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In Sri Lanka life may be cheap, but
not so flowers even if they are not the
natural kind. At the Deyata Kirula
Exhibition that coincided with the 61st
Independence Day celebrations, among the
many things on offer was the opportunity
for the public to pay tribute to the
fallen war heroes at a special monument.
However to do so one had to first
purchase flowers ranging from Rs. 500 to
Rs. 2000 from this stall. Photo by
Asoka Fernando |
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Teachers used for govt. election campaign
in NWP
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema
Several schools in the Kurunegala
District were dysfunctional on Friday (6)
when most of the teachers were asked to
attend a meeting with President Mahinda
Rajapakse at the President’s House in Kandy.
Teachers unions in the North Western
Province alleged the move to be yet another
instance of misuse of public property in the
run up to the North Western and Central
Provincial Council polls, as letters signed
by the zonal education director were sent to
schools in the Kurunegala District
requesting the principals to prepare a list
of names of teachers from the respective
schools who would attend the meeting
scheduled on Friday (6) afternoon.
The meeting is part of the governing
party’s campaign for the two provincial
councils.
Wayamba Province Secretary, Lanka Teacher
Services Union, N.A. Wimalasiri told The
Sunday Leader that at least 10 teachers
had been taken from each school for the
meeting.
He also alleged that the move to get the
teachers to attend the meeting was
facilitated by the SLFP affiliated Nidahas
Guru Seva Sangamaya. "There are six
education zones in the Kurunegala District
and the target is to get at least 400
teachers from each zone," Wimalasiri said.
The Sunday Leader is in possession of
a letter sent to the schools in the
Kurunegala zone signed by Zonal Education
Director, J. Ratnayake on February 2.
According to the letter, the principals
have been asked to prepare a list of names
of teachers who would attend the meeting on
the 6th scheduled to be held at Giriulla.
The Sunday Leader is also in
possession of the letter sent by the
Giriulla zonal education director, S.A.
Alagiyawanna on January 29 to principals of
schools in the Giriulla division.
The letter states that the meeting with
the President would be held at the
Janavasama estate in Andigama, Katugampola
at 2 p.m. on February 6.
However, on the 6th morning, the teachers
whose names were nominated to attend the
meeting were informed that they would be
taken to the President’s House in Kandy
instead, as the meeting would be held there.
A second letter sent by Giriualla zonal
education director Alagiyawanna states that
the venue has been changed to the
President’s House in Kandy.
The letter has also given names of three
persons who were to coordinate the transport
for the teachers to travel to Kandy. The
teachers have been requested to coordinate
with the said persons from the Pannala,
Alawwa and Nakkawatte education divisions
and have been asked to assemble by 9 a.m. on
Friday (6) near respective community halls
and zonal education offices.
Wimalasiri alleged that the teachers were
taken by the directors in vehicles belonging
to the zonal education offices.
He said that the teachers were asked to
leave the school premises after signing in,
as it would be considered a normal working
day for them.
"After signing in, these teachers were
taken and promised a meal as well," he said.
It is learnt that most teachers have been
forced to agree to attend the meeting by
persons affiliated to the ruling party,
threatening that they would be transferred
or lose their jobs after the elections.
Unfortunately, with most teachers opting
to attend the meeting, some schools in the
Kurunegala District were dysfunctional due
to the lack of teachers.
"The most affected were the small schools
where senior prefects had to take the junior
classes due to the lack of teachers. In some
schools more than half the teacher
population was absent on Friday," Wimalasiri
said.
Among the schools that were affected by
the government move to take teachers to
Kandy were the Mawathagama Roman Catholic
School, Mawathagama Central College and St.
Joseph’s College in Kuliyapitiya.
No real breakthrough in
Lasantha investigation
By Nirmala Kannangara
The four police investigating teams
probing into the murder of The Sunday
Leader Editor-in-Chief Lasantha
Wickrematunge have so far failed to make a
breakthrough, The Sunday Leader
learns.
Wickrematunge was assassinated a month
ago on January 8 morning in front of several
witnesses in the high security zone in close
proximity to the Air Port and the Air Force
Base at Ratmalana.
Subsequent to the assassination, four
police teams were appointed to conduct the
investigation and for the past one month two
suspects believed to have had a link to the
murder were taken into custody by the Mt.
Lavinia police together with Wickrematunge’s
mobile phone that went missing from the
Colombo South Teaching Hospital.
