.

Forces recruit more men, criticise politicians for hampering war effort

by Shamindra Ferdinando
Army headquarters officials expressed confidence that the ongoing second stage of this year’s recruitment drive to enlist 2,500 men would help depleted regular infantry battalions to fill some of their existing vacancies thereby improving battle preparedness. Walk in interviews at camps and divisional secretariats would continue until Tuesday, they said.

A senior officer said that since the interviews began on August 16 over 1,500 youth had been selected. "We are confident another 1,000 could be found by next Tuesday," he said on Friday morning.

Army headquarters originally planned to recruit 10,000 youth. However, the top brass, after fresh consultations with the government has decided to recruit only 2,500.

Some 2,700 youth recruited in the first stage of the drive had joined the regular infantry in the Light Infantry, Gajaba, Sinha, Gemunu and Wijayaba regiments last month.

Military officials blame some government politicians and the majority of foreign funded NGOs of hampering efforts to strengthen the armed forces and police. All these peace marches, demonstrations and so called satyagrayas have a negative impact on everything we are trying to achieve, one officer said.

Some officers strongly condemned government politicians and officials getting involved in activities organised by "peace beggars".

"They are making things difficult for us," a senior officer stationed in an operational area said pointing out the difficulty in finding the required number of men to fight the LTTE. The government, he said should distance itself from NGOs and other individuals involved with the LTTE and other front organisations.

The government by getting involved with "these forces" is giving a wrong signal to those who want to join the services, he said.

The armed forces have been compelled to recruit thousands of men to strengthen depleted battalions. Thousands of women too had been deployed in operational areas and rest of the country in support of the fighting battalions, military sources said.

Senior officers said that the government should not discourage the youth. "We have done a lot in the past few years," one officer said adding that there would not be any peace without crippling the LTTE.

UK dismisses Lanka’s claim
"Southall shooting not terrorist related"

by Shamindra Ferdinando
The British government appeared to have dismissed Sri Lanka’s claims of LTTE involvement in the August 30 shooting incident at a cricket festival at Southhall, London last Tuesday by indicating that it would treat the shooting incident and the outbreak of fighting as criminal rather than terrorist-related.

A 20-year-old Tamil male was shot in the leg at the cricket festival organised by the United Tamil Organisation. The shooting prompted an outbreak of fighting, British High Commission’s Second Secretary [Chancery] Ms. Alison Kemp told The Sunday Island.

Sri Lankan officials said that the LTTE used just one of its many front organisations, the United Tamil Organisation which shares its address with the LTTE at the Eelam House, Long Lane in south east London. LTTE’s top man in London, A.C. Shanthan had been there when the shooting took place.

However, the British government has indicated that it was not prepared to consider the incident anything to do with terrorism.

"The police are treating it as a criminal rather than terrorist related," she said adding that initial indications suggest the fighting was between rival criminal gangs.

Of the two persons arrested following the incident, one had been already released but the other had been remanded and charged with possessing a firearm, causing grievous bodily harm and theft.

The type of the firearm and the youth shot at had not been made known.

The incident came just four days after Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the US, Warnasena Rasaputra accused the British government of turning a blind eye to LTTE activities there. "London is a base for some of the Tigers, and London allows free transfers of money to and from London," he told a seminar on terrorism in Asia at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

He claimed that the fight against terrorism would not gain ground unless countries like UK stop allowing "terrorist" groups from operating within their shores adding that Sri Lanka expect some pressure from the US on the UK.

Sri Lankan officials privately admit that they do not expect any change with regard to UK’s position on the LTTE. The British government has made clear that action could be taken against the LTTE or any other group only on evidence.

The British High Commission is on record as saying that "where there is evidence that individuals are involved in terrorism of any kind in the UK or are conspiring in the UK to commit a terrorist act abroad , the government does not hesitate to take action against them, either under the criminal law supported as necessary by the prevention of terrorism legislation or under the Immigration Act powers."

The British government insists that the LTTE in London so far had not violated its laws. A few months ago top LTTEer Anton Balasingam [a former employee at British High Commission in Colombo] and his Australian born wife, Adele were permitted to enter UK.

Asked to comment on Balasingham’s arrival there, Ms. Kemp said that as a holder of a British passport, it is unlikely his arrival in the UK would have been recorded by immigration authorities.

