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Govt. softens on Tiger movement
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:43 AM SL Time
The government has softened its tough stand on providing security to LTTE cadres travelling through government controlled areas and directed Army personnel to travel in the vehicles with the LTTE cadres.
A senior military official said that for the first time two armed Army personnel were deployed inside a LTTE van which was carrying Ampara district political head Ellilan and another LTTE cadre. They were travelling from Trincomalee to the Wanni on Saturday evening.
Earlier LTTE had informed the SLMM that Ellilan needed urgent medical treatment in Kilinochchi. The SLMM had informed the Government peace secretariat about the LTTE`s requirement and the Government Peace Secretariat had directed the relevant security authorities in the east to provide two armed military personnel inside the LTTE vehicle and two other military vehicles with armed personnel as an escort.
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Mahinda, SLFP Presidential candidate?
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:34 AM SL Time
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse is to be nominated as the next Presidential candidate of the Sri Lanka Freedom party, a senior party source said.
This decision has been taken by President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Industries, Tourism and Investment Promotions Minister Anura Bandaranaike, several senior members and close confidantes of the Bandaranaike family, the source said.
Mr. Rajapakse`s name will be proposed to the committee to select the Presidential candidate by the President herself and will be seconded by Minister Anura Bandaranaike who has already consented to support the Prime Minister`s Presidential election campaign, conditionally.
Accordingly, Minister Bandaranaike is scheduled to address the propaganda rallies of the Prime Minister Island wide.
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Mahinda appeals again for S.B`s release
Sunday, 24 July 2005 - 5:37 AM SL Time
A Matara district UNP MP on Thursday requested the President to free jailed UNP National Organizer S.B. Dissanayake, using the power vested in her as the Executive President.
In a letter addressed to President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Wijesekara said it was totally unfair to jail a person for two years because of a word, especially in a country where the people`s right to the freedom of expression was upheld.
The letter stated that Mr. Dissanayake had been jailed for more than six months and therefore it was fair enough to free him without it having any impact on his political career.
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Politics
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Bandaranaikes not reluctant to hand over leadership - SLFP
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 8:20 AM SL Time
SLFP General Secretary and Mahaweli Minister Maithripala Sirisena said President Chandrika Kumaratunga was not harassing Premier Mahinda Rajapakse and that the accusations on `Helping Hambantota` had been created by the UNP, while another group of the UNP was trying to say that it had come from the President.
He said neither the President nor the Prime Minister was foolish and he accused the UNP and its propaganda machinery of being behind it.
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International community frets over the East
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:44 AM SL Time
The foreign ambassadors have assured the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) that they would do their utmost to prevent the possible resumption of hostilities between the LTTE and the Government, following the recent spate of violence in the East.
The TNA Foreign Affairs Committee, headed by MP Joseph Pararajasingham, has held discussions with several foreign ambassadors facilitating the peace process, last week, to discuss the tense situation in the North-East, the Supreme Court ruling on the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS) and other matters regarding the current political situation.
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Lankan Parliament delegation off to US
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:43 AM SL Time
A Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker. W.J.M. Lokubandara, comprising. Rohitha Bogollagama ' Minister of Advanced Technology and National Enterprise Development and Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), Dilan Perera ' Deputy Minister of Ports and Aviation and Media and Information, MPs John Amaratunga, Wijeyedasa Rajapakse, Sunil Handunneththi, Mavai S. Senathirajah, Mr Neil Iddawal, Asst. Secretary General of Parliament and Mr S.C. Mayadunne, Auditor General, left for the US on Friday.
During their tour in the US, the delegation will visit the Congress to get an exposure on the working of similar Congressional Committees.
Minister Rohitha Bogollagama will also take this opportunity to meet with State officials and Members of the American Chambers and Trade Associations in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington to discuss matters falling within the purview of the Ministry of Advanced Technology and National Enterprise Development, with special emphasis on trade promotion and export development activities. The Secretary to the Ministry Mr N.M.G. Lal Kumara will assist the Minister in these deliberations. The delegation will return to the island on 01 August.
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Editorial News
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The silence is deafening
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:47 AM SL Time
The silence of Sri Lankan authorities to the controversial Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project (SSCP) now undertaken by India full steam ahead is a clear case of taking things lying down, while it poses incalculable harm to our economy and environment.
May be our leaders are keeping mum in wanting to be good neighbours or merely cowing down to big brother. If it is the former, where is the quid pro quo'
It is a fact that an Inter-Ministerial Committee appointed to look into the entire issue idles as India is not giving it a meeting and members of a technical delegation which visited New Delhi early this year got the shock of their lives when the matters they were about to raise were already known to their counterparts!
