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Kilinochchi troops vacate positions Thousands of troops backed by armour, artillery and air strikes captured Mankulam in the early hours of yesterday. The military reported the capture of the strategic Mankulam town, vacated in the middle of 1990 as troops fought strong groups of terrorists in the Kilinochchi district. The military yesterday said that over 200 soldiers were killed in ongoing battles in the Kilinochchi district beginning last Sunday [27]. Fighting erupted on that day when the LTTE mounted a major assault code named "Oyatha Alaigal 2"
Roads from Jaffna, Mannar and Mullaithivu meet at the strategic Mankulam junction. "We are in the process of consolidating newly captured positions," the military said. Both sides suffered heavy losses during the final stages of the assault. However, details of deaths and casualty figures were not available at the time of going to press. The military said that the first four days of this week was undoubtedly the bloodiest for this year. The military admitted that tactics similar to those adopted in the July 1996 attack on the Mullaithivu military base were adopted against the Kilinochchi troops. Monitoring of enemy transmissions had revealed that "Oyatha Alaigal 2 [unceasing waves] was the second such attack. The first one was on the Mullaithivu base. Over 1400 soldiers and dozens of navy and police personnel died in the Mullaithivu battle. The LTTE had admitted losing 240 cadres in action. However the military said that over 400 terrorists had been killed so far. The PLOTE Military Commander, N. Manikkadasan yesterday told The Island that four high ranking LTTE commanders were among the dead. The military said that a large number of LTTE’s special recce and special operations cadres were among the dead. The LTTE had attacked the troops deployed in Kilinochchi mainly at three fronts. Attacks were mounted from the east, west and the south. After several hours of intense exchanges, defenders had pulled towards Paranthan. Small groups of special groups had engaged military targets on a wide front in the Kilinochchi district as terrorists pounded with artillery, mortars and other weapons. Artillery several vehicles and communication equipment had been destroyed in the attacks. The ICRC yesterday said that the LTTE yesterday morning handed over bodies of (CENSORED) soldiers who died in the ongoing Kilinochchi battle." We accepted bodies of (CENSORED) officers and men at Mallavi," the ICRC Information Officer, Harsha Abeywardene told ‘The Island’ yesterday. He said that arrangements have been made to transport all these bodies to Vavuniya and hand them over to military authorities yesterday. However the military has placed the number of officers and men killed in action in the first three days of the Kilinochchi battle at over 200. The military has placed the number of officers and men killed both at Kilinochchi and Mankulam this week over 300. Army formations attacked during the "Oyatha Alaigal 2", had been deployed within the administrative district of Kilinochchi. This area comes within the control of Army’s 54 Division headquartered at Elephant Pass. Earlier in June this year heavy fighting occurred south of Kilinochchi resulting in heavy losses for both sides. During the latter stages, terrorists made an abortive bid to blast an Armoured Personnel Carrier [APC] packed with 800 kgs of explosives to devastate the Kilinochchi positions of the army. However the explosives failed to detonate. June fighting erupted when the Army tried to regain territory it lost during a major terrorist assault four months earlier. Both the acting defence minister Anuruddha Ratwatte and Army Commander, Lieutenant General Rohan de S Daluwatte had visited the northern theatre of operations as efforts continued to regain the territory lost in the first four days of the battle between Kilinochchi troops and the LTTE. The military believes that the LTTE will try to continue operations in the Kilinochchi district on a wide front. Jayasikuru troops were seeking to link up with the Kilinochchi troops. The link will result in an overland main supply route to Jaffna from Vavuniya. The losses suffered by both sides during the first four days of Kilinochchi battle will run into billions. People in the uncleared areas of the Wanni have moved to safer places as fighting continued in the northern theatre of operations. The military believes that at least 1500 terrorists were involved in the Kilinochchi attack. "There were probably three separate groups tasked with attacking army positions east, west and south of Kilinochchi," the military believes. After several hours of fighting troops deployed south of Kilinochchi had been forced to vacate their positions. The existing censorship prevents ‘The Island’ from going into details of movement of troops northwards from their earlier held positions in the Kilinochchi town. Kilinochchi was regained in 1996 in three phased operation Sath Jaya launched