Mr. Speaker, the May 20 edition of the Tamil Guardian newspaper carried a report about the now famous new year dinner. It states that the presence of the finance minister and the international co-operation minister “has sent shivers down the spine of the ruling circles in Colombo”. It also states that the Sri Lankan High Commissioner has expressed shock and disbelief at the attendance of the ministers.
I would like to ask the Minister of Foreign Affairs how he is explaining away this mess to the Sri Lankan High Commissioner and whether or not he has asked the Minister of Finance to stay away from any more FACT events.