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| Bribery Commissioners object to GL &
Jeyaraj sitting on select committee The two members of the Permanent Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption now before a parliamentary select committee has written to Speaker K.B. Ratnayake objecting to Ministers G.L. Peiris and Jeyaraj Fernandopulle serving on the committee. The two commissioners are former supreme court judge T.A. de S. Wijesundera (chairman) and former IGP Rudra Rajasingham. The third commissioner, former judge Siva Selliah died in January 1997 and was not replaced. The reasons the two commissioners have adduced for their objections to Prof. Peiris include that two officials working under him are under investigation by the commission on allegations of bribery and corruption. The commissioners have said that in view of the close relationship that may exist between the minister and these two named officials, there was reasonable apprehension of bias. They have also said that the minister is reported to have told a cabinet news briefing that the commissioners have to be replaced "to ensure that the commission works.'' This remark had been published in the Island of Dec. 5, 1997. In the light of this, he cannot be considered impartial or disinterested in the outcome of the select committee proceedings. Objecting to Mr. Fernandopulle, the commissioners have said that he had on more than one occasion criticised them in strong terms and for that reason they were not suitable for serving on the select committee. The 9-member select committee comprising five from the government and four from the opposition had its first meeting last week when the commissioner's objection to the two ministers serving on the committee had been presented. According to well informed political sources, when parties appearing in court object to a particular judge hearing their cases for stated reasons, it is up to the judge to decide to decide whether he should hear this case or not. These sources said that this is the established law on this matter. If the same criteria are applied to the select committee, then the decision on whether they should sit or not will rest with the two ministers. Political sources do not expect them to bow out. In the judicial sphere, judges on their own decline to hear cases for personal reasons or possible conflict of interest. Very recently, in a case involving the Lalith Athulathmudali Commission in which former Judge Tissa Bandaranayake is a respondent, Justice Mark Fernando said from the bench that as a member of the Judicial Service Commission, he had made critical observation on Justice Bandaranayake. In view of this, he asked whether there was any objection to his sitting on the bench. Counsel for the respondent said that they would prefer him not to do so and Justice Fernando said that the bench that would be constituted to hear this matter will not include him. The two commissioners have not yet heard from the Speaker about their wish that the two ministers be excluded from the select committee. Since their letter of objection has already been presented to the committee, it is expected that a decision on this matter will be communicated when the committee next meets. President Kumaratunga wrote to the two commissioners in November 1997 asking them to step down. They did not accede to this request. Thereafter 80 members of the PA submitted a resolution calling for the expulsion of the commissioners on stated charges. The select committee was thereafter set up. It will examine the commissioners' response to the charges that have been made. The law permits the expulsion of the commissioners by a majority vote of parliament on grounds of proven misconduct or incapacity. |
| Head of Bhutan govt. to be here for the
summit King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan who will not be attending the Colombo SAARC Summit has written to President Chandrika Kumaratunga saying that the foreign minister, who is the first chairman of the country's new council of ministers, will be attending in that capacity. "IN keeping with tradition, the chairman of the council of ministers also acts as head of the government," the king had said in a letter which was released to the press yesterday by the Government Information Department. "As this will be the very first summit meeting to which Bhutan will be led by an elected head of delegation, the 10th SAARC Summit at Colombo will be a historic occasion for our country," the king had said. He had said that Lyonpo Jigme Y. Thinley will be heading the Bhutanese delegation in his capacity as head of the new council of ministers. In his letter, the king had said that some very important changes to the system of government in Bhutan have been introduced by him with devolution of full executive power from the throne to an elected council of ministers and a mechanism for registering a vote of confidence in the king. "Until now the Council of Ministers comprised of cabinet ministers appointed by the King and members of the Royal Advisory Council which consists of elected representatives of the people and representatives of the clergy," he said. The SAARC charter enables heads of state or government to attend summits. The following is the full text of the letter King Jime Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan has written to President Chandrika Kumaratunga. I write this letter to