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| Lead story Emergency rule shatters foreign confidence in Sri Lanka? by Amal Jayasinghe The government invoked emergency laws on Tuesday mainly for political reasons rather than due to any real deterioration in security but the move sent negative signals to foreigners, diplomats said. "To anyone living in the country the intention of the government is very clear but to someone outside, it gives the impression that the situation in Sri Lanka is quite bad," an East Asian diplomat said. President Chandrika Kumaratunga who had in 1994 described the emergency as draconian, used executive powers to invoke the very same laws on Tuesday, saying she felt there was a "public emergency" in the country. Legislators within her ruling People's Alliance as well as the main opposition disagree. The opposition has argued the laws were invoked to save the government from an embarrassing defeat at the local elections originally set for August 28. Brokers at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) said the political manoeuvring has compounded the problems of insatability affecting the entire South Asian region. India's nuclear explosions and the tit-for-tat blasts carried out by Pakistan triggered a flight of foreign capital from the region and Colombo, although a minuscule market, was badly hit. Despite Sri Lanka staging a seven-nation South Asian regional summit here last week, the Colombo bourse remained unimpressed. In fact, prices in Colombo fell even as South Asian leaders met in Colombo and discussed ways to boost regional trade. The collapse of talks between India and Pakistan during the summit could hardly reassure foreigners, analysts here said. They said Sri Lanka's tourism industry, a key sector of the economy, that is trying hard to recover after devastating Tamil rebel bomb attacks last year and again in January this year, would take a hit, they said. The numbers visiting Sri Lanka dropped to 150,700 in the first five months of the year compared to 151,100 in the corresponding period last year and the fall in June was expected to be even greater. Western diplomats said the imposition of emergency rule had little effect on the ground for foreigners. However, the emergency rule will scare away many travellers who would have otherwise spent their holidays in this Indian Ocean island better known for unpolluted beaches and tea-growing mountains, diplomats said. Direct foreign investment too is expected to be badly, hit. Prices at the stock exchange have fallen by 31 percent in the year ending July and foreigners were net sellers. The country is also grappling with a policy dilemma. Sri Lanka's policy of maintaining an overvalued rupee has helped ensure low interest rates but the easy money policies were also fuelling food prices. SG Securities, a unit of Societe Generale of France, said Monday the Sri Lankan rupee was overvalued by 24 percent but did not expect the currency to fall much further although it had been sliding slowly this year. Inflation was rising and forecast at 12 percent in 1998. In June inflation was running at 10.2 percent. Interest rates were also slowly climbing to avoid speculation on the rupee, SG said. However, it noted that despite the ongoing war against Tamil separatists in the north and the east, the economy's strong rebound last year was sustained into the first half of this year because of a strong international demand for tea, the island's main export. |
| Emergency and elections: what the PA said Using the emergency to postpone the provincial council elections is another broken promise of the PA government, political analysts pointed out yesterday. This is what the policy statement of the PA government published by the government information department after the last election had to say on the subject: "The government's powers to change laws governing any aspect of the conduct of elections, by having recourse to emergency regulations promulgated under the Public Security Ordinance will be removed. "The enactment of and modification of laws pertaining to elections will be a function entrusted exclusively to parliament. "The authority of the commissioner of elections to conduct free and fair elections, and in particular to issue directions to police officers in connection with the conduct of the poll, will be strengthened.'' The document, with a photograph of a smiling President Kumaratunga on its cover page, proclaimed that this policy statement was to ensure "a secure prosperous society where human values reign devoid of corruption and terror.'' The provincial elections were postponed by the extension of the emergency to cover the whole country and the promulgation of Part II of the Public Security Ordinance. This renders the dates specified for the holding of the provincial council elections "deemed for all purposes to be of no effect.'' No action has yet been taken to give the elections commissioner more muscle "and in particular to give directions to police officers in connection with the conduct of the poll'' either. |
| Ishini
