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Thirty six LTTE suspects launch Thirty six LTTE suspects have launched a death fast atop the roof of the Kalutara remand prison to protest against what they termed ‘their indefinite detention by the authorities’. They have climbed the roof and are continuing their fast-unto-death seated on a concrete slab, police officials said. On Saturday evening three LTTE suspects had found their way to the roof and announced the death fast in what is believed to have been a pre-planned exercise. Thirty three other Tiger suspects had joined them yesterday, according to police. Police have so far not been called in by the prison authorities. ‘We are on stand by and if the situation warrants police action, we will move in’, police officials said. Kalutara ASP Earl Fernando said that police had informed the relevant authorities about the situation. ‘We are watching the developments’, he told ‘The Island’. The fasting detainees are also demanding that they be transferred to Batticaloa prison as it’s difficult for their family members who are in the East to visit them. They want an assurance by the authorities that their grievances will be looked into, sources said. Senior prison officials were not available for comment. No evidence to prove LTTE got any
aircraft, says Army Commander "There is no concrete evidence that the LTTE is in possession of any aircraft. But we are very much alive to the possibility all the same of such a threat," Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Rohan Daluwatte told ‘The Island’ yesterday. Surveillance has been strengthened in the Northern theatre of operations to shoot down any such aircraft, if they exist, defence sources said. A fortnight back the navy detected a mysterious light and a sound in the air on two occasions opened fire but there were no evidence of anything airborne being shot down, the sources said. India’s Congress hammers BJP in state polls NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - India’s Congress party swept to electoral victory in three key states on Sunday, raising the prospect of a power struggle with the Hindu nationalist-led central government. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi said she was in no hurry to oust the coalition government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which lost control of two bastion states and failed to wrest control of another. With most of the ballots from last Wednesday’s polls in four states counted, Congress had won three-quarters of the assembly seats in Delhi and the western state of Rajasthan and clinched a majority in the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Although the elections in four states have no direct bearing on the central government, speculation mounted that some of the eight-month-old coalition’s partners could lose confidence in the BJP and jump ship. The BJP’s parliamentary leaders began a conclave at 3:30 p.m. (1000 GMT) and were due to meet their allies later. The Congress Working Committee planned to plot its next moves later in the day, but Gandhi made it clear that her party would tread carefully. "...my personal feeling is that we ought not to rush into certain situations, we have to consider the situation properly," she told New Delhi Television. "We don’t need to boast about this, I think we have to get down to work now." Jairam Ramesh, secretary of the Congress economic group, said the polls had brought a "very strong anti-BJP vote" because of the soaring prices of essential commodities. Anger over prices of staples like onions and potatoes overshadowed last May’s nuclear tests, earlier thought to be a powerful political card for the BJP. Ramesh told a World Economic Forum luncheon meeting that Congress was in no position to form an alternative government from the fragmented ranks of the lower house of prliament. "We don’t believe Congress party is now in a position to bring down the government. Our political reading is that we should come to power in a clean manner," Ramesh said. Congress won 51 of the 69 seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly for which voting took place, with the BJP at 15. LTTE
radio over Colombo Police intelligence had revealed that a LTTE clandestine radio transmitting station is in operation on the vicinity of Colombo city probably within 20 kilometres towards Negombo. Police had also intercepted such transmissions but the exact location used for this purpose still remains elusive, according to police. IGP, Lucky Kodituwakkue told ‘The Island’ that the matter was under investigation and more details could not be divulged at this point of time. The LTTE is also operating a clandestine radio transmitting station from the Wanni Jungles. Dental care for rural masses essential It is essential that the services of dentists reach the rural masses where they are very necessary, with no proper access to dental health care, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Dharmasiri Senanayaka, said at yesterday’s 13th, Annual Scientific Sessions of the College of Dentistry and Stomatology of Sri Lanka, at Hotel Ceylon Intercontinental. Your Scientific sessions will help you upgrade your knowledge in the advances in the dental field in other parts of the country, and will help improve your services in the dental health sector. Your