immediately after terrorists smashed the Mullaithivu army base. Earlier government troops controlled a part of the Kilinochchi town. 400 bodies of soldiers handed over to ICRC Bodies of 400 soldiers killed in battle with the LTTE in the Paranthan-Kilinochchi area since Sunday were handed over to the ICRC last night, Information Director Ariya Rubasinghe said. He told 'The Island' around 8.45 p.m. yesterday that the bodies had been handed over to the ICRC in Vavuniya. The LTTE has admitted that it has lost 240 of its cadres. However the government says over 400 Tigers have been killed. The LTTE has said it will cremate the bodies of soldiers that cannot be identified, with full military honours. (ZJ) Lionair suspends flights to Jaffna Lionair has suspended services to and from the Jaffna peninsula after the loss of a Russian built AN-24 aircraft carrying 48 civilians and a six member cockpit and cabin crew including four foreigners, airline and military sources told ‘The Island’ yesterday. Among the passengers were several Tamil civilians holding foreign passports. The Lionair flight 602 had been captained by Matochko Anatoli. Although there was no evidence so far to suggest what had really happened to the aircraft which left Palaly airbase at 1.45 p.m. on Tuesday, available information indicates the possibility of LTTE bringing down off the Mannar coast. The military, quoting an intercepted enemy transmission between Mannar and Wanni said that an LTTE operative has informed leaders that they had seen the aircraft going down off the Mannar coast around 1.50 p.m. Lionair operates three flights to and from Palaly. "We have suspended services until further notice," a Lionair spokesperson told ‘The Island’. Ongoing efforts to locate at least the wreck of the aircraft had failed so far. Both Lionair and military sources said that all passengers and the six member crew were believed to have been killed in the incident. This was the first privately operated aircraft believed to have been shot down by the LTTE. In the past three years, terrorists mounted a series of attacks on SLAF aircraft destroying many of them. The SLAF scotched rumours and speculation that the aircraft had been hijacked by the LTTE. "It was not possible," an authoritative officer said. Lionair too agreed that there was no possibility in LTTE hijacking the aircraft. The suspension will considerably affect the movement of civilians including government officials and cadres of Tamil groups operating in the peninsula. Airline sources said that suspension will also affect on and off movement foreign diplomats and also both local and foreign staff of international humanitarian and relief agencies. UN’s special envoy Olara Ottunu also used Lionair flights to travel to the North when he visited Sri Lanka. The government too used to hire flights to transport service and police personnel. "We have a serious problem in hand," a senior government official said adding that the LTTE must have engaged the aircraft to increase pressure on the armed forces engaged in the battle at Paranthan-Kilinochchi. The four member cockpit crew was identified as, Captain Matochko Anatoli, Co-pilot Lysaivanov Siarhei, navigator Kozlov Sergei and flight engineer Anapryienka Siashei. The cabin crew was identified as chief stewardess Dharshini Gunasekera and steward Chrishan Nelson. There have been two Lionair staff in the ill-fated aircraft. They were identified as Ticketing Manager Trini Rodrigo and labourer Vijitha. Airline sources said that Rodrigo had visited Palaly on official business and was returning when tragedy struck. The AN-24 had left Palaly at 1.40 p.m. It was scheduled to reach Ratmalana one hour later. Meanwhile the PLOTE Military Commander N. Manikkadasan told ‘The Island’ yesterday that he suspected the LTTE involvement in the destruction of the aircraft. "I used to go in Lionair flights," he said adding that less than a week ago he had warned the Defence Secretary Chandrananda De Silva of the possibility of LTTE engaging Lionair aircraft flying over the north western coast. "Suspension of Lionair services has already created problems," he said. 'Crisis Centre' to assist passengers’ relatives A "Crisis Centre" was opened by Lionair yesterday to provide information required by the families and friends of the passengers of flight 602 which disappeared shortly after take off from the Palaly air base on Tuesday afternoon, Marketing and Promotions Manager Naomi Perera said last night. She told "The Island" that Lionair with the assistance of the Air Force and the Navy is continuing its search operation which commenced at 6.30 a.m. yesterday in the seas off Jaffna and Mannar. "We are awaiting their report. We have not got any positive information so far". The crisis centre is located at 399 A, Galle Road, Colombo 4 and can be contacted on telephone numbers 597882, 597352 and 597390, she added. (ZJ) Child rights parliament lobby urges implementation of law The Parliamentary Lobby for Child Rights has urged