Bandula says no option due to high defence expenditure

Inflation set to skyrocket in new year

Minister predicts worsening food crisis

By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema

The government is expected to print more money shortly to fund its rising expenditure driving the rate of inflation, which is at 24 per cent even higher in the new year.

A senior government minister says that the government may be compelled to print more money to fund its expenditure.

Consumer Affairs Minister Bandula Gunawardena admitted to The Sunday Leader that for the past three years since 2005, the government was forced to print money driving inflation sky high, as the state revenue did not meet the expenditure targets.

He said that considering the increase in defence expenditure as well as the increase in salary expenses due to the new recruits to the public sector, the government's expenditure level has seen a greater increase than its earnings.

"Under such a scenario, the government has printed money to meet the expenses. This has resulted in the increase in inflation," he said.

Gunewardena also said that the rising global prices too have pushed inflation further.

"The global prices have affected every country. The whole world is now facing a food crisis and during the next few months it would get visibly worse.

Inflation would see an increase then," he said.

Minister Bandula Gunawardena in an interview to the BBC's Sinhala Service, Sandeshaya too said that it has now become necessary to print money because the government had recruited 250,000 persons and defence expenditure was increasing.

BBC: Is the government trying to pay for all this expenditure by printing money?

Minister: Yes. There is no alternative.

BBC: The government has no alternative but to print money and inflation also goes up very fast?

Minister: Yes. In that event the government will have to stop state recruitments with immediate effect, stop the war, stop welfare expenditures, stop fertiliser subsidies, stop school mid-day meals. However, the government is not prepared to move into an expenditure limiting programme because the government believes it is politically bad for the country.

Analysts have warned that printing more money would result in an unprecedented increase in the already high level of inflation.

Economist Dr. Harsha de Silva said the consequence of this was very clear. "Inflation would increase even further," he warned.

He also pointed out that till the government stops printing money, the country would continue to record a high rate of inflation.

Analysts have pointed out that the government had printed Rs. 45 billion from May to September and was borrowing vast amounts from the state banks to fund its survival, causing high inflation.

The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) recorded a 4.4% increase between the months of October and November.

The CCPI for the month of November was posted at 5976.2, which is an increase of 253.2 index points of that recorded in October, the Census and Statistics Department said.

"This is an increase of Rs. 512.08 in the expenditure value of the Market Basket when compared to October 2007," the department said.

Meanwhile, the countrywide consumer price index, the Sri Lanka Consumer Price Index (SLCPI), was recorded at 24.1% in October this year, the highest recorded by the index since 2005. The SLCPI's previous high was 18% recorded in January 2005, soon after the government printed Rs. 65 billion to fund fuel and fertilizer subsidies in 2004.

Sri Lanka's closest neighbour India has recorded 3% inflation along with many other countries in the Asian region.

"Sri Lanka has one of the highest levels of inflation in the region," Dr. de Silva said.

Govt. washes its hands off TMVP leader

Karuna probed in UK for war crimes

British authorities last week commenced investigating TMVP Leader Karuna's involvement in war crimes and human rights abuses even as the Sri Lankan Government washed its hands off the LTTE renegade eastern commander to avoid diplomatic embarrassment.

The British Metropolitan Police earlier last week submitted a report on Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan alias Karuna's alleged involvement in war crimes and human rights abuses to the British Crown Prosecution Service to decide whether he is to be prosecuted for war crimes and human rights violations.

The report went out even as Sri Lanka's High Commission in the UK disassociated itself from the Karuna forged diplomatic passport scandal.

The Guardian newspaper in Britain on Friday reported that Sri Lanka's High Commissioner Kshenuka Senewiratne was called to the British Foreign Office on Monday for officials to 'express concern' on how Karuna obtained a forged diplomatic passport.

Karuna entered Britain on a forged diplomatic passport under the name Kokila Gunawardena having received a visa from the British High Commission in Colombo on the strength of a Third Party Note (TPN) issued by the Foreign Ministry.