Meanwhile, Police Spokesperson SSP
Ranjith Gunasekera told The Sunday Leader
sister paper The Morning Leader a
fortnight ago that the Government Analyst’s
(GA) report would be ready in two days as it
would be vital to conduct the investigation
accurately.
"We have informed the Government Analyst
that we want the report urgently and we were
told that it would be sent within two to
three days," Gunasekera said.
However, Gunasekera on Friday told The
Sunday Leader that he did not know
whether the police have received the GA’s
report and said that he knew nothing about
the latest details of the investigation.
When asked as to how the police could
claim that the suspect who was taken into
custody together with Wickrematunge’s mobile
was connectedto the murder, as the mobile
went missing from the hospital and not from
the scene where Wickrematunge was attacked,
Gunasekera said that he had no idea to
comment on it.
"I do not know about these as the
investigating teams do not update me as it
would hamper their investigations. What I
know is that two suspects were taken in
together with the mobile phone and the
investigating teams are conducting further
inquests in to the assassination,"
Gunasekera said.
Meanwhile, Wickrematunge’s murder case
that was taken up at the Mt. Lavinia
Magistrate on Thursday (5) is to be taken up
on February 19.
Over 10,000 civilians
cross over in two days
More than 10,000 persons have crossed
over to government controlled areas the last
two days, defence officials said.
Military spokesperson Brigadier Udaya
Nanayakkara told The Sunday Leader
that 5,000 people had crossed over to
government held areas on each day (Friday
and Saturday).
The civilians had crossed over into the
Dharmapuram and Vishvamadukulam areas in the
Wanni, Nanayakkara said.
This is the largest crossing over of
civilians from the LTTE controlled areas in
the Wanni after the capture of Kilinochchi.
Nanayakara said that the IDPs were kept
in four camps in Vavuniya. There are
altogether six camps for the Wanni IDPs.
He said there were four camps in Vavuniya,
one in Mannar and one in Jaffna.
Meanwhile, the ICRC has expressed grave
concern over the plight of people in the
Wanni in view of the irregular flow of
humanitarian aid to the region.
The last convoy of humanitarian aid was
sent to the Wanni on January 29 and since
then, there had been no flow of essential
commodities to the people in the region.
"The situation in the Wanni is of grave
concern. There has been no flow of
humanitarian aid into the area since January
29," ICRC media coordinator Sarasi Wijeratne
told The Sunday Leader.
The Puthukkudiyiruppu hospital that was
shifted to Puthumathalan is continuing to
function with the government staff and
around 20 ICRC members.
Wijeratne said around 400 patients were
receiving treatment at the hospital. She
said that there is a lack of drinking water
in the area. There were 300 patients at the
hospital at the time of shifting.
The ICRC has also continuously stressed
to both parties the importance of a safe
passage for the sick and the wounded people
in Wanni to be moved into government
controlled areas.
SLAF air raid kills 15
Sea Tigers including two leaders
Fifteen Sea Tiger cadres including two
senior members have been killed due to air
strikes on LTTE targets in Mullaithivu,
Military spokesperson Brigadier Udaya
Nanayakkara said.
The Media Centre for National Security (MCNS)
meanwhile said that Sea Tiger head Soosai
was confirmed missing.
The air raids were carried out one
kilometre north east of Puthukkudiyiruppu in
the Mullaithivu district.
Nanayakkara said that two senior members
of the Sea Tigers were confirmed to be
killed following the air raid.
He said that this information came to
light when the LTTE communications were
monitored. "We don’t have ground troops to
find out these things. We monitored the LTTE
communications and confirmed it," he said.
On Friday, troops of the 57 division
operation in Mullaithivu district captured
the LTTE Radha Regiment Head Quarters.
The MCNS said that the headquarters was
situated in the east of Vishvwmadukulam.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting was reported in
Virakulam in Mullaithivu on Thursday as
well. "The LTTE terrorists sustained severe
damages during confrontations in Virakulam
and North of Ettakokavilkulam areas between
9.30am and 4.40pm yesterday (05)."
The MCNS added that troops captured
several items including a Pajero Jeep.
"Troops also suffered minor damages during
the incident."
Muzammil to contest
WPC under UNP
By B.M. Murshideen
Senior UNP member and former Western
Provincial Council (WPC) member A.J.M.