Violence in London – a fued between LTTE gangs

By Dushy Ranetunge
Further to the outrageous Tamil gang warfare that broke out at the LTTE sports festival in Southall, it has been revealed that the 20 year old Tamil who was shot was one Naganathan Manivannam. The word on the street is that it was a feud between two LTTE fund collection gangs, one based in Eastham and the other at Walthamstow, both in East London. Naganathan was helping out the LTTE/UTO as a security guard for the Sports Festival.

The man who was arrested with the firearm is 27 year old Velautha Biganathan, who is unemployed and is living off the British taxpayer. Biganathan of 73 Rosebury Avenue, Manor Park (East London) has been charged with the possession of a firearm, causing grievous bodily harm and for the theft of two credit cards. He was produced produced before Ealing Magistrates Court (West London) on the 1st of September and further remanded till 9th September.

There is also an incident of a fire bombing in the Manor Park area, the home town of Biganathan. Someone seems to be trying to settle a score. Southall Police are investigating possible connections.

According to Southall police, the search carried out by them at the LTTE Sports Festival on Bank Holiday Monday (30th August) had led to the recovery of swords, machetes and baseball bats. There is suspicion that there were other firearms in circulation although only one was recovered.

The LTTE and Shanthan are now involved in a desperate damage limitation exercise. They are trying to manipulaate the evidence being given to the police with the use of Tamil pro-LTTE lawyers and by using the British legal right of silence,to project an image that the LTTE/UTO are the guardians of justice and that it was rogue Tamil elements who were involved in the incident, and that their security guard Naganathan Manivannam was shot while trying to make a citizens arrest of a armed Tamil villain with the Sports Festival.

In public, the LTTE is maintaining a stony silence over the whole issue. The incident has not appeared on its own Internet news site "eelam.com" nor has "Tamilnet" which is keen to project an image of unbiased Tamil reporting, anything to comment on the "Tamil Sports Festival 99" which was billed as a festival which will be "observed in such a manner that it will be remembered for a long time in the new millennium."

It has also been discovered by the police that among the crowd were significant numbers of Tamils from France, Germany and even as far as Canada. This explains why there were a disproportionately high nunber of Tamil boys between the ages of 16 and 30 at the event. Their numbers were so overwhelming that it contributed to a very oppressive atmosphere.

The LTTE event was advertised via the Tamil radio stations which are broadcast on the sky satellite and covers most of Europe. This would have attracted the young Tamils from Europe who had each paid £2 to gain entry to the event. These funds collected would have gone directly into the bank accounts of the LTTE.

The Tamil radio stations broadcasting via satellite operate under licence from the British government and the licences are granted on the grounds that they are "community radio" and that the programme content would not include material such as LTTE propaganda. Since the programmes are in Tamil, it is very difficult for the British authorities to monitor the content. Recently several programmes have been broadcast depicting the Sinhalese as barbarians in a clear attempt to play on Tamil emotions and raise funds. Many Tamils who are opposed to the LTTE are waiting for the day when SLBC would start braodcasting its Tamil programmes via satellite to countries with large Tamil diasporas.

London has had its fair share of Tamil violence up to now. There have been Tamil gang wars and murders not far from Southall in West London (some are still serving jail sentences) and a few years back the Enfield Advertiser (a local north London newspaper) reported of a Tamil man being abducted by a Tamil gang, who used garden pruning clippers to cut off all the man’s fingers in one hand. This was over a drug deal. In all these instances, although there was suspicion of LTTE involvement there was no direct evidence to link the LTTE to the violence because of the manner in which it operates. In addition to all this there is also the culture of the British justice system which is only interested in individuals who carry out the crime and not the organisation which manipulated the individuals. Lack of resources and political commitment are also factors that limit any significant indepth investigations by the police.

However, in the latest incident of violence at the United Tamils Organisation’s (UTO) Tamil Sports Festival, there is photographic evidence to prove that the key organiser was AC Shanthan, the LTTE supremo in London and that the UTO is nothing other than a LTTE front organisation even sharing the same address at Eelam House. The LTTE tries to mislead the naive by always using the "211 Katherine Rd., London E6 IBU" address as its "International Secretariat", but all one has to do is visit the place and knock on the door to realise that there is nothing there other than a few lodgers. The LTTE moved all its equipment and staff to "Eelam House" several years back and it is from here that personalities such as AC Shanthan and Anton Rajah their spokesmen operate from. The overall head of operations is Manoharan, who is based in Paris and has a French drugs conviction among his many credentials.

