      |
||||
While
visiting LTTE suspects at Kalutara prison
|
|
|||
While visiting LTTE suspects at
Kalutara prison Eelam People’s Democratic Party ( EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda who visited the Kalutara remand prison last evening to inquire into the demands of 51 LTTE suspects who were on a hunger strike was attacked by a knife and poles by some other LTTE suspects resulting in injuries to his head, a lawyer accompanying Devananda told "The Island" last night. Devananda who was bleeding profusely was rushed in an ambulance to Kalutara general hospital in an unconscious state and from there to the resuscitation room of the Colombo Accident Service around 9.20 p.m.
Maheshwari Velauthum a human rights lawyer said that around 4.30 p.m. she along with Devananda and State Counsel Suhada Gamlath visited the 51 LTTE suspects who were on a hunger strike protesting that they be charged in courts or else be released. Thereafter Devananda and she moved to another section where other LTTE suspects were being detained. When Devananda tried to inquire about their well being some of the LTTEers had converged on Devananda and began attacking him while one of them knifed Devananda on the back of his head. Maheshwari alleged that the jail guards stood by doing nothing and when she went to the rescue of Devananda the attackers pushed her to the ground and threatened to knife her too. She immediately picked herself up and ran out of the room crying for help. The Chief Jailor on hearing her cries had come running into the section where Devananda was being attacked and shot into the air. It was only then that the attackers moved away from Devananda, she said. 19 Lankan 'illegals' caught
in Japan Nineteen Sri Lankan youths who entered Japan illegally after a 29-day gruelling journey aboard a Sri Lankan fishing trawler have been detained by the Japanese immigration authorities,according to reports. The local fishing trawler which embarked on this daring mission had returned to Sri Lanka after dropping its ‘passengers’ on Japanese soil, it has been revealed. The distraught parents of the youths, now being held by the Japanese authorities have appealed to Deputy Minister of Fisheries Milroy Fernando to secure their release. The Deputy Minister had in turn referred the matter to the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry. A Japanese embassy spokesman in Colombo told ‘The Island’ yesterday that he had no immediate information about the incident. He explained that foreigners attempting to enter Japan illegally was a frequent occurrence. The youths involved are residents of the Nattandiya and Wennappuwa areas. The trawler which belonged to a businessman in Ulhitiyawa had left Sri Lankan shores with its human cargo on April 8 from a point at Katuneriya and reached Japan on May 6. The young men, according to their parents, had paid an ‘advance’ of Rs. 50,000 each for the mission. They had embarked on this journey due to economic hardships. They have now become indebted after raising loans to finance this trip,the parents have told the Deputy Minister, who is an MP for Puttalam district. Details of this mysterious journey are unfolding only now as the crew of the trawler were unaware of the fate that befell the ‘passengers’ after they were dropped off in Japan. According to reports, the following have been identified among the 19 youths now under detention: Gamini Ajith, Francis Sugath, Warren Fernando, Susantha Fernando, Nalin Thamel, Indika Thamel, Ruwan Thamel, Sugath Thamel, Ranjan Fernando, Nickson Vaas of Ulhitiyawa, Wennappuwa and Sumanasiri Rohitha, Dilshan Perera, Indika Fernando, Saranga Fernando from Katuneriya and Priyantha and Raja from Negombo. Devolution and Tamils forgotten, all talk of
only elections now says, TULF TULF President Murugesu Sivasithamparam said yesterday that his party expected the constitutional proposals pertaining to devolution be finalised and brought to legal form very early. However, it is regrettable that there is a delay in achieving this, he added. Now everybody including the UNP and PA is only interested in elections. Any interest to solve the ethnic problem is being pushed to a side. Mr. Sivasithamparam said. Meanwhile Tamil people are suffering in Wanni and the East and even in Colombo. The Tamils have no freedom to move about. So the TULF wishes to appeal to President Chandrika Kumaratunga to give her very early attention to finalise the devolution proposals, he told 'The Island' yesterday. VIPs, MPs security may be withdrawn if govt. goes ahead with polls - IGP Inspector General of Police, W. B. Rajaguru, reiterated yesterday that he would have no option but to withdraw security personnel assigned to VIPs and MPs if the government goes ahead with the forthcoming provincial council elections this year, authoritative