inform you, Your Excellency that I have introduced some very important changes in our system of government in Bhutan, namely the devolution of full executive power from the Throne to an elected Council of Ministers and a mechanism for registering a vote of confidence in the King. Until now the Council of Ministers comprised of cabinet ministers appointed by the King and members of the Royal Advisory Council which consists of elected representatives of the people and representatives of the clergy. The National Assembly, which is currently in session, endorsed my proposals for the establishment of an elected Council of Ministers with full executive powers of governance and also the introduction of a mechanism for registering a vote of confidence in the King. Accordingly, new cabinet ministers have been elected by the National Assembly through secret ballot for a term of five years after which they will be required to seek a vote of confidence. Together with the Royal Advisory Councillors the elected ministers now comprise the new Council of Ministers and they will govern Bhutan with full executive powers. They are only required to keep the King informed on all matters concerning the security and sovereignty of the country. The National Assembly has also decided that the Chairmanship of the Council of Ministers will rotate among the elected ministers. The Foreign Minister, Lyonpo Jigme Y. Thinley, having secured the highest number of votes, is the first Chairman of the new Council of Ministers. In keeping with tradition, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers also acts as the head of government. I would like to inform Your Excellency that Lyonpo Jigme Y. Thinley will be leading the Bhutanese delegation to the 10th SAARC Summit in Colombo in his capacity as the head of our new Council of Ministers. As this will be the very first summit meeting to which Bhutan will be led by an elected head of delegation, the 10th SAARC Summit at Colombo will be a historic occasion for our country. In view of the age-old ties and close bonds of friendship between our two countries and our shared values emanating from the Dharma of Lord Buddha, I am confident that Your Excellency will extend your full cooperation and support to His Excellency Jigme Y. Thinley. I would like to take this opportunity to wish the 10th SAARC Summit at Colombo every success under Your Excellency’s dynamic and far-sighted leadership. May I also send my warmest felicitations and Tashi Delek to the government and people of Sri Lanka in the year of your Golden Jubilee celebrations, and my best wishes for Your Excellency’s good health, happiness and continued success in all your endeavours. Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration and warm personal regards. |
| The 'Curse of SAARC Summits' plague S. Asian
leaders by
Amal Jayasinghe South Asia, home to a fifth of the world's population and plagued by poverty, civil strife and cross-border disputes, has seen leaders come and go periodically but the summits may have added a new dimension. To the superstitious, the fall of Indian prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral last November only strengthened a theory that summits of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) bring bad luck. When Gujral attended the ninth SAARC summit in the Maldives six months earlier, he was in the spotlight following a historic meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of arch-enemy Pakistan. Yet the wary even then saw the Indian premier as a likely victim of the curse of SAARC, which groups Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This time around eyes are on current Indian prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is set to meet Sharif for the first time since India and Pakistan shocked the world by conducting their nuclear tests in May. Vajpayee is leading a similarly shaky coalition to Gujral's and could be the next victim, according to Asian diplomats here. "We don't look at the summits from a superstitious point of view", an Asian diplomat said. "But when you look at the track record, there certainly seems to be a very remarkable pattern of bad luck befalling many." Bad luck has afflicted at least one SAARC leader after every summit, with the 10th due to open in the Sri Lankan capital on July 29. The summit itself was in doubt after the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests. The meeting was first scheduled to open on July 21 and then advanced to the 9th before being pushed back to July 29. The month of July is also considered an unlucky one for Sri Lanka. It was the anti-Tamil riots here in July 1983 that marked an escalation in the country's long-running Tamil separatist war. Since then, Tamil Tiger rebels have been staging spectacular attacks each year to mark "Black July" towards the end of the month. A controversial peace deal between India and Sri Lanka was signed on July 29, 1987 but it brought only more bloodshed. But the summit had to be in July to cope with the logistical nightmare of getting all the SAARC leaders together at the same time. The summits can only take place in the presence of SAARC heads of state or government. Since the group was formed in 1985 many leaders have fallen from grace after its meetings, with one going straight to jail after a summit and another getting assassinated. After then Bangladeshi prime minister Hussain Muhammad Ershad attend the November 1990 summit in the Maldives, he fell from office and went to jail. Five years later his successor Khaleda Zia was also toppled after attending the eight summit in New Delhi, but was luckier than Ershad and stayed out of prison. Pakistan's Sharif, who attended his third summit last time round, had his share of SAARC bad luck after the April 1993 summit in Dhaka when he was sacked by the president. Similarly dismissed in 1996 was Sharif's arch rival, Benazir Bhutto. Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa lived less than three weeks after attending the seventh SAARC summit in Bangladesh in 1993. He was killed by a suspected Tamil suicide bomber. Nepal's prime minister Girja Prasad Koirala made it to two summits in 1991 and 1993 before being ousted. His predecessor Krishna Prasad Bhattarai made it only to the Male summit in 1990. Insulated from the bad luck could be Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, in office since 1978, and Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuk, Both are founding members of SAARC. But the Bhutanese monarch will this year miss the SAARC summit for the first time. No official reason has been given for his absence. Perhaps the bad luck that befalls their leaders is the only silver lining for the SAARC members' 1.1 billion people whose lives are yet to be improved through regional cooperation. During the 1991 meeting here in Colombo, the authorities bundled all urchins and beggars out of the way while President Premadasa made a strong case for ending poverty in the region, one of the poorest in the world. |
| Intabex to close shop in Sri Lanka By Franklin. R. Satyapalan They said that the multinational Intabex (Lanka) Ltd. which enjoys BOI status says that it is losing money and have to wind up their operation here. They have been served letters calling for their resignations by July 31. "They are offering us meagre compensation for the loss of our jobs,'' an employee said. He said that they have been offered six weeks pay for each year's service. A company spokesman attributed the imminent closure to financial reasons. Arjuna Samaratunga, executive director of Intabex said that they have run into losses and had to close down. Intabex offered tobacco growers seedlings, fertilizer, insecticide know-how and cash advances to grow tobacco leaf for the company. They purchased the leaf. Samaratunga said that the farmers grew the crop on voluntary basis. There was a possibility that Ceylon Tobacco, which also exports tobacco leaf, may take some of the farmers' produce, Samaratunga said. "We will be compensating employees who will lose their jobs in consultation with the labour department,'' he said. Intabex Netherlands took over the assets and facilities of the Sri Lanka Tobacco Industrial Corporation which was liquidated in 1982. They are a big name in the tobacco industry worldwide. Although Intabex was not the 100% owner of the company here, they controlled the management which was administered by Intabex Services of the U.K. The financial management was in the hands of a locally appointed director while an expatriate managing director from the parent company oversaw the tobacco cultivation. There were a few highly paid expatriate employees. About a year ago, a U.S. company, Dimon Incorporated, a global tobacco giant, took control. The founding managing director was changed and problems began. Intabex took tobacco leaf from growers in Padaviya, Rambewa, Kebittigollewa, Kahatagasdigiliya in the NCP and Buttala, Wellawaya, Embilipitiya and Moneragala in the south. The main processing facility was located at Hokandara, Pannipitiya and another large factory was located at Mihintale. These enjoyed BOI concessions. In addition to growers who regularly provided leaf to the company, seasonal workers too participated in the harvesting. Employees and growers are appealing to the government to protect their interests. |
| Island Capers SLAF checkpoint sergeant 'with a fix' The Sri Lankan driving licence is evidently no proof of identity at some security checkpoints. A company director, challenged at a security checkpoint one Sunday evening near Ekala on the Minuwangoda Road showed his driving licence but this evidently was not proof enough of identity to the SLAF sergeant. The director's wife, one of his friends, hid driver and his two small kids apparently did not look too suspicious to the sergeant; but the director himself did, for he kept insisting on his National Identity Card which the director had left at home. Obviously this particular panjandrum wasn't aware that the driving licence or passport is as good as the National Identity Card. A senior police officer confirmed that a driving licence is adequate proof of identity but sometimes personnel manning checkpoints were not aware of this. So for your own safety, carry your ID with you. |
| Memory
enhancing drug By Himangi Jayasundere Prof. Kamalgoda Managing Director of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation (SPC) said that he believed it to be manufactured and imported from India. We have no track of the drug as it has not gone through the usual registration procedure, he added. According to pharmacy sources the capsules take about two months to be effective and are selling fast. However the real effects of the drug on the consumer are yet to be known. |