The TPN as exclusively reported in The Sunday Leader in October said Gunawardena, the holder of the diplomatic passport bearing number D1944260, was the Director General of the Wildlife Conservation Department and was visiting Britain to attend a climate change conference.

The Sri Lankan High Commission in London however in a statement to The Guardian had disassociated the government from the case stating, "The Government of Sri Lanka is unaware of any issuance of a diplomatic passport to Colonel Karuna. The (Tamil Tigers) are well known for forging passports."

It is learned despite the government's denial, Karuna had disclosed to the British authorities the circumstances under which he came to receive the passport and left Sri Lanka through the Bandaranaike International Airport.

Meanwhile, the British Metropolitan Police contacted by The Sunday Leader said Friday that Karuna was arrested on November 2 by the British Borders and Immigration Agency and that they were liaising with other agencies regarding the matter.

Several human rights organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Coalition to Stop Child Soldiers have called on the British authorities to investigate Karuna for war crimes and human rights violations.

The British Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) contacted by The Sunday Leader confirmed Friday that they have received preliminary reports on the Karuna case and was studying the reports.

A spokesperson for the CPS told The Sunday Leader there is still some way to go before a final decision is arrived at.

"The preliminary reports are not the same as the final evidence on what we make a decision on. We are quite some way from having sufficient information to take a decision on the case. We are pretty much at the start of the case," the spokesperson said.

"The Metropolitan Police will forward the evidence to us and we will decide whether there is a case. They can always decide at the start of the case they do not wish to investigate and then they will not send anything to us. If they are investigating a case then they will send a report to us. In this case they have sent us preliminary reports," the spokesperson also said.

The Sunday Leader learns that in the course of the Karuna investigation if names of any other persons transpire with regard to war crimes or human rights abuses they too will be charged if they leave Sri Lankan shores.

LTTE denies injury to Pirapa

The Tigers last week rejected government claims that their leader Velupillai Pirapaharan had been injured in an air force raid.

The LTTE military spokesperson Rasiah Ilanthirayan said that Pirapaharan had not been injured in any attack nor had his bunker been targeted.

"There is nothing like that. These claims are baseless. There were reports that his bunker was also damaged. These are fabricated stories.

We do not know how they come up with them," he said.

"We do not know how and why these stories come out. We do not know who is behind these claims," he added.

The government last week claimed it received intelligence reports that LTTE Leader Velupillai Pirapaharan suffered minor injuries in an air force attack.

Accused of transferring officer probing assets

IGP under fire from Bribery Comm.

By Nirmala Kannangara

The Bribery Commission has protested against the transfer of a police officer attached to the commission by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) without any prior approval from the Director General (DG) of the commission.

In a letter addressed to the Secretary, National Police Commission, Director General Bribery Commission, Piyasena Ranasinghe has stated that this was the first time in the history of the Bribery Commission that a police officer attached to the commission has been transferred without due approval from the DG.

 "This was the first time that an officer has been transferred without his or the commission's knowledge as those who were assigned to the Bribery Commission have not been transferred to another department unless on a personal request made by an officer or on the request of the commission," Ranasinghe has said in the letter.

On the direction of Inspector General of Police (Ref. No. D/MD/ADM/1673/ 2007), Chief Inspector C.A. Premashantha has been transferred to Ampara with immediate effect The Sunday Leader learns.

However, although the IGP has assured the Director General that he received prior approval from the National Police Commission, Ranasinghe has alleged that the IGP was not given any prior approval by the commission

According to Ranasinghe, Chief Inspector Premashantha was the officer in charge of the asset investigation branch and had conducted several investigations against top ranking government officers.

"If this trend continues it would hamper the work at the Bribery Commission as the officers who are engaged in impartial inquiries against the wrongdoers irrespective of their status would stay away from an impartial job," Ranasinghe has said.

Ranasinghe meanwhile has also requested the Secretary, National Police Commission to revert the IGP's directive in order to boost the morale of the officers attached to the commission to carry out their duties without any prejudice.

