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New rules from next year |
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New
rules from next year All armaments and equipment purchases for armed forces, police, Kotalawala Defence Academy [KDA], Immigration and Emigration, Registration of Persons Department and the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board for next year will be done through the Defence Ministry, defence sources said. Defence Ministry recently informed the armed forces, police and other departments concerned that armaments and equipment purchases beginning next year will be carried out through the Ministry. Earlier, arms manufacturers, suppliers, agents, contractors and other organisations involved in arming and equipping the armed forces and police used to register with respective services and the Director [Logistics/Supplies] of Police Headquarters. However, all concerned parties who wanted to secure defence deals for next year have been requested to register with the Defence Ministry. Application forms for registration will be issued from the Defence Ministry upto November 26 this year. Arrangements have been also made to issue application forms to overseas suppliers through embassies. Successful applicants are expected to supply arms and spares with accessories, ammunition, armoured vehicles, explosives, aircraft armament, aircraft bombs, missiles, fixed wing aircraft, helicopters, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles [UAVs], capital ships, patrol craft and sophisticated communication and electronic equipment among other items. Communication and electronic equipment include tactical surveillance ground radio system, electronic warfare system and airborne data processing management and displays. Planned acquisitions include diving, fire fighting and medical equipment, motor vehicles, dogs and horses. Controversy surrounds some of the arms deals involving both the previous administration and the ruling party. The government spends heavily on arms and other equipment needed as replacements for battle-field losses. "Material losses have been heavy," defence sources said adding that considerable funds have been allocated to acquire armaments in place of losses. (SF) Armed gang gags monks, rob seven Buddha
statues An armed group of treasure hunters had stolen seven priceless Buddha statues from Athinimalaara Purana Viharaya at Denagama in Hakmana after tying up two monks and three laymen around 8.30 p.m. last Saturday. Three members of the armed gang had been wearing masks. The five men had entered the temple posing as army personnel searching for deserters, police said. They had wanted to check the temple premises saying that they were on the lookout for deserters, according to police. Later they had tied and gagged the two monks and three laymen who were there at that time and locked them in separate rooms. A member of the gang had asked one of the monks. ‘Where is the treasure?’ . Warning them not to inform the police, the gang had then got away with the seven Buddha statues which were kept in the shrine room. They had fled in a van, police said. Hakmana OIC Inspector Kamal Nayanaranga who was informed of the robbery alerted all police stations in the region to track down the gang but all attempts to arrest them were unsuccessful. So far no suspects had been arrested in this connection. Rat fever epidemic in Mirigama Mirigama in the Gampaha district is the worst affected by ‘Rat fever’ disease. According to the Watupitiwela base hospital around fifty patients afflicted with the disease were admitted during the past month. There are still five patients undergoing treatment at the hospital. These patients were mostly from Mirigama, hospital authorities said. The disease which is transmitted through water, contaminated with faeces and urine of rats that live on paddy fields has been affecting the farmers of the Gampaha region during past month. If the disease is detected early the patient would recover quickly with proper medication medical sources said. The germ enters the body through a cut or a wound and farmers that work in fields are vulnerable to the disease,they said. According to health authorities,a health education programme has been launched to educate farmers on the disease. (LS) Bill to empower Elections Commissioner
to fix fresh dates for PC polls When Parliament meets tomorrow the government will present a Bill for the purpose of empowering the Commissioner of Elections to fix fresh dates for the holding of elections in the five Provincial Councils, Western, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North Central. Elections for these five councils were earlier fixed for August 28, 1998 but the government using emergency powers put off their elections indefinitely. Under the Constitution, a Provincial Council stands resolved after five years from the date of appointment of such council following an election. Parliament on August 5, 1998 approved by majority vote a Presidential Proclamation extending to cover the entire island the state of emergency which was upto then was in operation in selected areas. Government declared that the state of emergency was brought into operation in the entire country to facilitate the postponement of elections of the five Provincial Councils, due to ground security situation which did not permit large scale withdrawal of police and army personnel specially from the north and east to provide security to candidates and polling stations where elections of the five councils to go ahead with. The Bill to be introduced in Parliament tomorrow gives the power to fix fresh dates of elections in the five councils. Election Commissioner’s Department sources said the five councils have constitutionally ceased to function and that there is no legal provisions to enable him to fix fresh dates, as the dates fixed by him earlier had lapsed. The Bill titled "Provincial Councils Elections (Special Provisions) Bill being introduced under the name of the Prime Minister seeks to give this power to the Commissioner of Elections, the sources added. The Southern Provincial Council completes its five years in office in April 1999 and the North Western Provincial Council this month. No date has yet been fixed for the debate on the Provincial Councils (Special Provisions) Bill yet. A decision on this is due this week. Army says children who lose fathers in