Opposition leader Ranil Wickremasinghe was in Galgamuwa last Sunday as a part of his programme of visiting villages in the countryside. He had his breakfast at a village home and is pictured here with a small child who sat next to him to enjoy her own piece of kiribath. |
| Pride 'Sri Lanka's Pride' didn't sell despite 30 m bid by Navam G. Welihinda and Dharmadasa
Liyanarachchie reporting from Ratnapura Weighing about 850 carats, the sapphire went on public auction at the second ‘Gem Fair’ held by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority at the Fort Gem Centre in Ratnapura. Several other ‘lots’ of gems were also auctioned. The rough blue sapphire was found in a mine in Hakmuwa Ratnapura earlier, a spokesman for the Gem and Jewellery Authority said. A massive crowd attended the Gem fair in order to catch a glimpse of the famed stone as it was on public display. The highest bidders Jinadasa Guruge of Kahawatte and Ranjith Pieris of Ratnapura offered at the outset a joint bid of Rs. 21,658,583.93 for the stone at tender auction. Once a faction of the partners refused the offer was increased up to Rs. 30 million after discussions. The owners of the stone however declined the offer and decided not to sell the sapphire during the auction, but to save it for a better offer. The owners of the uncut blue sapphire, "Pride of Sri Lanka" said they expect at least Rs. 50 million for the stone. The bidding was conducted on a tender basis. The interested parties would examine the stone, estimate the value and register a bid in writing, the spokesman said. The Authority then reviewed the registered bids and was to hand over the sapphire to the highest bidder, he said. The whole exercise was conducted by the National Gem and Jewellery Authority. The mine in which the sapphire was found, belongs to Ms. Leela Dharmadasa and H. Gunasinghe; thus giving them the rights to auction the stone. Apart from them several partners also have rights to their share. The size of the stone is roughly about three quarter the size of an egg and is blue in colour. According to Ms. Dharmadasa the stone is of a very rare category. Ms. Dharmadasa speaking to ‘The Island’ said that estimating the value of the stone is difficult and that the stone is of "museum value." When asked before the auction on how much she was expecting for the stone she declined to comment, saying that "You can never be sure in the gem business." The moment she saw the stone she knew it was of immense value, she said. The Chairman of the National Gem and Jewellery Authority while speaking to the press said that one of the primary objectives of holding a Gem fair was to curb the illegal auctioning and selling of uncut gemstones. By holding a fair the auctioning can be done in a legitimate way benefiting all parties, he said. The gem fair will ensure that a reasonable and fair price is paid for the stones. All foreign bidders are expected to act through a local representative, he said. Sri Lanka loses approximately Rs. 2 billion per year by the illegal gem trade, he said. Gems are shipped abroad to be cut and polished with a 100% profit, he said. One percent of the value of stones on auction at the fair will be charged by the government from owners of the respective mine, he said. This money will be utilized for a pension fund for the mine workers, he said. |
| Indian Guru and Lankan Pupil in concert August 15 marks the closing of the Indian golden jubilee of independence. To mark the cultural ties between the two countries, the Indian High Commission is organising four Indian classical music concerts under the title Maitri Sandhya at which the violin wizard of India Pandit V. G. Jog will perform along with his Sri Lankan pupil Pandit W. D. Amaradeva. The concerts will be held at 6 pm first in Galle, at the Banquet Hall of Lighthouse Hotel on August 12, then on August 14 at Bishop’s College auditorium, Colombo and the following day at the Hindu Cultural Hall, Kandy. The fourth concert will be at 5.30 pm at the Grand Hotel Nuwara Eliya, on August 16. Accompanying the Guru-Shishya duo will be the tabla virtuoso Ustad Sabir Khan, and Shri Chaithanya Jog on the Tampura. Pandit Amaradeva will also be giving a vocal performance accompanied by Sri Lankan artistes. Pandit V. G. Jog, who has earned for himself the accolade of Violin Wizard of Hindustani Music, has held the top position as a classical music performer in India for over 40 years. He was trained extensively under the great Ustad Ali Khan and has performed with some of the greatest names in the Indian classical world of modern times. Pandit Amaradeva is himself a stalwart of Sri Lankan classical music and a graduate in vocal and instrumental music of the Bathkande Institute of Music, Lucknow. He has been associated with other legendary names in drama and dance like Chitrasena and Prof. Ediriweera Sarachchandra and has composed musical scores for many of their productions. He has also performed internationally and was placed first in the All India contest for violinists in 1955. In 1986 he was granted the President’s Kala Keerthi award and was conferred the title of Desha Manya in 1988. The Guru and pupil will be conducting a workshop for those interested in Indian music at thje Indian Cultural Centre, 133 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 4 on August 10 at 3.30 pm. Those interested in attending this workshop should contact the Indian Cultural Centre, Phone No. 500014. |
