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 The deadly haul of over 100 kilogrammes of RDX explosives, detonators and other lethal material seized by a combined police-army team from a house at Aladeniya, Udunuwara in Kandy early Sunday. (Pic by Ranjith Senaweera)
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Kandy house search reveals
vital clues and more explosives Police investigators believe that more caches of arms and explosives smuggled in by the LTTE are hidden in various safe-houses in the Kandy area. ‘There could be more deadly stocks concealed by the Tigers to launch sudden attacks’,police said. Police said a major breakthrough has been made in anti-LTTE operations in Kandy following Sunday’s recovery of over 100 kilogrammes of TNT explosives from a house at Aladeniya,Udunuwara which has given investigators some vital clues on terrorist activity in the upcountry region,security officials said yesterday. Police have found another half a kilogramme of TNT explosives concealed in the same house as the search for more stocks of lethal material smuggled in and hidden by the Tigers continued. The raid on the Aladeniya house was conducted by a combined police-army team from Batticaloa on information given by a captured terrorist.Two men who were occupying the house at the time of the swoop down swallowed cyanide resulting in the death of one of them.The other is reported to be recovering at the Kandy General hospital. A woman who was staying in the Aladeniya house has also been arrested.Her two children are also being questioned by investigators.The woman’s husband and daugher had left the house the day before the raid,police said. Police said the two Tigers had been sharing the house with this family to avoid suspicion. The magisterial inquiry into the death of the Tiger who swallowed cyanide was held on Sunday evening by Kandy acting magistrate M. Jameel, who also visited the scene. Meanwhile police have arrested five members of an elite unit of the LTTE in Trincomalee.They were planning an attack on a key politician,police said. The arrested men have been brought to Colombo and are being interrogated under tight security.They had given information about two more LTTE suicide cadres,but police found that they had fled to another area. Fast attack craft fire Colombo Dockyard Limited[CDL] yesterday ruled out the possibility of any LTTE involvement in the recent fire which damaged an Israeli built Fast Attack Craft[FAC] undergoing repairs at the CDL."There was no sabotage," CDL’s Chief Executive Officer [CEO] Dr. Sarath Obeysekera told The Island yesterday. Dr. Obeysekera said that fire was a result of an accident. According to available evidence, the fire has been caused by welding. A FAC [P-470] built by Shaldag Corporation of Israel caught fire resulting in damages and forcing the CDL, Navy headquarters and the insurances to explore the possibility of re-building the vessel, navy officials said. Dr. Obeysekera said that this was the first Sri Lanka Navy [SLN] craft damaged in a fire at the CDL. This particular accident occurred despite a series of precautions taken against accidents, he said. CDL has been repairing SLN vessels for a long time. Apart from that it had built FACs and several other types of craft for SLN. Asked whether he was conducting an investigation, Dr. Obeysekera replied in the positive. Investigations made by CDL have revealed that the LTTE had no hand in the accidental fire. He insisted that extraordinary measures have been adopted to prevent sabotage or any other covert activities. "We have insurance cover for all ship repairs at CDL," Dr. Obeysekera revealed. Both the CDL and insurance agents were engaged in assessing the damages suffered by the craft. He said that the vessel could be re-built and deployed again."There was no doubt about it," he said adding that major equipment including generators and engines and major hull had not been destroyed in the fire. However electrical wiring, accommodation area and control panels had been damaged extensively. Dr. Obeysekera said that security has been further increased after the incident. Navy headquarters has conducted a separate investigation into the incident. Navy Commander Vice Admiral Cecil Tissera has ordered a Court of Inquiry headed by the Deputy Area Commander [West] commodore Sarath Weerasekera. They have already recorded the statements of the Officer-in-Charge and other personnel attached to the vessel. Their report was expected to be handed over to Vice Admiral Tissera this week. Authoritative navy officers said that inquiries have revealed that the LTTE has had no hand in the incident. They said that it was an accident. The vessel had not been involved in any anti-terrorist operations for almost a year. SLN, over the years has acquired a fleet of Israeli, South Korean, US, CDL and SL-French built FACs. Troops break up PLOTE campaign VAVUNIYA: PLOTE cadres Monday (17) continued with their campaign against the permit system introduced for issuing fuel. There was a breakdown in both public and private transport. Shops were closed. People kept indoors. However troops later ordered people to