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Lanka's
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Lanka's stand on India nuke tests United States Ambassador in Colombo Shaun Edward Donnelly will seek a meeting with Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in view of Sri Lanka’s controversial stand on Indian nuclear tests diplomatic sources said yesterday. The US embassy is to request a meeting with Mr. Kadirgamar after he returns from Cartegena, Columbia where he is leading a top level delegation to a two day Ministerial level meeting of the Non Aligned Movement [NAM]. The Cartegena meeting commences today. The Sri Lankan delegation is expected to return later this week. Apart from the US, several other countries are also expected to seek clarification from Sri Lanka officials said. Sri Lanka is the only country to back India’s stand on resuming nuclear tests and her right to conduct tests. Both Minister Kadirgamar and his deputy, Lakshman Kiriella defended India's nuclear blasts. "India has a right to do "what she wants" with regard to her own security 'The Island' quoted deputy Minister Kiriella as saying. "US is interested to find out the reasons which resulted in Sri Lanka coming out openly in support of India," diplomatic sources said. "Sri Lankan Foreign Minister took the Colombo based diplomatic community by surprise," a diplomat who did not want to be identified told 'The Island'. Asked whether Sri Lanka’s stand on nuclear tests would affect US-Sri Lanka relations, particularly US stand on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [LTTE], an authoritative US spokesperson replied in the negative. "There is no direct connection," the spokesperson said. However the US will seek to find out why Sri Lanka came out strongly in support of India. Both China and Pakistan have been also taken by surprise, diplomats said. An authoritative Pakistani diplomat yesterday said that Sri Lanka’s stand shocked Pakistan. "I have nothing else to say," he said adding that Sri Lanka’s position on Indian nuclear tests was against her policies. The Chinese Ambassador was not available for comment. But a Chinese embassy spokesman said China has made her position clear on the recent nuclear tests. Both Pakistan and China have supported Sri Lankan military campaign against Tamil terrorists. Authoritative sources said that Sri Lanka’s delegation to Cartegena will explain the country’s stand to other NAM countries. The delegation which comprised Minister Kadirgamar, Permanent Representative in New York John de Saram, his deputy Janaka Nakkavita, additional foreign secretary Nihal Rodrigo and the Director General Multilateral Affairs, B. Goonetilaka will make Sri Lanka’s position clear. Informed sources said that Sri Lanka was likely to take the position that missile tests conducted by China and Pakistan and Indian nuclear tests had resulted in tension in the region. Sri Lanka, scheduled to host the next summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation [SAARC] in mid July was the only SAARC member which came out openly in support of India. Meanwhile joint exercises involving US and Indian forces scheduled for October this year have been cancelled in view of the US sanctions on India. Sanctions results in cut off of both military and economic assistance to India. "Joint exercises under the Extended Relations Programme [ERP], have been cancelled, an Indian source in Colombo said yesterday. Quoting unidentified Indian Army officers, the source said that co-operation between Indian and US armies were good for both sides. As part of the sanctions, India’s participation in the ERP conducted by the US Army Pacific [USARPAC] has been terminated. Both India and Sri Lanka have been participating in ERP programmes which involves different levels of co-operation including bi-lateral, joint and multi-national exercises and also exchange of intelligence. Sri Lanka was admitted to this programme in late 1995. Sri Lanka and India were among almost 20 countries which have been invited to send participants to the Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies, Honolulu. Hawaii. US sanctions will also bring an end to India’s participation in the Centre’s programmes sources said. Authoritative sources said that US will now re-assess the situation in the region in view of the nuclear tests. "Indian tests changed the scene," one source said adding that US expectations of improving both economic and military ties with India have been crushed. United States UN envoy Bill Richardson and Assistant Secretary of State Karl Inderfurth visited Colombo last month after visiting both New Delhi and Islamabad. Shocked Jaffna residents grieve