war not denied of education The military yesterday denied a claim by Sri Lanka Ex-Services Association [SLESA] that over 6000 children lose their right to further education every year because they lose their fathers in the ongoing war against the LTTE. "There was no truth in this particular claim" an armed forces officer told ‘The Island’ yesterday. The SLESA in an advertising campaign aimed at raising funds during the "poppy week" which commenced yesterday [2] said that every year over 6000 children lose their right to further education after their fathers are killed in the war. The campaign point out that children desperately miss their fathers and the education. Army headquarters said that families of both officers and men killed in action in the ongoing war are paid their salaries. The wife of a married soldier who die in action at the age of 35 will receive the salary for 20 years [upto the retirement age] and then the pension thereafter.Families are also paid Rs. 75,000 each soon after an officer or an ordinary soldier died in battle.Even families of those who have been placed ‘missing in action’ are also paid salaries upto the retirement age and pension thereafter. "Despite financial difficulties the government continued to pay salaries and pensions" an officer attached to a branch handling welfare matters told ‘The Island’. Servicemen who died in the two insurgencies launched by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna [JVP] were also treated the same way, security forces officers said. "We don’t deny the fact that children will miss their fathers, brothers and other loved ones," the military said. Asked to comment, the President of the "poppy" committee, retired Air Vice Marshal Harry Goonetileke admitted that a mistake had been made with regard to the number of children who lose their fathers every year. Approximately 6000 children have lost their fathers in combat and other terrorist related incidents since the beginning of the conflict 15 years ago," he told ‘The Island’ yesterday. Goonetileke who lost a son in the initial stages of the third phase of the conflict, admitted that it was wrong to say 6000 children lose their fathers every year.He also said that approximately 3000 women had lost their husbands during the same period. Asked whether fathers of all 6000 children were members of the army, Goonetileke replied in the negative. Quoting from information provided by the army headquarters, he said that there had been approximately 2100 army widows and 400 each from the navy and airforce. However the number of army widows must have gone up following the heavy losses at the recent Kilinochchi battle, he said. He also scotched speculation and rumours that funds collected during the "poppy week" will be sent overseas. "Not a cent will be sent abroad" he said. Asked whether "poppy week" funds will be used to help families of service"men killed in the battle against separatist Tamil terrorists he replied in the positive. "A part of the funds will be used to help the war widows and their children" he said. Goonetileke said that collections during previous years were not good. "We hope to collect more this year" he said. The SLESA, an approved charity under the voluntary social services organisations registration and supervision act of 1980 accept serving service commanders as vice-patrons of the organisation. "Poppy week" ends with the "Remembrance Day Parade" at the War Memorial, Vihara Maha Devi Park on next Sunday [Nov. 8] morning. Parliament last month approved a scheme to pay pension for female armed forces personnel killed in duty to their husbands or families. Several female armed forces personnel had also been killed both in operational areas and Colombo. ‘Devolution
package an eye wash’ The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) is contemplating withdrawing its support to the People’s Alliance as it’s disappointed over the inability on the part of the government to resolve the issues faced by the Tamil people in the North- East, senior TULF sources indicated yesterday. The TULF will decide at a crucial working committee meeting scheduled for November 8 in Colombo whether to start withdrawing its support to the government by initially opposing the budget at its voting stage in Parliament, the sources said. At the last TULF working committee meeting a majority of members were of the view that party’s working committee must reconsider extending support to the government in the face of a number of outstanding issues which confronted the people of the North-East, a TULF spokesman said. ‘As far as TULF is concerned, we are not part and parcel of the government. We are in the opposition and has opposed anything detrimental to the interests of the Tamil people. We have always voted against the emergency’, the spokesman explained. It has now reached a stage where the TULF has to reconsider continuing its support to the government, he said. In a memorandum to the government last month the TULF had