Sri Lankan Tamils all over the world live in a "mafia like" fear of the LTTE, which is reinenforced periodically with assassinations and the cult of suicide bombers. It was widely known that the Sports Event in West London was organised by the LTTE as even the pamphlets advertising the event had "Eelam House" as the address. Therefore the only ones who would have dared to go to this event, armed with firearms, swords, machetes and baseball bats and to be those who were not afraid of the LTTE, because they were themselves LTTE.

The LTTE has a long history of denying responsibility for acts of violence. But, despite all the frantic efforts by Shanthan, the LTTE and their Tamil lawyers to deny all responsibility and blame it on rogue Tamil elements, the ordinary Tamil man in the streets of London seems to be fully aware as to what actually took place and who is responsible.

Kollupitiya beach strip belongs to US

U.S. Ambassador Shaun Donnelly threw up his arms in a disclaimer when Cultural Minister Lakshman Jayakody said last week that the U.S., if it so wished, could set up a submarine base at the back of the USIS/USAID building on Galle Road, Kollupitiya.

Jayakody was relating a little known fact. The building which was re-dedicated last week is one of the few in the country to which the beach at its rear belongs by law. The minister said it, the whole coastline of the country belongs to the government but this was a single exception.

He wasn’t altogether right. When the building was dedicated some years ago, then ex-President J.R. Jayewardene said there were a couple of other houses with similar rights.

Once called Sri Ramya, premises No. 44, Galle Road, Kollupitiya was built in 1923 by the Wijewardene family. It was so named after an earlier home of Mrs. Helena Wijewardene, the maternal grandmother of JRJ who frequently visited it during his childhood.

Mr. Upali Wijewardene was born in that house and so were some of the other descendants of the Wijewardene clan who were special guests at the re-dedication ceremony. One of them, Mr. Nanda Seneviratne, was invited to join other VIPs in lighting an oil lamp to mark the ceremony.

In 1951, after a tour of duty as a barracks for British soldiers during World War 2, Sri Ramya was purchased by the USA and refurbished to house the American Embassy in Colombo. After the embassy moved to its present premises further south on the Galle Road, USAID and USIS have occupied this building.

Balagalle returns, Weerasooriya leaves

Army Commander Lt. General Srilal Weerasooriya would be leaving for Singapore today (5) to attend the first ever US sponsored conference of heads of Pacific armies. In his absence Army Chief of Staff and Wanni Security Forces Commander Major General Lional Balagalle will function as active commander of the Army, military sources said yesterday.

Lt. General Weerasooriya is expected to meet General Hugh H. Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during his visit and several other senior military officials during his stay there.

Major General Balagalla returned from Hawaii yesterday after attending another US sponsored conference.

Hoteliers get green light for cess fund proposal— Abbas Esufally

By Suresh Perera
A proposal from hoteliers to establish a cess fund to raise around US$ 4 million to improve Sri Lanka’s image overseas and promote the country as a generative tourist destination, has been accepted by the government, a top industry executive said last week.

"It’s vital that we embark on this mission to repair the damage and boost the tourism industry battered by adverse publicity internationally", Abbas Esufally, Managing Director, Serendib Leisure Management Ltd. told a group of visiting journalists at Bentota last Thursday.

Hoteliers decided to step in to do what has to be done to rejuvenate the industry as the government has no funds for this massive image-building and market promotion exercise. The concept of a cess fund has gained ground and there is acceptance on the part of the government, Esufally said.

The journalists were at Hotel Serendib where the change of its corporate name from Serendib

Touring Ltd. to Serendib Leisure Management Ltd. was announced by the Managing Director at a special news conference.

As a major foreign exchange earner, the tourism industry has sought ‘export status’ and an extension of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) exemption to keep the struggling trade afloat.

The two-year GST exempt status granted to the industry lapses on April 1, 2000 and the imposition of a ‘sudden’ 12.5% tax will be too much to bear, Esufally warned.