open their shops. Several buses operated after military intervention. B'caloa time bomb injures many A timebomb fitted to a motorcycle exploded around 1 p.m yesterday (17) in Batticaloa town, near Seylan Bank, injuring 3 police officers and 14 civilians. The motorbike bearing registration number 128-7647 was in a parking lot and 7 motorcycles and 10 push cycles were also damaged as a result of the explosion. The bomb went off near a police sentry point. The injured are receiving treatment at the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital. Several buildings were damaged in the explosion. Army and Police road blocks have been set up in the area and cordon and search operations were being carried out. Indians not yet handed over to ICRC ICRC spokesman said that the 17 Indian crew members of the 'Princess Kash' had not been handed over to ICRC representatives in the Wanni. "There was no truth in speculation that they had been handed over to ICRC at Mallavi' he told 'The Island' last night. Taboo in revealing top command position changes The government has directed the Competent Authority to prevent both in print and electronic media from revealing changes in top command and control positions in the forces. Competent Authority Major General S. T. T. Jayasundara yesterday informed through Director Information, Ariya Rubasinghe both local and foreign media that transfers of Divisional Commanders [General Officers], Brigade Commanders and next level officers should not be published in newspapers and electronic media. 'Unnecessary publicity given to their transfers gives the Tigers an opportunity to plan out their strategies,' the Competent Authority says in a message to Rubasinghe later released by the Information Department. Defence Secretary Chandrananda de Silva on August 14 directed the Competent Authority to prevent both print and electronic media from revealing details of the transfer of senior officers. The government on June 5 reimposed censorship on military news. Defence Secretary in a statement stated that Emergency Regulations have been made by the President prohibiting the publication and the transmission of sensitive military information. Major General Jayasundara recently replaced Major General Jaliya Nanmuni as the Competent Authority. The People's Alliance government on October 10, 1996 lifted censorship that was imposed on April 19 same year .April censorship was declared just a few hours after troops mounted the second phase of combined security forces offensive, Riviresa to bring Thennama-ratchchu under government control - [SF] Death of veteran sports journalist
The late Dayaprasad was a man of many facets. As a sub-editor in his "more active" days he encouraged young reporters with his knowledge and experience and drove home a point that the best reporter is a person who can write his or her copy in the shortest possible way. Basics and simplicity was his hallmark. Dayaprasad joined ‘The Island’ Sports Desk from its birth in 1981 after a stint at the ‘Sun’ newspaper. As a sub-editor Dayaprasad was not second to any other. He loved books and would read anything from cricket to politics and even followed Bible studies. It would have been unusual for any of his colleagues to see him leave the office without a book tucked under his arm. A quality that was admired in him was that he never aspired to bring about the professional decline of any of his colleagues both senior and junior and seeking position was never his goal. Dayaprasad belonged to a tribe of people who had the knack to stir up a conversation or befriend any stranger on a common topic. He socialised freely, never saw age as any barrier and often displayed a boyish touch to discuss his ups and downs in life. Dayaprasad also possessed a good sense of humour. Above all he was a man so broadminded always open to the facts of life. During the latter stages of his career, Dayaprasad chose to remain a recluse most of the time, sometimes retiring to quiet places. He was married and was the father of five children. His funeral will take place at Koralawella Methodist Church on Thursday August 20th at 4.30 p.m. (CD) 'Veerakesari' journalist in remand files
rights violation plea The Supreme Court yesterday granted leave to proceed with the Fundamental Rights violation application, filed by Santhiralingam Srigajan, a sub-editor of the 'Veerakesari', newspaper. The application said that the petitioner, is at present in remand custody at the Terrorist Investigation Division, at Chaithya Rd., Colombo 1, and that the petitioner has been subjected to an arbitrary arrest and an arbitrary detention. On 16.7.98, the petitioner had been taken into custody by Sub Inspector, P. Wasbiya-watta, attached to the Terrorist Investigation Unit. No reasons had been given for the said arrest. The petitioner had been kept at the said Terrorist Investigation Unit, at Chaithya Rd., Colombo 1, upto date. The petition alleged violation of Article 13(1) and 13(2) of the Constitution, since the petitioner is being subjected to an illegal arrest and an illegal detention. The petition requested the Court to grant leave to proceed with the