leaves Bolgoda home "Nobody asked her to leave'' Mrs. Ishini Wickremesinghe Perera Friday left the Bolgoda home adjoining that of her father close to the TNL compound, witnesses said. There was a police presence including senior officers present at the time of her departure, they said. The house Mrs. Perera and her husband, Muslim Congress National List MP Asitha Perera occupied overlooked the Bolgoda Lake and belonged to her grandmother. Nobody asked her to leave either the house or TNL itself, well informed sources said. TNL sources said that Mrs. Perera who held the position of Director Commercial and News at TNL resigned from the company on August 3. Until then she was working from the company's Bambalapitiya office although there were various reports in the government press. TNL said that about six employees had quit altogether. Their services were being maintained normally and there was no disruption. Some of the former employees expected to joint Rupavahini. According to company sources their popular and highly rated programme "Always Breakdown'' ran into trouble last May when its seasoned and original scriptwriter, Harith Gunawardene resigned claiming he was being harassed and prevented from making references to the devolution package and the credit card issue by persons in the production team. He applied to court for an injunction to stop the production of "Always Breakdown'' claiming he had been responsible for all scripts from the inception of the programme. He failed to obtain the injunction and the programme continued with Sadhamangala Sooriyabandara taking over the script writing. TNL sources said that the high rating of the programme dropped and management received several complaints from disappointed viewers regarding the "blatant political slant'' that had crept into the programme. These sources said that on the morning of July 23 preparations were being made for the next day's programme. When the management examined the script, it was found that the lawyer who cleared it had marked " highly defamatory.'' A second script was disallowed on moral grounds. The scriptwriter was asked to make the necessary alterations and provided with transport to get it cleared by the lawyer. That had not been done and the production had to be suspended at heavy cost to the company. The same afternoon, the board had decided to send a show cause letter to Mr. Sooriyabandara who was transferred to the TNL office in Bambalapitiya and banned entry to the Piliyandala station. These sources said that there was no ban or threat from the management to Mrs. Ishini Wickremesinghe Perera who protested on the scriptwriter's behalf. Upto the time of her resignation and thereafter till Friday she continued to occupy the house next to her father's near the TNL station. Five members of the news and commercial office has resigned with Mrs. Perera. They were working with Mrs. Perera and described as close to her. TNL says it is able to maintain its service and its standards. |
| TULF welcomes facilitator TULF President M. Sivasithamparam yesterday welcomed the proposal to have a facilitator for talks between the LTTE and the government saying that no progress in resolving the ethnic problems can be made without talks with the Tigers. "There is so much distrust between the two sides that the services of a facilitator is necessary,'' he said. "So I am glad the president has agreed to this. But it must be clear that neither side would impose conditions before the talks start.'' (FRS) |
| Mayors
to meet president on Tuesday President Chandrika Kumaratunga has summoned Mayors countrywide for a meeting to discuss development of their cities as well as necessary amendments to the Local Government Ordinance, informed sources said yesterday. The meeting is scheduled to be held at Temple Trees on Tuesday. Colombo Mayor Karu Jayasuriya, who is the chairman of the Mayor's Conference has invited his colleagues for a tea party the same day so that they can discuss a common approach, Town Hall sources said. Mayors of 14 Municipalities - Colombo, Negombo, Moratuwa, Kotte, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Ratnapura, Badulla, Matale, Nuwara Eliya, Kandy, Kurunegala, Galle and Dehiwela- Mt. Lavinia will attend Tuesday's meeting. Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Alavi Moulana who will also attend the president's conference said that the H.A.P. Abeywardene Report on amendments to the Local Government Ordinance will be discussed. Mayor Karu Jayasuriya said they would raise the matter of administrative functions, delegation of authority and taking away of decision making powers from the Mayors. "We'll ask the president for more powers and authority for local bodies irrespective of political ideology,'' he said. He also said that they had an open mind regarding necessary changes to the 100-year old Local Government ordinance. "We have forwarded our recommendations earlier to the president,'' he said. Informed sources said that the president was keen on modernizing the municipal areas and making them models for other local bodies. There have been complaints that some MCs have been overlooked when development plans were made. The president wants all municipalities have a uniform and planned development program. Both the mayors of Jaffna and Batticaloa who will be attending Tuesday's meeting have already arrived in Colombo. (FRS) |
| Island Capers SAARC gripes Last week's government parliamentary group saw many gripes from MPs and one minister about SAARC arrangements. So much so that President Kumaratunga, who was a late arrival (as usual) asked pointedly: "Why are these things raised here? It will be published in the newspapers.'' Perhaps that is what made the Observer cheerleader who pontificated on Tuesday of the non-state press picking on "niggardly lapses'' following up with a second installment on Thursday. Since he is finding what he calls "mean mindedness'' in the privately owned press, we wonder what he will say about the mindset of some of his masters who loudly fume over a third row seat when they think they deserve the front row. Those were all matters brought up at the government group. The president had said, we are told, that she had to look into everything up to the cake of soap. But no matter.The vociferous complainant stayed to second the resolution about the excellence of the show! Minister C.V. Gooneratne is collecting compliments strung to his initials nowadays. Last week he was told at a JASTECA meeting that the initials could have stood for Charismatic and Versatile. At the recent French National Day he fielded a lady's compliment that he was Charming and Vibrant. And he remembers that he was once called Churchill Vinston (a little convenient licence there!) and now we have Cassius Valentius. Quite a change from Clement Vincent. |