Mayor Sarojini Yogeswaran's death Hundreds of shocked and grieved residents of Jaffna continued to file past the mortal remains of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) Mayor Mrs. Sarojini Yogeswaran from early yesterday at her Navalar Road, Nallur residence, as the TULF hierarchy remained undecided whether to cremate her body in Jaffna or bring it to Colombo for the last rites, reports iindicated. Mrs. Yogeswaran was assassinated by two suspected LTTE gunmen on Sunday morning. While TULF parliamentary group leader from Eastern Province Joseph Pararajasingham and MPs S. Selvaraja and K. Thurairajasingham flew in to Colombo yesterday. TULF President Murugesu Sivasithamparam, MP and General Secretary R. Sampanthan, MP and constitutional lawyer Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam, ex MP and Central Committer Mavai Senathirajah were still in Madras and are yet to come to a final decision whether the cremation is to take place in Jaffna or Colombo. Meanwhile, TULF Vice President Ananda Sangari flew to Jaffna yesterday to co-ordinate matters. The body of Mrs. Yogeswaran will lie in state at Jaffna Municipal Council auditorium at Nallur from Tuesday morning for the public to pay their last respects before the body is cremated in Jaffna late evening on Tuesday or brought to Colombo for cremation on Wednesday, pending the decision of the TULF leadership. The elder sister of Mrs. Yogeswaran and her elder brother Dr. Ramanathan living in London had already arrived in Colombo for the funeral. She has another sister in Colombo. They want the body of their sister be brought to Colombo for cremation on Wednesday, sources said. Carter raps U.S. outrage over India nuclear tests HARTFORD, Conn., May 17 (Reuters) - The United States is in a weak position to criticize India's nuclear tests in light of Washington's refusal to reduce its own nuclear arsenal, former President Jimmy Carter said on Sunday. "It's hard for us to tell India you cannot have a nuclear device," Carter said in a commencement speech at Trinity College. "We'll keep ours (nuclear weapons), 8,000 or so, we're not ready to reduce them yet," he said. India's five underground nuclear explosions last week were sharply criticized by President Bill Clinton. Carter, who has performed extensive charitable work in developing countries since leaving office in 1981, suggested that U.S. policy on nuclear weapons and land mines smacks of hypocrisy. "We claim we're for a comprehensive test ban to prevent all testing of nuclear weapons, but we still haven't ratified the treaty," he said. "We claim we want to reduce nuclear arsenals. The START 2 treaty was passed about eight years ago," said Carter, who added that it had still not been ratified by the United States or Russia. "We claim to be committed to the protection of human beings, from weapons, at least civilians," he said. "We're the foremost opponent of outlawing landmines." Carter called India "the greatest-sized democracy in the world," and "a very proud country." But he said he was "concerned" about its nuclear testing. "I know the Indians well, my mother served in the Peace Corps when she was 70 years old. I think I'm the last president who visited India." "They look at the United States with admiration, but also with deep concern," he said. Carter, 73, served as 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Maldives stand on nuclear issues ‘unequivocal’ Male: In the wake of nuclear tests conducted by India last Monday and Wednesday, a senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives has expressed "strong support for all efforts undertaken by the international community to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. "The Maldives has always supported all efforts by the international community to eliminate nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction," a senior Foreign Ministry official was quoted as saying in an interview with a local daily. The official was reported to have said that his government’s stand on nuclear issues was "well known", and had been "consistently and openly declared at the United Nations and other forums". "The Maldives remains a strong advocate of establishing nuclear free zones and zones of peace," the official said. He further pointed out that the Maldives was a "staunch supporter" and a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Informed sources say that the Government of the Maldives did not issue a formal statement following India’s nuclear tests because it was concerned about the "fall-out" such a statement might have on the SAARC process, at a time when President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was holding the chairmanship of SAARC. "Our stand on nuclear proliferation is unequivocal. But a statement at this juncture may only complicate matters, rather than restore calm, as we head into the next SAARC Summit," a highly placed source said. SAARC brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in an effort to speed up socio-economic development of South Asia through regional cooperation. President Gayoom was one of the founding fathers of the association in 1985, and will hold the chair until the next summit is convened in Colombo later this year. Veteran SAARC observers say that it is ironic that, this time last year, the leaders