functions as dentists in the country speaks well for the thirteen year old College of Dentistry established, I believe partly with government financial assistance, the Minister told the sessions. Delivering the guest lecture at the Sessions, the Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, Birmingham Dental Hospital, UK, Dr. Jeramy Shaw, on the "Oral care of patients receiving radio therapy or chemotherapy for malignant disease, a UK clinical guideline" said that the incidence of oral cancer in the United Kingdom is not as it is prevalent in Sri Lanka. "In Sri Lanka oral cancer is a more prevalent disease than in the United Kingdom. However oral cancer still fits in with the more high profile diseases in the UK," he observed. "In the UK, the emphasis is not more on treatment as it is on the fulfilling of the needs of the patients. There, all attention is recommended to be high on the standards of care for the patient. We have also recommended cancer units within all general hospitals. Yet, unfortunately the patients suffering from oral cancer in the UK, come from a social group that do not visit the clinics on a regular basis. This is a constraint on care," he said. The College Lectures at the Plenary Sessions were delivered by the Associate Professor in Reconstructive Surgery (including microvascular surgery) First Department of maxillo-facial surgery, Tsurumi University, Japan Dr.Junichi Sato, on the "Oral functional reconstruction after mandibular resection using vascularised iliac crest" and the Head of the Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Japan, Dr.Kenji Soneda on "Overdentures-an over view and a case report". Papers were also presented by Dr. M. A. M. Sitheeque ("Oral mucosal infections"), Dr.(Mrs.) Ganga Sirimanne ("Vesiculo bullous lesions") and Prof. B. R. R. N. Mendis ("Oral premalingnant and malignant lesions") during the Symposium on Oral Mucosal Diseases, and Dr.M.Muthumala ("Aetiological study of oral cancer in Sri Lanka using molecular biological techniques"), Dr.Indran Sabanayagam ("The use of scintiscaning in the diagnosis of salivary gland disease"), Dr. A. Weerakoon ("Cervical fascitis"), Dr. D. K. Dias ("Cosmetic aspects of maxillofacial surgery"), Dr. J. M. Subasinghe ("Role of the orthodontist in orthognathic surgery") and Dr. S. R. Amarasinghe ("Reattachment of fractured incisor fragments"), during the Plenary Sessions 1 and 2. President of the College of Dentistry, Dr. Sunil Fernando made the welcome address while the Secretary of the College, Dr. A. M. O. Peiris proposed the vote of thanks. (S.P) CEB non-executives to protest
‘unfair pay revision’ Over 13,500 non-executive level employees of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) attached to 23 trade unions will carry out a number of protest campaigns this week over the alleged unfair salary revisions effected by the board, according to sources attached to the Ceylon Electricity Board Karyala Seva Sangamaya. Under this campaign the employees will stage a countrywide poster campaign today (30) and a picketing campaign on Tuesday (1). The union alleges that the board in effecting the salary revisions have only given consideration to the needs of the non-executive employees in units such as generation, transmission and distribution. The union further alleges that while the salaries of the executive levels go up from Rs. 10,000 - 15,000 the salaries of the ordinary workers will increase only by Rs. 425 - 1000. The union is of the belief that such unfair salary structures only serve a proposed privatization process of the CEB. Meanwhile, CEB Chairman Arjun Deraniyagala speaking to the press stated that the board has effected a salary structure that was affordable to the CEB, keeping in mind the 8% rate of return of the CEB. "This is a salary structure carefully designed after consultations with various sources such as consultants and unions. It is kept in line with the government salary revisions. Before we finalized the scales we had meetings with the different union representatives. It was after so many deliberations that the structure was approved by the Minister. This is not one that was either decided upon and thrust on the employees by either myself or the General Manager. Nowhere in the world is the desires of all the employees fulfilled in a salary structure," added Deraniyagala. He further added that the board has managed to maintain an average of Rs. 4050 per month. "Further in order to give a better deal to the employees, the CEB has considered Rs.4300 as the Cost of Living Allowance and not Rs.3868 the COL as at January 1997, when it was effected. It should be noted that the overtime, holiday pay, generation allowance, EPF, ETF, Pension Fund and gratuity has always been computed including the COL. Component of the salary and its consolidation in to the salary is fully justified,"he said. The Chairman further noted that while the ratio between the lowest and the highest salary in the government scales as per B. C. Perera Report was 5.5, the CEB structure has maintained a ratio of 5.34. "The CEB do not intend to keep the lower grade employees at their initial scales as the management is eager to have them promoted to the skilled grades which would be beneficial to the organization. In fact most of the lower grade employees have the opportunity of being promoted to the higher semi-skilled grade after a period of 3 years through a trade test," he added. The new revisions have been effected as a consolidated salary and with effect from January 1,1997. Student who made bogus telephone call
