impoverished them. of world history between 1890 and 1940 – God’s “When I was first approached about this material, Fifth Column – was discovered in his papers and I thought, ‘Hang on — maybe it’s that collection?’ ” “There are as many fools at a university as “Recounted by a conceited young English cous- published posthumously in 1981. Heaton recalled. “To then go actually see it was quite anywhere? But their folly, I admit, has a cer- in who visits during a military mission, the story a thrill.” tain stamp of university training, if you like. It is is filled with a host of fascinatingly idiosyncratic “But to dwell prematurely on the sadness of Material from Emily Brontë’s hand is particularly trained folly.” characters – depressives, obsessives, sex mani- one’s death to others ... is like asking for money in rare. There is no manuscript for ‘Wuthering Heights’, -William Gerhardie acs, and hypochondriacs – often forced to choose advance. It’s commercially unsound.” which was published in 1847, the year before her death between absurdity and tragedy. Yet Gerhardie -William Gerhardie from tuberculosis. Only two letters by her are known to After enlisting in the Royal Scots Greys in the depicts them as both charming and poignant, as survive, Heaton said. First World War in 1915, he was commissioned they each struggle for love and safety in tumultu- For the last thirty-seven years of his life Ger- The material to be sold at Sotheby’s includes some the following year and posted to the staff of the ous times ... and the protagonist finds his conceit hardie lived in almost total seclusion in the West of the “diary notes” Emily and Anne wrote for each British Military Attaché at Petrograd (as St. Pe- shredded as he falls head over heels in love with End of London. He died in the Middlesex Hospital other on their birthdays. (One from Emily, in 1841, in- tersburg was renamed) until 1918. He saw the de- one of them.” on July 15, 1977 aged eighty-one. According to his structs that Anne should read it later, when she turns velopment of the 1917 Revolution in Russia which -Michael Holroyd wishes his body was cremated and his ashes scat- 25.) There are also letters from 1840 by the least known bankrupted his father, causing him to flee to exile tered in Regent’s Park in front of a gathering of Brontë, Branwell, including one to Hartley Coleridge, in England by impersonating the dead British so- Gerhardie’s portraits of Europeans in exile, several admiring writers. the son of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which contain cop- cialist Keir Hardie. attempting to escape from the era’s upheavals, ies of his verses and describe his (never-fulfilled) liter- draws on his own experiences of an officer in the “We are like icebergs in the ocean: one-eighth ary ambition. Gerhardie was attached to the 3rd Battalion of British Mission. He has summoned up a world part consciousness and the rest submerged be- But the marquee item is the manuscript of 31 po- the Scots Guards during the Allied interventions adrift, where war and revolution have broken up neath the surface of articulate apprehension.” ems in Emily’s hand, dated February 1844. It not only in the Russian Civil War and served on the British the old order, but nothing has come to replace it. -William Gerhardie preserves her verse as she wrote it, Harman said, but Military Mission to the White Russian forces in And he does it with unforgettable humour and a played a crucial role in spurring the literary careers of Siberia. Attaining the rank of Captain, he was de- sharp eye for the absurd. Before he died Gerhardie was asked by the Lit- all three sisters. mobilized in 1920 and appointed an Officer of the erary Digest the correct way to say his name. He Emily had written her poems in secret, with no inten- Order of the British Empire (OBE), and awarded “To my generation Gerhardie was the most im- replied, “Pronounced jer (as Ger in Gerald) hardy, tion for publication. But in 1845, the story goes, Char- both the Imperial Russian Order of St. Stanislaus, portant new novelist to appear in our young life.” with the accent on the a: jer-har’dy. This is the lotte stumbled upon them by chance, and found them and the Czechoslovak War Cross. -Graham Greene way I and my relatives pronounce it, though I am extraordinary. (“Never was better stuff penned,” reads a told it is incorrect. Philologists are of the opinion pencilled notation, possibly by Charlotte, at the bottom Gerhardie’s first novel Futility (1922) was writ- Gerhardie collaborated with Hugh Kingsmill on that it should be pronounced with the g as in Ger- of the manuscript.) Emily, while initially angry, agreed ten while he was at Worcester College, Oxford, the biography The Casanova Fable – a friendship trude. I believe they are right. I, however, cling to to include them in a self-funded