Muzammil has been appointed as a candidate
under the UNP to contest at the forthcoming
Western Provincial council election.
Muzammil told The Sunday Leader
that Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe
confirmed his name on Monday (2) to contest
under the UNP ticket.
He represented a different political
party last time in the Western Provincial
Council.
According to informed sources within the
UNP, there could only be three candidates
selected to contest among the Muslim
politicians, of which two slots are expected
to be given to the two former Muslim sitting
members of the WPC.
The former Muslim sitting members in the
council are M. Fairoze Haji and Shahul
Hameed Mohamed.
Govt. violating PC
election laws says Ranil
Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe
last week said that the list of UPFA
candidates for the forthcoming provincial
council elections would be disqualified once
the UNP resorts to legal action against the
unlawful campaign carried out by the
governing party.
Addressing the media in Kandy,
Wickremesinghe said that a vote caste in
favour of the UPFA would be considered
invalid, as the list would be canceled under
the laws of the country.
"President Mahainda Rajapakse has been
visiting his official residences in Kandy
and Nuwara Eliya and invited people for
meals. These people have been asked to cast
their votes in favour of the UPFA. Since it
is violation of laws governing provincial
council elections, we will take the matter
before court," Wickremesinghe said.
"Neither the UPFA’s chief ministerial
candidate Sarath Ekanayake nor any other
contestant of the party would be in a
position to sit in the Central Provincial
Council under the laws of the country," he
added.
Wickremesinghe further said that
President Mahinda Rajapakse’s action to
invite people to the President’s House for
meals and offering them gifts was against
the law according to Clauses 70 and 92 of
the Provincial Council Act.
He added that once the UNP resorted to
legal action, Ekanayake would not be in a
position to event function as the opposition
leader of the council and the other members
would be unable to sit in the council as
councilors.
Wickremesinghe said that no force could
prevent the victory of UNP’s chief
ministerial candidate S.B. Dissanayake at
the Central Provincial Council elections.
Vigil for Lasantha
today
A candle lit vigil in memory of slain
Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Leader,
Lasantha Wickrematunge will be held today
(8) at his gravesite at the General
Cemetery, Kanatte. The vigil will be held at
5.30 p.m. Those who wish to attend are
welcome.
Sincere thanks
The family members of the late
Editor-in-Chief of The Sunday Leader,
Lasantha Wickrematunge would like to extend
their heartfelt thanks to the doctors who
attended to Lasantha, the hospital staff,
members of parliament, the diplomatic
community, friends and colleagues from the
media, friends, relations and all those who
helped in numerous ways with the funeral
arrangements, sent flowers, messages and
last but not least, readers of the Leader
newspapers who have written in their
thousands, expressing their condolences. We
regret our inability to thank each one
individually. We once again extend our
sincere thanks.
No arrests made on ICRC attack
No arrests have been made following the
attack on the Colombo ICRC office, the
police said.
Police spokesperson SSP Ranjith
Gunasekera said the Bambalapitiya police
were carrying out investigations and so far
there has not been any arrests.
The ICRC was stoned by a mob last Friday
afternoon.
It was reported that damage was caused to
the glass panes of the building. However, no
one was injured due to the stone attack.
Mihin yet to make payments for leased
aircraft
By Dilrukshi Handunnetti
Over US$ 32,748 has to be still paid by
the controversial budget airline, Mihin Air,
as balance payments for three leased
aircraft obtained by the company bypassing
tender procedure.
According to an answer provided in
parliament by Deputy Aviation Minister
Sarath Gunaratne, the three aircraft leased
in 2007 includes one A 320, an A 321 and an
F 27.
The three aircraft were inducted on March
13, 2007, May 11, 2007 and March 3, 2007
respectively.
The money has been paid initially as
security deposits and thereafter as monthly
installments.
Accordingly, the A 320 was contracted for
a total sum of US$ 11,014,450.55 with a
security deposit of US$ 805,000 with the
monthly installment being US $ 805,000.
The A 321 was contracted for a total sum
of US$ 9,204,984.18 with a security deposit
of US$ 962,000. The monthly installment from
May to August 2007 was US$ 962,000 while the
revised amount from September 2007 to March
2008 was US$ 750,000.
The F 27 aircraft was contracted for a
total sum of US$ 597,096.77 with a security
deposit of US$ 75,000. The monthly
installment from March 2007 to February 2008
was US$ 25,000. The revised payment from
March 2008 to July 2008 was US$ 45,000.