that the Child Protection Authority Bill be implemented without any delay. It has commended Parliament for approving the Bill and says that this has set an example to the world in making its commitment in the realisation of the objectives of the Bill, thus giving all the more reason as to why the Bill should be implemented soon. "The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by our country some time ago and the realisation of the rights embodied in the convention is a responsibility of the entire Nation." "Therefore we all have to see how we could contribute individually and collectively for a greater realisation of the rights of the children of the country," a news release said. The Parliamentary Lobby for Child Rights have observed that Universal Children’s Day which falls today (1) provides a chance to concentrate on children and their situation in Sri Lanka and the world." This is a very good opportunity for us to look back and evaluate our contributions for the development of the lives of the children" the release said. Appoint commission to probe illegal arrest of
Judge The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) while condemning what it calls the recent illegal arrest of High Court Judge Mahanama Tillekeratne has called on President Kumaratunga to appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate and report the circumstances under which Mr. Tillekeratne was arrested and the persons responsible for the arrest. The BASL in a letter to the President has also requested her to interdict SSP Bandula Wickremasinghe with immediate effect in keeping with the resolutions adopted unanimously by the Bar Council on September 26, 1998. The BASL has pointed out that an independent inquiry without delay is merited considering the seriousness of the issue involved. SAARC collective efforts not impeded by inter-state problems says Kadirgamar Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on Tuesday said: "A distinct transformation had taken place among the SAARC member states in recent times". All members of the group were keen to ensure that ‘inter-state problems do not impede the associations' collective efforts at improving the living standards of the teaming millions of the region’. The Minister added that "the recent consultations held in New York had helped assert the association's identity, within the Committee of Nations’. He observed that member countries of SAARC were "very keen to ensure that programmes undertaken by the Association were practical and not theoretical". The Minister made these observations when he addressed a news conference in his capacity as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of SAARC, held at the UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, at the conclusion of a series of consultations held among the group, as well as between and the EU and ASEAN respectively. The SAARC delegation to these meetings was led by Minister Kadirgamar. The Minister noted that for the first time in its history, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) had collectively held a dialogue at the political level with other regional organisations. These meetings, mandated by the 10th SAARC Summit which concluded in Colombo in July, 1998 were held on the sidelines of the 53rd UN General Assembly in New York. On the formal consultations held between the Troika of the European Union (EU) and the Foreign Ministers of SAARC on September 23 the Minister said, the EU Roika led by Ms Benita Ferrero-Waldner, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Austria, the current President of the EU had emphasised that they were keen to enter into more concrete areas of activity in enhancing EU-SAARC cooperation. It was noted that the movement towards SAFTA was a particular area of possible cooperation, given the EU’s own experience. The area of banking and development of norms and standards WTO related issues, transit and maritime issues and the area of environment, were also identified as providing considerable prospects for dialogue and cooperation. The SAARC side had expressed the hope that the dialogue initiated between the EU and SAARC, will be regular feature and not only help identify new areas of economic and social co-operation, but also move to effectively implement projects and programmes in agreed areas of co-operation on which the two groups have some measure of understanding. To concretise SAARC-EU cooperation, it was proposed that a SAARC-EU fund be established to finance projects that are mutually acceptable. The Minister said such a fund could provide for areas such as training for Secretariat staff, diplomatic training and projects on environmental and coastal conservation. Earlier at the commencement of the meeting the two sides had shared comprehensive reviews of current developments in regional cooperation in South Asia and Europe respectively. Minister Kadirgamar said both sides had agreed to carry back to their respectively members for consideration the ideas that