volume of poetry by the and recounted his experiences attempting to fight which was a source of conflict over women and in- the family habit of mispronouncing it. But I do so three sisters, who used the pseudonyms Currer, Ellis the Bolsheviks in Russia, and also his pre-revolu- tellectual stimulus. A third novel Doom was pub- without obstinacy. If the world made it worth my and Acton Bell. tionary childhood experiences in Russia. He was lished in 1928. It also dealt with Russia. while I would sit with the multitude.” That volume, published in 1846, sold just two copies. influenced by the tragi-comic style of Anton Chek- But it prompted the sisters to begin work on their nov- hov. He wrote a study of the Russian author and In the Second World War Gerhardie served in els, which became a sensation, setting off intense specu- playwright while at college. the Officers Emergency Reserve, and worked for lation about the true authors behind the pseudonyms the British Broadcasting Corporation from 1942 — and the broader Brontë-mania that continues today. “No fiction is good fiction unless it is true to life, to 1945 in its European Division. He was the first “If this manuscript is the one Charlotte looked at sur- and yet no life is worth relating unless it be a life editor of the ‘English by Radio’ language program. reptitiously, it was a witness to that very tense scene out of the ordinary, and then it seems improbable between the sisters as well as a literary relic,” Harman like fiction.” After the Second World War Gerhardie became said. The Brontë literary story “only happened because -William Gerhardie unfashionable and less important. He continued of getting the show on the road with those poems.” Futility (1922) to write but nothing was published after 1939. He -New York Times 10 MAY 28 - 30, 2021 WEEKEND EXPRESS SPORTS

COUNTER PUNCH Cricket By Andrew Fidel Fernando By The Line Judge Mickey Arthur says Messiahs seek office to resurrect football Door not closed on Sri Lanka seniors Dr. Manil Fernando and Jaswar Umar in battle to grab power in Football Sri Lanka The lack of experience in the top order may have played a role in The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) elections may have fiz- ciency to clean up the mess. Election of office-bearers Indeed, there are political connotations in this con- Sri Lanka’s poor batting perfor- zled out into a no-contest after the opposing camp to national sports association is a democratic right of test with members of the Parliament watchdog COPE mances in Bangladesh. And the pulled out, but another high-stakes battle for power is the affiliates, but who are the contenders trying to fool (Committee on Public Enterprise) criticizing a deci- door’s not closed on the seniors panning out in football which ironically has generally by engaging in a game of musical chairs or projecting sion by the FSL to dole out nearly Rs 2 million as al- who were left out of this series. been considered a poor man’s sport. It is expected to themselves as Messiahs for this great game of football lowances for the three member-election committee These are the conclusions Sri come to a head on June 1 when the Football Federa- which has a rich tradition in Sri Lanka? last month. Lanka’s coaches have come to tion of Sri Lanka (FFSL), which has rebranded itself as There was a time in the FFSL when every key office- Responding to questions from COPE Chairman, after a dispiriting series loss Football Sri Lanka (FSL), conducts its annual general bearer would be given the honour of heading the fed- Prof. Charitha Herath, FSL general secretary Jaswar against Bangladesh (their first meeting to elect office-bearers for the next four years. eration. Ranjith Rodrigo who served as Treasurer was Umar said it was decided to pay Rs 750,000 allow- ever), in which a relatively green The two main contenders are the incumbent general elevated to the position of president before losing his ance to the Chairman of the election committee and Rs top order collapsed twice in pur- secretary Jaswar Umar and Dr. Manil Fernando, who bid to be re-elected four years ago. Now he is planning 600,000 each to the remaining two members. suit of testing totals. heads the FSL’s Medical Commission. The incumbent to return as a vice-president, withdrawing his nomina- The payments are huge compared to the allowance Sri Lanka had left out the likes FSL president Anura de Silva is not seeking re-election tion to be president after aligning with Umar’s camp. of Rs 25,000 each given to the previous election com- of Angelo Mathews for this se- but has aligned with Dr. Fernando and is coming for- FSL president Anura de Silva is making a mockery of mittee. It was revealed that the proposal to pay such a ries, and for batting coach Grant ward as general secretary, which is expected to be con- the footballing