Year on the Web

06th, April 1997

Attacking ex-mayor K.Ganeshalingam as a political somersaulter who did little for the people, the PA's Colombo frontliner Wasantha Nanayakkara has claimed his party could have won the city if it did not gamble with Mr. Ganeshalingam.

Mr. Nanayakkara who won the highest number of preference votes for the PA-backed independent group for the city, also said in an interview he would cooperate with mayor Karu Jayasuriya in building a better city.

Q: Though winning 194 local councils, the PA lost Colombo, why?

A: It is solely because K. Ganeshalingam led the PA backed independent group. People did not have faith in a man like him who does political somersaults, jumping from the SLFP to the UNP and back again.

Having been in the UNP and having done little in his various posts as Acting Mayor and then Mayor the people lost faith in him.

I have no personal grudge against him. I am only analysing the politics of the situation.

Q: Why did President Kumaratunga then say that if your group won and even if Mr. Ganeshalingam got fewer votes than you, he would be the mayor?

A: In fairness to the President I must say she never said to me as such. Some people said Mr. Ganeshalingam would bring in 40,000 votes. What nonsense. We even lost the Tamil votes because most Tamils did not like his hop scotch politics. I feel we would have fared much better if we contested as an united PA.

Q: Besides Mr. Ganeshalingam what were the other reasons for your group's defeat?

A: There was much confusion over the symbol. The PA is associated with the chair and so we all should have had this as our symbol. Instead Mr. Ganeshalingam and the rest of his supporters wanted the clock which confused the voters. We won even as much as we did because of the personality and the policies of the President. Countrywide it was a landslide for the PA, but we lost in Colombo because of Mr. Ganeshalingam and in Nuwara Eliya because the estate Tamils too did not vote for Mr. Thondaman. The whole problem I believe is that both Mr. Thondaman and Mr. Ganeshalingam put personal interests before the party.

Q: Will you support Mayor Karu Jayasuriya in the Council?

A: Yes. I have already met him. The tasks for the Colombo Municipality are immense. The priority is to clean up the city and in this he will get our co-operation. We will support all moves to build a better city but we will also be critical whenever necessary as an Opposition should be. – RP

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) has protested the recent appointment of an officer of the Health Ministry to head an international project.

The GMOA claimed that the person appointed to a post of World Health Organisation (WHO) at the Health Ministry is the brother-in-law of a Cabinet Minister and alleged that he is ill-qualified for the post.

A spokesman for the WHO said that they have no say in this appointment nor would it affect their projects.

Health Minister A. H. M. Fowzie responding told The Sunday Times that he appointed the particular doctor as he found him capable of handling affairs to the government's satisfaction. "I should have every authority to appoint or sack anybody in my ministry for project works," he said.

Mr. Fowzie said that sometimes, he has found it difficult to handle certain affairs in a hurry, when officers are appointed on formal basis, and cited an example of how his ministry had to pay up for 25 ambulances, after the World Bank withdrew a promised loan, owing to a delay. The GMOA said in a statement that they are totally against this appointment as it was not even advertised, in the first place.

"We request the Ministry to advertise this post and select the best and the most qualified doctor to this important post," the GMOA said.

Minister Fowzie said that he would not change his position, with regard to the appointment.

Doctors yesterday decided to launch an Island-wide strike on Thursday after a President-appointed three-member cabinet sub-committee allegedly failed to satisfy their demands for a higher salary.

The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA), which rejected a government salary hike early this year as insufficient, said it was forced to go ahead with a strike, as it could see no solution to its demand.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga last month appointed a three-member committee comprising Cultural Affairs Minister Lakshman Jayakody, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and Justice Minister G.L. Peiris to solve the issue.

A GMOA spokesman told The Sunday Times that the three-member committee which was given a month's time to resolve the crisis was not successful as they were misled by Treasury officials.

"Therefore we are compelled to resort to trade union action, but we will retain all emergency services, throughout the country," the spokesman said.

The committee's one-month period ended yesterday and their report to the President was also not found to be satisfactory by the GMOA.

Meanwhile, the GMOA last night called the Director Budget, P.B. Jayasundara to publicise a report which he has handed over to the President regarding the salary issue of doctors. The GMOA claimed that some of the salary particulars given in the report are inaccurate.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga has rejected a Cabinet memorandum submitted by Power and Energy Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte to buy additional 50 bowsers for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) saying that she could not agree to the proposal as it 'lacks transparency'.