World Bank contradicts Govt. claims

15,000 tsunami affected families still without houses

By Amantha Perera

About 15,000 families are still without permanent houses, three years after the tsunami, the World Bank said last week adding that additional funding would be required to provide the houses.

"The Tsunami Emergency Reconstruction Programme I (TERP I) ended on March 31, 2007. At completion, there are still about 15,000 families in need of permanent housing. These are primarily landless families, and due to this increase in housing needs, with only about US $8 million remaining, additional funding would be required to complete all units of the housing programme," the bank said.

While the government announced that 99,497 houses had been constructed, in excess of a requirement of 98,525, figures put out the bank and other agencies said that there was still a shortfall, especially in the north and east.

"As of March 2007, about 97 percent of the partly damaged houses and 62 percent of the fully damaged houses in seven districts have been completed. The remaining houses are under various stages of completion. The reconstruction programme in the north and east is likely to take some more time due to the ongoing conflict-related issues," the bank said.

Fighting between government forces and the Tigers severely hampered reconstruction efforts in the north and east since December 2005. They have also been impacted by transport difficulties and delays.

"This difficult operating environment will continue to severely restrict movement in the north and the east. The situation has been further aggravated by rising costs and a shortage of building materials and skilled labour, particularly for construction and civil engineering projects," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in their annual tsunami update for 2007.

"In the north of the country, the vast majority of International Federation operations have already been suspended and it is difficult to prepare future operations in the current political and military climate. In the east, fighting disrupted activities and diverted efforts from the tsunami recovery operation to internally displaced people (IDP) relief programmes between July 2006 and July 2007," it added.

The federation that is the largest single funder of houses said that it was holding funds in recovery schemes till the situation improves.

Pirapaharan lives 40 ft. under

Tamil Tiger Leader Velupillai Pirapaharan lives more than 40 ft. underground in a massive, well provided, and seemingly impenetrable bunker complex hewn from rocks in the middle of a thick jungle in northeast Sri Lanka.

Adele Balasingham, the Australian-born wife of the late Anton Balasingham, the LTTE's ideologue, describes Pirapaharan's office cum residence in the Alampil jungles, in her book The Will To Freedom.

"Our cadres led us down the steps into a room about thirty to forty feet underground. To our amazement, we could see that this subterranean haven of tunnels and rooms had been chiseled out of the underground rocks. Our room had been carved out, high enough to stand up in and move around comfortably."

"Mr.Pirapaharan's room was even deeper underground than ours," she writes.

"Low lying roofs constructed over the bunkers, and banks to divert water, prevented the monsoon rains from pouring in and flooding the bunkers."

"Stronger than concrete, this underground granite structure stood up to the heavy downpour of the monsoon rains when the entire jungle turned into a muddy quagmire."

"Since we were deep into the earth, where the sun's heat has no access, the room was absolutely freezing, particularly at night. My bones ached from the cold and I wondered how it could be endured over a sustained period of time. But obviously it had been, and without any ill-effects," she notes.

The expansive complex was more like a village than a camp. It had been cleared of virgin jungle. The LTTE's cadres had pulled out rocks and cleared the foliage except the giant trees, which gave it good cover. Sixty to seventy foot wells had been dug, only to find that there was no water!

- P.K. Balachandran (IANS)

Mano calls on intl.community to intervene

Civil Monitoring Commission Convener, Mano Ganesan last week urged the international community to  intervene regarding  the reduction of security of certain parliamentarians by the government.

In a letter addressed to the ambassadors and high commissioners, Ganesan stated that his life was under threat due to his activities as a human rights campaigner.

He stated that the government had failed to understand the differences between a state and a non-state entity as it fails to understand the differences between a state and a government.

He also questioned as to whether this government was pushing the country towards an alternative state by restricting state protections and privileges only to the government's partners and people of a privileged community.

"We may not be part of the government but definitely we are a part of the state. This government fails to understand that we as part of the Lankan state are an entity. It appears that the government considers that privileges for protection by the state are only for the members of government," he said.