application, declare the violation of Fundamental Rights and to order the forthwith release of the petitioner from detention custody. The petition was yesterday, supported by Mr. P. Sivaloganathan. Leave to proceed was granted on the alleged infringement of Articles 13(1) and 13(2). Hearing was fixed for November 2. Rs. 2m fraud detected at CDA The CID is probing an alleged fraud of Rs. 2 million by an employee of the Coconut Development Authority (CDA). The CID is now in the process of recording statements of certain employees of the CDA. The fraud has taken place in 1993 and had gone undetected till last month. The fraud was discovered by CDA officials who had suspected a certain employee, who was interdicted last year for allegedly stealing on a similar amount by fraudulent means, official sources said. The Fraud Bureau was called in and his passport was impounded on a court order. The Fraud Bureau when contacted by ‘The Island’ said that "investigations are in progress". The CID is now working on the second case. After the employee was interdicted last year, the CDA launched a comprehensive investigation into its accounts for the past nine years he was holding office as an accountant. The CDA discovered that certain bank statements were missing from the file of documents. These missing bank statements led to the discovery of a Treasury bill of the CDA with a maturity value worth 2 million that had not been credited to the Authority. The attempted fraud led to the discovery of the earlier one where the suspect had allegedly plundered 2 million rupees of CDA funds by crediting 4 cheques to a friend’s account by forging signatures. The CID was called in to investigate last month, these sources said. When the CDA officials investigated its past records, documents relating to nineTreasury bills worth 64,126,950.55 rupees, invested in 1992 for a period of six months were found missing from the CDA documents. The accounts of the CDA only contained an entry of 67,850,000 rupees as the maturity value of these bills on June 18, 1993. But after the information was obtained from the bank it was discovered that the actual maturity amount of the treasury bills was Rs. 69,850,000. The balance Rs. 2,000,000 was sent to an irrelevant account of the CDA. The transactions of this account was not recorded in the CDA since 92 to 95. The bank statements for the month of July and August ‘93 that went missing were obtained by the CDA for investigation. The CDA had found that the signatures of the cheques used to draw the 2 million from this account, had been forged, according to these sources. Two cheque books were issued to the CDA fund in 1987. One of the cheque books could not be traced. This cheque book was used to make the fraudulent payments, it’s alleged. The photocopies of the cheques obtained from the bank by the CDA for investigation showed that the cheques were credited to two accounts. These account holders, to whom the 2 million was credited by 4 cheques, were discovered to have no connections with the CDA. The four cheques although credited to two accounts were obtained by one account holder. This account holder is a friend of the accountant and have come to meet him at the authority on several occasions, it’s further alleged. Tender Board to select Consultant A tender board has been appointed to select an International consultant to design the construction of the Galle port breakwater and dredging, Ports and Port development Minister M. H. M. Ashraff said. The consultant would also study the feasibility of the project. The cost of this project was estimated US $ 700 million. The Minister told a ceremony to mark the laying of the foundation stone for the terminal of the Galle Cement Company at the Galle port last Friday. He explained that the breakwater and dredging were essential to develop the Galle port. The Minister said that they hope to start work within 180 days and complete the project before the year 2000. Minister explained that it was his dream to develop the economy through the port during the first half of the PA regime. The development of the port is necessary not only for our needs but also for international shipments, he added. Minister Ashraff said that he believed that development could be achieved through increasing the efficiency of the harbours. The government hoped to increase the number of harbours and also develop the Northern pier. On the Galle Cement Company, the Minister said that it was a historic day for the entire Ruhuna. This being the first phase of the Galle development project, he revealed that initially Rs. 450 million had been invested in the project. It is the Government's duty to support the private sector to enable it to develop the economy. He pointed out that they had been able to bring down the price of a bag of cement by Rs. 35. Explaining the need for infrastructure in the country, he stressed on the need for better facilities to meet the globalising process. Manilal Fernando, Managing Director of Puttalam Cement said that they have been aware of the fate of the people of Ruhuna due to the cement monopoly there. The price of cement had been uncontrollable as