By Our Diplomatic Editor
Has Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg violated the Vienna Convention under which all diplomats must work; and if so, should he be declared persona non grata?

The Sunday Times publishes below the relevant paragraphs of the Vienna Convention and the corresponding local law for our readers benefit. The question here is this; Did the Norwegian embassy in Colombo import the VoT equipment as Diplomatic cargo? The Norwegians have said nothing uptodate. On Friday, however, an un-signed statement issued by the Office of the Government Spokesman says "No", the Norwegians did not import the consignment as diplomatic cargo.

Then, how was the Norwegian embassy permitted to clear the consignment without paying duty if it was not exempted of duty?

And is honesty on the part of the Norwegians who are supposed to be the 'Honest Broker' in the peace process with the LTTE, have lent their name to import cargo so far duty-free;

And have they, in the least, violated the spirit of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic norms and good behaviour?

The Vienna Conveniton on Diplomatic Relations says:

Article 36

The receiving State shall, in accordance with such laws and regulations as it may adopt, permit entry of and grant exemption from all customs duties, taxes, and related charges other than charges for storage, cartage and similar services, on:

articles for the official use of the mission;

articles for the personal use of a diplomatic agent or members of his family forming part of his household, including articles intended for his establishment

The personal baggage of a diplomatic agent shall be exempt from inspection, unless there are serious grounds for presuming that it contains articles not covered by the exemptions mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, or articles the import of export of which is prohibited by the law or controlled by the quarantine regulations of the receiving State. Such inspection shall be conducted only in the presence of the diplomatic agent or of his authorised representative.

Article 50

EXEMPTION FROM CUSTOMS DUTIES AND INSPECTION
The receiving state shall, in accordance with such laws and regulations as it may adopt, permit entry of and grant exemption from all customs duties, taxes and related charges other than charges for storage, cartage and similar services, on:

articles for the official use of the consular post;

Articles for the personal use of a consular officer or members of his family forming part of is household, including articles intended for his establishment. The articles intended for consumption shall not exceed the quantities for direct utilisation by the persons concerned.

Consular employees shall enjoy the privileges and exemptions specified in paragraph 1 of this Article in respect of articles imported at the time of first installation.

Personal baggage accompanying consular officers and members of their families forming part their households shall be exempt from inspection. It may be inspected only if there is serious reason to believe that it contains articles other than those referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article, or articles the import of which is prohibited by the laws and regulations of the receiving State or which are subject to its quarantine laws and regulations. Such inspection shall be carried out in the presence of the consular officer or member of his family concerned.

Article 55

RESPECT FOR THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE RECEIVING STATE
Without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State.

The consular premises shall not be used in any manner incompatible with the exercise of consular functions.

The provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article shall not exclude the possibility of offices of other institutions or agencies being installed in part of the building in which the consular premises are situated, provided that the premises assigned to them are separate from those used by the consular post. In that event, the said offices shall not, for the purposes of the present Convention, be considered to form part of the consular premises.

Article 62

EXEMPTION FROM CUSTOMS DUTIES

The receiving State shall, in accordance with such laws and regulations as it may adopt, permit entry of, and grant exemption from all customs duties, taxes, and related charges other than charges for storage, cartage and similar services on the following articles, provided that they are for the official use of a consular post headed by an honorary consular officer: coats-of-arms, flags, signboard, seals and stamps, books, official printed matter, office furniture, office equipment and similar articles supplied by or at the instance of the sending state to the consular post.

Local law
Diplomatic Privileges Act, No. 9 of 1996 -
Article 36

1. The receiving state shall, in accordance with such laws and regulations as it may adopt, permit entry of and grant exemption from all customs duties, taxes and related charges other than charges for storage, cartage and similar services, on:

(a) articles for the official use of the mission ;

(b) articles for the personal use of a diplomatic agent or members of his family forming part of his household, including articles intended for his establishment.

2. The personal baggage of a diplomatic agent shall be exempt from inspection, unless there are serious grounds for presuming that it contains articles not covered by the exemptions mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Article, or articles the import or export of which is prohibited by the law or controlled by the quarantine regulations of the receiving State. Such inspection shall be conducted only in the presence of the diplomatic agent or of his authorised representative.