NBRO warns of landslides

By Nirmala Kannangara 

The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has requested people in the Nuwara Eliya, Badulla and Matale Districts to be vigilant of any tension cracks and muddy springs in their vicinity which could lead to landslides.

Head, Landslide Studies, NBRO, R.M.S. Bandara told The Sunday Leader that Hanguranketha, Walapane and Kotmale in the Nuwara Eliya District and the Badulla and Matale Districts are more prone to landslides during the northeast monsoon season.

"We are now in the northeast monsoon period and the eastern slopes of the hill country are more prone to landslides as heavy rains could be expected in the eastern slopes," Bandara said.

He also said landslides could also be expected in other parts of the hill country as well if there are cutting failures along the hilly slopes.

"Man made landslides are due to cutting failures, as people cut the hilly slopes without technical analysis for construction purposes. Despite our appeals people still cut the hilly slopes without knowing the consequences they have to undergo in future," claimed Bandara. 

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department forecasts that the prevailing rainy weather  will last till the end of December.

According to the Director, Meteorological Department, G.B. Samarasinghe, the northern and eastern parts of the country and eastern slopes of the hill country are expected to receive heavy rainfall due to the activation of northeast monsoon.

"We are in the northeast monsoon period and we could expect heavy showers in the north and the eastern parts of the country and also along the eastern slopes of Nuwara Eliya, Matale and Badulla," Samarasinghe told The Sunday Leader.

When asked whether there would be any cyclone threats to the country Samarasinghe ruled out any severe cyclonic conditions but warned of the possible formation of  cyclonic conditions with the easterly waves.

"There could be a slight tendency for  the formation of cyclonic conditions and also thunder and lighting due to climatic changes. People should not panic. If you exercise caution there would be no necessity to panic," said Samarasinghe.

TMVP denies forcing civilians to carry arms

The TMVP last week denied allegations that it had forced civilians to carry arms in the east.

The SLMM last week said that civilians allegedly abducted by the TMVP were given arms and were forced to patrol the area on motorbikes.

TMVP spokesperson Azath Moulana told The Sunday Leader that the TMVP was ready to investigate these allegations if the SLMM provides them details of these incidents.

"We have not done this. We have done some mistakes in the past. But now we have changed and are into democracy," he said.

The SLMM has continuously accused the TMVP of carrying out abductions in the east. However, Moulana alleged that these allegations were baseless and that the organisation had not reported to the TMVP directly.

"They should either inform me or the TMVP office in Colombo before accusing us," he said.

Twenty two die of Leprospirosis

By Shezna Shums

The number of leprospirosis cases reported since the beginning of this year has reached 1900 cases with 22 confirmed deaths. The Epidemiological Unit, Ministry of Health, confirmed these figures.

Deputy Chief Epidemiologist, Epidemiological Unit, Dr. P. Palihawardena told The Sunday Leader that leprospirosis is mainly transmitted through rat urine, but that it is also possible to find this infection in bull urine as well.

However,  Dr. Palihawardena explained that the concentration is very high in rat urine and not as high in bull's urine.

Nevertheless the infection can also be considered water borne as organisms in the water can enter the human body through the skin.

Leprospirosis is said to be a disease that affects animals but can be transmitted to humans as well.

The most common mode of transmission of leprospirosis, is when there are lesions, cuts or abrasions on the feet and it comes into contact with rat infected water.

However, leprospirosis is a 100 percent clinically treatable disease if the patient seeks treatment at the early stages. Risk to life will be present if the patient delays treatment for leprospirosis.

Statistics from the Epidemiological Unit show that the districts of Gampaha, Matara and Kegalle have reported over 200 cases of suspected leprospirosis.

The districts of Colombo, Kalutara, Kandy, Matale and Galle have reported about 100 suspected cases of leprospirosis.

Kurunegala and Ratnapura have also reported about 80 suspected cases of leprospirosis.

Better training for 500 tourist police officers

By Nirmala Kannangara

In order to better protect the visiting leisure seekers to the country the Tourist Police Division has trained 500 police officers over the past seven months, Director Tourist Police Division, SSP Maxie Proctor said.