police sources said yesterday. The sources said the IGP conveyed this decision to a group of top-level police officials at meetings held yesterday and on Monday. The IGP also said a large number of police personnel posted in the operational areas would have to be withdrawn from checkpoints, bunkers and other security points in order to provide security for the elections. The elections have been fixed tentatively for August-September this year. The sources told ‘The Island’, police officials have been deliberating on how to find adequate security personnel for election duty if the polls take place as scheduled. IGP Rajaguru has maintained at the meetings that a strength of about 30,000 police personnel is needed to provide security at provincial council elections. "To meet this requirement, the only option would be to withdraw personnel from operational areas," they said, "According to the IGP, the deficit would be met by withdrawing the security personnel assigned to VIPs and MPs". The sources further said that Opposition MPs and VIPs may be most affected by any withdrawal of security. Among these would be Opposition Leader, Ranil Wick-remesinghe, himself. The government earlier cited the excuse of security as one of their reasons for putting off the proposed provincial council elections. However, certain parties in pushing for the timely holding of elections pointed out that security is not such an important factor in the south of the country and that this should not hinder people from exercising their democratic rights. (NW) Father dashes infant son Police have arrested a man who had dashed to death his 18 day old infant son. According to Dummalasooriya police he had killed the little one by dashing him on a coconut tree. The victim infant has been identified as Yakdehige Roshan Pradeep Kumara. Further investigations are being carried on by Dummalasooriya police. Drivers warned : not to use 'cell' while on the move Any person using a cellular phone while driving a vehicle will be prosecuted. For this purpose police will take into custody the particular cellular phone to be used as a 'production' in the legal action which will be initiated, SSP Alfred Wijewardena, Colombo Traffic Division warned yesterday. According to the law using a cell phone while driving a vehicle is a punishable offence. Those wishing to make an urgent cellular phone call or to receive one while driving are advised to park their vehicle on the left hand side of the road without causing congestion. After the call is over they could resume their diwing SSP Wijewardena said in a news release. LRC N'Eliya lands sold at high
prices by ex-PC Secy Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake speaking at the Horana electoral division recently said that valuable land in the Nuwara Eliya town belonging to the Land Reforms Commission had been taken over by a former provincial council secretary and sold at a high price. This was revealed when the Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs and Plantation Industries Ratnasiri Wickremanayake spoke at the Horana electoral division where he handed out title deeds allocated by the Land Reforms Commission to families who are in need of lands. Minister Wickremanayake has asked the chairman of the commission to forward the relevant documents to him. While some of these documents are missing the evaluation of the lands have decreased although it is not clear how this has occurred. A UNP parliamentarian is also believed to be among those who have received these lands. Mr. Wickremanayake said that at times the minister in charge of the relevant portfolio appears to have acted as the evaluator. The Minister explained that the aim of the Land Reforms Commission was to provide land to those who are in need of it and to develop unfertile land. He further said that the details that have been revealed will be submitted to parliament. Many problems have arisen about the properties of certain other UNPers the minister further said. Lands meant for gemming in the Ratnapura town have been sold dirt cheap. Such occurrences will be reviewed the minister added. The previous government had appointed 23 companies for land control. The government has renewed the leases of all these companies except for two. One such company has gone to court claiming that the land belongs to them. The minister said that the companies should realise that the lands are the property of the government. They can be severely punished under the judicial system on such a matter when they have no right to the land the minister added. President of the Horana Municipal Council Rohana Kulasiri, president of the Horana Pradeshiya Sabha Arni Kithulgoda, president of the Land Reforms Commission A. L. H. Fernando and Municipal and Pradeshiya Sabha MPs participated at the event. GMOA warns of ‘stern