of the South Asian countries agreed at their retreat in an island resort in the Maldives on the usefulness and importance of enhancing political cooperation through informal consultations to build confidence and relieve tension in the region. At the Male Summit last year, there was a flickering hope that a breakthrough could be achieved in South Asia. The then Indian Prime Minister, I. K. Gujral, and the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, had also met in a much publicised bilateral meeting during their visit to the Maldives to attend the Male Summit. According to a highly placed source, the Maldivian stand on nuclear issues is determined by its "concern for regional peace and security, environmental safety and an opposition to nuclear proliferation based on principles." Foreign Ministry sources in Male confirm that in addition to the NPT, the Maldives has also signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Bacteriological Weapons Convention. India shares and rupee shrug off sanctions BOMBAY, May 18 (Reuters) - Shares across India rose on Monday and the rupee strengthened drawing support from global leaders’ aversion to joint economic action against last week’s nuclear tests, traders and analysts said. "There is a buoyant feeling in the market especially after the G8 meeting has concluded without fresh sanctions from other industrial powers," said Kirti Doshi, dealer with local brokerage Biyani Securities Pvt. Ltd. The top-30 share Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index finished up 1.52 percent, or 58.68 points, at 3,908.48, but off the intra-day high of 3,943.16 on profit-taking. Kamal Addaraarachchi abduction and
rape case The appeal for bail filed on behalf of movie star Kamal Addaraa-rachchi will be supported today in the Court of Appeal. Kamal was convicted by the Colombo High Court for the abduction and rape of a teenage girl. He was sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of rupees one million. Kamal filed an application for bail in the Colombo High Court. He was refused bail. Consequently an appeal for bail was filed in the Court of Appeal by Kamal’s father. The Attorney General has filed papers objecting to the application for bail stating that Kamal had been convicted on abduction and rape of a teenager, both being serious offences, and a penalty of ten years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of ten lakhs was imposed by the High Court. The objections had also stated that the appellant had not set reasonable grounds as to why the High Court ruling should be reviewed and quashed. The appeal for bail had added that, Kamal had filed an appeal against the High Court judgment and the ruling, and that the chances are that Kamal will be acquitted when the appeal is heard and determined. The undue incarceration will impair his acting career and personality, and hence he should be granted bail. The appeal for bail will be supported by Tilak Marapana, President’s Counsel, appearing with Nalin Ladduwahetty, Jayantha Fernando and Anuja Premaratne. State Counsel, Nawaz will appear for the Attorney General. The Bench will comprise, Justice Ismail and Justice Asoka de Silva. Three new subjects introduced to A/Level from Aug. '98 Presidential Secretariat yesterday announced that Biology, Combined Mathematics and Higher Mathematics will be introduced at the Advance Level as new subjects from August this year. A Presidential Secretariat statement released yesterday through the Information Department says: 'The syllabuses and the Teachers Guides have been produced by the National Institute of Education. The Training of Biology Teachers from all over the country (except the North) has been completed, Training of teachers in the Jaffna District has been scheduled for 29th May - Training of about 90 Master Teachers in the Mathematics subjects is due to be conducted from 18th to 23rd May, at the NIE. Following a recent Progress Review meeting on the Education Reforms, the Biology Training Programme was conducted as a residential programme from May 1st - May 4th three Colleges of Education - Hapitigama, Siyane and Pas Dun Rata. The team of Resource Persons consisted of Dr. K. D. Arulpragasam, ex Professor of Zoology at the University of Colombo and Vice-Chairman (Planning) National Education Commission, Prof. H. G. Nandadasa, Professor of Botany at the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Professor Gamini Widanapathirana - Professor of Microbiology at the University of Kelaniya and one of the country's leading Microbiologists and Professor Jayantha Wijeratna - Professor of Zoology and Dean of Science at the University of Kelaniya. All these resource persons have had many years experience in the drawing up of syllabuses and Teachers Guides, In-service training of teachers and the conducting of Advanced Level examinations. They were assisted by a group of specially trained personnel from the NIE. Syllabuses in Sinhala and Tamil and drafts of Teachers guides were used as the