community by vying for the secretary’s hefty sum was put forward by FSL president Anura de Flower, having batsmen with verted to an executive position in a revamped constitu- position by going against his own general secretary Silva who was not present at the meeting. experience in situations such as tion in line with world football governing body FIFA with whom he had worked with for the past four years. “Personally, I opposed this and there were others facing good spin bowling after regulations. The divisions within the FSL have come out in the who shared the same view that public money should early wickets had fallen, could Both aspirants for the presidency of FSL have car- open since elections are round the corner. No wonder not be paid like that. have led to better results. The ab- ried out slick campaigns on social media before meet- Sri Lanka’s football has been on the decline with of- But the president had the support of the majority sence of seniors has been made ing the Press to make a final pitch to impress upon the ficials engaged in a tug-o-war to serve their selfish in- and our voices weren’t heard,” said Umar whose rival particularly stark by the excel- football community that they are worthy contenders. terests despite being part of a team which has been en- Dr. Fernando has to carry the baggage of being the lent innings produced by Bangla- Dr. Fernando’s campaign is titled ‘Football 1st, trusted to develop the sport. What else can one deduce son of Manilal Fernando, a former FFSL supremo who desh’s most-experienced players Let’s Play’ while Umar wants to ‘Restart Football’. At from the state of football administration in the country is serving a life ban from the sport imposed by FIFA - Mushfiqur Rahim in particular, a time when Sri Lanka football is languishing at the when two of the key office-bearers instead of uniting since 2013. who has hit 84 and 125 so far in bottom in the FIFA world rankings being 204 out of and presenting a common successor, are fighting each Dr. Fernando, an Orthopaedic Surgeon and a quali- the series, to win both Player-of- 206 countries playing this universal game, both have other in a bid to grab power. fied practitioner on Sport Injury, said he is on a mis- the-Match awards. unveiled almost similar objectives in principle though Both Dr. Fernando and Umar claimed confidently sion to find a suitable cure to the ailments of Sri Lanka “[The lack of experienced bats- their methods might differ to resurrect football from that they were assured of victory. Despite their cyni- football. “I gave my consent to contest the FFSL presi- men] looks like it’s had quite a the doldrums. cal claims that they are in it to lift the standard of the dency because the status of Sri Lanka’s football has big impact at this stage,” Flower It is a common refrain of those seeking office, not sport, their intentions are plain and simple – it is a slumped at the international level,” he said. said on the eve of the third ODI. only in football but other sports bodies, their only ob- hunger for power by wooing the 64 leagues that are A former Royal College football star and AFC (Asian “The young guys who were se- jective is to serve the sport they love in an honorary eligible to vote. Football Confederation) Match Commissioner, Jaswar lected are good players, but are capacity and make Sri Lanka shine in the international Dr. Fernando says he has the support of 43 leagues Umar, is the brain behind Sri Lanka’s first ever semi- lacking a lot of experience. When arena. But despite coming out with grandiose visions while Umar was more specific saying he would get 115 professional Super League. His realistic goal is to make you look at Mushfiqur’s experi- for the development of the sport, officials get mired in out of the 186 votes and win the election by a clear ma- Sri Lanka a proud nation of football in South Asia. It ence or Tamim Iqbal - they’ve corruption and the sport remains stagnant. It is like a jority. So who are we to believe in what has turned out begs the question why he could not garner the support played a hell of a lot of cricket.” cancer that affects most national sports bodies though to be an electoral battle for power as they campaign of his rivals instead of going on a head-on collision to Flower’s comments chime with officials will trot out umpteen excuses for their failures like politicians to win the hearts and minds of the foot- make Sri Lanka football great again. those made by head coach Mick- and blame the circumstances rather than their ineffi- ball community? -ENCL ey Arthur earlier in the day, who had emphasized that although senior players had been left out Cricket for this series, they are not to- By Mohammad Isam tally out of selection contention. (Arthur, to be fair, had said simi- lar things about Mathews even Sri Lanka search for answers as