Double standards, says Diyawadana Nilame
Diyawadana Nilame Neranjan Wijeratne has accused the government of practising double standards when it refused to grant permission for the Dalada Maligawa to operate a radio station. 'The Ministry of Mass Communication in a written communication has informed me that it would not be able to grant permission to operate the radio station until the Communications Bill is passed in Parliament. But it has not cited the proposed bill when it approved the LTTE radio station," Mr. Wijeratne said. Pointing out that the letter sent to him bore the reference number D-15 and the reference number given to the LTTE file was D-16, the Diyawadana Nilame accused the ministry of practising double standards.

He said the Maligawa sought permission for a radio station in April and it was sent from pillar to post till the Ministry replied in October, stating its position although the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Buddha Sasana had recommended the application.

Mr. Wijeratne said the objective of setting up of the radio station was to give coverage to Buddhist and Maligawa activities and events.

'When we first made our application to the Telecom Regulatory Commission we were called for an interview. My Private Secretary Lakshman Dharmapriya and two others who went for the interview were told to negotiate with the SLBC to obtain a frequency and approval for a transmission station in Matale. But the SLBC failed to respond to our letters. When we made inquiries, a senior SLBC official said he was not bound to respond to the letters from the Diyawadana Nilame. It was only after this we applied to the Ministry of Mass Communications which informed us in a letter a signed by Ministry Secretary Kumar Abeysinghe its inability to grant permission.

Three long months of silence after the top secret deal where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) obtained sophisticated radio equipment for Voice of Tigers (VoT), the Government broke silence last Friday.

In an official response, the UNF Government spokesman issued a seven-page statement to clarify what it called "concerns expressed in the media about the circumstances in which a licence was issued to the LTTE Peace Secretariat to operate a private radio transmission in Vanni."

The statement dealt with four aspects: (1) whether the LTTE Peace Secretariat was duly authorised to operate an FM radio transmission facility and the conditions attached thereto (2) whether the security implications for the country were safeguarded by the authorities in the importation of the equipment (3) the implications security-wise of the VSAT communication equipment acquired by the LTTE, and (4) clearance of the consignment and the role of the Norwegian Embassy.

The Sunday Times today publishes the full text of the statement with observations on each by our Diplomatic Correspondent.

Whether the LTTE Peace Secretariat has been duly authorised to operate an FM radio transmission facility and the conditions attached thereto:

A licence to operate and maintain a private broadcasting station was issued by the Government to the Secretary General of the LTTE Peace Secretariat on November 11, 2002 in terms of Section 44 of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Act No 37 of 1966 under the following terms and conditions. As will be seen the main features of the licence are:

* the broadcasting programmes should be in accordance with the norms, standards and code of ethics followed by the SLBC

* high quality shall be maintained both as regards to transmission and the matter transmitted

* broadcasting programmes shall be confined to educational, sports, entertainment (with desirable family content) and foreign news.

* local news may only be broadcast with the approval of the Director of Information

* any advertising should be in accordance with the Code of Ethics adopted by the SLBC

* a specific frequency shall be used - 98 MHz has been assigned to the Peace Secretariat, subject to the following:

- Location - to be fixed at Kilinochchi

- Output Power - 5 kw

- Coverage area - 20 km radius

- Altitude - 75 metres high

* in addition the licence empowers the Minister of Mass Communication to impose any other condition from time to time, as he may consider necessary, for the purpose of carrying on the service of broadcasting in Sri Lanka.

* The licence was issued in response to a specific request by the LTTE on October 18, 2002 for a licence to operate a FM radio station at Kilinochchi.

This letter is reproduced below for public information:

"Hon. Imithiaz Bakeer Marker

Minister of Mass Communication

Dear Sir,

This request is made, in order to obtain a licence, to operate an FM Radio Station at Kilinochchi.

As you know, a large population living in the North and East province, are deprived of Education, News and Entertainment, due to lack of FM Radio Station, and also due to the poor signals from the broadcasting stations that are located in Colombo.

