|
|
|
It was a case of police getting a taste of
their own medicine last Thursday in
Kollupitiya when Crimes OIC, Kollupitiya
Police, Lasantha Kaluarachchi became a
victim of his own fellow cops' brutality.
Police who used force to halt a student
march to Temple Trees had in the melee also
attacked the hapless OIC who was later
rushed to hospital. Picture shows
Kaluarachchi recovering in hospital -
Picture by Thusitha Kumara
|
|
Nation Building Minister in Rs. 450 million
assets probe
Nation Building Minister Rohitha
Abeygunawardene has assets valued at nearly
Rs. 450 million, which is unaccounted for
according to police investigations, The
Sunday Leader learns.
The Sunday Leader learns the Minister
according to investigations has not
submitted an assets declaration as warranted
by law nor accounted for his income based on
which he acquired the assets.
The Minister who is a parliamentarian
hailing from the Kalutara District has been
reported to the Permanent Commission
Investigating Allegations of Bribery and
Corruption through three anonymous
petitions, it is learned.
It is learned according to investigations
Abeygunawardene who first entered parliament
in December 2001 has never submitted an
assets declaration.
However Minister Abeygunawardene denied any
wrongdoing to The Sunday Leader.
Abeygunawardene told The Sunday Leader he
has declared his assets in keeping with
government rules and regulations and was
never summoned before the Bribery Commission
nor appeared before it at any time.
"What was the reason for the Bribery
Commission to summon me as I have done
nothing wrong. My hands are clean and I
totally reject the baseless allegations
against me" he said.
Meanwhile, two police officers attached to
the Bribery Commission have petitioned the
Supreme Court after being transferred out of
the commission alleging they were victimised
for refusing to stall an investigation into
the assets of a minister they have not named
citing secrecy provisions in the law.
The Petitioners Nihal Amarasiri and K. A.
Sujatha Kumari have stated in their
Fundamental Rights application, they were
leading the investigation against the
Minister with regard to complaints received,
when they were summoned by the Director
Investigations of the Commission Neville
Guruge and given an unprecedented direction
to submit a set of questions for the
Minister.
The petitioners had further alleged that the
Minister was summoned twice by the Acting
Director General of the Bribery Commission
and on both occasions he had sought further
time and failed to appear before the
Commission to record a statement.
It was also being alleged in the petition by
Amarasiri, that he was summoned by a member
of the Commission - Indra Silva - and told
that the Minister had called him several
times, and whether the investigation could
not be ended at his level (Amarasiri's).
The petitioners have also asked the Supreme
Court to call for files Nos. BC/441/2005,
BC/1134/2006 and BC/1947/2006 and peruse
them since they are bound by an oath of
secrecy not to disclose details of
investigations.
They have also charged that on July 31, 2008
a police message was received from IGP
Jayantha Wickremaratne transferring
Amarasiri to Vavuniya division while Sujatha
Kumari was transferred to IG's Command and
Information Division.
JVP calls for joint action
to prevent election rigging
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema
The JVP has called on all political forces
to join together to fight against election
violence and to safeguard the people's right
to exercise their franchise at the
forthcoming North Central and Sabaragamuwa
Provincial Council elections.
The Sunday Leader learns the JVP and the UNP
are in discussion to have a joint strategy
on election day to protect the polling
booths and the ballot boxes with high level
coordinating committees already formed
JVP's chief ministerial candidate for the
Sabaragamuwa Province, Chameera Koswatte
told The Sunday Leader that irrespective of
party politics, all forces should join hands
to fight against election violence and any
plan that could be launched by the
government to rig the polls.
Koswatte said that the JVP has already
launched a campaign simultaneous to its
election propaganda campaign to create
awareness among the people of the need to
unite to safeguard their rights, especially
to exercise their franchise at the elections
on August 23.
He noted that with only a few days left for
the elections, the state has unleashed a
terror campaign against candidates as well
as supporters of opposition parties and that
complaints made in this regard have been
disregarded by the police.
"There has been a drastic increase in
violence in the election areas, but the
police has not acted on any of the
complaints made."
"Even a request made for the IGP to
intervene to minimise the violence has been
ignored," he said.
Koswatte alleged that on the day of the
election, the government could take several
measures to rig the polls.
"The first act would be to collect the
polling and ID cards of the people to
prevent them from voting, the next would be
to prevent voters from entering polling
booths and to create mayhem within booths
that would poll votes against the government
and the final act would be to stuff the
ballot boxes," he said.
According to Koswatte, action should be
taken to prevent such incidents from taking
place and the best way of achieving that
was to create a united force among the
people, especially at village level to fight
against such acts.
