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| Bribery
Commission row escalates Ranil accuses president of violating ethics and decency Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has accused President Kumaratunga of violating both ethical standards and common decency expected of a head of government by calling for the resignation of the members of the Bribery Commission, "at a time when you and the members of your cabinet are yourself the subject matter of complaints made to the commission.'' In his three and a half page letter, Wickremesinghe has noted "with interest'' that the president had made her allegations against the commissioners for the first time after the commission had accepted charges against the cabinet including herself and Minister Mangala Samaraweera. "Your persistence in pressurising the commissioners to resign through various means, and your autocratic resolve to act with complete disregard to lawful procedures in this matter, creates deep suspicion in my mind as to the motives of your government,'' he has said. He has made the further point that it was "highly inappropriate'' for the president to intervene in the dispute between the commissioners and the director general and on that pretext call for the resignations of the commissioners. "In calling for their resignation without an address of parliament you have seriously violated the provisions of the Act,'' he has charged. Wickremesinghe made these charges in a letter he wrote the president last week in response to her June 5 letter replying his letter of May 19 where he sought the reactivation of the Bribery Commission. He wanted the vacancy in the commission, left open since January 1997, filled, a director general appointed and supporting staff provided to enable the commission to become functional. "The appointment of the third commissioner and the director general who is the chief administrative officer will result in the immediate reconstitution of the commission. I will be glad to assure you of our co-operation with regard to these two appointments, provided the UNP is consulted in the selection process and the final appointees have bipartisan approval, in view of the prevailing circumstances,'' he has said. Wickremesinghe has pointed out that if the commission was ineffective as claimed by the president, then the solution was to identify the reasons and to rectify them. By removing the staff of the commission, rather than improve its efficiency its work has been brought to a complete halt. On-going investigations cannot be proceeded with and new complaints cannot be investigated. In the course of his letter the opposition leader pointed out that a resolution to remove a commissioner can only be presented on grounds of 'proven misconduct or incapacity', and not on indeterminate allegations of inefficiency. "After all, you appointed the commissioners on the recommendation of the prime minister and in consultation with the speaker. I was never party to (the) process,'' he has said. |
No provision to postpone PC polls - Batty Weerakoon The forthcoming provincial council elections can only be postponed on security considerations under Emergency Regulations, legal sources said. But this would require an islandwide proclamation of the Emergency as at present only certain areas are covered, they said. But Minister Batty Weerakoon, who is also the LSSP leader, said on behalf of his party that no postponement is possible even under the Emergency without a violation of the constitution. "There is no way by which Emergency regulations can be used to suspend the operation of any provision of the constitution,'' he said. Commenting on speculation about a possible postponement of these elections, Elections Commissioner Dayananada Dissanayake said that there was no provision under the normal law to postpone the polls. A senior constitutional lawyer who asked not to be identified confirmed this position. "There are no provisions in the Provincial Councils Election Act of 1988 to postpone these elections. The Constitution also states that the term of a provincial council cannot be extended beyond the prescribed 5-year term,'' he said. Five PCs, other than those in the South and the NWP, have completed their terms and stand dissolved from June. If the authorities resort to postponing the PC elections under Emergency law, parliament will have to approve such postponement monthly when the renewal of the Emergency is taken up.- (FRS) |
| Island capers Credit card joker Minister Mangala Samaraweera soldiers on to try and even joke his way out of the credit card issue in which he is now embroiled. At last week's tenth anniversary meeting of the Foreign Correspondents' Association where he was chief guest, he said he had no visiting card to put into the box at the door for a lucky draw later in the evening. So he put his credit card instead! No roar of laughter greeted this announcement. There was just a polite ripple. But then nobody could hear very much of what was being said from the podium by any of the speakers as the majority of those present seemed intent on carrying on their own conversations rather than listening to what the speakers had to say. The Lake House papers broke new ground last week by making a front page announcement of ANCL Chairman Aloy Ratnayake's first anniversary in office. The Daily News had a colour picture of the smiling chairman to go with the story. Media watchers naturally wondered what the ho ha was about. The point that was being made, it seems, is that this chairman's incumbency, unlike that of his four predecessors during the tenure of the PA government, has not been nasty, brutish and short. Fifth time lucky, maybe. Let's hope that there will be a second year to be similarly marked next June. |