If I may say correctly, in certain parts of the North Eastern Region, broadcasting reception is virtually non-existence. (sic) The need for broadcasting services have become al the more important today, to strengthen the peace initiatives, currently undertaken by both by Sri Lanka government and the LTTE.

You would undoubtedly agree with me, a well-informed public is a precondition for the consolidation of peace efforts by all of us. Therefore we should explore all possible means of reaching the public, to keep them informed. Moreover, in the absence of any widely circulated newspaper in the area, you would agree with me that, radio broadcasting is the only way in which we can reach the people in a cost effective manner.

Considering the importance and urgency of the need, the Tamil Peace Secretariat has decided to commence a radio station, under the proper licence from the Sri Lanka Government, for the benefit of the people of the North and East.

Therefore, we shall be grateful if you could issue a licence and allocate a suitable frequency, in order for us to establish and operate a FM Radio station, for the benefit of the people of the North and East.

Your early responses to the request of ours will be greatly appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

(Signed)

S Puleedevan

Secretary General

LTTE Peace Secretariat

c.c.
1. Secretary to the Hon. Prime Minister

2. Secretary to the Minister of Defence

3. Secretary to the Peace Secretariat in Colombo"

It will be clear that the grant of the license to the LTTE Peace Secretariat brings, for the first time, such radio transmissions by the LTTE under the Laws of Sri Lanka. It subjects the holder of the license, the LTTE, to specific conditions regarding the content and manner of its broadcasting in future. Indeed these are the self-same conditons which apply to all other private FM licence holders operating in the rest of the country such as Yes FM, Sirasa, Shakti, Shri etc.

This request of the LTTE for a radio channel has to be seen in the context of the positive developments towards a permanent peace in the country, which commenced with the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the Government and the LTTE on February 22, 2002. It represents an important step in the transformation of the LTTE into a political grouping within the mainstream of the Sri Lankan political system.

The public will appreciate that the willingness of the LTTE to submit itself to the authority of the Government in this manner is a 180-degree change from that which prevailed in the earlier period when the LTTE ran an unauthorised and illegal radio operation termed the Voice of Tigers.

It is also well known that the LTTE has had radio and even TV transmission facilities of its own in some countries abroad.

The equipment for the setting up of the radio broadcasting facility was purchased by the LTTE in Singapore and a list of the items to be imported by sea on the vessel MV Kota Tegop due in Colombo on October 17 was also made known to the Government. The equipment purchased, and to be imported, was reported as follows:

FM Transmitter

US$

1.FM Transmitter plus backup transmitter 52,600.00
2.FM Antenna (4 boxes) 2 18,000.00
3.RDS Audio 800.00
4.MPS Clipper/Generator 1 3,850.00
5.VMC 4,000.00
6.Antenna Cable 2,600.00
EDIT Room
1.Mixing console 750.00
2. CD Player 560.00
3.MD Recorder 1 906.00
4.Microphone 1 595.00
5. Microphone Holder 1 95.00
6.Microphone Processor 1 2,275.00
7.Patch Panel 2 880.00
8.Loud Speaker 2 920.00
9. Headphones 2 300.00
10.Technology furniture 1 1,800.00
11. Cabling 1 1,500.00
93,265.00
12.VSAT communication unit 1 25.000.00

The consignment on arival at the Customs was inspected by a technical team appointed by the Ministry of Defence, consisting of the following government experts:
Upali Arambewela (Additional Director General Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation), A Gunawardena (Group Captain - Director Electronics & Telecommunications - Sri Lanka Air Force), Brig. Y S A de Silva (Director Signals - Sri Lanka Army) and R D Somasiri (Advisor, Ministry of Mass Communications).

The technical team has confirmed that the FM transmitter equipment in the consignment can be used for FM broadcasting and radio data transmission. A few technical observations made by the team are being conveyed to the LTTE Peace Secretariat for compliance.

Following the Technical Evaluation, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had no technical or security objection in agreeing to the issue of a licence, provided the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission allocated a frequency that did not in anyway interfere with the communication frequencies currently used by the Security Forces.