"At least a further two-year exemption is essential until the industry, which was in the doldrums, is up and running. Hotels and travel agents will be badly affected if GST is imposed at this point of time and ultimately it’s the consumer who has to pay," he said.

There is stiff competition to the industry from countries like Thailand and Kenya and an abrupt 12.5% jump sans a qualitative improvement will be detrimental to tourism in Sri Lanka, Devindre Senaratne, Director Marketing, Serendib Leisure Management, explained.

If the rates suddenly spiral here, the competitiveness will be lost and the relative change will affect the industry, he cautioned.

Asked whether the change of name will not have a bearing on its identity, Esufally said the identity has been retained by keeping ‘Serendib’ intact. ‘We have modernised and refurbished our identity and mapped out a strategy to give value to our clients and shareholders’.

The hotels that come under the purview of Serendib Leisure Management are Hotel Serendib, Bentota, Club Hotel Dolphin, Waikkal, Hotel Sigiriya, Hotel Reefcomber, Hikkaduwa and Tasks Safari Camp, Kuda Oya.

"The tourism industry is resilient. Any other trade would have died several deaths many years ago in the face of the adverse impact created by the situation in the country. Notwithstanding all these problems, tourist arrivals reached a peak of 400,000. Tourist spending also increased with US$ 63 a night per tourist," Srilal Miththapala, Chief Executive Officer, Serendib Leisure Management said.

"All indications are of a bumper winter season though not much has been done by the authorities in a cohesive manner to improve the country’s image internationally," he noted.

"Quality will play a major role in Serendib Leisure which strives for professional excellence in all its activities. As part of its new corporate image, it will actively pursue strategic alliance and associations in managing other leisure activities and services. One such pursuit is the company’s taking over the marketing and sales of TASKS safari camp at Kuda Oya last month," Miththapala said.

"It’s a comfortable position to be in because our company has no debts," said Esufally who assumed duties as MD in April this year after Asker S. Moosajee retired as founder Chairman and MD.

"Major structural changes are on line to portray the new dynamic, progressive and innovative profile of the company. The name, entire corporate outlook logo and branding are being changed. All four hotels managed by the company will be repositioned, refurbished and facilities extended to provide a wider range of services," Miththapala said.

JSC presents its case

he Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has set out what it calls "the correct factual position" regarding the action taken by it in respect of two judicial officers - a Magistrate and a District Judge - about whom there has been recent media publicity.

This what the JSC, through its Acting Secretary, P D. N. Samarakoon, has to say:

"Having regard to the fact that an erroneous impression may have been created in the minds of the public by the recent media publicity in regard to the action taken by the Judicial Service Commission in respect of Mr. Lenin Ratnayake, Magistrate and Mr. A. H. M. U. Abeyratne, District Judge, I have been directed to set out the correct factual position.

Mr. Lenin Ratnayake

Mr. Lenin Ratnayake was placed on compulsory leave consequent upon a "preliminary inquiry" held by three Justices of the Court of Appeal. The "preliminary inquiry" was to inquire into the allegations that have been made and are being made against Mr. Lenin Ratnayake by the Editor of the "Ravaya’’ and to report to the Commission whether there is material which would justify initiation of a disciplinary inquiry.

The preliminary inquiry has now been concluded and the question of framing charges is under consideration. It is inconceivable that anyone could suggest that the services of Mr. Lenin Ratnayake should be terminated prior to the serving of charges and the holding of a disciplinary inquiry. The Judicial Service Commission has initiated this process. The Judicial Service Commission eschews unreasonable and arbitrary action violative of the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution, and has at all times acted in accordance with the principles of Natural Justice, procedural fairness and other procedural safeguards which would ensure a fair hearing.

Mr. A. H. M. U. Abeyratne

Consequent upon a report submitted by a duly constituted Disciplinary Committee consisting of three Justices of the Court of Appeal, Mr. A. H. M. U. Abeyratne was compulsorily retired from service with effect from 31.07.99.

Mr. Abeyratne submitted a written petition of appeal to the Judicial Service Commission against the findings of the Committee and the punishment imposed by the Judicial Service Commission. The petition of appeal was supported before the Judicial Service Commission by Mr. Faisz Musthapha, President’s Counsel who made comprehensive oral submissions before the Judicial Service Commission.

Mr. Musthapha submitted for the consideration of the Commission the following matters:

1. that the acts of misconduct complained of arose from orders made qua judge.

