      |
|||
No more flying to Jeddah,
Karachi, Fukuoka, Amsterdam |
|||
No more flying to Jeddah,
Karachi, Fukuoka, Amsterdam AirLanka officials admitted that a decision has been taken to scrap operations on four major routes as part of its restructuring programme, authoritative sources said yesterday. AirLanka will pull out flights from the Colombo-Jeddah, Colombo-Karachi, Colombo-Fukuoka and Colombo-Amsterdam routes with effect from October this year, official sources said. The restructuring programme has been launched following the 40% divestiture of the national carrier to Emirates in April this year. A senior Air Lanka official dismissed claims that the airline is planning to scrap operations on three Indian routes as well in the near future. There is speculation in airline sources that AirLanka flights to the Indian cities of Madras, Trichy and Trivandrum described as ‘profit making’ are also to be done away with. The official denied that there was any such move. ‘We are re-looking the route network where while some destinations were being taken off, the number of new destinations was actually being enhanced, the official said. AirLanka sources said that the decision to scrap flights to Fukuoka and Amsterdam was due to "commercial reasons". In the case of Jeddah it’s non-profit making due to the required payment of royalties to Saudi Arabia However authoritative aviation sources questioned the sense behind pulling out AirLanka flights to Amsterdam in view of the route being proven profit making during the first eight months of last year according to an AirLanka release in November, 1997. The release reported that the air line recorded a 45.2% growth when compared to the same period in 1996. According to this release a total of 11000 Dutch tourists had visited SriLanka during this period with AirLanka predicting an increase to 15000 by December of the same year. In view of the increased arrivals, AirLanka also deployed an additional flight from Amsterdam to Colombo of its then existing number of 3 flights per week, beginning November 6 1997. In its release AirLanka further reported that the "favourable development was the result of successful efforts by AirLanka and the Netherlands travel trade." Meawhile the proposed recommencement of flights to the non-profit making destination of South Africa early next year has also come up for criticism in airline and travel circles. This destination was scrapped earlier as it was non-profit making. The route introduced in May 1996 recorded a loss of Rs. 100 million and was eventually terminated in February , 1997. Travel circles complained about the allocation of only one charter for the United Kingdom for winter 1997/1998 from where a reported 72000 tourists arrived in Colombo. However AirLanka sources said that flights to the European continent are to be "enhanced" beginning the winter season commencing late October. Under the proposed program is the introduction of non-stop terminators where AirLanka will introduce straight flights to London, Paris, Rome, Zurich and Frankfurt from Colombo instead of the existing schedule of midway connections. AirLanka sources added that its flights to the European destinations of London and Frankfurt will also be increased from 5 to 6 and 3 to 4 times per week respectively. Forty percent stake and management in AirLanka was sold to Emirates in early April this year for US$ 70 million by the government amidst protests by opposition political parties. Mid-Week Politics First it was the case of the priceless gem that went missing from the President’s House. The Criminal Investigation Department then recorded a statement from Mrs. Hema Premadasa who was then occupying the Palace. During that period allegations were levelled at young Sajith Premadasa for treasure hunting in places of religious worship. The latest is the missing painting of the Mulkirigala Temple done in 1826 by William Daniel from the President’s House. This allegation is too centred on the Premadasa family and the CID has recorded the statement of Mrs. Premadasa’s son-in-law, former Air Lanka Director Rohan Jayakody. President Ranasinghe Premadasa having assumed the Presidency did not occupy the President’s House but preferred to live at his "Sucharitha" residence at Hulftdorp. Mr. Premadasa only visited the President’s House for official engagements and returned to ‘Sucharitha’. Mr. Premadasa on the other hand followed the policy of his predecessor J. R. Jayewardene not to bring the family into politics. The Premadasa family stepped into politics even before the remains of the late Premadasa was cremated at the Independence Square. There Mrs. Premadasa making a speech much against the wishes of Premadasa loyalists called upon the people to extend support to her to continue with the Premadasa policies. This valuable Mulkirigala Temple painting was first seen at a London auction by the late H. W. Jayewardene, brother of President Jayewardene. Mr. H. W. Jayewardene brought it to the notice of the President who in turn purchased it for 14,000 pound sterling and hung it on the wall by the staircase in the President’s House. This painting surfaced at the Christies International Brokers for an auction in London again. Our High Commissioner in