| xx Convict to be taken to Chemmani this week? By
Franklin. R. Satyapalan "Hopefully, this might be done this week,'' he said. CID investigators have already questioned L/Cpl. Somaratne Rajapakse who made the allegation about the mass grave during the trial at the maximum security section of the Welikade Prison and recorded his statement. Other convicts in this case have also been questioned and statements recorded. The security of the persons who have to be taken to Jaffna remains a problem, the prisons authorities have told the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Rajapakse has told prisons staff that he fears a possible threat to his life on being taken to Jaffna. Another problem is that Rajapakse has a record of escaping custody. He once broke free in the course of the trial but was re-arrested. NHRC Chairman, Retired Justice O.S.M. Seneviratne, is in touch with U.N. agencies here about forensic expertise necessary in this case being obtained from abroad. AG's department sources said that an application must be made to an appropriate court before any exhumation is done. Jaffna reports said that the Chemmani area is usually subject to flooding during the monsoon rains. If this happens, there could be a delay in exhumations. |
| GL launches electorate organisations Minister G.L. Peiris last week launched his organisation of the Colombo East electorate for which he has been named SLFP organiser. Activities in this connection on Thursday and Friday included a citywide poster campaign, the setting up of 35 branch organisations in the electorate and electing a 27-member Balamandalaya with the minister as chairman. Prof. Peiris obtained the assistance of 40 PA parliamentarians including deputy ministers for these activities which were preceded by a paduru party at Visumpaya where the minister is resident. The guest list of seventy comprised mostly of PA parliamentarians and a few provincial councillors. |
| UNP, MEP to launch campaign against
postponing of PC elections By Zacki Jabbar A countrywide protest on the postponement will be held on Aug. 28, the originally scheduled polling day and continue for two days thereafter. The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), on Friday began its islandwide campaign protesting against the postponement of the PC polls with a public meeting at Homagama. This was followed by meetings on Saturday in the Kaduwela and Kelaniya electorates. They are due to hold protest meetings in the Moneragala district today. MEP leader Dinesh Gunawardena said they are not going to make legal action a priority reaction to the postponement of the polls. "We think galvanising public opinion against the government's action will be the influencing factor. We are going to help the people defend their rights." The UNP in addition to the grassroots level campaign will on Aug. 14 hold a public rally at Hyde Park. A meeting of UNP Western Provincial Council candidates chaired by UNP leader Ranil Wickremasinghe in Colombo on Friday discussed the manner in which the protest campaigns would be conducted. Tyronne Fernando MP said that the postponement of the PC elections under Emergency Regulations violates the constitution. Section 155 (2) of the constitution states that Emergency Regulations cannot override any provision of the constitution." "A basic provision of the constitution under the 13th amendment is the Provincial Council system. The proclamation by the President postponing elections is like a coup d'etat. We will be getting on the streets to challenge this undemocratic act". The UNP's media spokesman Karunasena Kodituwakku MP said that as a democratic party they will first present their case before the people. |
| Christian Council urge govt to hold
Provincial Council elections While expressing a strong disapproval over the Government's decision to postpone the Provincial Council elections, the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka has pointed out in a press release that the postponement creates a dangerous precedence and severely undermine the democratic rights of the people of the country. The Council also appeals to the Government to review its decision and ensure the elections are held without delay. The full text of the Council's statement is as follows: The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka expresses its disapproval in the strongest possible terms over the postponement of the Provincial Council elections. The postponement of elections creates a dangerous precedence which we believe will severely undermine the democratic rights of the people of this country. For a Government which has very clearly committed itself for the devolution of power, such action undermines the credibility of the Government to this commitment. Further it will not help to strengthen the faith of the minority groups in this country in any process of devolving power which the Government intends to implement. We wish to reiterate that the right to vote is a fundamental characteristic in any democratic system of government and the denial of such rights to the people is a threat to the very foundations of a free society which the Government has pledged to work for in this country. It would be relevant to recollect that elections have been held under extremely difficult circumstances in the past and we particularly refer to the period 1988/89. We are unable to accept the position that the elections cannot be conducted under the present circumstances. We are not unmindful of the fact that such elections would be difficult in certain parts of the North and East, but to make this the reason for postponing elections throughout the country is not acceptable. We appeal to the Government to review this decision and ensure that Provincial Council elections are held without delay. |
