By Suranimala

Amarasinghe who is currently in London fled Sri Lanka during the crackdown on the JVP in the early 1990s. He was the only politburo member of the JVP of that period who survived the crackdown.

The Sunday Leader learns that the Sri Lankan High Commission in London had recommended to the department of Immigration and Emigration in Colombo to issue a new passport to Amarasinghe to return to Sri Lanka.

Moves to get Amarasinghe back to Sri Lanka got underway after the JVP and the PA signed a memorandum of understanding for a probationary government following the opposition sponsored no confidence motion in parliament.

With a view to facilitating the return of Amarasinghe, an application was made by the JVP leader for a new passport at the Sri Lankan mission in London on the basis that he had lost his earlier passport.

However, Amarasinghe who fled the country in 1991 had not stated he left the country through legitimate channels.

Informed sources said since Amarasinghe is returning with the blessings of the government such inquiries were not material.

Amarasinghe as a politburo member of the JVP was wanted for questioning by the CID at the time he fled the country in relation to the murders, damage to public property and bank robberies committed by the party during the 1980s and early 1990s.

However sources said Amarasinghe has received an assurance by the government he will not be detained or taken into custody by the CID on his arrival.

Amarasinghe's new passport is to be despatched to London tomorrow by the department of Immigration.

The opposition UNP had earlier accused the JVP of having struck a deal with the PA on a wide range of issues including the return of Amarasinghe to the country following the MOU between the JVP and PA.

The JVP has decided, its main target at the election will be the UNP.

President Chandrika Kumaratunge left for London on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight early Saturday morning.

The President is expected to return on October 1 or 2.

The Sunday Leader learns that President Kumaratunge will meet with confidante Ronnie Pieris during her stay in London.

Pieris left Sri Lanka the previous week via Delhi after the oppositiion lodged a formal complaint with the Bank of Ceylon Chairman Ken Balendran on the waiver of over Rs. 15 million interest due on a loan extended to Pieris by the London branch of the bank. Pieris was accompanied to Delhi by former presidential protocol secretary Padma Maharajah.

On Thursday, October 24, UNP Assistant Leader Gamini Athukorale lodged a complaint with the Bribery Commission calling for an investigation into the business activities of Ronnie Pieris and the role of President Kumaratunge, if any, in the promotion of his business activities.

A firm of British Lawyers have also being instructed to make representations to the British tax authorities and the Bank of England on the business dealings of Ronnie Pieris and the banking practices of the Bank of Ceylon, London branch.

Informed sources and the President has also sought appointments with British government authorities to discuss bilateral issues.

Speculation was rife yesterday that Kumaratunga will meet JVP leader Somawansa Amarasinghe too in London following arrangements already made for his return to Sri Lanka.

By Frederica Jansz

Sri Lankan Airlines has declared a 6.5 billion rupee loss over a 12 month period from March 2000 to March 2001. According to company accounts, the net loss for the airline has been recorded at Rs. 6508 million and a the declared loss for the group amounts to Rs. 5827 million.

On April 11, 2001, Sri Lankan Airlines entered into a loan agreement with the Bank of Ceylon to secure a Term Loan Facility amounting to a total of USD 15 million. The facility was fully drawn by May 15, 2001. This was despite the fact that the position of the airline as at March 31, this year was questionable as to whether it could be considered a going concern.

The cost of sales in the year 2000/01 has been placed at 1474 million. According to the airline's income statement for the first time the cost of sales in the national carrier has exceeded revenue. Advertising and marketing costs alone have been placed at Rs. 3311 million.

A huge deficit in exchange equalisation account amounting to Rs. 5171 million has caused the total liabilities to exceed the total assets by Rs. 3710 million. Furthermore, current liabilities had exceeded the current assets by Rs. 4412 million.

External auditors (Ernst & Young) had drawn attention to the company's action of changing the accounting policy to run an exchange equalisation account upon deviating from the accounting standards.

According to Ernst & Young the airline's total liabilities exceeded its total assets by Rs. 3710.12 million during the year 2000/01. The report by the auditors asserts that these factors raise doubt as to whether the company will be able to continue as a going concern.

In 1999/2000, Sri Lankan Airlines recorded a loss of Rs. 750 million. Within a period of one year after this loss was declared the airline recorded an astounding 6.5 billion rupee loss.

UNP candidate, Rajitha Sena- ratne last week wrote to the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue to investigate the JVP accounts in the light of recent media reports of a bank account at the Nugegoda branch of the People's Bank. 

The JVP has claimed, the account at the People's Bank is a party account.

In terms of the Inland Revenue Act, political parties must submit their annual returns to the Inland Revenue Department.

UNP treasurer, Nimal Weeraratne, told The Sunday Leader the UNP submits its returns annually in terms of the law.

Senaratne earlier in a statement called upon the JVP to state whether it has submitted its returns including details of the bank account to the Inland Revenue Department but elicited no response, prompting him to write to the commissioner.

"Following the media exposure, Mr. Weerawansha and Mr. Tilvin Silva have on behalf of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), a recognised political party, claimed that the monies in this account are actually the property of the JVP and that Messrs. Weerawansha and Ferdinands had been operating this account on behalf of the party. They have failed to explain however why it was that two individuals should maintain a private account on behalf of the party. To me, as a member of the public, this smacks of an underhand operation conducted in order to avoid payment of income tax. I therefore urge you to check whether either Wimal Weerawansha and/or the JVP has declared this account in their returns to the Inland Revenue Department and if not, take necessary legal action in this regard," Senaratne has written.

Last week the former co-ordinating secretary to Anura Bandaranaike lodged a complaint with the Bribery Commission calling for a probe on the JVP account and Wimal Weerawansha's assets and liabilities declaration.