emerged at the New York meeting, and added that he would be leading a SAARC delegation, including the Secretary General, to Brussels shortly, to follow-up on the proposals. Minister Kadirgamar said that at the meeting held between SAARC and ASEAN, on September 25, where the ASEAN side was led by Prof. S. Jayakumar, the Foreign Minister of Singapore. The current chairman of ASEAN, the two groups had discussed enganging in consultations through their respective missions in Geneva with regard to matters relating to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and on other economic issues. The coming together of these two Asian regional blocs was likely to enhance their bargaining power in international negotiations. It had been noted that although the SAARC States were not yet directly affected by the financial crisis, it would be beneficial to have an exchange of views between the two groups on the issue, as it was important to take a long term perospectively on this problem. At the discussions which followed between senior officials of ASEAN and SAARC, views were exchanged on current developments pertaining to ASEAN and SAARC respectively, international economic developments, modalities for future cooperation and the promotion of cooperation between the private sectors of the ASEAN and SAARC regions. In addition the two associations agreed to exchange information on progress to a Free Trade Area with the participation of the private sector representatives, to jointly study currently fluctuation, the question of convertibility, private debt accumulation, surveillance mechanisms etc., to increase interaction between the Secretariats of the two Association, to establish linkages between the internet websites of ASEAN and SAARC and the promotion of people to people contact between SAARC and ASEAN including the exchange of cultural troupes. It had been noted that a MOU between the SAARC and the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce is to be signed shortly. Minister Kadirgamar said the Ministers also discussed the progress made on the decisions taken at the tenth SAARC summit held in Colombo and worked out time frames to complete the work programme undertaken, particularly in order that, where necessary direction could be given on these matters by the Council of Ministers which meets again in February 1999 in Colombo. They had also decided that with respect to matters of common interest on the agenda of the current UNGA, the SAARC countries would have joint initiatives. The agenda items on poverty eradication and the rights of women and children were identified as areas for the development of such a common strategy. They mandated the Permanent Representatives in New York of the SAARC member countries to constitute themselves into a working group in continuing the dialogue with these organizations. The Secretary-General had also briefed the meeting on discussions he had with the Specialized Agencies of the UN System which had developed agreed areas of cooperation with SAARC. It was noted that the UN system had agreed to collaborate with SAARC on several projects including a proposal by UNESCO to organize a South Asian Cultural Festival in Paris. The Ministers had also discussed the need to strengthen the Secretariat. Sri Lanka indicated that it would be happy to provide at its expense, the services of an economist with South Asian experience for a period of two years beginning next year. Statement of the National Movement Against Terrorism on the Sunday Observer The National Movement Against Terrorism issued the following statement yesterday: "The President of this country Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has, with highly commendable effort and endeavour convinced the world leadership that philosophical debate on defining terrorism is no longer necessary and that the LTTE is a terrorist organisation and is not a liberation organisation. The Editor of the Sunday Observer in his editorial of 27.09.98 has on the other hand tried his utmost to contradict the position taken up by the President at the UN and has insisted that the LTTE are a "Tamil National Movement which has launched the arms struggle for Tamil self determination." "We feel that there is a fundamental error in this gentleman's thinking process in that he has consistently refused to call the Tigers terrorists and has insisted in this particular editorial and in several previous ones that the LTTE are liberation fighters. On this occasion he has even chosen to contradict the President of this country, for whose state newspaper he works. Even as the President of this country convinces the world leadership and an universal audience, philosophical debate on defining terrorism was no longer necessary and what was needed to be done was to very clearly distinguish between what is a terrorist organisation and what is a Liberation organisation.... the LTTE who are using method of terror, of physical violence, of murder and intimidation in order to achieve their goals - it is a terrorist organisation. "Daily News" 24.09.98. The Editor of the Sunday Observer - spokesman of the Government insists "the LTTE is confronted with the biggest challenge it has faced since it launched the arms struggle for Tamil self determination - while no one doubts that the application of countervailing forces against the Sri Lankan State has been the means by which the Tamil Nationalist Movement has begun to win its demands... time has come to go beyond arms struggle". To this Editor of the Sunday Observer, murder, terror, violence and intimidation, perpetrated by the LTTE are nothing more than the "application of countervailing forces against the Sri Lankan State" in order to win Tamil nationalist demands. The unkindest cut of all to us innocent victims of Tiger terror is when this man from the Sunday Observer goes on to say "it is time to conclude that the arms struggle has served its purpose. The time has come to negotiate over the fruits of armed contest..." Does he mean the massacre of innocent worshippers at the Sri Maha Bodhi, bombing of the Dalada Maligawa, gunning down of the Dimbulagala Bhikku, massacre of Buddhist monks at Arantalawa, the brutal gunning down of Muslim worshippers in their mosques, slaughter of Catholic fishermen and their families at Kokilai and Nayaru, burning down of their churches and the killing of Dasa Sil Mathas, babies, school children, political leaders, fisherfolk, farmers, urban office workers, labourers, commuters of buses and trains, "has served its purpose" and are "the fruits of armed contest." We feel that this "Wasantha Raja of the Sunday Observer should be taken in under Clause 3 (e) and/or 3 (f) Gazette No. 1,012/16 of 27th January 1998, forthwith. Finally, this person to all that the President of this country has stood for at the UN sheds uncontrollable tears over future losses of the LTTE and goes on to caution them — "the Tamil Nationalist Movement has reached a stage when having come so far, it can only suffer grievous internal loss if the violence persist." So, for this reason the LTTE must now "negotiate over the fruits of armed conflict" to save themselves from grievous internal loss." We state that on the part of an editor of a State-owned Newspaper it is sheer affront to express opinions fundamentally contrary to that the President of this country and to what the President has informed the world leaders at the UN and subsequent press interviews in New York. We feel that immediate disciplinary action should be taken against this Editor. We further request that the President upon her return to this island should as a matter of priority, instruct her legal advisers to deal with this scribe of the State Newspaper under Clause 3 (e) and/or (f) Emergency (Proscribing of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) Regulation No. 1. He is guilty of the offence of furthering the cause of the Tamil Tigers, just as much as Java and Sittu of the "Voice of Tamil Tigers" of the so called "central committee of the LTTE." Seylan debenture issue oversubscribed Seylan Bank Debenture Issue of Rs. 300 million in 3,000,000 unsecured, redeemable, subordinated 5 years debenture 1998/2003 of Rs. 100 each was oversubscribed within a few hours of opening yesterday, the Bank announced. Chairman, Desamanya Lalith Kotelawala said that he was delighted with the spontaneous response from investors islandwide. He intends to exercise the option of keeping the issue open to afford the opportunity for rural clients of the Seylan Bank’s 90 offices who have requested more time to become debenture holders of their bank, for example, he said our remote branch Dehiattakandiya has forwarded subscriptions of over a million rupees with clients still coming in. Businessman complains to SC of police
harassment A businessman from Matara, Asoka Thoraj has complained to the Supreme Court in a fundamental rights violation plea, stating that the Assistant Superintendent of the Moneragala Police Station had threatened to remand the petitioner, if the petitioner resorted to complain against any police officer. On 14.8.98, the petitioner had gone to the Moneragala town on a business mission. At the Moneragala bus halt he had been assaulted by two police officers. When the petitioner went to the police station to make a complaint the ASP had said that if the petitioner resorted to complaining against police officers he will be remanded on a ‘B’ report. The petitioner had been forced to sign a statement which said that the petitioner was not harassed by any police officer, although he had been assaulted and abused by police officers at the Moneragala bus halt and later at the Moneragala Police station, where he was held for a few hours on August 14 & 15. The petition said he was a law abiding citizen, and the police had subjected him to harassment, and illegal arrest in violation of Articles (II) and 13 (I) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka. The petition requested the Court to grant leave to proceed and to declare the violation of fundamental rights of the petitioner. On 28.9.98, the petition was supported by R. Y. D. Jayasekara. Leave to proceed was granted. Arguments were fixed for 13.1.99. The Bench comprised the Chief Justice G. P. S. de Silva, Justice D. P. S. Gunasekera and Justice Dr. Asoka de Z. Gunewardene. Among the respondents are Ariyasiri Sarathchandra (ASP), Vijitha Comasara (OIC), Rohana (PC), Dayaratna (PC), Samaranayake (IP) and the IGP. ‘Alcohol, tobacco advertisements ban effective