warned of ‘serious action’ unless the problems faced by Tamil people are not resolved Especially the TULF members from Eastern Province including the MPs have been bringing immense pressure on the TULF hierarchy and withdrawing support for the budget will be the beginning of our protest, as we are simply disappointed with the government as it has done very little or nothing at all for the Tamil people of North- East for the past four and a half years, the spokesman said. Even the appeal by TULF senior vice president V. Anandasangari to President Chandrika Kumaratunga in a letter dated October 24,1998 urging her to instruct the authorities to avoid transporting service personnel and civilians in the same ship or aircraft and to take immediate steps to arrange regular travel facilities by air and sea exclusively for civilians, has not been heeded by the government, he said. He added that 500 civilians were transported along with the 1000 service personnel on board MV ‘Lanka Mudhitha’ last week and had to turn back to KKS port at the risk of their lives due to an LTTE attack off Mullaithivu. This shows the lack of disregard for lives of civilians by the government, the spokesman claimed. ‘We cannot give excuses to our people all the time just because the government does not have or follow a clear policy on problems of Tamil people of North-East. Even after the TULF informed the government last month that issues regarding Chemmani mass graves, crash of Lion Air flight, the security situation in Colombo and elsewhere and talks with LTTE, should be given immediate priority, government had not responded positively. Does anyone expect us to support the government any further?,’ he queried. Even the devolution package of the government was an ‘eye wash’ to deceive the international community and we are somewhat sure that PA government will not implement it at all, he said. The Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) for last month (October) was 2271.9. This shows an increase of 39.5 index points or 1.8 percent from the September index number of 2232.4. This is an increase of Rs. 79.80 in the Expenditure Value of ‘’Market basket’’ when compared to September, 1998, Department of Census and Statistics announced yesterday. The increase in the CCPI for October, 1998 is due to increases in prices of Rice, Red Onions, Coconuts, Coconut Oil, Potatoes and most varieties of vegetables in the food group. These price increases in Food items can be attributed to short supply to the main markets in Colombo City. However, prices of most varieties of fresh fish and dried fish etc., decreased during this month. Annual average inflation rate on the basis of 12 months moving average increased to 10.3 percent in October, 1998, from 10.2 percent in September, 1998, the Department said. Pleasure seekers end in boat tragedy Navy divers sent from Colombo made a frantic attempt yesterday to locate the bodies of three persons drowned in the Maussakelle reservoir when their boat capsized last Sunday. The victims of this tragedy, according to Maskeliya police were Anura Pradeep Kumara (23) and G. U. Suraweera of Maskeliya and Nishantha Soysa (30) of Modera in Colombo. The boatman N. J. Jendas had managed to swim ashore and save his life when the boat capsized in the deep waters of the reservoir, police said. Jendas alerted the Maskeliya Police, which sought the assistance of Navy divers from Colombo to locate the bodies which are still missing. Police said the three men had a pleasure ride in a boat after consuming liquor. They said the area where the boat sank was a danger zone, being more that 500 feet deep. The depth of the waters has posed a problem to the divers, police said. A police team headed by OIC Maskeliya Lal Udugama is investigating. Woman
raped in dormitory A woman working in a garment factory is alleged to have been raped at her dormitory in Seeduwa by two unidentified persons last Sunday, police said. The incident had taken place around 2.30 a.m. The duo had entered the dormitory pretending to search the place. They had suddenly pulled out knifes, threatened the victim and raped her, police said. The victim was later found in an unconscious state near a well and was despatched to Negombo hospital, according to police. The victim was married but was living in a dormitory as she was employed at Seeduwa. No suspects have so far been arrested in this connection. Investigations are conducted by a team led by the Seeduwa Officer-in-Charge, IP Somasiri Liyanage. British delegation prays for the
departed KANDY: Members of the United Kingdom Branch of the Commonwealth parliamentary delegation now in Sri Lanka on Sunday participated in a special prayer at the Garrison’s cemetery, the burial grounds of the British during the first half of the nineteenth century. The delegation led by MP William O Brian earlier visited the Sri Dalada Maligawa where it was welcomed by the Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeyeratne. The delegation was shown round the sacred place and saw for themselves the destruction caused by the LTTE bomb blast in January this year. Members of Parliament David Curry, John Eric Austin, Norris Naseby, Robert Walter Dere Wyan and Paul Jackson, Assistant Secretary, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, UK Branch were other members of the delegation. Kandy Mayor Harindranath Dunuwille, Col. Derrick Nugawela, Archdecon of Kurunegala Rev. Sam Gunewardena, Vicarage of St. Paul’s Church Rev. George Abeysekera, and Rev. Udeni Silva and a representative gathering of Christians were present at the special prayers at the All Saint’s Day at the Garrisons cemetery. |
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