basis for the training programmes. Copies of these documents were made available to the teachers. Attendance at the centres was very high and the teachers had the opportunity of getting guidance from those who produced the Teachers guides and syllabuses, first hand. A sample question paper on the new syllabus will be sent out, shortly. The syllabus itself includes important areas of current and continuing interest such as, Man and the Environment, Bio-diversity, Microbiology and Statistics for Biology, in addition to the essential basis of Biology. Much emphasis is being given to Project works, class experiments, field observations and the maintenance of accurate records and Class Based Assessments. The training of teachers in the Mathematics options will be conducted at Zonal level by the Master Teachers who are to be trained. There are three options. Mathematics is designed for Science, Arts and Commerce students. The Faculties of Engineering require students to offer Combined Mathematies. Higher Mathematics is meant to cater to students who intend pursuing the study of this subject. Higher Mathematics may be taken together with Combined Mathematics but not with the Mathematics option. These options allow students to choose the line most appropriate to their needs. Meanwhile, work is proceeding on two important new subjects scheduled to be introduced into the AL. Courses next year. One is Science and Society, specially designed to cater to non-science students and to give them an overview of the World of Science as it relates to everyday life and work, and equip them to understand the rapidly expanding technologies of the 21st Century. The other subject is General English. This will be one of the subjects that can be offered at AL. According to the new Education reforms, students entering the AL classes, in August '98, are required to offer three subjects only and sit a special paper which will be administered at the conclusion of the AL subject Lanka gets Rs. 175m worth of equipment from Japan In view of the urgent need to upgrade technological level of Sri Lanka's foundry industry, the government of Sri Lanka requested the Government of Japan to extend technical cooperation through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in establishing the project. In response, the Government of Japan accepted the proposal and started the project in December 1995. Since then the Japanese Government has provided various technical assistance including provision of necessary equipment worth Rs. 175 million to the Government of Sri Lanka through Industrial Development Board (IDB). The objectives of the project is to upgrade technological competitiveness of the country through training of foundry personnel and their associated staff and also to improve the country's trade balance by substituting imports with the production of high quality castings and ductile iron castings. The need for training such staff was also studied by JICA due to the prevailing low level technologies in metal industry sector. The metal industry sector has a vital need for the development of the foundry industry, which is the key industry for the development of the metal industry. JICA through Foundry Technology Development Project has provided technical support by way of transferring its technology to Sri Lankan counterparts to make ductile cast iron and high-grade cast iron. To achieve the goal of the project, Government of Japan provided a high frequency induction furnace of 300kg melting capacity, which can obtain molten metal at every 40 minutes intervals and also a hot blast cupola of one metric ton capacity. The sand preparation system is a continuous batch type production for green sand and fran sand. This equipment has been installed at the foundry project with the assistance of Japanese experts and IDB staff. In metal analysing section, the laboratory is equipped with an optical emission spectrometer, which can analyse 15 elements within a period of sixty seconds. Optical emission spectrometer and the hot blast cupola are new to Sri Lanka. In addition to the above equipment, Japanese government has provided technical experts in melting, moulding and sand preparation and wood pattern making technology as well as a Chief Advisor and a Coordinator. Training programmes have also been provided to Sri Lankan counterparts in Japan. The Foundry Technology Development Project is now in a position to conduct various training programs on the job basis to local foundry personnel so as to disseminate its technology to the foundry field in Sri Lanka. The training programs are as follows: (1) Pattern Making - Pattern drawings, structural pattern by using machinery and hand tool. (2) Moulding and Sand Preparation - Green sand and furan sand preparation, hand moulding and machine moulding (3) Melting - Cupola and high frequency induction furnace (4) Metal and Sand test - Optical emission spectrometer , carbon equivalent match and others. |
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