| Bar Association raps innuendoes against
judiciary The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has taken serious exception to a Sunday Observer report of June 7 headlined "Accused UNP politico at dinner with H.C. judge.'' In a statement issued yesterday, the association said: "This headline together with the news item and the innuendoes contained therein casts serious adverse aspersions on the judiciary. In these circumstances, the executive committee of the BASL unreservedly condemns the publication of this news item.'' The BASL has also written to the chairman of Lake House on June 15 expressing "great concern'' about the report. They said that if it is correct, serious action against the person concerned is merited. If incorrect, it unnecessarily causes a serious slur on the judiciary and must be corrected as early as possible. Mr. Romesh de Silva, the president of the BASL, has told the Lake House chairman that he had been directed by the executive committee to forward to them the names of the judges concerned "so that suitable action can be taken.'' But no reply had been received. The BASL said that representations will be made to the chief justice for necessary action. |
| Editor does not rule out state agency
involvement Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga, whose Mirihana home was peppered by gunfire on Wedensday night, has in his statement to the police indicated the possibility of a state agency being behind the attack. Wickramatunga said yesterday that although there were reports that the CID would be brought into the investigation, he had not been contacted by the CID up to last evening. He had been asked not to remove the damaged vehicle from his premises as the Government Analyst would not be able to examine it before Monday. In his statement to the Mirihana police, the editor responded to a question whether he had any suspicions on who might be behind the attack. He said that his newspaper had made many exposes regarding the Air Lanka controversy, the crippling of the Bribery Commission, Minister Mangala Samaraweera's credit card and free travel by Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and his wife. These had provoked some attacks on his newspaper and him both specifically and by innuendo. In that context, he would not rule out the possibility of a state agency being behind the incident. The investigation remains in the hands of the Mirihana police up to now and has not yet been handed to the CID, police said. SSP Mirihana Nihal Dharmadasa said yesterday that there was no breakthrough and the case was still to be taken over by the CID. Inquiries were continuing. No suspects have been identified. Police are on the look out for a white van in which the suspects had arrived at the scene. They have sent some spent bullets found at the scene to the Government Analyst for report. Wickramatunga said that a neighbour had told his wife about five days before the shooting that there were some people in a vehicle parked on an empty lot behind their house apparently observing the premises. His wife had been caring for their newborn baby at the time and by the time she got to the window, the vehicle was driving off. They have been told after the incident too that the neighbours had subsequently seen similar activity but had not taken much notice. The day before the shooting a grey car and a white van had been seen in the empty overgrown lot. But nobody had taken a registration number. |
| Bar
protests about shooting The Bar Association of Sri Lanka yesterday unreservedly condemned the shooting into Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickramatunga's house and said that they expected a due and proper investigation to be completed without delay. The BASL said that Mr. Wickramatunga, who is a lawyer, is a member of their association. |
| Avadhi Lanka expresses dissatisfaction
over CID's performance in crime detection Avadhi Lanka, an NGO for the promotion of public morality and civic accountability, has drawn attention to the CID’s failure to investigate promptly and adequately crimes where VIP’s were alleged to have an interest in the outcome. This point has been made in the course of a statement on the armed attack on the home of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunga. Noting that the president has directed the CID to investigate this incident, the statement says "the public cannot be satisfied by such motions and sanctimonious government statements alone." It says that the Sunday Leader is a newspaper which persistently exposed the questionable transactions of ministers, deputy ministers and VIPs in authority and as such they were deeply perturbed by the attack on Mr. Wickrematunga’s home by gunmen. The statement urges an independent police commission and until such time as this is set up, a select committee of parliament supervise the functioning of the police. The following is the text of the statement: Avadhi Lanka is deeply perturbed by the attack by gunmen on the house of Mr. Lasantha Wickrema-tunga, the Editor of the Sunday Leader, a newspaper which has persistently