London, S. K. Wickremesinghe was shocked to see it and immediately contacted Defence Secretary Chandrananda de Silva in Colombo. This time the painting was fixed at 30,000 pound sterling at the auction. Defence Secretary moved in early and directed the CID to contact the Interpol and Senior SP Sisira Mendis flew to London to bring back the painting. The CID has concluded its investigations and the matter is now before the Attorney General for necessary action. Political sources noted that President D. B. Wijetunga who assumed the Presidency after the death of President Premadasa had to wait for ninety days to occupy the President’s House as Mrs. Premadasa wanted such time to move out to her official residence at Stanmore Crescent. These sources alleged that during this transition period many items including the priceless gem had gone missing. President Wijetunga occupied the President’s House after taking an inventory. Sources said that this valuable painting too had made its way to London through an Air Lanka flight during that period. Late President J. R. Jayewardene’s Secretary and the Head of the J. R. Jayewardene's Centre Mr. Mapitigama has informed the CID that this painting was never brought to the Ward Place house nor the Jayewardene Centre by the late President Jayewardene. UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who was apprised about this missing painting was a very annoyed man last week. He had been very critical of those who occupied the President’s House during the period many valuable national treasures were reported missing. Mr. Wickremesinghe had asked a party man — ‘How can we talk of anti-corruption and the credit card of Mangala when our top people who occupied the palace is accused of robbery?' The UNP has come to understand that Sajith Premadasa has close links with a Cabinet Minister in the South. The UNP is also surprised as to why the state controlled media is silent on this missing valuable painting. Mr. Wickremesinghe is to raise this question in Parliament this morning and would urge the government to inform the public as to who is responsible for the theft of the painting. With the scenario of the missing painting being that, the talk in the political circles is of the special treatment afforded to the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Minister M. H. M. Ashraff. Though the SLMC decided to contest the provincial elections under the PA banner, it had been granted the facility of separately contesting in Colombo and Kalutara districts to show its strength. This has annoyed the Lalith Front of Srimani Athulathmudali. She says that during the last local government elections when she withdrew her support to the PA and rumours floated that her partymen were contesting on the UNP list, a cabinet reshuffle was effected and she was removed from the cabinet. She argues that if Mr. Ashraff can have his own way at election time, President Chandrika Kumaratunga should give him the same treatment that was given to her. Mrs. Athulathmudali who claims that her party was given step-motherly treatment by the PA now supports the UNP at future elections. She does not canvass for the UNP in open as-it would violate the current agreement with the PA. The UNP is fielding many Lalith Front candidates for the August PC elections. At Monday’s UNP group meeting Mr. Wickremesinghe decided to reactivate the election campaign at grassroot level be the elections be held or postponed. The notable absentees at that group meeting were Messrs. M. H. Mohamed, Anura Bandaranaike, Wijayapala Mendis and A. C. S. Hameed. Tamil journalists' arrests
reported to Presidential inquiry committee The Presidential Committee appointed to inquire into cases of illegal arrests and detention of terrorist suspects has been informed of the arrest of a staff reporter of Virakesari and a free lance correspondent who has been contributing reports to this Tamil newspaper, police and ministerial sources said yesterday. Sandaralingham Sri Gajan covering courts and politics has been arrested last Thursday by the Terrorist Investigation Department [TID] which functions under the direct control of IG Police. Gajan, born in Jaffna has been with Virakesari, for two years. He has studied in Colombo sources said. Virakesari’s Vavuniya correspondent, P. Manikkavasagar who contributes reports for both the British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] and Reuters has been arrested by Vavuniya police. He has been already handed over to TID, police sources said yesterday. They were the first journalists detained under emergency regulations after People’s Alliance [PA] came into power in August 1994. Soon after the arrest of Gajan, Virakesari has informed several MPs including Messrs. Lakshman Jayakody, chairman of the recently appointed Presidential Committee, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, Alavi Moulana, R.S ampanthan and A. H. M. Fowzie. Gajan has been arrested by officers of the TID at 8.30 p.m. The arrest was made within the editorial dept. of the newspaper. Police has issued a signed letter to the editorial dept. admitting the arrest of Gajan under emergency regulations. Earlier two of his relatives were arrested in connection with inquiries conducted into the