2. that none of the acts of misconduct alleged dishonesty or bias.

3. the alleged acts of misconduct are based on unreasonable, harsh and oppressive exercise of discretion and also abuse of discretion.

4. one of the orders which was the subject matter of the charges came up for judicial review by way of an application in revision and the Court of Appeal refused to issue notice on the ground of delay; delay could not have been a bar to the issue of notice if the order was such as to shock the conscience of the court. The application made to the Court of Appeal in respect of the other two orders was withdrawn.

The Judicial Service Commission gave its anxious consideration to the aforesaid submissions and decided to affirm the findings but mitigated the punishment by making an order debarring Mr. Abeyratne from promotion to the Special Class of the Judicial Service for a period of two years from 19.7.99 and a transfer to Moneragala as the District Judge with effect from 1.1.2000.

The order debarring a career Judicial Officer from promotion for a period of two years has very serious adverse consequences in respect of his promotional prospects.

The Judicial Service Commission is reluctantly compelled to make this statement in view of the erroneous and misleading statements that have been published in the media recently with scant respect to the true factual position.

The Judicial Service Commission also regrets very much that the correct factual position has not been appreciated."

E-mail scandal exposes immunity of hackers

by Amal Jayasinghe
COLOMBO, Sept. 5 (AFP) — An e-mail scandal which has erupted into a sensitive political issue in Sri Lanka has also exposed the total lack of laws protecting internet users and the immunity enjoyed by computer hackers.

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) dragged into the controversy over alleged government tapping of e-mail said they hoped the authorities will enact laws that will restore public confidence in the use of the internet.

The ISP, Lanka Internet, said laws in the country were inadequate the deal with issues relating to the internet but hoped that the public debate over the e-mail scandal will have a positive impact on legislators.

Lanka Internet chief executive officer, Hemantha Jayawardena, said laws protecting internet users and electronic mail were almost non-existent and the available legislation was inadequate to cover complex issues.

"It is not right for one person to read and publish the contents of another’s e-mail but there is nothing specific in law (against it)," Jayawardena said. "In Sri Lanka computer hacking is not an offence."

Electronic commerce had failed to take off in Sri Lanka because banks unwilling to support such ventures because of the lack of laws governing the use of the internet.

"Some people here use the internet basically to buy books and software from abroad, but we don’t have Sri Lankan on-line stores selling to Sri Lankans," Jayawardena said adding that it was due to inadquate laws.

The e-mail scandal broke out last month when Science and Technology Minister Batty Weerakoon read out in cabinet an e-mail meant for former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe.

Wickremasinghe who is now the leader of the opposition accused Weerakoon of intercepting his e-mail and said the government was screening telephone calls, fax messages and e-mail of journalists, politicians and businessmen.

"It was a shock to the internet industry here", said another Lanka Internet executive Nishantha Abeywardena. "We had queries from quite a few people about security of e-mail and we had to spend a lot of time explaining.

When asked by a reporter how minister Weerakoon got the e-mail meant for the opposition leader, Weerakoon simply said: "I am the Minister of Science and Technology".

The minister went on to accuse Lanka Internet for mis-directing the opposition e-mail and said there could be more than one person with the identical e-mail address and the opposition should be more careful in selecting their server.

However, Minister Weerakoon has since apologised to Lanka Internet for his blunder.

"I hope I have made amends regarding what embarrassment may have been caused to Lanka Internet Services on what I stated in parliament," The minister said in his apology.

But Lanka Internet says the issue goes beyond educating the science and technology minister on the basics of the internet. Many people were still careless about their pass words and entering the wrong addressing when sending electronic mail.

"Most of the time security breaches can be traced to illegal use of passwords and incorrect entering of addresses," Jayawardena said.

He said he hoped the authorities would soon enact new laws to cover all aspects of the use of electronic mail and commerce.

Last week, the opposition leader accused the government of intercepting the e-mail of businessmen and profiting from the correspondence of others by selling the information to businessmen close to the ruling party.

Wickremasinghe insisted that an e-mail addressed to him had been intercepted by Weerakoon in violation of the telecommunications act. The minister denies any wrongdoing.

Weerakoon said he read out Wickremasinghe’s e-mail at a cabinet meeting because there was a mention of buying a digital video camera and a lapel micro phone for the opposition.