exposed the questionable transactions of Minister, Deputy Ministers and VIPs in authority. The President came to power promising to abolish the terror and fear that prevailed during the previous regime. The President has directed the CID to investigate this incident. But the public cannot be satisfied by such motions and sanctimonious government statements alone. The CID has failed to investigate promptly and adequately crimes where there have been allegations that VIPs have an interest in the outcome. We also refer to the criminal intimidation of Iqbal Athas, the Defence Correspondent of a newspaper, where a visiting American diplomat expressed concern. The Editor of the Sunday Leader was attacked on a previous occasion and there have been no prosecution of the assailants upto now. This pattern of violence constitutes an ominous threat to fundamental freedoms. Any repeated failures to bring to book the criminals will undermine the rule of law and thereby the continued legitimacy of the government mandate in the eyes of elements bent on violence. We draw the attention of the public to the actions taken by the Indian Supreme Court on public interest petitions filed before the Court when the Central Bureau of Investigation was not allowed to investigate freely the allegations against the Prime Minister and Ministers in the Havala scandal. The Supreme Court of India directed the investigations and ordered that the CBI should not take instructions from the Prime Minister. Similar action was taken when State Government Prime Minister Laloo Yadav interfered with the investigations into the fodder scam where he was involved. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and Yadav were charged in Courts and remanded. The Indian Supreme Court has more recently directed government of that country to grant greater autonomy to the CBI. It even directed how the post of Head of the CBI should be filled from a panel to be drawn up by a Committee headed by the Central Vigilance Commission (a non-statutory authority) and including the Home Secretary and the Secretary (Personnel). The Gujral Government submitted to the Supreme Court that it would implement its directions. We urged the President to immediately bring to legislation to set up an independent Police Commission, whose members will be selected by the ruling party and the Opposition and who will be responsible only to Parliament, with its term of office safeguarded by law. Until such an independent Police Commission is set up we call upon the Government to appoint a Select Committee of Parliament to supervise the functioning of the Police Department. Standing Committees to supervise activities of the Government are an important feature of US democracy which has also been adopted in UK too in the last 30 years. We feel such a non-partisan Select Committee of Parliament should be set up before the forthcoming Provincial Council elections. We also urge that during the election period beginning from the nominations the Provincial Police should take orders only from the Commissioner of Elections in respect of election related violence as in India. We urge the Government and the Opposition to take these steps and prevent the nation becoming engulfed in violence and terror as in 1988-89. |
| Civil administration in Jaffna crumbling By Franklin. R. Satyapalan The previous week all courts in the peninsula stopped sittings following LTTE threats. Jaffna residents said that all elected members of local bodies in the peninsula have received handwritten letters demanding their immediate resignation. It was in this context that the Valikamam P.S. which met on Friday for its monthly meeting under the chairmanship of the TULF's Sri Bhaskaran. It was decided there that all council activities will cease until normalcy returns to the peninsula. Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake was informed last week that 104 EPDP councillors in ten northern local bodies have vacated office by not taking their oaths within the prescribed period. Mr. Dhammika Kitulgoda, the secretary of the Judicial Services Commission, said that the judges had written to him two weeks ago saying that the courts in Kayts, Jaffna, Mallakam, Chavakachcheri and Point Pedro have closed due to threats. All cases have been postponed. The response to this situation was under consideration, he said. Meanwhile Tamil political detenues in the Kalutara prison have announced a fast unto death begining June 26 to push thier case for speedy trial or release, Tamil political sources said. They have written to Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Tamil politicians and human rights activists saying they had no alternative as they had been held for a long period without trial. PLOTE said that its leaders and representatives led by vice president and military leader N. Manikkadasan will fast in sympathy at the Nallur temple the same day. They are also protesting about the delay in activating the promised commission on disappearances in the north. |
| Gamage accuses Wijesundera of