Bangladesh eye before the series loss.) “The door’s not closed for any- clean sweep body - certainly not,” said Ar- DHAKA - Although they are 2-0 up and Lakshan Sandakan have been among the thur. “We’ve started on a journey have sealed the series, Bangladesh will wickets, while Hasaranga has bowled some with what we think is a team that not allow themselves to relax in the third accurate legspin too. Sri Lanka have had will play in 2023, but the door’s ODI against Sri Lanka in Dhaka on Friday Bangladesh on the ropes a few times, but the no closed on anybody. Certainly (28). The home team has just got out of a home side has fought back from situations some senior players can come ten-match winless streak and there remain like 99 for 4 in the first ODI, and 15 for 2, 74 at any given time depending on many areas to still get right, with bigger for 4, and 184 for 7 in the second to eventu- performances. We’re trying to challenges coming up later in the year. The ally post match-winning totals. create depth within our side, so same, if not more, applies for Sri Lanka. It This is where the experienced Tamim everybody puts pressure on each has so far been a tough few days for the visi- Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah other.” tors who, after enduring a COVID-19 scare, have made the difference between the two Flower commented on went down in both ODIs quite easily. teams. Whenever they have faced trouble, Mathews specifically, whose

Sri Lanka's biggest headache on this tour one of the three has stood up with the bat. -Munir Uz zaman / AFP omission always seemed the has been the lack of runs from their recog- While Rahim has made 209 runs in the two Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella takes a catch during a prac- harshest, from among the sen- nized batters. Wanindu Hasaranga is their matches, equally important have been his tice session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on ior lot. Not only was Mathews by highest run-getter with 80 runs, including partnerships of 109 and 87 with Mahmudul- Thursday (27), ahead of their third and final one-day international (ODI) far the most experienced player a half-century in the first game. But those lah from difficult positions. cricket match against Bangladesh on Friday (28) in Sri Lanka’s ODI player pool, runs were made from No. 8, with Sri Lan- The lack of runs from the likes of Liton with 218 appearances, he’d also ka's top seven yet to register a half-century Das and Afif Hossain could be a worry averaged 52.57 with the bat in across both matches. though. Mohammad Mithun and Mosad- Tennis the four years between 2016 and But as much as there has been criticism of dek Hossain have got a match each, but on 2019, though with a strike rate of their selection policy to drop some of their the whole, there has been an over-reliance ‘No-one is invincible’, Rafael Nadal tells 79.61. “Someone like Ange could experienced players from the squad, the on the senior batters, who may not always come off and he is still a fine likes of Kusal Perera, Danushka Gunathila- manage to score at a higher rate in every AFP ahead of French Open player,” Flower said. “His record ka, Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva phase of the innings. suggests that just recently in the have been around for long enough to carry Bangladesh's bowling, though, has really PARIS - Rafael Nadal said "no-one cent win over world number one contractual period, he’s done ok. a batting line-up. Pathum Nissanka, Ashen come forth in difficult times. Mehidy Hasan is invincible" in an interview with Novak Djokovic in the Rome Mas- But over time, the selectors and Bandara and Dasun Shanaka are relatively Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman have been AFP Thursday (27) as he targets a ters final. director of cricket thought it was new, but they all possess the ability to play great support acts to Shakib Al Hasan, while 14th French Open title and record- Of Nadal's 88 career titles, 62 time to blood some new people. spin. youngster Shoriful Islam didn't look out of setting 21st Grand Slam crown. have come on clay. Whether or not they change their What should have heartened the team place either on his ODI debut in the last "No-one is invincible, anywhere," He has won at least 10 times each minds and ask Ange to come must be their bowling and fielding in these game. said Nadal whose career record at at Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, back, I’m not sure.” two matches. Dushmantha Chameera and - espncricinfo.com Roland Garros stands at 100 victo- Rome and Barcelona. As far as the third ODI goes, ries against just two losses since his Between 2005 and 2007, he went Flower said he wanted batsmen title-winning Paris debut in 2005. on an 81-win streak on clay. to play more aggressively than Football "This year I lost (early) in Monte In his great rivalry with Djokovic, they had in the previous two Carlo and Madrid. I hope not to which stands at 29-28 in the Serb's games. In both chases so far, Sri Zidane quits as Real Madrid boss for second time lose here at Roland Garros. What I favour, Nadal holds the upper hand Lanka had stuttered in the early BERLIN - Zinedine Zidane has decided to drid to La Liga title in 2020. In 113 games, can do is fight." on clay. overs and allowed the required leave his position as coach of Real Madrid, he had 67 wins, 25 draws and 20 defeats. Victory in the final in Paris on He has a 19-7 record on the sur- rate to climb rapidly past a run- the Spanish club said Thursday (27) in con- This season, however, Zidane and Madrid June 13 will take Nadal past the face against the world number one a-ball early in the middle overs. firming weeks of speculation surrounding finished without a trophy, which meant Real record of 20 majors he currently and is 9-4 in finals. They were chasing 258 and 247. his future. didn't win a title for the first time in 11 years. shares with Roger Federer. Three of those championship “Definitely take more calculat- "We must now respect his decision and They were second in La Liga, two points Despite his remarkable history in match wins came at Roland Garros ed risks and play the way they do express our gratitude for his professional- behind champions and city rivals Altetico Paris, Nadal, who turns 35 on June in 2012, 2014 and 2020. in the nets - that’s what you work ism, dedication and passion over the years Madrid. In the Champions League, Zidane 3, admits he remains stunned at his However, he will still be wary of on. Good bowlers at this level are and what he means to Real Madrid," the and his side were knocked out by Chelsea in longevity in a sport where he has Djokovic, the 2016 champion in going to keep landing it on the club said in a statement. the semi-finals after they already had been been an ever-present in the world Paris. spot. But you have to be proac- The French coach had a contract until eliminated of the Spanish Cup by third divi- top 10 since 2005. The Serb handed Nadal one of tive and move your feet, or play June 2022, but had reportedly already told sion side Alcoyano in the third round. When asked if he could have im- his two losses at the French Open, the odd sweep, or get deep in the Real Madrid players earlier in May he would The Spanish giants are yet to announce a agined still playing at 35, he said: in 2015, six years after Robin crease. Mushfiqur, for example, leave at the end of the 2020-21 season. "Zi- new coach. Massimiliano Allegri was point- "Ten years ago, no. But if you had Soderling had been the first man to is not a big hitter but he manipu- dane is one of Real Madrid’s great icons ed out as a top favourite, but he will report- asked me the question two years achieve the feat. lates the ball brilliantly. The boys and his legacy extends beyond what he has edly return to Juventus, where he won five ago, maybe I would have answered "Roland Garros is a very special have got a great example playing achieved as a coach and player at our club," consecutive Italian league titles. yes. place for me," said Nadal. against them.” Real said. "He is aware that he has a place in Antonio Conte is reportedly also a target "Ten years ago, I had so many "Favourite or not, that is not the Offspinner Mehidy Hasan Mi- the hearts of the Real Madrid fans and that after he left Italian champions Inter Milan physical problems that it was dif- question. What matters is to play raz has been Sri Lanka’s prime he will always have a home at Real Madrid." on Wednesday, while former club striker ficult for me to imagine that my ca- well, and the one who plays the destroyer, taking seven wickets In his first spell at the club from January Raul Gonzalez has been linked with the post. reer would last so long," added the best will be whoever has the most in the two matches so far. 2016 to May 2018, Zidane secured three Raul is currently the coach of Real Cas- Spaniard whose career has been chances of winning the tourna- “Mehidy’s just got to No. 2 in consecutive Champions League titles and tilla, Madrid's team B, a post also held by plagued by a series of knee injuries. ment. the rankings, so he’s a very good won the Spanish league once. His second Zidane before he was first promoted to the Nadal will start this year's French "My goal is to be the one who offspinner. I think we’ve played term was not as successful as the first, but top job. Open as the overwhelming favour- plays the best." him with too much respect.” after his return in March 2019, he led Ma- -dpa ite once again, boosted by his re- -AFP -espncricinfo.com PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS (CEY) PVT, LTD. NO - 267, RAJA MAWATHA, EKALA - JA - ELA