detection of explosive packed suicide jacket in the Kotahena police area. A spokesman for Virakesari said that police did not inform them of the arrest of Manikkavasagar based at Vavuniya. Minister Alavi Moulana yesterday admitted that Virakesari had contacted him soon after Gajan was arrested. When contacted authorities have told Minister Moulana that both Gajan and Manikkavasagar have been detained under emergency regulations. Police declined to reveal exactly why the two reporters including Manikkavasagar who had been with Virakesari for more than 20 years have been arrested.They were among a few others arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into terrorist activities, police said. Director Information Ariya Rubasinghe said that he contacted Defence Secretary Chandrananda De Silva regarding the arrests."He promised to look into the case," Rubasinghe said. Police declined to confirm or deny a possible link between the twin arrests and investigations into the recent recovery of three explosives packed jackets during a raid on a terrorist safe house in the Kotahena police area. Three jackets containing almost 11 kgs of high explosives were found when police raided the safe house on information provided by detained terrorist suspects. Police admitted that they have been unable so far to establish the targets against which the three jackets were to be used. "We believe terrorists were trying to stage attacks ahead of the SAARC summit," police said. Call for release of Tamil journalist Wanni District Journalists Association in a fax sent to President Chandrika Kumaratunga has requested the immediate release of Vavuniya provincial correspondent of 'Veerakesari', P Manikkavasagar arrested Monday by the Counter Subversive Unit (CSU) of Vavuniya police. Copies of this fax have also been sent to IG Police and all other newspaper offices. The Association has also urged the government to take legal action against Manikkavasagar, if there were allegations against him but ensure his safety and security. Maha Nayaka Thera’s
cremation tomorrow The cremation of the remains of Thripitaka Vageesh-wacharya Abhidhaja Maha Ratthaguru Sangharaja Prawa-chana Visharada Mahojadyaya Agga Maha Panditha Most Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maithriya will take place tomorrow. The cremation is to take place at 3.00 p. m. at the Balangoda Madya Maha Vidyalaya grounds with full state honours. The school was chosen as the venue of the cremation ceremony as it was founded by the most Ven. Ananda Maith-riya Thero 50 years ago. The organizing committee in charge of the funeral processions had decided on the venue of the cremation, the Ven. Balangoda Bambara-kotuwe Ananda Mangala Thera told ‘The Island’. The remains of the most Ven. Ananda Maithriya Maha Nayaka Thera was taken from the Ananda Maithriya Buddhist Centre in New Town Rathna-pura to the prelate’s temple, Nanda-ramaya at Udaha-mulla in a motorcade, Monday morning. Thousands of mourners were seen gathered on the sides of the street to pay their respects to the Ven. Thera. The remains will in turn be brought to the Sri Dhamma-nanda Pirivena hall in, Miriswatte in a motorcade at 1.30 p.m. today. The body will remain there till 2.00 p. m. on Thursday for the public to pay their last respects. The remains are then to be taken to the Balangoda Madya Maha Vidyalaya at 2.00 p.m. for cremation. The organising committee will conduct the ceremony in a very modest way taking into account the modest and great life the late most Ven. Thera, the Ven. Ananda Mangala said. To protect Sinhalese commission
report - Ven Madihe The government should take the findings of the Sinhala Commision report into consider-ation and act in order to protect the Sinhalese and the Buddhists, said the Ven. Madihe Pangh-naseeha Sangha Nayaka of the Amarapura Nikaya. The Sinhala Commission pre-sented the first part of its final report to the public yesterday. The report by the Sinhala Commission was presented to the Mahanayake Thera’s of the three Nikayas at the Dalada Maligawa last week. The Sangha Nayaka praised and commended the first part of the Sinhala Commission’s report. The Ven. Vewal-deniyehi Vedananda, Sangha Nayaka of the Ramanya Nikaya also com-mended the report and said that the proposals should be looked into by everyone. Recommendations by the Commission include the abro-gation of the Indo-Lanka Accord and repealing the 13th Amendment of the Constitution. The report states that the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed under duress and threats. The recommend-ations also urge the consideration of ways and means of having a new constitution for the country. The Sin-hala Commission, in its recommendations, also called upon the people not to vote for and reject any party in alliance with the CWC, because its leader has called upon the Govern-ment to hand over the Northern and Eastern Provinces to the LTTE. The Ven. Madulu-wawe Sobitha Thera who spoke on behalf of the Jathika Sangha Sabha dec-lared that the proposals of devo-lution provide the perfect environment for the establishment of a separate state of Eelam. According to the constitution, a merger of the North and the East is called for, he said. This gives them territorial rights