action’ The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) yesterday warned of ‘stern trade union action’ unless the Ministry of Health take immediate steps to halt the shifting of the Main Chest Clinic from ‘Suvasi-ripaya’ building in which the ministry is also housed. The GMOA also demanded one of two X-ray machines at the Chest Clinic which has now been dumped at the Welisara Chest Hospital be brought back to ‘Suvasiripaya’ immediately, Dr. Ananda Samarasekara, the President of the GMOA told a press conference yesterday. According to the GMOA, the Ministry of Health has recently issued a circular ordering the shifting of the Colombo Chest Clinic (CCC) with effect from yesterday from its present location to the Welisara Chest Hospital. This, the GMOA claims, is to arrange room for newly appointed directors to the Ministry and for so-called security reasons. The GMOA described this move of the Ministry not as ‘a shift but closure of the clinic for political reasons’. Dr. Samarasekara said, "this is the biggest and premier chest clinic in Sri Lanka out of the all 22 clinics of this type including the Welisara Chest Hospital. Above all, this is the place where employees come for their medical examinations on respiratory diseases and roughly 200 such medical examinations are done at the CCC per day. He said 150 tuberculosis (TB) patients arrive daily at this clinic for treatment in addition to five newly recognised TB patients arrive there. Further, one third of the total TB patients are from Colombo District and the majority of the remaining patients are from its suburbs, according to the official reports". "A rapid growth of the number of new TB patients is reported for the past few years i.e. 2,675 cases were reported in 1995, 3,284 in 1997 and 3,462 new cases have been identified for the last six months of this year alone. The WHO has named Sri Lanka as a ‘Hot Zone’ where an excessive number of TB patients can possibly be reported in 2010. Already 20 -30 cases of Multi Drug Resistant TB is reported in Sri Lanka and of these cases 50% are found to die of the disease. Sri Lanka does not even have drugs to face such a situation," Dr. Samarasekara said. He futher said, according to the reports of a WHO research 1,000 people of Sri Lanka die every year of TB though this number is placed by the local reports at 400. We can assure that unless present situation is brought under immediate control, the entire country will be ruined by this epidemic. Dr. Prasanna Gunasena pointed out that the building in which both the Ministry and CCC are housed was initially donated to Sri Lanka in 1971 by the Australian Government for a Chest Clinic. "This building is specially designed by the Australian experts for a chest clinic and the Ministry of Health was moved into it in 1993 by the then government under the pretext of security reasons amidst resistance of the opposition parties. At that time the present minister of health and Minister C. V. Goneratne were among those who were strongly opposed the ‘invasion’ of the clinic building. Now those very people are planning to close this hospital down for their political requirements compelling thousands of patients and members of the public face immense hardships. This clearly shows the ignorance of the politicians in the health requirements of the country", he said. "This is not a ‘shift’ but a ‘closure’ of this clinic. There must be a new place to shift but Welisara is already a Chest Hospital. The X-ray machine which was removed from the CCC recently under the order of the Ministry, is reported to have been dumped at the Welisara hospital. Those who had come to the CCC for their medical examinations for the past two days had been sent to Welisara and from there they had reportedly been sent back home. Now the TB patients in Colombo are compelled to travel to Welisara by taking at least two buses. Further, the Colombo National Hospital is a complex of hospitals where patients can be treated for any illness and patients are deprived of this facility with this move". Achievement of LLL best B'day gift President would have liked to have — C.V. Industrial Development Minister C. V. Gooneratne speaking at the ceremony held in connection with the ISO 9002 award being conferred on Lankan Lubricants Limited (LLL) on Monday said that the occasion coincided with the birthday of President Chandrika Kumaratunga. He said that in terms of her vision and commitment for the economic development of Sri Lanka, the achievement of LLL is the best birthday gift she would like to have. "I am sure she will value this gift more than all the flowers and gifts she will receive today," he added. Gooneratne said that Lanka Lubricants is well positioned to increase exports of lubricants to neighbouring countries due to its excellent geographic location and its experienced staff, competitive cost structure and high-end product range. "Should liberalisation of imports of Sri Lanka's internal market needs occur at any stage, Lanka Lubricants has strategies in place to maximise market share retention and compete effectively with well-heeled international competitors. This is despite the company having in that event to give up the limited protection flowing from the long-term undertakings and guarantees contained in the 1994 agreement between the Government, Caltex Trading and Transport Corporation," he added. More fisheries harbours on the