a result and the people of the area had often been compelled to buy cement at a high price due to limited supplies. He added that the terminal will create about 60 direct employment opportunities apart from jobs for about 200 distributing agents. Fernando who said that the development of a country is measured by cement because it is the basis for infrastructure added that they had come to Ruhuna to stay and would continue to forge ahead. Minister of Education and Higher Education Richard Pathirana, and Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda, were also present at the ceremony. Puttalam cement is the Sri Lankan arm of the Holderbank Group, a swiss multi - national and the largest cement manufacturer in the world. HTOA to negotiate for Haj charters at low rates Haj Tour Operators Association of Sri Lanka has decided to seek a meeting with Cultural Minister Lakshman Jayakody to discuss problems faced by pilgrims, according to the Association. A statement issued by the Association is as follows: The Executive Committee of Haj Tour Operators Association at a recently held meeting decided to negotiate with private foreign airlines to organise charter flights at low rates, for the benefits of Haj pilgrims in the forthcoming year 1999. The operators were totally dissatisfied and disgusted with the attitude and methods adopted by the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs in dealing with the Haj operation in General and Air Lanka Charters in particular in the recent past, and as a result the Association has lost confidence in the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs. The Executive Committee also felt that certain officials of the Department have utter disregard for Haj pilgrims and Haj Tour Operators. The charter fares were very high, and the allocated gratis complimentary tickets were not passed on to the operators; payment of refunds were delayed and allocations of charters were haphazard. From the six Gratis Complimentary tickets granted by Air Lanka for the benefit of the operators, three were snatched by the Department although the Minister of Cultural Affairs, Lakshman Jayakody requested only one such ticket to be utilised for the disabled in sending them to Makkah to perform Haj on complimentary basis even though it is not compulsory for such persons if they are not financially sound. The Gratis tickets were granted to the respective operators for the purpose of taking Ulamas, tour guides and the staff. This is the only concession the operators are offered by the Airlines for filling their entire charter flights. There were instances where certain pilgrims missed their flights due to the delay of issuance of visas, and as a result they were forced to be booked into other flights with additional payments to enable them to be in time for Haj. The operators had the privilege to obtain their visas directly from the Saudi Consulate without any undue delay all through out and only the last year when it was channelled through the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs has caused much inconvenience to all concerned. The Association of Haj Tour Operators are also very much concerned with the imposition of high registration charges for necessary approval, which ranges between Rs. 10,000 and 20,000 and also the requirement of a bank guarantee of Rs. 200,000 which is well above the guarantee sought by the Ceylon Tourist Board which charges only Rs. 4000 as annual fee and 10% of the subscribed capital or Rs. 10,000 which ever is more as bank guarantee. The Executive Committee of the Association of Haj Tour Operators decided to seek an appointment with Minister Laksh-man Jayakody to sort out these long standing issues. The Executive Committee expressed full confidence in the Minister in charge who will definitely understand the problems and the difficulties faced by the pilgrims in particular and the Haj Tour Operators in general would undergo and that he would definitely solve the problem to the satisfaction of every one concerned. Polonnaruwa postal workers
report 'sick' post office closed Polonnaruwa central post office was closed yesterday after postal workers reported 'sick' and kept away from work in protest against the non payment of the special allowance for government servants in terrorists affected area. All postal services came to halt as a result, reports said. According to a government circular the special allowance for government servants in the areas affected by terrorist, should be paid before August 15, 1998. However it has not been paid so far to these postal workers in Polonnaruwa. It has been already paid to Batticaloa and Ampara districts, reports indicated. 'If the relevant officials fail to take action to pay this even at this stage we will resort to 'tougher' action the protesting postal workers told 'The Island'. Meanwhile accounts branch officials of the Deputy Post Master General's office in the NCP explained that preparing this special allowance constituted 'extra work' and there were delays as it has to be done along with normal duties. However we will try to pay it as early as possible, they said. Suit filed by Faulding Pharmaceutical Sea
