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How will Bala come ?
Tiger guerrilla chief negotiator and ideologue, Dr. Anton Balasingham, is due in the Wanni anytime in the next few days.

How he will reach there is the question that is puzzling even UNF leaders. They are still awaiting word from the Norwegian facilitators. Although he was due yesterday, plans have now changed for a later arrival.

According to highly placed intelligence sources, an arrival from Maldives in a hired seaplane is ruled out. This is after an encounter on the last occasion when it flew low over Naval craft that had surrounded a flotilla of Sea Tiger boats. A return through the Bandaranaike International Airport, as sections of the media speculated, the same sources say, is highly unlikely.

That leaves a return from a southern Indian state. The sources believe initiatives are still under way, through the good offices of Norway, to obtain permission from the Central Government in India, for Dr. Balasingham to fly from Kerala to the Wanni in a hired helicopter. The request is said to have been made through Indian Defence Minister, George Fernandez, but intelligence sources say no final confirmation has still arrived.

Dr. Balasingham's presence in the Wanni, for talks with Tiger guerrilla leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, is said to be a crucial matter in view of the upcoming second round of peace talks in the Thai Naval resort of Sattahip.

The Tiger guerrilla delegation for the talks this time is to include the leader of the Political Wing, S.P. Tamil Chelvan and others. How he will travel from the Wanni is still not clear.

Their presence in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) delegation has already led to Norwegian facilitators making special arrangements. Since Mr. Chelvan is to speak in Tamil, translators are also to be engaged. The talks in Thailand are scheduled to take place from October 31 to November 3.

With the concurrence of both the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE, the conference has now been extended by a further day i.e. until November 4.

This is in view of the time that will be consumed by Tamil speeches and the need to have them translated into English.

Tri services in crisis
Whilst the attention of the entire na tion is focused on the UNF Government's peace initiatives, day-to-day activities in the nation's three premier security arms, the Army, Navy and Air Force are being hit by inaction at the highest levels.

In the Army, where for the first time the Commander (Lt. Gen. Lionel Balagalle) and his Director of Military Intelligence (Brig. Kapila Hendavithana) are facing charges in the Chief Magistrate's Court in Kandy for storing explosives at their Safe House in Athurugiriya, posting orders to position officers in various important positions have not been approved for over a month.

These orders from Army Headquarters, issued periodically and approved by the Ministry of Defence, name senior officers for appointments to various important positions including Army establishments countrywide. An over a month long delay by the MoD has led to several officers idling. At the highest level, it includes a Major General who has returned three months ago after a training stint abroad.

In the Sri Lanka Navy, its Commander, Vice Admiral Daya Sandagiri, is busy with an inquiry against his own number two and others, of all things, on the ground that his life is in danger This is for allegedly photographing his private residence (where he does not live) thus threatening his life. Factionalism has split the Navy apart so much that training and other activity is now receiving low priority.

In the Air Force, there is no Commander and no Chief of Staff. The Commander, Air Marshal Donald Perera, is away on a private visit to Singapore. A Chief of Staff has not been appointed. Hence, Air Commodore Laksen Salgado, Director of Operations, is only "overlooking" the work of the Commander. On top of that, the post of Chief of Defence Staff, has remained vacant for the past three months. Acting in this military post, which deals with operational matters, is Defence Secretary Austin Fernando.

Cricket live in New York
Sri Lankan expatriates in the United States, who traditionally relish their string hoppers, katta sambol and ambul thial, can now watch "live" cricket matches as and when they are played in Colombo. On Monday, the Dish Network brought the finals of the Champions Trophy on live television as hundreds and thousands of Sri Lankan and Indians watched the rained-out finals on the pay-per-view channel, which provided a ball-by-ball commentary of the match.

The cost for semi-final and final matches was $99 (about Sri Lankan Rupees 9,000). Sri Lankan Airlines was one of the advertisers. "It was a tremendous boost for Sri Lankan tourism in the United States. And it was a golden opportunity to promote Sri Lankan Airlines", Dilan Ariyawansa, Sales and Marketing Manager - USA, for Sri Lankan Airlines, said.

In characteristic Sri Lankan style, Ariyawansa organised a kiributh party at his residence for cricket enthusiasts - which was virtually the entire expatriate community in town, since there is a 10 hour time difference between Colombo and New York, Ariyawansa's guests arrived at his home at 3 a.m. because the finals began at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. New York time.

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