The Tourist Police meanwhile had conducted six awareness programmes in six police divisions to educate the police officers on how important the role of a tourist police officer is and the responsibilities attached.

"For the past seven months we have trained 500 police officers to provide better protection to the visiting tourists; to prevent harassment from unauthorised tour guides, traders, and also from unauthorised massage palours and ayurvedic centres," SSP Maxie Proctor told The Sunday Leader.

According to the SSP since the inception of the Tourist Police Division in June, six tourist police stations have been opened in Hikkaduwa, Kandy, Negombo, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Galle in order provide a better service to the tourists. 400 complaints have been received at these tourist police stations as at mid December.

 "In all six prominent  tourist destinations we have opened tourist police stations and up to date we have received 400 complaints. 50% of the complaints have been settled and the rest are at the inquiry stage," the SSP said.

SSP Proctor meanwhile asserted the value of police officers attached to Tourist Police Stations being proficient in foreign languages. He said  the Tourist Police Division was planning to hold French and German classes for the police personnel. "It is important to know foreign languages and we are planning to hold English, French and German language classes for the police officers  attached to tourist police stations," added the SSP.

Galle well stocked for thirsty English cricket fans

By Nirmala Kannangara

Hotels, pubs and restaurants down south have geared up this season for business that the city has not seen since before the 2004 tsunami.

While hoteliers claim that there have been high sales in liquor due to the upsurge in English cricket fans in the country, pubs and small time restaurants in and around the city are also benefiting from the English  cricket fans.

Speaking to The Sunday Leader, Janaka de Silva, general manager, Unawatuna Beach Resort, where many English fans are staying said, "Whenever the English are in town, we run out of beer. This was the case the last time they were  here for the test match series  in 2003."

However,  De Silva said that this time around the city of Galle is well equipped to handle the demand for the fast moving liquid.

He said, "This has been one of the most well organised tours ever. When the grounds run short of beer, fans go to local restaurants and pubs nearby, so it's good business all round for Galle."

Call to implement bi-lingual policy

A movement has been launched by the Foundation for Co-Existence (FCE) to demand the full implementation of the official language policy in the country.

The movement has called on the government to implement the bi-lingual policy due to the issues faced by the minorities because of its non-implementation.

FCE Chairman, Dr. Kumar Rupesinghe said the rights of the people who do not speak Sinhala were not upheld, as it should be.

"Under the present security situation, the ability of the Tamil people to move outside the north and east has been drastically hindered. What worsens this situation is the lack of Tamil language capacity in the police and courts in particular," he said.

"The implementation of the Tamil language and the implementation of the tri-lingual policy is critical to peace in Sri Lanka," he added.

The battle for the control of the Vavuniya-Mannar forward defence line is likely to reach a decisive stage very soon, the Defence Ministry said yesterday while announcing that troops had overrun the Tiger bunker line on the closed Uliyankulam crossover point.  

“The ground situation along the Mannar and Vavuniya defences might reach a decisive stage soon,” the Defence Ministry said yesterday afternoon.  

The Ministry said that government troops had advanced upto the Tiger entry-exit point north of its government counterpart at Uliyankulam yesterday morning. It said that at least six Tigers had been killed, over 10 injured and five bunkers destroyed.  

“Five bunkers along the Uyilankulama LTTE defences were seized by security forces, while identified LTTE ground constructions have come under concentrated artillery and mortar barrages by advancing troops.” 

The Media Centre for National Security put the Tiger death toll at eight. Both sides exchanged heavy artillery fire along the line of control south of Jaffna in the last seventy two hours as well. 

Fighting has intensified along the FDL on either side of the Wanni in the last month and in the last fortnight fighting has erupted in the Kokkuthuduwai-Kokilai sector, in Weli-oya north east of Vavuniya. Between December 20 and 22 over 40 combatants, including 25 Tigers have been killed in the fighting, according to military sources. The Tigers have however denied high casualties and said their losses were far less and that it was the Sri lankan security Forces that had suffered heavy casualties.