| Strong Sri Lankan delegation attend legal
medicine and forensic sciences congress in Japan A 21-strong delegation from Sri Lanka headed by Mr.. Hemachandra Mana-tunga, President of the Medico-Legal Society of Sri Lanka attended the sixth Indo-Pacific Congress on legal medicine and forensic sciences held from July 26-30 at Kobe, Japan. A participant explained that these international triennial conferences are held under the auspices of the Indo-Pacific association of Law, Medicine and Science (INPALMS). INPALMS, which is the association officiating national forensic science societies in the Indo-Pacific region, was founded in Sri Lanka in August 1986 during the Colombo Congress. Since then Congresses have been held in Madras, Bangkok, Bali and Kobe. 710 delegates and accompanying persons attended the Kobe Congress from 39 countries. The current President of INPALMS. Professor M. S. L. Salgado who had served as President of INPALMS from 1992-1998 Chaired the General Meeting of INPALMS at Kobe on July 29. This meeting elected Professor Yoshitsugu Tatsuno, Professor of Forensic Medicine at Kobe university as President for the 3-year team 1998-2001. Induction of the new President of INPALMS took place the following day at the banquet by the outgoing President, Prof. Salgado, who remarked that Professor Tatsuno would be the last President of the 20th century and the first President of the 21st century. The General Meeting also decided from two competing bids, that the venue of the next meeting would be Melbourne, in September 2001 with Professor Stephen Cordner as Chairman of the Congress. The following Sri Lankans were elected to the Council of INPALMS: Mr. H. Manatunga-Vice President, Dr. Lakshman Weerasena-Hony. Treasurer and Mr. Daya Perera, PC as Council member. 125 oral and 185 poster presentations, apart from the 2 plenary lectures and 3 symposia were held at the conference. The paper entitled 'Present Situation of AIDS in Sri Lanka and Preventive Aspects of HIV Infection' was adjudged the best paper and Dr. Lakshman Weerasena was given the first prize for his presentation. Other Sri Lankans who presented papers were Mr. A. R. L. Wijesekera, Mr. D. Abeysinghe, Mr. R. D. C. Jayaweera and Professor M. S. L. Salgado. |
| CBEU urges govt. and LTTE to stop war The Ceylon Bank Employees' Union, one of the country's most powerful trade unions a 28,000-strong membership will consider a resolution urging the government and the LTTE to stop the war and reach a political solution through negotiation at its fourth National Delegates' Conference opening tomorrow. Other major resolutions include recovery of tycoon-plundered loans, defeat of privatisation and defending pension rights and the 8-hour day and 5-day week. The CBEU has 17 bank branch unions representing all state and private banks with over a thousand branches spread countrywide. A total of 1,700 delegates representing branches of all banks in the country are scheduled to participate at the conference to be held at the National Youth Centre at Maharagama. The union's general secretary, Mr. M.R. Shah, said that resolutions on eight issues "significant to the country and the common people'' have been submitted for discussion at the conference which will be chaired by CBEU President P. Bandara. Among the other resolutions are those calling for the "defeat of privatisation and state institutions and safeguarding of national assets,'', defending pension rights, and urging government to implement a national economic plan to solve unemployment and bring down the cost of living. Other resolutions include a call to the authorities to recover loans defaulted by "plundering capitalist tycoons,'' safeguarding the 8-hour working day and 5-day week, enacting legislation for the Workers' Charter and the establishing of a an independent trade union centre without affiliation to party politics. |
| Three honorary doctorates from Colombo
University The Colombo University Wednesday awarded three honorary doctorates at its general convocation held at the BMICH. The Chancellor, Dr. P.R. Anthonis, presided and awarded the degrees. Two of the recipients of the honorary doctorates were former teachers of the university while the third was a Japanese Buddhist dignitary who is no longer alive. The recipients were: Late Dr. Jiun Aoki, former Head and Chief Incumbent of the Myosonji Temple in Japan and Prof. Lakshman. S. Perera, former Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Colombo University who were both conferred the degree of doctor of letters (honoris causa); and Prof. A.A. Hoover, formerly Professor of Biochemistry and the University of Colombo and the first Dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Jaffna who received the degree of doctor of science (honoris causa). A total of 1,479 graduands were conferred their degrees at Wednesday's convocation. They were awarded degrees in arts (450), business administration (83), commerce(152), labour education(32), ayurvedic medicine and surgery (54), law (221), medicine and surgery (MBBS) (178) and science (309). |
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