The dredging of the sea bed between Sri Lanka and India across the Palk Strait to a depth of 12 metres and 300 metres wide, to begin with is of questionable economic benefit as it cannot accommodate any of the giant round-the-world carriers. The maximum it can accommodate is a ship of 2000 TEU (containers) capacity. Therefore it will only handle six to seven ships per day, unlike Suez Canal 47 and Panama 40.
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Government must put the foot down
Saturday, 16 July 2005 - 1:53 AM SL Time
The security situation in the Eastern Province is deteriorating rapidly. The Security Forces are coming under LTTE fire at an increasing rate and beginning to act in self defence. One LTTE cadre has died in an attack on a Navy checkpoint. The LTTE is reported to have pulled out its political offices from the government controlled areas in protest against attacks on its cadres from the Karuna Faction.
Those who argued that the JM would help wean the LTTE away from violence stand corrected. It has had no mellowing effect on the outfit whatsoever. Instead, it appears to have made them cockier, as the government has demonstrated as never before how servile it could be in accommodating LTTE demands.
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Marriage arranged, dowry denied ? II
Friday, 15 July 2005 - 3:41 AM SL Time
JVP Propaganda Secretary and MP Wimal Weerawansa has said in an interview with The Island that the US should have said that it would not fund the P-TOMS or the JM before the signing of the controversial agreement that led to a split in the UPFA coalition. The popular belief is that the US had access to the JM document before it was signed, though it did not raise objections for whatever reasons. Implied in what Weerawansa says is that had the US done so, the President would not have got the JM signed and the JVP would not have left the government. In other words, he is accusing the US of having chosen to remain silent until the JVP broke ranks with the SLFP.
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| Security |
Giant Mi-26 choppers on the way
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 8:21 AM SL Time
Air force headquarters yesterday said that at least two helicopters, designed to carry approximately 20 tons, are needed to ferry men and material to and from the Palaly airbase in the coming months.
An authoritative official said that fixed wing aircraft (AN 32s) would not be able to land at the Palaly airfield in view of the ongoing airfield restoration work. The Air force intends to deploy two MI-26 helicopters on what the official termed as a short term assignment. `We may need them for about six months,` he said, adding that hiring of two of the world`s heaviest helicopter was part of their strategy to maintain the air supply route to the strategic Palaly airfield.
Despite the Oslo-arranged Cease-Fire Agreement (CFA) giving the government the right to use the Kandy-Jaffna A 9 road for transport of troops to and from the peninsula, the Defence Ministry does not want to take a chance. Security forces solely depend on air and sea transport.
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Remanded for posing as top state bank officer and defrauding money from farmers
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:44 AM SL Time
Acting Colombo Fort Magistrate remanded R.S. Niranjan of Mattakkuliya till August 3 who posed as a Senior officer of a state bank and promised to obtain loans for agricultural purposes between Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000 for poor farmers of Valachchenai.
The magistrate issued a warrant on another suspect P. Ragunathan as he was evading court.
Police said that the suspect accompanied by another had hired a vehicle and gone to a village in Valachchenai and had conducted a meeting at the residence of the head of the village. He had told them that the poor farmers could obtain a loan of Rs. 25,000 if they open an account with Rs.500 and Rs. 50,000 if they deposit Rs. 1000.
The main suspect had brought a group of farmers to Colombo who were willing to get the loans and collected the sprcified amounts. He had only opened accounts of Rs. 100 and Rs. 200 cheating them with the rest of the money. Investigations revealed that the suspects had eight cases against them. Fort police appeared for the prosecution.
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DM`s son in five star assault case
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:42 AM SL Time
The son of a Deputy Minister is to be questioned by the Fort Police in connection with the alleged assault on the officers of the Anti Narcotics Bureau, who raided a five star hotel in Colombo Fort on Saturday night.
ASP Colombo Fort Champika Siriwardene said Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva`s son and the MSD officers providing him security were present at the hotel at the time of the raid and had allegedly assaulted the officials of the Anti Narcotics Bureau during an altercation that followed the raid.
He also said the police had recorded the statements of more than fifteen persons including the officers of the Anti Narcotics Bureau.
The ASP said the suspects would be summoned to police to record their statements and in the event they defy the order, action would be taken to arrest them.
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Business / Economy News
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Mini hydros get vital boost
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:46 AM SL Time
Mini hydro developers and prospective investors have welcomed the Government`s decision to specify a US Dollar tariff and increase the rate to six US cents or Rs. 6 per unit from Rs. 5.45 previously.
The mini hydro industry welcomed the 11% increase which they said has been long over due on account of mounting operational costs and also resistance by financial institutions to lend to the sector on account of poor returns.