On November 27, the Ministry of Mass Communication informed the Secretary Defence that the operation of the broadcasting transmitter which has been cleared by the inspection committee would not cause any interference to the existing radio transmission network of the security forces. It was said that the transmitter has been designed to operate within the frequency band of 87 MHz to 109 MHz in the FM band and that the output power is 1 kw. It was also mentioned by the Ministry of Mass Communication that the transmitter output power of other licensed broadcasting agencies/companies was well above 1 kw.

On December 9, the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission made its determination about the fees payable for the frequency assigned to the LTTE Peace Secretariat. The details of this are as follows:

1.Freqency assignment fee for 12 months Rs. 22,500.00
2.Licence fee and power charges Rs. 45,000.00
to be paid after the test transmissions are in order
3.Yearly licence and power charges Rs. 45,000.00

Payable yearly to the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission - (TRCSL)

The TRCSL has made the suggestion that while it notes that the transmissions are to be in the Tamil language, the people are to get an all round exposure it would be appropriate to introduce programmes in the English and Sinhala languages too since this would enhance the end result of the peace efforts.

The Sunday Times Diplomatic Correspondent: Obtaining Government approval to operate a radio station is a process that requires clearance from several State agencies. Once a request is made to the Ministry responsible for the subject of media (in this instance, the Ministry of Mass Communications), clearance has to be obtained from the Ministry of Defence and now from the Ministry of Interior too.

Themiya Hurulle, Director General of the Telecom Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) told The Sunday Times "our task is to allocate a frequency after the Ministry of Mass Communications approves the application. We do not take any policy decisions."

In the case of the LTTE, the application was dated October 18, 2002 - just 44 days after it was deproscribed by the Government from being a terrorist organisation (on September 4). By the Government's own admission, the application for permission to operate a radio station has been made (on October 18) just one day after the LTTE had already imported the equipment. The statement says "the radio broadcasting facility was purchased by the LTTE in Singapore" and the items arrived on the vessel MV Kota Tegop in Colombo on October 17.

In other words, even before approval was obtained from the Government of Sri Lanka, the LTTE has purchased and shipped to Colombo the radio equipment it required. In the case of all other applicants, they are required to first obtain approval before they import equipment. It is only after approval that a licence to import equipment is issued. But the LTTE did not have to follow these rules or procedures.

In the case of all other applicants, the time taken to process their requests in view of the involvement of several State agencies is many months. In the case of the LTTE, it won approval just a day after it had imported the equipment. It also came just 44 days after a ban on the LTTE was lifted.In the case of all others who sought and obtained approval (and later imported equipment), the granting of permission to operate a broadcasting station had to be approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. In the case of the LTTE there has been no such approval. The Government says the LTTE had agreed to terms and conditions laid down by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation which is the licensing authority. That includes a specific ban preventing the LTTE from broadcasting local news without the approval of the Director of Information. It remains to be seen whether the LTTE will abide by these conditions and whether the SLBC will be in a position to take any punitive action for any violations. But the Government spokesman gloats that for the first time LTTE "radio transmissions" under licence from the Governemnt was going to be in accordance with laws of Sri Lanka. He also gloats that "the public will appreciate that the willingness of the LTTE to submit itself to the authority of the Government in this manner is a 180 degree change from that which prevailed in the earlier period when the LTTE ran an unauthorised and illegal radio operation termed the Voice of Tigers."

It is no secret that the LTTE still continues to operate the Voice of Tigers radio station. The question that begs answer is whether the LTTE has made a 180-degree change only in respect of winning approval for a consignment of broadcasting equipment in accordance with the laws of the land. What about other laws of the land ? How come it operates its own "Police Stations," "Courts of Law," "Banks," a "Navy," and an "Army" etc.? Why have they not made a 180 degree change in respect of these and many other issues. Is it only because they received most favoured status to obtain the broadcasting equipment?

The spokesman refers to a technical team of experts who examined the equipment. Their task was purely to ascertain whether the equipment imported was in conformity with the declaration made by the Norwegian Embassy and other technical aspects. In their report, they noted that a VSAT communication unit (not a part of the broadcasting equipment) was missing?