It is learnt Weerawansha has also not declared a loan he obtained from the Colombo Municipal Council as a liability in his declaration.

Officers-in-Charge (OICs) of police stations islandwide, have been directed by police headquarters in Colombo to remove and destroy all posters and cut-outs of politicians, a senior police officer said. 

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Elections, Gamini Navaratne told The Sunday Leader that police officers have been told to adhere strictly to this law or face consequences.

According to the DIG, all political leaders have also been instructed not to put up posters or erect cut-outs. Navaratne said he had sent letters to all political leaders asking for their co-operation in order to carry out police duties in keeping with the election laws of the country.

"This time I am making sure that nobody violates the election laws", he said.

The Free Media Movement (FMM) condemning Former Deputy Minister Mervyn Silva, who stormed into the Divaina office by force and abused the staff, has organised a protest campaign tomorrow (October 29), opposite the statue of Goonesinghe in Pettah.

Silva recently stormed into the Divaina office and threatened journalists, an act looked upon as a grave threat to the freedom of the media in this country, stated a press release issued by the FMM on October 26.

It is furthermore a threat to the lives and freedom of journalists in carrying out their duties, the release said.

"Any person or organisation that values the freedom of the media cannot accept this threat light-heartedly," the press release stated.

The FMM invites all organisations and people to join in this campaign.

According to the spokesperson tension has continued to reign in the embassy with embassy staff receiving strict and clear instructions not to open or handle any mail that comes to the embassy.

The embassy, according to the spokesperson, has received a number of packages containing suspicious substances. It has received nine suspected mail since Thursday, October 18.

The suspected letters are not post marked and do not indicate the name and the address of the sender, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said it is difficult to even determine which part of the country these letters originate from.

The US embassy also sent two other letters about two weeks ago to the US for testing, but those letters were not tested by the MRI.

The Anthrax scare was the result of suspected enemies of the United States sending these substances to US missions in different parts of the world, protesting US military action following the September 11 attack on the twin towers in New York, allegedly by Muslim militants.

Tamil parties contesting the north and east filed nomination papers Friday, after a hectic two weeks of negotiations and compromise, hoping the unity of the Tamil Alliance (TA) would withstand the other parties contesting in the area - especially the EPDP.

The Tamil parties, which comprise the TULF, TELO, ACTC and EPRLF filed nominations in all the districts of the north and east - Jaffna, Trincomalee, Wanni, Batticaloa and Amparai.

In the Jaffna district the TA is led by TULF's V. Anandasangaree and includes Suresh Premachandran of the EPRLF and ACTC Leader A. Vinayagamoorthy.

In Tricomalee, the TA is led by R. Sambandan, general secretary of the TULF and includes R. Thurairatnarajah of the same party, while Dr. R. Muralimanoharan of the ACTC is also a candidate.

In the Wanni, with the shocking omission of M. Srikantha of the TELO, the other members filed nominations, including A. Adaikalanathan who was the parliamentary leader of the TELO.

In the Batticaloa district where agreement on the list was long and tortuous process, the district is led by TULF's Joseph Pararajasingham and includes S. Selvarajah who is a former MP. Gnanamuththu Krishnapillai from the ACTC is also a candidate, while TELO is represented by T. Thangavelu and Nithiyandan Prasanna.

The Digamadulla district TA list is headed by TULF's Chandra Nehru Ariyanayagam from Tirukkovil. S. Sriskandarajah and K. Pathmanathan and K. Vengalachalam are among the more important candidates contesting in the district.

In Digamadulla, the TA coalition is supported by the Tamil Maha Sabah (TMS) which was an umbrella organisation too that contested this district at the last election and was able to secure one seat.

"By and large there seem to be educated and popular candidates fielded by the Tamil Alliance this time," said sources from Batticaloa.

Former MP of the United National Party (UNP), A. H. M. Azwer said if no proper action is taken against the former deputy minister and Puttalum district People's Alliance (PA) MP, D. M. Dassanayake (Thalagoya), elections in the Puttalam area would turn violent.

Dassanayake, it is reported, was released on bail only last week after he was arrested by the police for allegedly threatening supporters of the opposition parties and moving about with weapons.

Residents from Puttalum told The Sunday Leader that they even saw Dassanayake, fully armed, removing any material that appeared to him green in colour, including polythene sheets and shopping bags.

Meanwhile Azwer said he had already written to both the Inspector General Police Lucky Kodituwakku and Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake regarding Dassanayake's misbehaviour.

"If the government is not going to take proper and timely action against him, we are going to witness another 'Wayamba' situation this time as well. This is why I am pressing the IGP and the elections commissioner to take action. Only they have powers to do so," he said.

Meanwhile The Sunday Leader learns that a number of open warrants have been issued on Dassanayake by the Puttalum district court and that there are some 40 cases filed against him.

Sri Lal Gomes of Lakbima was appointed President of the Photo Journalists' Association of Sri Lanka (PJASL) at its annual general meeting held at the Jayawardenepura centre on September 24.

Following are the other office bearers of the PJASL: Secretary- Dunstan Wickramaratne (The Sunday Times), Treasurer- Gamini Abeyesekera (Lankadeepa), Convenor and Technical Advisor- Sena Widanagama (AFP),

Vice Presidents- Gemunu Wellage (The Sunday Times) and Ashoka Fernando (The Sunday Leader), Deputy Secretary- Ravi Maanikkawasam (Thinakkural), Deputy Treasurer- Saman Jayatilleke (Tharunaya), Welfare Officer- Padmasiri Gamage (The Sunday Leader).