LLRC report: Nimal told to keep silent

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, a member of the Sri Lanka delegation to the UN Human Rights Council ( UNHRC) and the government's negotiator with the Tamil National Alliance ( TNA) was literally told to shut up last week.

The instructions came from the top echelons of the UPFA leadership after he made some remarks of the final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission ( LLRC) to a Sunday newspaper.

The Minister, who is also the Leader of the House, said the Government had not yet taken a decision to implement the recommendations of the LLRC. He added that according to some experts, the LLRC had gone beyond its mandate.

De Silva's remarks are not surprising. He is not alone. Like the five blind men who described an elephant, various Ministers have been giving their expert opinions on the LLRC.

De Silva told the Sunday Times, "I will not make any more comments to the media. I will only make them at the UN Human Rights Council."

One can only hope he will not say the Government would not implement the LLRC recommendations. After all, his colleague, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe has already declared that they were being implemented.

The Sri Lanka booth at the New York Times-sponsored travel show at the Javits Centre in New York City last week was the centre of attraction for one reason: a life-sized elephant on display outside the booth.

Made out of fibre, it was flown all the way from Colombo to New York in one piece. The elephant was so striking and realistic that the only thing missing was a sign reminiscent of a zoo: please do not feed the animal.

Also on stage was the Channa-upuli dance troupe who turned out several performances during the two day event which attracted thousands of New Yorkers. Sri Lanka's participation in the event was meant to be a boost for tourism, and was the brainchild of Dillan Ariyawansa who wears two hats: promoting both tourism and Sri Lankan Airlines in New York.