The spokesman says a "few technical observations made by the Team are being conveyed to the LTTE Peace Secretariat for compliance." This is after approval is granted and the goods are released, the LTTE is being asked to comply. What happens if they don't?The spokesman says the Ministry of Defence "confirmed that it had no technical or security objection in agreeing to issue of a licence." Which Defence Ministry official decided that there was no security objections. Was it his own personal decision to help the LTTE or did he consult any expert opinion? Did he seek expert advice on whether the issue of the licence would cause security implications to Sri Lanka's neighbours ?

The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission refers to fees it has slapped down on the LTTE for frequency and other charges. None of these moneys, The Sunday Times learns, has yet been paid. Here again it was a privilege afforded to the LTTE.

It is, therefore, clear that none of the other licensed broadcast operators have enjoyed the privileges afforded to the LTTE.

Whether the security implications for the country were safeguarded by the authorities in the importation of the equipment

The procedures described above after the consignment was received in the country and in particular, the detailed inspection of the items by the Technical Evaluation team consisting of high ranking military officials, while they were under the custody of the Customs, would indicate that the consignment contained only equipment for the FM Transmitter and no lethal material of any kind which would be harmful to the security of the country. The consignment as noted above, also contained VSAT telecommunication equipment which had been cleared earlier under licence by the TRCSL. Details regarding the VSAT equipment are given in the answer to item 3 below.

As a further precaution that no material other than the FM Transmitter accessories would be delivered to the Peace Secretariat at Kilinochchi, the Ministry of Defence arranged for the consignment to be packed and sealed and dispatched to Kilinochchi under Police escort.

The Sunday Times Diplomatic Correspondent: It is clear from the spokesman's own admission that the LTTE sought the import of only broadcasting equipment. How come a VSAT was included? Was there a separate request to import VSAT equipment? Who made it and who gave approval for it. How did it arrive with the consignment containing the broadcasting equipment and how was it cleared separately?

If in fact the broadcasting equipment was such a straight forward deal and the SCOP (Peace Secretariat) cleared it to be handed over to the LTTE Secretariat, the need to place a seal and escort it by Police under arrangements made by the Ministry of Defence is indeed intriguing. Earlier, a Ministry official denied he had issued a letter to the Police officer escorting the consignment. Now there is an admission that the Ministry did make the arrangements.

It is no secret that the LTTE has an intricate satellite communications network for use not only by the organisation but also by the civilian public in areas controlled by them. Who made the application for the licensing of the VSAT equipment by the LTTE and what were the terms and conditions stipulated?

The implications security-wise of the VSAT communications equipment acquired by the LTTE

The VSAT equipment in the consignment received by the LTTE secretariat in Singapore is unconnected to the FM Transmission equipment and relates to LTTE's expressed need for data and voice communication abroad. This is apparently necessitated due to the peace talks being mostly conducted abroad. A public switch telephone network was only made available in the Vanni recently.

As a matter of interest it should be mentioned that VSAT approval had been granted by the TRCSL to the following operators: SLT, Lanka Bell, Suntel, Lanka Internet Services, Eureka Online Pvt. Ltd., Lanka Global (Access Towers), World Bank, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, and the SLIDA Distance Learning Centre, in all 16 authorised VSAT terminals being operated in various locations.

There is therefore no reason for speculation that the VSAT terminal which has now been licensed by the TRCSL will pose any particular threat to Sri Lanka.

The Sunday Times Diplomatic Correspondent: the answers to security implications referred to in item two explains.

By citing examples of other VSAT equipment users, the spokesman tries to justify the release of this sophisticated satellite equipment to the LTTE. Other licensed users operate it for internet and e-mail services. There are hardly a handful of computer users in Tiger guerrilla dominated areas to use internet or computer facilities. Why then was the VSAT equipment released? Why does the spokesman say there is no reason for speculation that the VSAT will not pose any security threat? How does he know? It was not examined by the team of technical experts who scrutinised the broadcastiang equipment. In fact they said the VSAT equipment was missing. What is behind this mystery?

Clearance of the consignment and the role of the Norwegian Embassy

Following the original application by the Secretary General of the LTTE Peace Secretariat for a licence to operate an FM radio station, a request was received from the LTTE for the consignment to be cleared duty free. Exemption from taxation of any kind, including VAT, was sought since the LTTE urged it was for a purpose associated with the peace process. After consideration by the Ministry of Finance, the LTTE Peace Secretariat was informed that this request could not be granted since no exemptions on duty or VAT were being permitted by the Government in any instance.