cards to net in a bigger catch Two fisheries harbours are now under construction in the Panadura and Hikkaduwa coastal line, in order to encourage fishermen to go in to the deep sea, Dr. Chandradasa, Chairman of the Fisheries Harbour Corporation told ‘The Island’. The Kudawella harbour construction will commence by August, this year, he said. The harbours at Panadura and Hikkaduwa to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 200 and Rs. 125 million respectively are expected to be completed by the latter part of next year, while the Kudawella harbour to be built at a cost of Rs. 450 million, will be completed in one and a half years, Dr. Chandradasa said. "Earlier we concentrated on coastal fishing but now as we have found that the catch is depleting we want the fishermen to go in to the deep sea", Dr. Chandradasa said. In order to do so they have to be provided with bigger boats and better harbour facilities, so that they could return with a bigger catch. Their boats cannot land anywhere they want, so these harbours will provide a safe haven for the boats. Diesel, water and ice will be provided at the harbour and arrangements made in order to enable the fishermen to despatch their catch not in small numbers but in bigger amounts up to 50-60 kg., he added. Arrangements have also been made to build more harbours in the near future, Dr. Chandradasa said. Batticaloa electricity
tower blasted A CEB Electricity Tower in Batticaloa was blown up by terrorists yesterday security sources said. The tower which was subject to the explosion at about 2.00 a.m. yesterday was situated in Kalladi Namaladi in the Kattankudi police domain. The device used for the blast was apparently a time bomb, sources said. Two more time bombs were also detected in the area by the Army and the bomb disposal unit in turn disconnected the devices, sources said. The damage caused by yesterday’s blast amounts to about Rs. 1.2 million, sources said. The CEB explained that the tower is a centre for supplying electricity from Ampara and Habarana to the Batticaloa district and the blast had disrupted part of the supply. The Kattankudi Police is conducting further investigations in to the matter. Winnings in horse racing not
enforceable in law Colombo District Judge Sarath Ambepitiya hearing a case of alleged breach of a betting agreement last Friday, held that persons indulging in the betting business do not have a right to tell a person who wins a bet that betting is an illegal act. The case is filed by a winner of a bet M. M. Mowjood through his counsel G. G. Arulpragasam. The defendant 'Sporting Star' through his counsel E. S. Harischandra filed objections. The Order stated that the plaintiff instituted the action against the defendant because the defendant had refused to pay the plaintiff the amount payable as winnings in respect of a bet placed by the plaintiff at the betting centre. The defendants in their answer averred that the facts of the case were based on a betting agreement and that such and agreement was an illegal agreement incapable of being enforced in law. It is, therefore, evident here that the contention of the defendants was that the said betting agreement being illegal and unenforceable in law, the plaintiff cannot have and maintain the action. The plaintiff has averred that the defendants carry on a business under name "Sporting Star" and that in the course of their business they accept bets from the public on horse racing as bookies. Therefore, the question thus arises whether the defendants who indulge in such acts have a right to tell the winner who claims a win that betting is an illegal act. Thus, according to the plaint, it appears that the defendants do accept bets in cash from the members of the public and that the defendants by their conduct, caused the person betting to believe that their act is true and lawful. In such circumstances, this Court holds that the defendants are estopped from saying that the said betting is illegal and unenforceable in law, in any suit between them and such person, the Order stated. The case was fixed for further inquiry. President's Counsel S. A. Pathalingam with Faizer Musthapha instructed by G. G. Arulpragasam appeared for the plaintiff. President's Counsel Romesh de Silva