Cabinet approval was sought by the Minister on the ground that with the increase of thermal power generation by the CEB the Petroleum Corporation has been entrusted with delivering fuel to various power generation sites in large quantities and it was finding it difficult to fulfil the responsibility with the existing fleet.

The President has noted that the Cabinet memorandum seeks approval to buy 50 bowsers from a tenderer who has tendered for the supply of 30.

The President has noted that since another tender had been floated to procure 55 bowsers, "I cannot agree to the proposal which lacks in transparency".

The President has suggested that the second tender should be expedited and any more purchases from the earlier tenderer be deferred until the new offers are evaluated.

A tender board was appointed by the Cabinet on September 11, last year to determine the tender for the purchase of 55 bowsers. The minister had pointed out that it could take seven months to finalise the tender.

Nugegoda police have deployed 70 policemen, 40 in uniform and 30 in civvies backed by motorcycle patrols, to maintain security in the town where thousands of people go shopping during the Sinhala-Hindu New Year season.

Senior Superintendent of Police Nihal Dharmadasa appealed to the public to alert the closest policeman on duty if they see anything suspicious. The area under special surveillance is from Nugegoda High Level roundabout to Nawala road.

SSP Dharmadasa has also deployed four motorcycle partrols to assist the 70 policemen who are on duty. He has also deployed two police squads, one in High Level road and another in Parliament road to detect drivers who are after liquor during the season.

Trincomalee Urban Council, embroiled in a market tender issue, is now constructing a new Rs. 50m market at Keeraithoddam in the heart of Trincomalee town.

The new market will house 250 traders in 100 stalls and the cost of building will be borne by the Council.

In a letter to the North East Governor Gamini Fonseka, Trincomalee UC Chairman P. Sooriyamoorthy has stated that the decision to construct a new market is not the outcome of hatred towards anyone but to fulfil the needs of the increasing population in the town.

At present the Council is unable to collect taxes from vendors in the present vegetable market owing to a tender dispute. Furthermore the present market is being closed on Poya days against the UC decision, by the vendors.

By Nalika Rajapaksha

To escape unhurt after an emergency leap from more than 10,000 feet will be a life and death drama that pilot, Udeni Rajapaksha will never forget.

The date, March 15. Pilot Rajapaksha's mission on his Pucara aircraft was to engage a terrorist target in Kadiraveli off the Batticaloa district. He took off from Anuradhapura. Fifteen minutes later he heard a loud explosion. He had only a split second to decide on what to do.

With no time to contact anyone or make an emergency landing, he decided to eject himself. For a few seconds he lost consciousness but fortunately he had done all that was necessary to get the parachute opened up.

When he regained consciousness he saw the Pucara in flames and realized he was fast descending close to the Kaudulle tank.

After landing safely he climbed a tree in view of the ever present danger of terrorists or wild animals. From the tree he realized he was in the Medirigiriya jungle. Around 11.00 a.m. he noticed a military helicopter hovering over the area but couldn't draw its attention.

Having a food pack with him and water, Rajapaksha was confident he would be able to survive a few days in the jungle. However, he later decided to walk in the hope that he could find a way out. After an hour he saw an oncoming vehicle and heard a sigh of relief when he found they were a group of air force, police and civil officials on a search for him. He was in safe hands.

The time was around 3.15 a.m. when pilot Rajapaksha rejoined his fellow officers, ending the dramatic adventure.

By S.S. Selvanayagam

Amidst reports that 87 Tamil detainees at Wirawila Rehabilitation Camp were not being treated properly or trained, journalists were taken to the camp on a guided tour.

The group of journalists who were taken to the camp supposedly to witness the release of the detainees were in for a surprise from the moment they arrived there. A religious sermon was being given in Sinhala with a sketchy interpretation, while the absence of Christian or Hindu religious dignitaries was noted. Most of the detainees were Tamil speaking Hindus or Christians.

As soon as the religious ceremony was over, the journalists were asked to take their seats on the stage. The names of the journalists and the institutions they represented were announced to the gathering in Sinhala. In the gathering, officials of the National Youth Services Council and some security force personnel too were seated mingled with the detainees.