The minister maintained the equipment could threaten national security.

Wickremasinghe said the government had deployed the police National Intelligence Bureau to monitor electronic correspondence in addition to tapping phones and fax messages.

Weerakoon denied the tapping charge. He said businessmen were smarter than the opposition and knew how to conduct their correspondence without having confidentiality breached. For most offices it is a messenger boy, known as peon, who still does the job, manually.

PA rewards ex-UNP State Minister

by Chittaranjan de Silva
Mr. G Tissa Kuttiarachchi has been appointed as the new Chairman of the State Printing Corporation (SPC) with affect from last Wednesday after the post fell vacant after Mr. A. B. C. de Silva resigned in protest over the issue of printing of school text books.

Mr. Kuttiarachchi was the former State Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Sports during the UNP regime hut crossed over to the PA before the recently concluded Southern Provincial Council Elections.

Outgoing Chairman De Silva warning that the state printing sector is under serious threat after his attempts to stop the private sector from making inroads into the SPC’s printing quota failed.

The SPC was set up in 1968 by an Act of Parliament mainly to handle the government’s printing work but with the commencement of the distribution of the free school text books the Act was amended and the SPC was awarded the entire printing quota of the school text books, sources said. However, the Treasury Paper issued in 1998 allowed private companies to compete with the SPC in the printing of school text books which has posed a huge threat even to the survival of the SPC, sources added. Some of SPC’s important duties in providing text and exercise books in a service oriented way is now threatened with the introduction of the private sector and severe competition that follows with it, sources said.

"It would be difficult for the SPC to survive and its future is bleak," de Silva told the "Sunday Island" blamed the situation SPC is facing today on higher authorities who he said allowed the private sector a slice of the governments printing quota of school text books.

"We spoke on many occasions to Minister Mangala Samarawera and asked him to take the matter up with cabinet but he did not oblige", De. Silva said.

The loss to the SPC due to this decision to allow the private sector to participate in the printing of school text books is around Rs. 100 million per year which is a huge slice of the SPC’s revenue, sources said. But facing competition is very difficult since it automatically increases the cost of production, and the SPC will be subject to taxes and its employees will stand to loose a lot of benefits, sources said.

Due to the higher cost of printing the government will have to pay more for the books which it is distributing free among the students because of this decision to allow the private sector a part of the quota, sources said.

Killing of PLOTE leader
Police suspect claymore mine hidden in ceiling of Lucky House

by Franklin R. Satyapalan
Police investigators suspect that a claymore mine hidden in the ceiling of PLOTE ‘Lucky House’ camp in Vavuniya had claimed the lives of PLOTE military wing leader ‘Das’ and two others Ilango and Vino last Thursday and arrested three suspects who were being interrogated in this connection, said Superintendent Operations Vavuniya Gamini Amarakoon yesterday.

The report of the Government Analyst was awaited to ascertain whether the explosive device was a claymore mine that had been activated by someone from inside the ill-fated camp or in the vicinity of the blast, police said.

Initial investigations had revealed that the modus operandi used for the blast was similar to the one used in the slaying of Jaffna Mayor Pon Sivapalan and a senior military officer in September 1998 where a claymore mine fixed to the roof was activated by remote control, police said.

In this connection investigators were on the lookout for the contractor and workmen who carried out the renovation of ‘Lucky House’ camp which opportunity could have been used by the assailants to fix the bomb in the ceiling, police said.

Police on Friday arrested two youths who were alleged to be PLOTE cadres while they were awaiting a train to Colombo at Anuradhapura railway station.

It was believed that both these cadres had been in Lucky House camp at the time of the blast and one of them identified as ‘Thambi’ was alleged to be an Ex LTTEer who had joined the PLOTE and being the person in charge of security and administration at Lucky House camp, during the past three years and had been on their way to Colombo when arrested, police said.

Meanwhile investigators also arrested in Colombo another suspect Saravanamutthu Ariyadas a native of Kayts island, in North who had been a Middle East returnee who had housed at residence opposite Lucky House camp at time of blast and fled subsequently to Colombo fearing his arrest, police said.