He said that discussions would be held with
the Elections Commissioner to ensure the
safety of polling agents designated to the
respective polling booths and the need for
independent observers to be present at each
polling station.
JVP's chief ministerial candidate for the
North Central Province, Wasantha
Samarasinghe told The Sunday Leader that
members of the JVP, UNP and even the SLFP
should work together to fight against
election violence and any attempt to rig the
polls.
He said that committees have already been
set up to protect the polling booths on the
23rd, adding that it was an open invitation
for any interested party to join the
programme to prevent the government from
rigging the elections and prevent the people
from exercising their rights.
Samarasinghe alleged that the reluctance of
the police to take action against the
complaints made on election related violence
has in fact caused an increase in violence
in the election areas.
He charged that even when the complaint has
been made on assault cases where the victims
were receiving treatment in hospitals, the
police had remained silent.
Samarasinghe also alleged that the
government was using the high security zone
(HSZ) in the Anuradhapura town as the base
to plan and unleash all the violence.
"These goons are all housed in the
President's House in Anuradhapura next to
the Sri Maha Bodhi. Since it is a HSZ no one
else can go there and the police is keeping
silent," he alleged.
AG gets extension of
service
President Mahinda Rajapakse has extended the
services of Attorney General C.R. De Silva
by six months, The Sunday Leader learns.
The Attorney General, President's Counsel De
Silva was due to retire on August 26 upon
reaching 60 years of age.
It is learned the President has extended the
Attorney General's term by six months
through a special Gazette notification dated
August 11.
A top source at Temple Trees told The Sunday
Leader the Attorney General was informed of
the extension in writing by President's
Secretary Lalith Weeratunga and that he had
accepted the extension of service.
The Attorney General's term will now end on
February 25, 2009.
Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva is due to
retire on June 7, 2009.
Mahindananda sets
out rigging plan for PC poll
The government's plan to rig the upcoming
North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provincial
Council elections was revealed last week by
Power Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage.
Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage addressing
an election rally in Mawanella in the
Kegalle District on Monday, August 11 said
that there was no reason why the government
could not win the forthcoming provincial
council elections as the police, army,
government and the President was theirs.
"If the country's government, police, army
and the President is ours, why cannot we win
the election?" he asked.
Referring to the elections to be held on
August 23, Aluthgamage said that the
government had to pass the exam that was
going to be held that day.
He said that what mattered was the results
of the exam and not how the examination was
passed, and that the government would pass
the exam on the 23rd even by copying.
He also said, "We have not started our work
yet. We will come here on the 21st evening
to start work on the election. We will stay
the night in your villages and leave only
after filling the ballot boxes on the 23rd."
IDPs in Wanni get
supplies
Sufficient supplies have reached the
thousands of newly displaced IDPs in the
Wanni for the time being, despite a supply
line on tenterhooks, government officials
and relief agencies said, but warned that
all future supplies will depend on the
functioning of the A9.
Accusations also flew around, of using the
civilians as a human shield and not enough
being done to get supplies across.
"The situation (in the Wanni) would worsen
if the only entry-exit point to the area,
Omanthai is closed. But, there is no such
sign at the moment," Kilinochchi Government
Agent Nagalingam Vedanayagam said last week
in Colombo. He said that already there were
signs of shortages in flour, rice, dhal and
sugar, all transported through the crossover
point.
"The food items and other essential items
are transported through the Omathai
entry-exit point alone. We are doing our
best to provide the IDPs with the items
they need. There is a shortage of items such
as flour, sugar and oil," said the
Government Agent.
Director, Kilinochchi Hospital , Thangamuthu
Sathyamurthi said that all the IDPs staying
around Kilinochchi were accessible, but that
the situation could turn for the worse if
the supply line is disrupted or shelter is
not provided soon.
"By August 8, most of the 12,000 families
who had fled the fighting in the last two
months were living in open make-shift
shelters. The Kilinochchi Government Agent's
office had requested assistance to provide
shelter and had received a commitment to
cover shelter material for 2,000," the Inter
Agency Standing Committee said. Director,
Kilinochchi Hospital, Sathyamurthi said,
rains were expected in the Wanni by end
September and lack of shelter could worsen
the situation.
"Many people have received basic
humanitarian relief but as the number of
displaced persons increases, so do their
needs," Anthony Dalziel, the ICRC's deputy
head of delegation in Sri Lanka said last
week. The ICRC said that shelter, food, safe
drinking water and sanitation were urgent
priorities in the Wanni and that the
situation was constantly being monitored.
Meanwhile Amnesty International last week
accused the Tigers of holding civilians
against their will and the government of not
doing enough to send supplies.