| Tamil Tamil parties look for 'consensus solution' Tamil political parties present in Colombo have on the initiative of an NGO personality who asked not to be identified been having informal discussions on a possible solution to the national question on a basis acceptable to all, well informed sources said. They are looking for a consensus political solution that would satisfy both Sinhalese and Tamil aspirations which can hopefully be discussed with both President Kumaratunge and the LTTE in the future, these sources said. Tamil parties involved in this dialogue include the TULF, EPRLF, EPDP,EROS and PLOTE, they said. They said the framework of proposals had been sent earlier to the president requesting permission "for a purely non-political group acceptable to all'' to informally take them up with the LTTE. "The heart of the concept which itself is based on the LTTE's own continuous stand that it would accept a truly "viable alternative'' (to a separate state) if such were genuinely found and offered. The proposals are based on two fundamentals - that the country will not be divided and that genuine autonomy would be granted to the north and east,'' these sources said. "In order to underpin the unity of the country, the framework of proposals emphasized as a fundamental the true participation of the minorities in central government, giving them a genuine stake in national identity and the best guarantee to the Sinhalese against division.'' The framework of the proposals have also been sent to the LTTE. (FRS) |
| Political parties doubt about holding PC
elections By Franklin. R. Satyapalan "We have had no applications from any party for electronic media time. The PA has not even been attending the preliminary fortnightly meetings at the department,'' an elections department official said. Due to the lack of interest, these regular meetings are no longer held. Few candidates are spending on posters and other publicity material. Although the signals point towards postponement, some analysts say that it could be a strategy to catch the opposition off balance. The department was going ahead with arrangements to gazette the names of the 2,382 candidates whose nominations have been accepted for the 343 seats in five provincial councils due to poll. Public speeches of top government personalities have indicated the possibility of the elections not being held. Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte is on public record saying that it is not possible to hold the elections at the present stage of the war without damaging the military effort. Prof. G.L. Pieris has said that the government is faced with the prospect of making "difficult and painful decisions'' in this regard. The term of the NWP provincial council will continue till November. However, Chief Minister Nimal Bandara (UNP) had wanted an early dissolution so that they too could poll with the other PCs. "Going by the current situation it did not seem worthwhile seeking an early dissolution,'' the chief minister said. |
| Flight time changes during SAARC meeting Air Lanka yesterday warned that there may be some advances or delays in flight arrivals and departures from Colombo from July 27 to Aug. 1 due to the SAARC meeting here from July 29 to 31. A company notice said that all airlines may be affected and asked the public to check with the concerned airlines for information on revised flight times. The following Air Lanka flights from July 27 to Aug. 1 (inclusive) will be subject to flight time changes, the company said advising passengers to check in early for their flights during this period. Information on timings of the Air Lanka flights scheduled below may be had on 421161 (between 8.15 a.m. and 5 p.m.) or 073-2375/6 outside office hours. |
| Traffic
plan: SAARC summit The roads in Colombo will not be closed for Traffic in connection with the SAARC Conference, according to DIG Colombo Range J. L. A. Jayawardene. Instead Traffic will be diverted at important junctions to facilitate the traffic flow of vehicles attending the SAARC Conference. |
| Library 'The Library' to celebrate in an Australian style by
Danielle Boekel Mac Phillips; food and beverage manager, Carl Holvorson; assistant food and beverage manager and Shalini Perera; assistant manager Public Relations held a press conference at The Library with regard to the festivities that are in store. The hotel; with the co-operation of Mr. Imran Saibo of Funtime (Pvt) Ltd will be bringing down the popular Australian band White Man Can’t Reggae and to coincide with their visit there will be an Australian food promotion featuring all the diverse cultures on Australian cuisine that will have delicacies such as imported grain fed Australian steaks and Australia’s Linderman wine. Sun FM will inaugurate the celebrations and will hold a publicity show on August 15. On August 16, White Man Can’t Reggae will provide entertainment along with an open air poolside barbeque. From the 17th to the 19th the Summerfields coffee shop will have the best of Australian cuisine with a fusion of European, British and Asian cultures and the Noblesse restaurant will have a 3 course set dinner with the best Australian wines. The sponsors of the event, represented by Terence Pendigrast; from British Airways/ Quantas and Neil McLloyd from Orient Lanka and Sun FM representative Yasanth Gunawaredena was also present at the press conference. |
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