On Thursday evening bodies of Manikkadasan Vavuniya military wing leader Ilango and Vino ex-Panderippu Pradeshiya Sabha member were taken from Vavuniya hospital to PLOTE camp at Kovilkulam in procession and yesterday black flags were observed hung in shops and business houses in Vavuniya, residents said.

The cremation of ‘Vino’ Murugesu Gunaratnam took place at Rambaikulam cemetery last evening, while the bodies of Das and Illango were kept at their Rambaikulam residences for the public to pay their last respects.

The arrival of Das’ mother, brothers and sister from Germany and wife and two daughters are expected from India for the funeral scheduled for next Tuesday.

Manikkadasan (40) joined the Gandhian movement in 1970 and later joined the Tamil Liberation struggle where he was arrested and escaped miraculously during the massacre of 57 Tamil political prisoners at Welikada prison in 1983 and subsequently made good his escape during the Batticaloa prison jail break and fled to India.

There he joined the PLOTE movement under late leader Uma Maheswaran and received specialized training in Lebanon under Dr. Geroge Habash Fatah faction of the P.L.O. before returning to Sri Lanka and being involved in Killinochchi Bank robbery in late 1980s.

Das was also alleged to have been behind the extermination of several of his own cadres including that of Uma Maheswaran and Karavai Kandasamy.

Further investigations were being carried out by Vavuniya OIC CI Palitha Panamaldeniya on directions of SSP Vavuniya Police Division Raja Weerakoon and another team under directins of SSP Operations Vavuniya Brian Amunugama, police said.

Burglar caught — but police disinterested

A Colombo-based lawyer who trapped a burglar inside his garage was in for a rude shock when the Borella police and the Police Emergency he frantically contacted shrugged it off with a nonchalant ‘nothing can be done about it’. The reason or rather excuse was that there was no way of sending the police to arrest the intruder.

In sheer desperation, the lawyer got in touch with a high-ranking police friend, to seek redress. The long minutes ticked by and with the growing danger of the burglar succeeding in breaking out, the wait for the long arm of the law seemed endless.

Thanks to the intervention of the senior officer, two cops who said they were from the Emergency turned up in a three-wheeler and to the relief of the complainant got hold of the intruder and bundled him into the waiting tri-shaw. That’s not the end of the story. The policemen then turned to the lawyer and asked for money for the taxi fare. No statement was recorded and no questions asked about how it all happened. After all, they came all the way to the Borella residence of the complainant in a taxi and they expected him to pay for it.

So, cash for the ‘hire’ was dished out and off they went. The lawyer had later told his friend in the police that for all he suspects the cops would have released the intruder no sooner they were out of sight.

So far the lawyer’s complaint has not been recorded and he is wondering where the cops went with the money he had paid for being taken for a ride!! – (Suresh)

All parties contesting Indian elections back LTTE and Eelam cause

by Franklyn R.Satyapalan
Renewed support for the Tamil Eelam and LTTE by parties campaigning for parliamentary elections in India causes concern in Sri Lanka, Foreign Ministry sources said yesterday.

In this connection the newly formed Foreign Ministry Research Unit (FOMRU) on directions of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was to concentrate on changing political dynamics in Tamil Nadu and its possible impact on the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka, the sources said.

It was only last week that the World Tamil Cultural Organisation at its 7th Annual International Conference held in Chennai resolved that if the government of Sri Lanka wont take immediate steps to withdraw the army from where Tamils live or if the government of Sri Lanka refuses to take part in peace talks the Indian government should take steps to raise this issue at the United Nations.

Various other resolutions too were adopted at this conference and the steps taken by Indian government on behalf of Tamil Nadu fishermen were also discussed.

The resolution called for an immediate halt to the ethnic war in Sri Lanka and that steps should be taken to negotiate with representatives of Tamil people by Sri Lankan government.

They also urged the Indian and Tamil Nadu governments to jointly stress upon the Sri Lankan government the need to implement the resolutions.

At the same time the support for the Eelam cause has again been espoused in the polls campaign of the various parties campaigning for the forthcoming parliamentary elections in India.

Several parties in their election meetings have supported the liberation struggle of the Tamil parties and have ensured full support for the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Though the LTTE is proscribed in India Dr. Ramadas leader of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) which is in coalition with the Baratha Janatha Party (BJP) has praised the Tigers and its leader Prabakaran.