Captain Karunadhinithy, officer in charge of the camp said there was no truth in media stories that detainees in the camp had decided to stage a fast. Some youths in the camp observed a fast for seven days according to Hindu religious norms. The press had distorted this. We took these youths to Kataragama for worship with the permission of the minister. The northern youths in the camp are being trained in tailoring, masonry and carpentry, he said.

The journalists spoke to some of the detained youths.

T. Jeyarajah (32), had been picked up by the security forces at Sanguveli in Jaffna last year on suspicion of helping the Tamil Tigers. He was moved to Wirawila where he has been given a training in carpentry.

The others in this camp also had been taken into custody for allegedly helping the LTTE, while some had surrendered on their own.

Many detainees, both young men and women feel they do not want any rehabilitation and were unnecessarily being kept there. On the contrary the officials believe that the rehabilitation programme would help them to rebuild their future. They claimed that when they were brought to the camp they were told the rehabilitation programme would last only two months, but it had been prolonged for more than six months without any sign of their release.

The government has promulgated emergency regulations to prohibit the use of Electricity Board or company generated power for the operation of air conditioners, the Ministry of Power and Energy said yesterday.

However persons would be able to use their own generators for air conditioners.

Any person who contravenes the regulations will be liable to have his electricity supplies disconnected.

The regulation also said that electricity bulk supply consumers (a capacity of 50 KVA of electricity or above) who use or possess in-house generators should continue to use such generators for their electricity supply.

A UNP MP who claims he risked his life while visiting refugee camps in volatile parts of Batticaloa and Trincomalee has reported that conditions in some of the camps are sub-human with refugees lacking basic facilities.

Parliamentarian Jayalath Jayawardena who is on a UNP committee relating to refugee matters said he had informed foreign diplomats in Colombo about the pathetic conditions in the Camps.

In a letter to President Kumaratunge Dr. Jayawardene says he knows the govt. is not happy about his visits to the camps and has provided him no security, but that did not stop him from speaking out on behalf of thousands of innocent and defenceless people.

Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) has instructed its labour force to tear down election propaganda posters pasted on parapet walls of houses and buildings in the city.

However as the labourers are not given ladders they are unable to reach posters on higher elevations. CMC authorities say that about 60 percent of the defaced walls are now cleared. "No extra money is spent by us to clean the walls but a considerable amount of time is wasted in this process," CMC Commissioner said.

This job was earlier done by the Municipal Fire Brigade but as it is now under the Sri Lanka Air Force their services are not available.

Several Colombo residents were unhappy that the cleaning up left much to be desired.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted leave to proceed in a Fundamental Rights violation plea filed by the President of the Association of Public Service Engineers, Upali Delpechitre, against the Secretary, Ministry of Irrigation, Power and Energy, Jaliya Medagama, Chairman, Public Services Commission, Tissa Devendra and several others over his alleged premature retirement.

The petitioner who was the Deputy Director of Irrigation in charge of the Colombo range has charged in his application that the refusal to extend his services was arbitrary, male fide and biased.

He told court that the retirement order had been preceded by an inconclusive inquiry into certain allegations contained in a charge sheet and the action taken was not proportionate to the allegations levelled against him, even if they could be proved.

Moreover, the petitioner stated that he, being the President of the Association of Public Service Engineers, was actively engaged in promoting the legitimate demands of its members in which process he had fallen victim to the rival SLAS manipulations.

The court made an interim order suspending the operation of a letter to the petitioner by the Director General of the Irrigation Department enclosing a new charge sheet and sending the petitioner on retirement. The case will be heard on June 16.

The Bench comprised Justices M.D.H. Fernando, S.W.B. Wadugodapitiya and A.S. Wijetunga. D.S. Wijesinghe P.C. with J.C. Weliamuna supported the petition.

Continue to the News/Comment page 3 - * From bickering politics to statesmanship, * Torture train for refugees, * Money goes like water, * Kundasale chaos, * Who's the donkey?, * Aim for unitary status, Sangha Sabhava says, * Doctor held with medicine for Tigers, * Women's day exhibition, * Medical clinic for Gothami's ex-teachers, * Journalists vote in office bearers, * Ex-mayor writes to polls chief

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