Ltd. dismissed Supreme Court last week dismissed a suit filed by Singapore based Faulding Pharmaceutical Sea Ltd challenging the cancellation of a contract by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation of Sri Lanka for the supply of 5200 ampules of Bleomycin sulphate USP dry powder for injections. The Bench comprised Justice Amera-singhe, Justice Guna-wardana and Justice Gunasekera. Court upheld the preliminary objection that the application was filed out of time. The preliminary objection was supported by President's Counsel Romesh de Silva with Harsha Amerasekera instructed by G. G. Arulpragasam. State Pharmaceuticals Corporation of Sri Lanka, Professor Govin Goonaratna Chairman, Tender Board, Dr. S. Jeganathan, Director of Health Service and Japan based Toki Boeki Kaisa were the respondents in the case. An exhibition of catalogues featuring food processing and packaging equipment was opened in Colombo at the Commercial Library of the US Embassy yesterday (17). The catalogues displayed at the exhibition are from US based manufacturers who are seeking clientele from the Asian region. The exhibition is a 'travelling' one which is held in many countries in Asia. It will be held for a month in Colombo during which time interested parties can view the catalogues as well as register themselves and make contact with the US companies. Machinery and equipment for the various stages in food processing and packaging were featured in these catalogues. These included machines for meat and fish processing and plastic disposable food presentation packaging. The exhibition also calls for agents in Asia for franchises and distribution of various products. The annual Pirith Pinkama organised by the Bank of Ceylon Buddhist Association to commemorate the 59th Anniversary of the Bank will be held on August 21 Friday and 22 (Saturday)1998 at the Head Office building. The all night Pinkama will commence at 8.30 p.m. on Friday, and the ceremony will be concluded on Saturday morning with the offering of alms and pirikara to the Maha Sangha. The last solar eclipse of this year will take place on August 22, the Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Lightning Research of the Colombo University announced. The eclipse will begin when the Earth enters into the penumbral shadow of the moon at 5.10 a.m. The path of the annularity begins in the Indian Ocean about 800 km southeast of Sri Lanka at 6.14 a.m. when the untumbral shadow of the moon falls on the Earth surface. Only the beginning of this eclipse is visible to Sri Lanka. It will appear as a partial solar eclipse, best seen from sunrise upto about 7.30 a.m. Looking at the sun through naked eyes (with or without an eclipse) is harmful and may cause full or partial blindness. Dr. Chandana Jayaratne, senior lecturer in Physics, University of Colombo said that since the sun is less bright when it is at the horizon, during the eclipse a soot darkened glass or sun-glasses should be used to look at the eclipse intermittently for durations less than 30 seconds. MDA pilot project to provide housing
assistance to Mahaweli settlers The Mahaweli Development Authority through it Economic Agency will shortly launch a pilot project to provide housing assistance to settlers in Mahaweli Zones. Three thousand families resident in the Dimbulagala Pradeshiya Sabha area in the Polonnaruwa district will benefit through this project estimated to cost Rs. 45 million. A total of Rs. 200 million has been set aside for this programme which will be phased out over a period of time. The Managing Director of the Mahaweli Economic Agency Mr. Amerasinghe said that material worth Rs 15,000 would be provided to 3000 families. He said that both the people resettled as long as six years ago and recent settlers would benefit under this programme. They will be provided with cement, tiles and timber to the said value. The principal beneficiaries are those resident in the Welikanda and Aralagamwila areas. The current project according to Mr. Amerasinghe is a special development area demonstration project. He said that if this project proved successful it would be introduced to other Mahaweli areas. 'We will also provide latrines, school furniture and hospital equipment under this project', he said. The area targeted by the pilot project is the Mahaweli 'B' zone. The funding for this project has been allocated from funding provided by the Saudi Arabian government several years ago. Following Sri Lankans have signed a petition in support of the courageous stand of Aung San Sun Kyi for the restoration of democracy in Myanmar. A. T. Ariyarante, Sunethra Bandaranaike, Sundana Deshapriya, J. Diandas, Carlo Fonseka, Manel Fonseka, R. K. W. Goonesekere, Savitri Goonesekere, Godfrey Gunatilleke, C. T. Jansz, Kumari Jayawardena, V. Kanapathipillaai, Marwaan Macan-Markar, Manouri Muttetuwegama, Gananath Obeyesekera, Lucien Rajakarunanayake, Anne Ranasinghe, Pakiasothy; Saravanamuttu, Iranganie Serasinghe, Bernadeen Silva, Deepika Udagama, Jayadeva Uyangodaa, Tissa Vitarana, Suriya Wickremasinghe, Javid Yusuf. |
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