Importantly, the airline company has paid
US$ 11,014,450.55 for the A 320 and has an
outstanding balance of US$ 15,681.46 as at
July 31, 2008.
Likewise, the A 321 payments so far made
amount to US$ 9,187,917.00 and have an
outstanding balance of US$ 17,067.18. The
leased F 27 aircraft does not have any
further payments to be made.
When questioned as to why tender
procedures were not followed when leasing
aircraft for a budget airline that has
already suffered enormous financial loss due
to mismanagement, Minister Gunaratne said
that purchasing an aircraft was not similar
to purchasing a block of land or even a bus,
and the company had gone into the profiles
of each aircraft manufacturer and leased
them after being convinced.
CEB circuit bungalows booked for election
work
By Nirmala Kannangara
The decision of the Power and Energy
Ministry to release all Ceylon Electricity
Board (CEB) circuit bungalows in the Central
Province for ‘official work’ during the
Central Provincial Council election campaign
has irked its employees, Lanka Viduli Sevaka
Sangamaya (LVSS) said.
The circuit bungalows have allegedly been
released for ‘official duty’ from end
December 2008 till February 15 according to
the LVSS sources.
"The circuit bungalows which were used by
the CEB employees for recreation programmes
have now been given to the UPFA supporters
for election campaign work free of charge.
Although the CEB employees are not allowed
to book the circuit bungalows for more than
three consecutive days and have to make the
payments in advance when the bookings are
made, we are puzzled as to why the CEB
management allocated the bungalows to UPFA
supporters for a period of more than a month
and free of charge," Jayalal told The
Sunday Leader.
According to Jayalal when the LVSS
inquired as to why the CEB decided to give
the bungalows to UPFA supporters cancelling
all pre-bookings, the CEB management denied
these allegations and said that it was used
for ‘official work.’
"Although the CEB management denied the
charges, the employees have proper evidence
to confirm that these bungalows had been
released for election campaign work, which
is strictly against election regulations.
The government is flouting the election law
in the guise of official work, which is
against the Elections Commissioner’s rules
and regulations. We learn that all the
furniture and computers had been used for
election work," charged Jayalal. CEB General
Manager was not available for a comment.
Govt. misusing state media— JVP
The JVP last week said that while the
government misused the state media that was
maintained on public funds for their
benefit, the private media that stood as an
independent voice has also been suppressed.
JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath
told the media that the ruling party was
engaged in rampant misuse of public property
during the North Western and Central
Provincial Council election campaigns.
He charged that the state media was being
misused to such an extent that speeches made
by opposition political parties were not
being telecast or printed by state media
institutions.
"The state media cannot be used in this
manner. It functions with public money and
is therefore public property," he said.
Herath then said that the private media
has also been suppressed.
He said that media institutions and
persons that have raised a voice against the
government have been attacked and
assassinated under a different guise.
"Sirasa was attacked not because it was
supportive of the Tigers, but for exposing
the corruption and wrong doings of the
government. It was not beneficial for the
government to have such stories being
publicised. Lasantha Wickrematunge was not
assassinated for being supportive of the
Tigers. He was killed because he raised a
voice against the ill doings of the
government," Herath said. (MIA)
NE voters lack identity documents
Nearly 50,000 people in the Nuwara Eliya
District would not be able to vote in the
upcoming provincial council polls due to
lack of proper identity documents, Campaign
for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) said.
CAFFE Media Spokesperson, Keerthi
Tennekoon in a statement last Friday said
that 72,150 persons in the district did not
have national identity cards and many of
them did not have any of the documents
approved by the Elections Commissioner for
the polls.
Friday (6) was the last day for the
applications to be handed over to get the
identity cards, Tennekoon had said.
The statement also said that the
Assistant Commissioner of Elections in
Nuwara Eliya had received less than 400
applications and many more of them were in
the Divisional Secretariat office.
Earlier, the Elections Commissioner’s
Department together with election monitors
launched mobile programmes to provide
identity cards and temporary identity
documents to those who did not possess any
of the documents. However, Chairman,
People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections
(PAFFREL), Kinglsey Rodrigo said that the
majority of the people in the estate sector
had got their identity documents with only
around 20,000 remaining.
He said that there would not be a problem
with regard to this matter, as the Elections
Commissioner had approved nine different
identity documents to prove their identity
while casting their votes . |
