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Governance
in disarray
By
Dilrukshi Handunnetti
It is almost a fashion for Sri Lankan political leaders to speak
periodically of consensus, cohabitation, bipartisanship and national
governments. The idea of a political union between the two main parties
has often been romanticised and is permanently in vogue, though nothing
concrete has been achieved so far despite the popular support for such
an initiative.
In
the recent political history, bipartisanship between the two main
parties was advocated and supported by former Under Secretary, Foreign
Commonwealth Office, Liam Fox. In 1997, Fox managed a political trot,
but the cohabitation between the PA and the UNP reached some six years
ago remains not worth the paper it is written on, if the acrimonious
relations between the signatories are anything to go by.
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It
was a unique scene to witness a Muslim Mowlavi calling for
national unity and amity among all
communities at the foot of the statue of Lord Buddha at
Viharamahadevi Park. The call for peace was followed by a peace
march led by all religious organisations in Colombo last week
Photo by Ashoka Peiris
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AHRC
against dropping CJ’s impeachment
The
Asian
Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has said that a call by President
Chandrika Kumaratunga to drop an impeachment motion against
Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva sadly undermines the process of
disciplinary control of senior judicial officers, bringing it
down to an issue of political compromise.
“It
cannot merely be a political issue,” the ACRC based in Hong
Kong has said in a statement.
The
impeachment motion against Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva is now
before parliament with the signatures of a 100 MPs in support of
the motion.
President
Chandrika Kumaratunga’s call for the withdrawal of the
impeachment motion against the Chief Justice is among the latest
proposals to defuse the current political conflict between
President Kumaratunga and the government.
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Spotlight |
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Sumathipala
goes underground
By Frederica Jansz
One week
after Chairman, Sri Lanka Telecom and President, Sri Lanka
Cricket, Thilanga Sumathipala went missing, the government
remained inactive — allowing the head of one of the state’s
premier institutions, Sri Lanka Telecom, to remain in hiding
after being charged with a criminal offence. The Attorney
General’s Department has ruled that a prima facie case
against Sumathipala exists for having facilitated the travel of
an underworld killer to the UK in 1999 using a forged passport
and in using Cricket Board funds to do so.
According
to the documentary evidence available, Thilanga Sumathipala not
only authorised in writing the release of sterling pounds 1,500
to the killer but later wrote off those monies at the Cricket
Board. A statement of minutes of the executive committee meeting
of the Cricket Board dated March 29, 2001, proves that the exco
members headed by Sumathipala “wrote off” the sterling
pounds 1,500 that had been issued to the underworld killer
Dhammika Amarasinghe alias Buddhika Priyashantha Godage.
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| Today's Top Stories |
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TULF
parliamentarians Vs. Anandasangari:
Round two
Little
substance, loads of hot air
Seaport
study in stormy seas
Gayoom’s
iron fist in velvet glove
Big
US role in peace process unlikely
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