January next year From January next year the government has assured that all necessary steps will be taken to ban alcohol and tobacco advertisements. This also includes advertising other addictive substances. Effective steps to ensure that promotion of alcohol and tobacco is regulated because of the impact it has on children and young adults to these addictions, are also expected to be taken by the government. President of the International Organisation of Good Templars (IOGT). Regional Council for South and South East Asia), Olcott Gunasekera told a news conference in Colombo. The IOGT is the national committee formed under the chairmanship of Sober Sri Lanka. This follows the recommendations of the special committee which was appointed by President Kumaratunga on these recommendations, "National Policy and Action Plan will be developed for implementation", he said. September 27 to October 3 will be observed as ‘National Temperance week’, throughout the country and students in school will take the ‘Drug free life’ oath. Several regional workshops which will display posters with professionals educating the youth will also be held, he added. The Good Templars movement believes that each individual is unique and has an infinite value. Everyone is entitled to personal freedom and is obliged to work for the improvement of the quality of life for all people. IOGT recognises that alcohol and other drugs constitute a serious threat to the dignity and freedom of many people and their societies. IOGT develops comprehensive programs including prevention, reduction of consumption, education and rehabilitation of users and those they affect. In a message issued by the President in connection with the UN International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking last year had stated that her government intends to take all necessary steps to reduce the consumption of tobacco, alcohol and other addictive substances. The World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1997 asserted that tobacco smoking is the largest single casual factor in premature death, disability and disease worldwide. Tobacco smoking will cause about 3,000,000 deaths every year with about 1,000,000 of them in developing countries. Many millions will suffer from tobacco induced heart disease, stroke or cancer. According to current smoking trends there will be about 17,000 deaths annually in Sri Lanka due to tobacco smoking and many thousands more will suffer from heart disease cancer and stroke, according to reports. The main aim is to raise a "Health Fund" using a part of the taxes on tobacco and alcohol, Mr. Gunasekera said. Secretary D. S. Senanayake, Treasurer Lal Hewapathirane of Sri Lanka Ammadypa Samithi Sammelanaya and Programme Officer of the ADIC (Alcohol and Drug Information Centre, Colombo) Pubudu Sumanasekera were also present at the news conference. Leave to proceed in land acquisition appeal
granted The Supreme Court recently granted leave to proceed in an application challenging the acquisition of land in Dompe electorate for a housing project. The Bench comprised Justice Dr. Amerasinghe, Justice Priyantha Perera and Justice S. Bandaranayake. Maheswari Nadaraja, K. Chittranjan Nadaraja and Priyadarshini Anandakumari Levers are the petitioners. Minister of Housing and Urban Development and Minister of Agriculture and Lands are cited as respondents. The petition stated that declaration revealed that the estate was acquired for a middle class housing scheme consisting 1600 - 1800 units of housing. Of the proposed acquisition is proceeded with it would cause an adverse impact on the environment and has no economic basis in view of the potential infrastructure cost. The petitioners objected to the acquisition of the estate on the ground that the said land is prime agricultural land, the petition concluded. The petition was settled by R. K. W. Goonasekera with Kurera de Zoysa, instructed by D. L. H. F. De Saram. Commission on racial equality of importance A Commission on Racial Equality like in the United Kingdom should be of great importance if similar Commission is to be created in Sri Lanka in order to provide justice and remedial solutions for injustice and irregularities committed to the minority communities. This was disclosed by former Foreign Minister A. C. Shahul Hameed, M. P., when he addressed the first Annual General Meeting of the United Co-ordinating Council of Muslim Organizations held last Sunday. |
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