with Palitha Kumarasinghe instructed by E. S. Harischandra appeared for the defendant. Troops destroy main LTTE base Troops have destroyed the Kokkadicholai LTTE base in Batticaloa. About 200 Tigers who were in the base had fled in the face of the advance by combined forces, security sources said. Army, police and STF launched a joint strike on the Kokkadicholai Tiger base and completely smashed food, medicine and arms stores housed within the base on Monday. (CENSORED) This base was regarded as the heart of the LTTE in the East. LTTE operated an extortion network from this base where civilians had to pay them money. Meanwhile army and police had launched a combined (CENSORED) (CENSORED) The deaths of seven Tigers in this attack has been officially confirmed. There were concrete bunkers and fortifications surrounding this base. A LTTE bus service in the area has also come to a halt following the military thrust, security sources said. No ‘Special Tours’ for private buses without approval Private buses will be prohibited from operating 'special tours' without prior permission from the National Transport Commission with effect from today. Applications for permission in this regard should be made through the Regional Transport Authority of the area to the National Transport Commission Tissa Abeysinghe, Director (Transport) of the National Transport Commission said. This regulation had been brought into force to avoid inconvenience to the travellling public when private bus owners divert their buses for 'special tours' especially during festive seasons. Mr. Abeysinghe said that this regulation will be strictly enforced. Inspectors of the Regional Transport Authority would be entrusted with the task of enforcement of this regulation. Police inspector fined for
assault A police inspector was fined Rs. 500 by the Colombo Additional Magistrate on Monday for assaulting a member of the public. The complainant who had visited the Peliyagoda police station to make a complaint had received injuries as a result of being assaulted. Police inspector Lakshman Rajapakse the accused in the case was ordered to pay this fine by Colombo Additional Magistrate Mrs. S. D. S. Casim. The complainant Jayasiri Nimal Rathnasekera of Kelaniya, who was assaulted in this incident which had taken place 12 years ago said that he had gone to the police station to make a complaint about a road accident but instead he had been subjected to assault by the police inspector. Although the complainant had gone into the office of the HQI in an attempt to avoid being assaulted, it had been in vain. This was revealed in the inquiry held into this case which had been dragging on for many years. The magistrate said that the case against the dependant has been proved without doubt by the complainant. CBEU calls off proposed walk-out The executive committee of the Ceylon Bank employees’ Union (CBEU) has decided to call off a proposed walk-out from banks countrywide planned for July 6 in support of the Regional Rural Development Banks (RRDB) salary issue. The decision was made on Monday evening after a meeting with Central Bank governor, A. S. Jayawardena, ended fruitfully. (The RRDBs come under the purview of the Central Bank). A union source told ‘The Island’ that the Central Bank management agreed to their demands on behalf of the RRDBs last Friday. The CBEU demanded the revision of salaries and the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) of the RRDB employees. They asked for a 15% increase in salaries with effect from January 1997 with a further 15% after restructuring of the banks. With regard to the COLA, they requested that it be hiked from Rs. 1 to Rs. 1.50 per point with effect from January 1997. Finally, they demanded that the arrears in the loss-making banks be paid in 12 monthly instalments. Negotiations in this regard had been on since October 1997. The union intensified their trade union action this year after repeated discussions failed. At Friday’s meeting, it was agreed that the RRDBs would be restructured within a maximum of four months after which the salary and COLA demands would be met. (NW) MID-WEEK