A directive to this effect (charging of US 6 cents per unit) has been issued by the Treasury to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). At present the installed capacity of mini hydros is 75 MW.
Hydro industry analysts said that due to rising costs and poor returns work on several small scale projects that together could generate an estimated 250 MW of power had been abandoned. 'Now that a US Dollar-linked higher rate is being offered most of these projects will resume and be completed soon,' they said.
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Tsunami orphans granted houses
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:45 AM SL Time
The Department of Probation and Child Care has been able to find homes to children who have lost both their parents during the tsunami disaster, which killed nearly 40,000 lives.
Commissioner D.M.S. Abeygunarwardene said that 1072 children were left without both parents due to the tragedy, only 20 children were still in the institutions and rest of the children had been found legal custodians.
Mr.Abeygunawardene said that with the collaboration with other private institutions they were able to grant scholarships to support these children`s education.
Under the `Sevana Sarana Scholarship scheme` launched by the Department, 154 children have been granted sums between Rs.250 and Rs.1000 according to their age until they reach the age of 18 years.
The Department also with the collaboration of Sahanoda Foundation grants 600 scholarships where each child will obtain Rs.1000 monthly for a period of two years.
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Car sales hit by high duties
Sunday, 24 July 2005 - 5:46 AM SL Time
Sri Lanka`s car sales industry has been hit by a tsunami after the government jacked up taxes to keep the exchequer afloat.
Since October 2004, government taxes now account for 187 percent of all new and second hand vehicles imported into the country. Car dealers are among the worst hit by the taxes aimed at plugging dwindling foreign reserves.
Total vehicle registrations have fallen by 112 percent to 688 units in the four month period from January to April compared to the corresponding period last year, according to Central Bank figures.
`We used to see a lot of seasonal sales during April and December. Now we don`t have that anymore since the taxes came last October,` laments Gahanath Pandithage, Director of Diesel Motor Engineering Company (DIMO), a large luxury vehicle importer.
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| Sports News
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Royal see Thomian `blues` after five years
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 8:23 AM SL Time
Trailing 0-5 at half time S.Thomas` launched a vigorous second half counter-attack through their outside backs, to post a rousing 20-5 win over Royal in their Singer League inter-school rugby match, before a packed house at Havelock Park on Saturday.
By virtue of this triumph Thomians regained the Gunerathne Trophy from their `Battle of the Blues` arch rivals after a lapse of five years, with skipper Namal Rajapakse presented with the Trophy by his father and Chief Guest, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse.
The winners gathered their points from four tries to which the losers could only reply with a try, in a game which livened up only in the second half after a error strewn first half..
For S.Thomas` their forwards were upstaged by their counterparts but the three quarters came to the party with Royal`s defence in tatters.
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Sangakkara on song
Monday, 25 July 2005 - 1:45 AM SL Time
Kumar Sangakkara smashed a brilliant unbeaten 135 as Sri Lanka increased their overall lead to 342 by batting through the entire third day of the first cricket test against the West Indies while making 340 for 7 in the second innings in Kandy here yesterday.
Sangakkara who began the day on 46 as the locals resumed on 146 for 2, held centre stage on a day interrupted several times by intermittent rains, and remained undefeated at the end having scored 19 boundaries in a six and half hour stay at the wicket that held the local innings together and prevented another collapse.
By stumps on the previous day, Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena were shaping up nicely for a big partnership having lifted the score to 146 from a troublesome 57 for 2, but West Indian paceman Jermaine Lawson struck a decisive double blow in the second over of the morning to stifle Sri Lanka.
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Lanka consolidate in second innings
Sunday, 24 July 2005 - 5:47 AM SL Time
After a steady start to their second innings, Sri Lanka lost both the openers in the rain affected afternoon session and were 122 for two when tea was taken on the second day of the second and final Union Assurance Test Match against the West Indies here at the Asgiriya International Cricket Stadium in Kandy. They`ve now got a lead of 124 runs with seven wickets in hand.
The hosts were cruising along at 55 for no loss when captain Marvan Atapattu drove a short delivery straight into the hands of Omari Banks at backward of point for 19. His senior partner Sanath Jayasuriya was out six balls later when he edged to Runako Morton at second slip to give Jamaican Jermaine Lawson his first wicket of the match.
The ex-Sri Lankan captain did well to make 36 in 43 deliveries hitting seven fours including three consecutive boundaries in Lawson`s fifth over. Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara consolidated from thereon adding 65 runs for the third wicket. Sangakkara was unbeaten on 36 with Jayawardene on 30 at the break.
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