of a third of the country, he said. This land is established as a Tamil homeland. The rights to this land first goes to the District level and next to the region. The division of the land will ensure that no Sinhalese will ever get an inch of land in 1/3 of Sri Lanka, he said. The proposals elevate nationalist and separatist situations, he said. The leader of the CWC Saumyamurthi Thondaman says that if the Muslims and Tamils are allocated land, the plantation workers have every right to have a separate section, Sobitha Thero said. Thondaman openly condoned Prabaha-karan, he said. The future of the country is to be bleak if this is to be, he said. Thondaman has the power to use two political parties, he said. The true intent of the LTTE is known by all the people, he said. The Thero called for everyone to forget political divisions and listen to the recommend-ations of the commission. The Sinhala Commision has made the following recommendations to the National Joint Committee: 1) (a) call upon the government to set up an Independent Development Authority with wide powers to develop the areas comprising the former Kandyan Kingdom and rehabilitate the Sinhala people living there, the most disadvantaged people in the country today. (b) see that the Temples and Devales in these areas have their lands and appurtenances and amenities restored to them and they be quieted in possession thereof and at special Judicial Officers of the status of a District or High Court Judge, be appointed to inquire into and summarily determine all claims to such lands made by Temples and Devales or individuals. Appeals made against orders made by such Special Judicial Officers to be disposed of within a year of such appeals. 2) see that funds be made available by the Government to the Independent Development Authority without delay, to enable it to carry out the task of development and rehabilitation expeditiously. 3) Call upon the British Government to make amends and apologise to the Sinhala people and pay substantial compensation for: (a) breaking a solemn International Treaty (Kandyan Convention) entered into by its predecessor with the representatives of the Sinhala people, to, inter alia, protect the Buddha Sasana "Religion of Budhoo" (b) conducting campaigns of genocide against the Kandyan people, destroying their livelihood and depopulating their villages. (c) expropriating and grabbing without compensation the ancestral lands of the Kandyan Sinhalese and selling them for nominal prices to foreigners among whom were their own officials. (d) utilizing the forced labour of the Kandyan people and imposing special taxes on them for the construction of the roads required for the foreign owned plantations (e) causing irreparable environmental degradation by large scale clearing of forests in the Kandyan areas (f) bringing in and settling an alien people (S. Indian labour) in the lands expropriated and seized and thereby causing severe political and independent Governments of Sri Lanka. 4) Ensure that funds made available by the British Government are paid directly to the Independent Development Authority. 5) call upon the Government to formally abrogate the Indo-Lanka Accord in view of the secret agreement therein, known only to Tamil political parties and unknown to the majority of the people that the merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces was not to be a temporary one but in fact a permanent one, as the provision made to hold a referendum on the face of the Accord was for the purpose of deceiving the vast majority of the people of this country and not to be acted upon. This makes the Accord void ab ab initio and of no effect. Besides the Accord was signed under duress and threats. 6) Call upon the Government to repeal the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the Provincial Councils Act and to rescind forthwith the temporary merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces all of which were steps taken in order to implement the Indo-Lanka Accord. 7) Call upon the Sinhala people to reject and not vote for or support any party that is in alliance or has a secret or open agreement with any communal party, whose agenda, secret or otherwise, is the creation of a federal or separate state in Sri Lanka. 8) call upon the Sinhala people not to vote for an reject any party that is in alliance with or is secretly or openly supporting the CWC because its leader has called upon the Government to hand over the Northern and Eastern Provinces to the LTTE for ten years as a separate entity and is thereby advocating separatism in this country. 9) Call upon the Sinhala people to shed all differences and unite to safeguard their rights, protect the territorial integrity of our country and ensure a bright and prosperous future for themselves as well as all citizens of Sri Lanka. 