POLITICS The United National Party leadership has now identified the 'negotiator' who is the king pin of the rebel group against the party leadership. They said that this 'negotiator', a pint sized politico is now leading a group of nine against the leadership over Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe's decision to suspend Mr. Wijayapala Mendis. According to UNP sources, the reported leader of the rebel group which was identified as the 'third impeachment group' in the party has had a 'one-to-one' meeting with an ardent supporter of Mr. Mendis last week. Mr. Wickremasinghe, authoritative sources disclosed has now come to understand as to what took place between the 'negotiator' and Mr. Mendis's supporter. Last week there were newspaper reports that Mr. Anura Bandaranaike was to have a meeting with his sister, President Chandrika Kumaratunga. Sources close to Mr. Bandaranaike dismissed speculation that Anura would join the People's Alliance government. PA men who read this speculative news report were perturbed. Last Friday two senior cabinet ministers who are against any move to bring in Mr. Bandaranaike, discussed this speculative story at dinner with a business magnate. The talks ended with the two ministers saying that they would fight the PA leadership to the last, if there was any truth in the newspaper story. The PA ministerial group known as the 'Palace Guard' and close to President Kumaratunga are strongly opposed to Anura's entry. President Kumaratunga who learnt about the speculative story announced that she had no intention of meeting her brother. This announcement was treated with relief by the 'Palace Guard'. In the latest development within the UNP, sixty five MPs of the party have prepared a petition to urge the party leader to take disciplinary action against the ten Working Committee members who abstained from voting with the decision of the UNP leader to suspend Mr. Wijayapala Mendis. They claim that be it the decision was right or wrong, the Working Committee and the Parliamentary Group which empowered the leader to take the final decision should vote with the leader's decision. They say that no member should be allowed to support any member on personal friendship as the party came first in larger interests. On Monday a group of Wickremasinghe loyalists met at a Colombo residence to discuss the conduct of the 'negotiator' in the party. One of them addressing the issue recalled how this 'negotiator' had talks with the LTTE and fed wrong information to the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Another said, 'you know this man what he told the select committee deliberations and how he misled, us at the Parliamentary Group'. The group which felt that this 'negotiator', now unpopular in the group should retire from politics without trying to split the UNP for personal interests. Rumours spread within the UNP circles on Monday that this 'negotiator' is being backed by former UNP strongman Sirisena Cooray. Authoritative sources disclosed that Mr. Cooray has not met this person since he had gone into political wilderness after President D. B. Wijetunga bowed out. Mr. Cooray, after the Premadasa birth commemoration at Kataragama was only seen once at the Elphinstone Theatre on Sunday with the North-East Governor Gamini Fonseka where the commemoration ceremony on the late Musician R. Muththusamy was held. Both Mr. Cooray and Mr. Fonseka, according to close sources were talking of the role played by Muthhusamy as a musician from the days Mr. Fonseka acted in the popular film 'Sandeshaya'. While the UNP political pot was being stirred, Mr. Wickremasinghe kicked off his election campaign even though the PA cabinet decided that no Presidential election will be held this year. At a party held at a Colombo five-star hotel on Tuesday night, a PA Minister disclosed to some UNP men who were there that the Provincial Councils election too may be postponed and there was a possibility of the government going for a Presidential poll by February next year. He was further reported to have told the UNPers that intelligence reports received has indicated that the climate was not conducive to hold any election this year as Deputy Defence Minister Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte had stressed to the President that he was not prepared to release police personnel for any other matter this year because of the war against the LTTE. Meanwhile, Lalith Front Leader Srimani Atulathmudali is likely to support the UNP at any election in future. Although she issued a statement on Monday saying that no decision has been taken by the Lalith Front to join the UNP Mrs. Athulathmudali is now left with only one Parliamentarian and that is her confidante Ravi Karunanayake. Her other MP Kesaralal Gunasekara appears to have taken the PA way with him signing a resolution along with PA members to reconstitute the Bribery Commission. Both Mrs. Athulathmudali and Karunanayake called upon the government to 'reactivate" the Bribery Commission without making moves to reconstitute it. Mr. Gunasekara decided otherwise and his signature for the reconstitution came as a surprise to Mrs. Athulathmudali. However, the Lalith Front leader is yet to decide on Gunasekara's future with the Lalith Front. He is of the view that expulsion of Gunasekara from the party would serve no purpose as she learnt a lesson by doing so to her former MP, Ediriweera Premaratne. Premaratne who was expelled sought relief from the Supreme Court and was granted. |
||||
 |
||||