Even during the last parliamentary elections in India several Indian parties took up the call for the Tamil Eelam cause and this trend is being continued with renewed vigour for the first time since the death of the Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi during the forthcoming elections.

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, had recently condemned the BJP’s stand on the Sri Lankan issue during her campaign and the Indian premier Vajpayee in his reply has asked whether it was correct on the part of India to have sent troops to Sri Lanka and interfere in the affairs of Sri Lanka.

This time all parties supporting the BJP including the DMK are supporting the Eelam cause.

Criticism over Millennium City, unfair and baseless — BOI chief

by Sanjeevi Jayasuriya
The Millennium City, is under construction in Athurugiriya by the Ceylinco Developers Limited, is the largest single housing project funded by the private sector and the criticism against the project is both unfair and baseless, the Chairman BOI Thilan Wijesinghe said recently.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Wijesinghe said that the BOI submitted a policy paper on economic activities in manufacturing sector which the Board felt needed due attention.

Based on the proposals made by the BOI, the private sector participation in the construction activities was encouraged but their inability to embark on large scale housing projects was understood by the government, Mr. Wijesinghe said.

The funds necessary to pay up front the valuers estimates on lands and a couple of other constraints were identified as the reasons for non participation by private sector in the construction sector as and as a result the investors were not comfortable with the openings available, he said.

"With the state support on the infrastructure facilities, the Millennium City became a reality," he added.

Mr. Wijesinghe said that the project was approved by the Cabinet in October 97 and this medium to low cost housing scheme is a significant and is of tremendous national benefit.

"This is the first time that the private sector has contributed towards a housing project where the concept of total township is involved," Deputy Chairman of Ceylinco Developers Limited, Bandula Ranaweera said.

The concept, price and number of housing units has made this a unique project, he added. The funding mechanism is straight forward and is best suited for the lower and middle class families. The Ceylinco Developers Limited had been given BOI status under certain conditions. The company has obtained the environment clearance from the Environmental Authorities and in June 1999 signed the land lease agreement with the government for 99 years, he said.

The ownership to the land goes from BOI to the general public, Ranaweera said. The investment on the part of BOI is Rs. 35 million and total cost of the project is around Rs. 1.6 billion.

The contribution this project is making towards the growth of the national economy and the employment opportunities to eradicate the unemployment problem in the country are important features of this project, he added.

More routes under SriLankan airlines wing

The country’s national airline celebrated its 20th anniversary on September 1 with a renewed sense of enthusiasm to take it to a higher plane as a truly international airline.

Twenty years ago, the fledgling Air Lanka began with a fleet of two leased Boeing 707s and some half a dozen destination. Today, Srilankan Airlines operates to 26 destinations (soon to be 29) with a fleet of 10 aircraft, the majority of which are from the hi-tech Airbus stable. Throughout, its strength has been its warm and caring service, the ethos of the Sri Lankan people, reflected abundantly in its staff.

Its twentieth year sees the airline resplendent in new livery which harnesses the carrier’s traditional warm and caring disposition and positions the airline as a modern, vibrant, truly international carrier. Soon-to-be-implemented product development by way of an all wide-bodied Airbus feet, a top-of-the-line in-flight product, and plans to make Colombo a popular hub for the international business and leisure traveller are slated to make the vision of its new identity a reality.

As Sri Lankan airlines Chairman S. K. Wickrmesinghe points out: "In the past, our objective was to increase traffic to and from Sri Lanka. In a country the size of Sri Lanka however, there will be a limit to the number of travellers who will come because they are attracted to Sri Lanka as a destination. The numbers for through traffic however, are unlimited."

Chief Executive Officer Peter Hill adds: "The international travel market is becoming increasingly more competitive and sophisticated and we constantly need to develop our product to meet these exacting standards."

The airline’s focus on development has not forgotten what is perhaps its most vital asset; its staff. Twentieth anniversary celebrations will focus on staff, paying tribute to their dedicated service. A get-together has been planned for 12 September at the Convention Centre where staff and their families will enjoy a day of fun and fellowship. An important agenda for the day will be the felicitation of the 199 staff who have been with the airline from inception. As is traditional, on a solemn note, staff will also celebrate the anniversary with multi-religious ceremonies and as part of community service, participate in a blood donation campaign to contribute to the reserves of the Central Blood Bank.( Press release.)

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