It was these circumstances that the facilitator of the peace process - the Embassy of Norway in Sri Lanka - was approached by the Government (SCOPP) to attempt to resolve the issue. It must be emphasised that the LTTE had no part in the matter and that Norway was consulted at this point regarding a resolution of the impasse, solely by the Government. Norway acting as the consignee was also important in terms of the security verification of the consignment. If the Defence Ministry evaluation was adverse, the consignment was to be sent back to the port of origin. If the clearance was granted, the consignment was to be handed over to SCOPP who in turn were to hand it over to the LTTE Peace Secretariat.

The Norwegian Government, in terms of its agreement with the Sri Lankan Government has agreed to finance the setting up of institutional mechanisms to take forward the peace process. Norwegian assistance of over Rs. 12 million as an initial contribution to the setting up of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) has been one such initiative.

Given the interest of the Government, the Norweigan Embassy agreed to act as the consignee for the equipment. This was done on the understanding that the goods would immediately be taken over by SCOPP. This was done in accordance with the existing agreement between the two governments on such projects as SCOPP.

The Embassy also agreed that the agreement relating to the Norwegian contribution to SCOPP would permit such funds to be utilized for reimbursement to the Ministry of Finance of any loss of revenue, if required.

Finally it needs to be underlined that the equipment was consigned to the Embassy not as diplomatic cargo. The Embassy assistance in the importation was as a contribution to the peace process.

This facilitated the above mentioned technical evaluation and clearing of the goods by SCOPP, who in turn handed over the goods to a representative of the LTTE Peace Secretariat who accompanied the goods under Police escort to the Vanni.

The Sunday Times Diplomatic Correspondent: Interesting enough, the Finance Ministry flatly turned down the LTTE request for a duty waiver on the grounds that no exemptions of duty or VAT were being permitted by the Government in any instance.

The spokesman says "it was in these circumstances that the facilitator of the peace process - the Embassy of Norway in Sri Lanka - was approached by the Government (SCOPP - the Secretariat for Co-ordinating the Peace Process) to attempt to resolve the issue."

What is the issue? Is not the payment of duty? So when a SCOPP official turned to the Norwegian Embassy to resolve "the issue," or the payment of duty, was he not trying to do something seriously anti-national ? Was he or she not trying to circumvent the country's laws by finding a means to avoid paying duty? Who is this official in the SCOPP? Should he not face disciplinary charge? More so when the spokesman says "LTTE had no part in the matter" and the resolution of what he now calls "the impasse" was solely by the Government. Why did a SCOPP official go out of the way to seek the help of the Norwegian Embassy to help the LTTE to clear cargo by avoiding duty? Why is this being called an "impasse?"

The spokesman says "if the Defence Ministry evaluation was adverse, the consignment was to be sent back to the port of origin." This indeed is a damning statement since no one else is allowed to import such equipment without prior approval. In this case, it was not only allowed. Some official in the Defence Ministry, someone high ranking, granted the clearance. No expert views were sought on how it would impact on the security interests of not only Sri Lanka but her neighbours too.

Why did the Norwegian Government, in terms of its agreement with the Sri Lanka Government, agree to become the consignee? If this was a straight forward deal, why could not the Peace Secretariat of the LTTE or for that matter the Peace Secretariat of the Government of Sri Lanka be the consignee? One of them could have imported the equipment? Was this not a clear conspiracy to avoid paying duties? Is this why no duty has been paid so far?

By doing this, has not the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo violated both the Geneva and Vienna Conventions on diplomatic protocol? See details on this page.

Why should the Norwegian Embassy go through the tedious process of resorting to an agreement relating to the Norwegian contribution to SCOPP? Why should they seek umbrage under provisions to use funds under that agreement to re-imburse the Ministry of Finance of any loss of revenue, if required? Is it not because the duty has still not been paid. Is it not because the LTTE has gone scott free with the equipment and now all means of regularising an irregular, anti-national deal has already been carried out.

The Government's explanation raises more questions than it answers. It is clear to a discerning public.

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