10) Call upon the Government not to amend or pass any laws to facilitate or allow persons who failed to get Sri Lankan citizenship under the Srima-Shastri Agreement to obtain such citizenship now 11) ensure that Article 157 A of the Constitution is strictly enforced 12) reiterate a Sri Lanka is and has always been a Unitary State (in its strict legal sense) and take steps to see that it remains so for all time 13) declare and affirm that the whole of Sri Lanka is the homeland of all its citizens and that no part of it shall be recognised as the exclusive possession or habitation of any ethnic community or linguistic group 14) take steps to ensure that there is no division of the country for political or other purposes on the basis of ethnicity 15) consider ways and means of having a new Constitution for the country. In the challenges facing this country in the 21st Century, it may be necessary to have a new Constitution. But such Constitution must be drawn up after consulting the whole people through their delegates specially appointed for that purpose alone. If we desire to re-establish social peace and harmony together with economic stability once again in this country, we have to design a political structure in consonance with Buddhist social philosophy on which was based the governance of our country until the incursions of the western colonialists. This calls for two basic steps; (a) namely the restructuring of our political institutions so as to replace the adversorial system introduced by the British which has been the bane of our country, by one where co-operation between the various groups is made the basis for governance in accordance with the principle enunciated by the Buddha in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. Ananda, so long as the Vajji princes assemble and disperse in harmony and unity, carry out in harmony and unity the affairs of the Vajji country, the furtherance of their welfare and prosperity is to be expected, not their decline; (b) the adoption of an economic system which will ensure a more equitable distribution of the country's wealth so as to provide at least the basic human needs to every member of our society. 16) see that those Sinhala people who in the recent past have been driven out of the North and East are resettled in their former habitat and restored to their political and civic rights in full. 17) establish a Permanent Sinhala Human Rights Commission to keep a watch and review of all developments affecting the Sinhala people in particular and the nation in general and to take suitable steps in regard to any action tending to adversely affect the Sinhala people and the nation and also to further and advance the cause of the Sinhala people and the nation. Such a Human Rights Commission consisting of three persons may be appointed by the President of the National Joint Committee as persona designata and this could be approved by the National Joint Committee. College of Surgeons annual academic sessions The two-day combined annual academic sessions of the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka and the Gastroenterological and Digestive Endoscopy Society of Sri Lanka will be inaugurated at 6.00 p.m. today at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI). There will be thirteen guest speakers at the sessions and of them twelve are eminent foreign scholars. The Nihal Markus oration will be by Dr. Mrs. Indrani Amerasinghe while Sir A.M. de Silva Oration will be by Dr. Gamini Goonatillake. The symposia of the annual sessions will be ‘trauma, orthopaedics, urology and gastrointestinal morality’. The post congress workshop will be held at the Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila with a video conference presenting a live demonstration of Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. This is the first two academic associations of Sri Lanka which have combined to present a ‘Joint Academic Session’ and it is also significant that both these associations have Prof. Dayasiri Fernando as the President. This is also the first time that a live video presentation is included in a scientific session in Sri Lanka. During this video presentation the audience can watch a surgical procedure, talking to the surgeon from the lecture hall, just as they would inside the operating theatre. This is organised by Prof. Dayasiri Fernando and Dr. Mohan de Silva at the Colombo South Teaching hospital. The guest speakers are: Wijepala Mendis cites Commission members in
Writ Application The Additional Solicitor General Mr. K. C. Kamalasabaysan, President's Counsel yesterday appeared before the Supreme Court, for the three Members of the Presidential Commission, which probes malpractises in public bodies, the Secretary to the said Commission, and the Secretary to the President, who are cited as respondents, in the Writ Application filed by Mr. Wijepala Mendis, UNP Parliamentarian. The said respondents are namely Chairman of the Commission, Supreme Court Justice P. R. P. Perera, Members of the Commission, Court of Appeal Justice H. S. Yapa, Court of Appeal Justice F. N. D. Jayasuriya, Mr. N. A. Obadage and Mr. K. Balapatabandi. Counsel for the respondents Mr. Kamalasabaysan, asked for time till August 24, to file objections on behalf of the respondents. Time was allowed till August 24. Counter affidavits, by the petitioner, are, if any, to be filed four weeks thereafter. Mr. E. D. Wickramanayake instructed by U. Abdul Najeem appeared for the petitioner. Wijepala Mendis, requested the Court to issue a Writ of Certiorari, to quash the adverse findings, made against Mendis, by the first two respondent commissioners. |
|||
 |
|||