"distortion'' Mrs. Nelum Gamage, former Bribery Commissioner and later Director-General of the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption, has written to Mr. T.A. de S. Wijesundera, the chairman of the commission, alleging that he had "distorted facts'' in two letters written to President Kumaratunga. These letters of May 27 and June 12 had received wide media publicity, Mrs. Gamage said. She has described as "erroneous'' a statement made by the chairman in his June 12 letter that SI Rupasinghe who was attached to her personal security unit had borrowed a sum of Rs. 1 lakh from Mr. A.C.S. Hameed. She has said that Mr. Wijesundera seemed "quite aggrieved'' that she had not resigned from public service. "I have some more years in public service and am presently in good health. I cannot understand why you should think that I should resign from permanent public service. "I am happy you consider my present positing a "promotion''. But I am rather curious to know how you came to such a conclusion.'' She has said there is no truth in the statement that Mr. Wijesundera had requested the president to remove her from the position of director-general. "Those present at the meeting held in early August with Her Excellency would categorically accept that no such statement was made excepting to say that you found it difficult to work with me. "I do not want to comment now on the "requests'' made by you at that meeting with Her Excellency.'' On the matter of her writ application, Gamage said the Attorney General was represented by eminent counsel from his department whose integrity is beyond question. "To make such adverse comments at this stage may even amount to contempt of court! "It is surprising why counsel was not retained by you in my writ application since you have availed the services of other counsel later.'' |
| Common Amenities Board races Premadasa
commemorators! Not true, says CAB official Former Housing and Construction Minister Sirisena Cooray yesterday accused the Common Amenities Board (CAB) of acting with "uncharacteristic alacrity'' to clean up the Maligawatte Housing Scheme after the Premadasa Centre planned a shramadana campaigned to do this job to mark the late president's birth anniversary. "As the second step of the campaign to honour the memory of the late President Premadasa by regenerating neglected environs, the Premadasa Centre together with the Sri Sucharitha Viyaparaya decided to hold a shramadana at the Maligawatte Housing Scheme,'' Cooray said. Then there was what he called a "sudden decision'' by the CAB to clean up the housing scheme. The CAB's DGM (Operations) had by his June 8 letter said that this cleaning will be done on June 14. But this official, Mr. D.N. Seneviratne, denied that the clean-up was anything to do with the Premadasa commemoration shramadana. "It's a part of a series of cleaning campaigns we began in May,'' he said. "We are doing it in stages. The first was at Soysapura, Maligawatte was next and we begin at Stace Road in July.'' The Premadasa Centre had planned their shramadana for June 21 to mark the late president's 74th birth anniversary which falls two days later. The Maligawatte housing complex was one of his pioneer projects and had been neglected for the past 4 years, Cooray said. "It is very clear that this sudden decision to clean up the Maligawatte Housing Scheme was a response to the Premadasa Centre's planned shramadana campaign there as we informed Housing Minister Indika Gunawardene in advance of this event,'' Cooray said. He expressed happiness that the CAB had decided to attend to the needs of the Maligawatte scheme even after four years. "Residents have brought to our notice that the shramadana campaign of the CAB has consisted of the short sighted and irresponsible act of denuding the immediate vicinity of trees, including a bamboo grove planted by Mr. Premadasa. "We for our part have therefore decided to re-schedule our rather more authentic sharamadana campaign in Maligawatte to sometime after September after the upcoming provincial council elections.'' Seneviratne of the CAB also denied the "denuding trees'' allegation saying, "we planted those trees, cared for them and maintained them. When they overgrow, we have to prune them.'' |
| SLMC politbureau meets to decide on
election strategy Even though a question mark hangs over the provincial polls themselves, the SLMC Politbureau will meet this week to finally decide their election strategy - to fight under the PA banner or go it alone, party sources said. Party leader M.H.M. Ashraff had a meeting last week with President Kumaratunga and PA Secretary D.M. Jayaratne to discuss PC election related issues, these source said. The SLMC is of the view that only two Muslims should be fielded on each PA slate if they are to fight under a common banner. But Minister A.H.M. Fowzie is anxious to field many more as SLFP candidates. The SLMC believes that their formula will enable Muslim voters to cast one preference for a Muslim candidate and the second for the PA's chief ministerial nominee. SLMC sources said that Mr. Ashraff and the party leadership were under pressure to field their own slate. Supporters of this stand argue that it would enable at least one SLMC councillor to be elected from each polling district. But Mr. Ashraff does not support this line saying that the SLMC needed to strengthen the hand of the president at the present time. A final decision is expected by the end of this week. (FRS) |
| Restriction relaxed for participation in