"These people are running out of places to
go to and basic necessities" Yolanda Foster,
Amnesty International's Sri Lanka researcher
said. "The Tigers are keeping them in harm's
way and the government is not doing enough
to ensure they receive essential
assistance," she continued.
AI said that there were indications that the
Tigers were using the displaced civilians as
a buffer against advancing government
forces.
"In the LTTE-controlled Wanni area, the
Tigers have hindered thousands of families
from moving to safer places by imposing a
strict pass system and, in some instances,
forcing some family members to stay behind
to ensure the return of the rest of the
family," said Amnesty International.
The government was blamed for the strict
restrictions on goods sent to the Wanni that
had hampered relied efforts.
"Lack of cement to build adequate toilets
and washrooms has forced the people to use
open bathing facilities. The lack of
adequate privacy for women and girls has led
to a notable increase in reports of sexual
and gender based violence," said AI
International.
The AI also accused the government of
holding civilians who had left the Wanni, in
de-facto concentration centres.
The Economist paints grim
picture
Losing GSP plus will cost 2% of GDP
Losing the GSP Plus facility would cost the
country 2% of GDP, The Economist states.
In an article in the August 14 print issue,
The Economist states that according to an
unpublished paper by economists at the
University of Sussex, losing the GSP Plus
facility would lead to a 4% cut in Sri
Lanka's garment exports and overall would
cost 2% of GDP.
The Economist article further states that a
senior EU official familiar with Sri Lanka
thought it currently looked unlikely GSP
Plus will be renewed.
"At a minimum, he suggested, the government
would have to make real progress on a case
in which 17 aid workers employed by a French
NGO were killed in 2006, and another in
which five high-school students were
executed, allegedly by security forces, also
in 2006. If the EU renewed the agreement
without such progress, it might be
challenged at the World Trade Organisation,
as happened to an EU trade sop to Pakistan
in 2004," The Economist states.
The article further states that with an
annual inflation close to 30% and a rupee
that has appreciated against the dollar,
further hurting exporters, by one estimate,
economic growth, which was 7.6% in 2006 will
be 4.3% this year.
"As elsewhere, inflation is being driven by
high food and energy prices. But in Sri
Lanka, 25-year average annual inflation is
12%. Monetary policy has been too loose, in
part to finance the war. Including the cost
of resettling refugees, the war eats up
around 30% of the government's budget," the
article also states.
However, The Economist article states that
if the country lost the GSP Plus facility,
it will be even harder for the government to
argue that the war has no economic downside
as it insists that its military campaign,
which most Sri Lankans support, has little
effect on inflation.
Alarming increase in
pre-election violence
Election monitors last week warned that the
pre election violence in the North Central
and Sabaragamuwa Provinces would drastically
increase if the police and the security
forces do not take steps to bring it under
control.
Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE)
spokesperson Keerthi Tennekoon told The
Sunday Leader that the rate of pre-election
violence and violations were at an alarming
increase.
He said, the situation was critical in
Anuradhapura where a continuous wave of
election violence prevailed for 18
consecutive days.
The provincial council polls in both these
districts are scheduled to be held on
Saturday, August 23.
Tennekoon added that the police and the
security forces should take steps to curb
the situation.
He said CAFFE would take legal action if the
security forces failed to do their duty
during the pre-election and election period
in both the provinces. "We had already filed
a case against the inactiveness of the
security forces during the eastern polls. We
will do the same," he said.
Recently, election violence has been on the
increase in Ratnapura as well.
CAFFE said that most of the complaints were
made by the JVP, and the JVP was at the
receiving end in most cases.
Lesser number of complaints have been
received from the Polonnaruwa and Kegalle
Districts so far.
The monitors stated that the situation could
change during the next six days, as the
polling date draws near.
RSF calls for the release
of journalist Tissainayagam
Reporters Without Borders last week called
on the Sri Lankan government to release
Sunday Times columnist, J. S. Tissainayagam,
who has been held by the Terrorism
Investigations Division since March 7,
adding that the only evidence against him
was an article written in 2006.
The RSF was quoted by the Asian Human Rights
Commission as stating that the illegal and
unjust detention is being accompanied by
grotesque charges that are a serious
violation of the freedom of expression
guaranteed in the Sri Lankan constitution.
"How can the expression of a personal view,
which is based on facts known to everyone
and which does not call for violence, be an
act of terrorism? We urge the international
community, including the European Union, to
press for Tissainayagam's release," the
press freedom organisation said.
It added that the Secretary, Ministry of
Disaster Management and Human Rights,
Professor Rajiva Wijesinha in a letter to
Human Rights Watch on August 12 had said
that, after a long police investigation,
Tissainayagam was now facing terrorism
charges.