remanded A student who created panic by giving a false telephone call that he had been blindfolded and abducted in a van, was produced by Kurunegala police before Wariyapola Magistrate, H. Ranaweera and ordered to be remanded till December 10. The suspect is a 18-year-old student of a school in Wariyapola. Police are also on the tracks of the three leaders who are suspected to have aided and abetted the student to carry out this act to create panic. Kurunegala police acting on the directions of DIG North West, Camillus Abeygunawardena are carrying out further investigations. Court refuses application to recall
complainant in bribery Colombo High Court Judge Nimal Dissanayaka last week refused an application by the prosecution to recall the virtual complainant in a bribery case. High Court made the order sequel to legal objections by Defence Counsel Nihal Gunasinghe. In this case, Chandana Hettiarachchy, an engineer attached to the Water Board Kadawata is indicted with soliciting and accepting a bribe of Rs. 1500 from virtual complainant Weeraratna on August 16, 1995. Defence Counsel Nihal Gunasinghe submitted that the virtual complainant gave evidence at the commencement of the trial. After he had given evidence, prison officers were ordered to keep the virtual complainant in custody and he was kept in the open court. He was witnessing the proceedings of the court and listening to the testimony by other witnesses. Thereafter the decoy testified. Then the counsel for the prosecution made an application seeking time to consider whether to continue with the trial in view of the contradictory nature of the evidence of the virtual complainant. The virtual complainant was remanded until the next date. A salient feature in the case was that he was remanded by court without any application by the prosecution. He argued that the prosecution could never make an application to recall the virtual complainant under Section 154 read with Section 155 (C) of the Evidence Ordinance without treating him as an adverse or hostile witness. Our law is very concerned about the prejudice that would be caused to the accused before allowing applications of this nature. The relevant section vests a discretion in the Courts. That discretion is one that must be exercised on the material before court. A party seeking for the recall of a witness must indicate to the trial judge, why he wants the witness recalled and satisfy him that it is necessary for a just decision of the case. The defence humbly requests that the application by the prosecution be disallowed, Mr. Gunasinghe concluded. Legal Officer of the Bribery Commission Luxmy Wijewickrema prosecuted. Nihal Gunasinghe with S. Karunaratne Lansakara and Pradeep Nandasena appeared for the accused. SLMC to go it alone at all future
elections The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress ( SLMC) has decided to go it alone at all future elections beginning with the forthcoming North Western Provincial Council Elections (NWPC) the party’s General Secretary Rauff Hakeem said. "The decision was taken by the SLMC politburo last week. However the SLMC will not withdraw its support for the Peoples Alliance", he said. Hakeem said that the rank and file of the SLMC feels that they should go it alone at all future elections because they believe that the party would be able to fare better while also preserving its identity. "SLMC organisers in the Puttalam and Kurunegala districts had also urged the leadership to contest the NWPC election under the SLMC symbol", he added. Hakeem said the "never ending internecine warfare" among PA candidates and some Ministers openly attacking the SLMC were also major factors that influenced their decision to go it alone. "With a view to avoiding unnecessary problems we thought the best course of action would be to contest all future elections separately", he explained. It is learnt that Ministers D. M. Jayaratne, Alavi Moulana and Jeyaraj Fernandopulle have appealed to the SLMC leadership to review its sudden decision. However Hakeem said that the SLMC decision would stand because it had been taken after careful consideration. Meanwhile the Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayaka has extended the period of submission of applications for postal voting at the NWPC elections to December 10. Students of two leading schools clash A fierce clash took place between students of two leading schools in Panadura and Horana at the Bandaragama bus stand last Friday afternoon forcing commuters to run helter skelter in fear. The students armed with iron bars, daggers and other weapons clashed over an incident of ragging, police said. Police investigations had revealed that a group of students from a leading school in Horana had come to a Panadura school to attend a ceremony where they are alleged to have been ragged. This had led to the clash at the Bandaragama bus stand, police said. Several students arrested by police were later released with a warning. Action had also been taken to inform the principals of respective schools, police said. |
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