kovil festival By Srian Bulathsinhala The military imposed tight restrictions on access to Punkudutivu following heavy LTTE infiltration of the area. It was reported that the Tigers had summoned government officials and businessmen for meetings in Punkudutivu and the military was anxious to minimise civilian contact with the LTTE. These controls have been in force from early April. With the forthcoming festival which is largely attended due to begin this week, the authorities considered the possibility of enabling people to participate while protecting security considerations. Discussions were held between the civil and military authorities and decisions taken. Under the new regulations, all those wishing to attend the festival must gather at the Jaffna central bus depot where they will be checked by the military and given special ID cards. Thereafter, they will be bussed to Kurikattuwan in Punkudutivu for the festival. Asked whether these procedures would strain relations between the army and civilians, military sources said that they were necessary and agreed upon with the civilian authorities. Devotees would be permitted to stay overnight at the kovil. Those wanting to return the same day may do so but be back by 3 p.m. The navy is now responsible for the security of the Jaffna islands. They took over following the withdrawal of troops deployed for `Jayasikurui' in the Vanni. The islands are populated by nearly 100,000 people, sources said. |
 Premadasa memorial lecture Mr. K.H.J. Wijayadasa, former Secretary to the President, will deliver this year's Premadasa Memorial Lecture which will mark late president's 74t h birth anniversary. The speech will be in English on the topic "The Premadasa vision of national development.'' Mr. Hemantha Warnakulasuriya, the well known lawyer, will deliver the Sinhala oration on "Premadasa and political violence''. Mr. Sam Wijesinha, former secretary-general of Parliament will be the chief guest on this occasion when proceedings will begin at 4.15 p.m. at Committee Room B of the BMICH on June 24 (Wednesday). Exhibition The first solo exhibition of a contemporary Sri Lankan artist, Druvinka will be held from June 20 - 29 at the Heritage Art Gallery. Quality Control Circles Convention The International Convention on Quality Control Circles will be held from October 26- 31 at the BMICH Colombo. The convention which is for the first time held in Sri Lanka will be attended by a large segment of foreign delegates. Seminar on fisheries products The Sri Lanka Export Development Board in collaboration with FAO/INFOFISH Malaysia, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Development and the Sea Food Exporters Association, has organized a seminar on exporting value added fisheries products, to be held on June 25 from 8.30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo. This will be followed by practical sessions at a factory in Hendala on June 6 and 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Swarna Ranjana recital "Swara Ranjana" recital for the tenth occasion will be held at Matale Town Hall on June 27 under the auspices of Department of Cultural Affairs and Oriental Music Panel, Arts Council of Sri Lanka with the assistance and patronage of the Matale District Secretariat. Music seminar A music seminar and music fiesta consisting of light and classical music organized by the department of Cultural Affairs and the Oriental Music Panel of the Arts Council of Sri Lanka will be held on June 21 at John de Silva Memorial theatre from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. NIC Moratuwa branch Deputy Minister of Samurdhi, Youth Affairs and Sports Jeevan Kumaratunga will declare open the 18th branch of the National Insurance Corporation on June 22 at "Swarna Mahal" building, Moratuwa at 10.30 a.m. Discourse on‘women in changing India’ Mrs. Satya Saran, Editor, Femina will conduct a discourse on "women in changing India" on June 22 at the Indian Cultural Centre Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo. Symposium on ‘Prevention of Torture’ A symposium on " Prevention of Torture in Sri Lanka" organized by Family Rehabilitation Centre to mark the UN International Day in support of torture victims will be held on June 26 at the Sri Lanka Medical Association " Lion Memorial Auditorium", from 8.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hapugalle to be new Rotary chief Mr. Rohan Hapugalle, a 23-year veteran of the Rotary movement here will be installed as the seventh governor of Rotary International District 3220 on July 1, a Rotary news release said. Hapugalle was described as an "outstanding member'' of the Rotary Club of Colombo, the parent Rotary Club in Sri Lanka. The news release said that during the current Rotary year, "we wish to make a worthwhile contribution towards national peace and reconciliation using the Rotary network.'' The single largest of the many humanitarian projects that Rotary has pioneered in Sri Lanka over the last few years was the polio eradication campaign for which Rotary International contributed USD 2 million. This helped to make this country one of the few polio free countries in the developing world. Other projects included the Sri Lanka Anti Narcotics Association, the audiology unit at the Kandy hospital, a host of vocational and youth training projects and the teaching of English. Rotary also extensively helped with know- how and funds to set up two hydro-power projects at Beralapanathara and Nikaweratiya. "The emphasis during the forthcoming Rotary year will be on making Rotary an effective tool of national development through 42 clubs in 9 provinces and the alienation of poverty through literacy,'' the release said. |
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