"But the only evidence he offered was a 2006
article in a magazine edited by
Tissainayagam in which he spoke of an army
offensive in a Tamil region that was being
accompanied by a dramatic humanitarian
crisis for the civilian population," the
organisation stressed.
Two soldiers killed in
Vavuniya
Two soldiers have died in a claymore blast
in Iranailuppailulam, Vavuniya yesterday
(16) afternoon.
The Media Center for National Security (MCNS)
stated that the Tiger terrorists had
detonated a claymore mine on an Army bus. At
the time of the explosion, the bus was
carrying soldiers who were going on leave.
JVP sees hidden agenda
behind Rites railway deal
JVP affiliated trade unions have alleged
that the government has decided to close the
coastal railway line for a period of six
months following an agreement signed with
India's Rites Company.
The JVP affiliated All Ceylon Railway
Employees General Union (ACREGU) states that
following the agreement signed between the
Sri Lankan government and the Indian
company, a 36-kilometre stretch of the
railroad between Galle to Matara would be
shutdown.
ACREGU Secretary, on Sumathipala Manawadu
told The Sunday Leader that in the guise of
handing over the rail track between Galle
and Matara for renovations to the Indian
company, the real reason behind the closure
would be due to it being sold to the Indian
company. Manawadu said there was no reason
for the government to hand over the southern
rail track to an Indian company for
renovations as the Sri Lanka Railways
Department already had the necessary
technical support to make the necessary
improvement and maintain the railway line.
"After the tsunami in 2004, the Rites
Company said it would take about a year to
rebuild the rail track, but employees from
the Sri Lanka Railways Department rebuilt it
within 57 days," he said.
He also charged that Sri Lankan Railways
held only 5% in the country's public
transport sector. "If the government cannot
handle this 5%, then there is no need for a
ministry and a minister. The railway lines
around the island have been shortened by the
present government instead of increasing the
existing lines. The Ratnapura line has now
been shortened to Avissawella," he said.
Manawadu also said that the agreement with
the government and the Rites Company was
just part of the government plan to
privatise the country's railway sector.
(MIA)
SLAF jets pound Tiger targets
Sri Lanka Air Force Jets had yesterday
morning attacked an LTTE bunker line 8 km
east of Nachikudah. The Air Force has said
the attack was carried out in support of
ground troops of the 58th Division.
Seeking peaceful solutions to Eastern
Muslims' grievances
By Latheef Farook
A one day workshop will be held in Colombo
next Tuesday, August 19, to seek peaceful
means to find a durable settlement to the
Eastern Muslims' grievances and initiate a
dialogue with other communities on the basis
of pluralism, equality and mutual
acknowledgement.
This workshop is being organised by the
Eastern Muslim Peace Assembly, EMPA, in
cooperation with the Foundation for
Coexistence.
Though the east is cleared of the LTTE and
the Eastern Provincial Council has been
constituted amidst controversies, the
Eastern Muslims complain that military
victories and political changes have not
brought any relief to their long-suffering.
Under the circumstances unless longstanding
issues such as forcible occupation of land,
land disputes and displacement of people are
resolved by peaceful means, liberation will
become meaningless and reconciliation among
the three communities will be a distant
dream.
Eastern Muslims complain that, up to date,
nothing has been done in this regard and
they urge the government to clearly indicate
that it is prepared to stand by the unarmed
peaceful Muslim community and help resolve
their grievances before it is too late.
All the previous governments have failed to
take meaningful measures to ensure security
to Muslims who have been at the receiving
end of LTTE atrocities for not supporting
their call for a separate state in the north
east. Unfortunately this fact was ignored by
the successive governments.
A recent report on the grievances of Eastern
Muslims by the EMPA pointed out that all
assurances in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord to
ensure the security and safety of all
communities in the Northern and Eastern
Provinces had been debunked soon after the
accord was signed.
Six policemen interdicted over attack on
Ranjan
Following the mob attack in Pelmadulla last
week by a UPFA mob on UNP Chief Ministerial
candidate for the Sabaragamuwa Province
Ranjan Ramanayake, six policemen have been
interdicted for failing to provide him
adequate security.
The interdiction order was issued yesterday
by DIG Sabaragamuwa Upali Hewage.
The six policemen interdicted are SI Sanath
Rajasinghe, Sergeant Amarasekera and PCs
Jayatunge, Jayalath, Siriwardene and
Piyaratne.
The six policemen were attached to the
Wewaldeniya Police Station.
Ramanayake, UNP Ratnapura District MP Dunesh
Gankanda and several others were injured in
the mob attack which also resulted in the
UNP Chief Ministerial candidate's vehicle
suffering heavy damages.
Police sources said the interdiction was
intended to signal that any policemen not
acting impartially during the election will
have to face the consequences for their
actions.
| | |
