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No VSAT communication unit imported by LTTE- PM Following is
the text of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's letter to President
Chandrika Kumaratunga in response to the concerns raised by her
with regard to the import of sophisticated communication equipment
by the Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka for use by the LTTE. I write with
reference to your letter of December 30, 2002 on the FM radio transmission
facilities for use by the LTTE Peace Secretariat and the attached
copy of your letter to the Prime Minister of Norway. I presume you
would have had the opportunity to see the Government's statement
on this matter, which was published in the media on December 28.
In case you have not, I am attaching a copy of this document for
your information. Since the Government's
statement contains much of the information regarding the concerns
you have expressed in your letter to the Prime Minister of Norway,
I shall only briefly elaborate on issues, which may require further
clarification. I note too that we will have the opportunity of discussing
this matter fully shortly. In your enumeration of what you call "the relevant facts regarding this incident" in your letter to the Prime Minister of Norway, you have taken up four specific matters. 1. The import
in the consignment of a VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) communication
unit, which you say, even the Government of Sri Lanka does not possess. 2. The inclusion
of a Radio Data System RDS capable of sending data from point to
point. 3. The FM frequency
range in the equipment imported by the LTTE, which appears to be
wider than the frequencies allotted to other FM radio stations operating
in Sri Lanka. 4. The consignment of radio broadcasting equipment to the Embassy of the Royal Norwegian Government in Sri Lanka, intended for the use of the LTTE which was received and cleared from the Port of Colombo without payment of Customs duty. Let me briefly
recapitulate what has been more comprehensively explained in the
Government's statement. On October l, 2002 the Political Headquarters
of the LTTE in Kilinochchi informed my Secretary that the LTTE were
now engaging in a dissemination campaign about the peace process
and that they had purchased a new FM radio transmitter which they
would like to bring to the Wanni. They requested
that the relevant authorities be informed to give Customs clearance
for the equipment and that it would be appreciated if they could
receive the equipment without delay and on a tax-free basis. The
Government decision on this, in principle, was that FM transmitting
facilities should be provided since dissemination of information
regarding the peace process, particularly in the North and East
was important. As regards the matter of duty free import, the LTTE
were to be informed that this concession could not be granted as
it was against Government policy to make any exceptions regarding
Customs duty and VAT. Thereafter,
the LTTE were informed that a formal application with prescribed
information, regarding such matters as location of the station,
expected area of coverage, the power for transmission, frequencies
and other operational details, programme composition etc, should
be sent in to the Ministry of Mass Communication, so that the application
could receive full consideration by the Ministry and the TRCSL,
before arriving at a final decision. In arriving at our decision
in principle to consider the LTTE's request the following considerations
were uppermost in mind: * That even
at present, the LTTE are operating an unauthorised radio transmission
facility popularly known as the 'Voice of the Tigers' (VOT). This,
Your Excellency, as you are well aware, has been in operation for
several years and has been totally uncontrolled by any governmental
authority; * The request
for a licence, for the first time in the history of the 20-year
conflict in which the LTTE have been engaged in with the Government
indicated a welcome change of attitude. It signalled the LTTE's
acceptance and willingness to come within the ambit of Sri Lankan
laws and regulations. In fact the Government is pleased that through
the grant of such a licence to the LTTE Peace Secretariat radio
transmissions by the LTTE are being brought for the first time,
under the laws of Sri Lanka. The licence that was finally given
by the Ministry of Mass Communication on November 11, 2002 in terms
of Section 44 of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Act No. 37 of 1966 subjects
the holder of the licence, (that is the LTTE Peace Secretariat),
to specific conditions regarding the content and manner of their
future broadcasting. The LTTE having a legal radio channel has to
be placed in the context of the positive developments towards permanent
peace in Sri Lanka. You yourself
have referred at the commencement of your letter to the Prime Minister
of Norway the efforts made during your period of nearly three years
to enter into direct negotiations with the LTTE. Finally, and
no doubt assisted by the foundation that you "laid, it was
possible for the Government through the signing of the MoU with
the LTTE on 22nd February 2002 to give practical effect to the commencement
of the transformation of the LTTE from being, as you have said "one
of the world's most ruthless and murderous organisations into a
political grouping within the mainstream of the Sri Lankan political
system." I believe this
profound paradigm shift, which is now in effect, has been favourably
recognised and commented on publicly by the international community
as well. Making available community radio broadcasting facilities,
under regulation by the Government, was seen as one way of encouraging
forward movement in this positive direction. Let me now
deal with your concerns: 1. VSAT Communication
Unit:Although one unit of VSAT communication equipment valued at
US Dollars 25,000 was
listed in the list of items to be imported by the LTTE, and although
the Government statement of December 28 presumed that it had been
brought in with the FM radio equipment consignment, I am now informed
both by the Customs and the LTTE Peace Secretariat, that this unit
(for which clearance had been approved by the TRCSL) was not shipped
from Singapore and has not in fact been brought into the country. Since your
letter to the Prime Minister of Norway says that even the Government
of Sri Lanka does not have such equipment, let me inform you that
the SLT certainly does have VSAT communication facilities. In addition
there are apparently 16 other authorised VSAT operators in the country
in addition to several unauthorised ones. Even some foreign correspondents
are known to be using VSAT communication units for filing their
reports overseas, up linking to the satellite without going through
the SLT international switch. You may recall that as far back as
1996 a facility-based data communication system was given to Ceycom
Global Communication Ltd, which has now some 42 VSAT earth terminals
in their system. In this regard
you might remember that the National Communication Policy, which
was approved by the Cabinet on November 13, 2002 refers to the liberalisation
of VSAT transmissions in the future in view of the well known fact
that information communication technology has been very rapidly
evolving across the world. This will mean
that in future any person could import VSAT equipment with the approval
of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC). The up-linking
frequency would of course need to be assigned by the TRC. So in
the light of what has been happening here and elsewhere your agitation
in regard to VSAT equipment is unclear. Also you will undoubtedly
be greatly relieved to know that the VSA T equipment has not been
imported. 2. Radio Data
System (Audio):The other question you have raised is that of the
Radio Data System (RDS). This as Your
Excellency may know is an essential part of a FM radio station and
all private FM radio stations in Sri Lanka have this equipment.
This cannot emit any radio frequency. The value of this equipment
was only US Dollars 800. 3. FM Frequency
Range:With reference to the FM frequency range, which you have also
found suspicious, the explanation I believe is also quite simple.
Different manufacturers evidently have different frequency bands
in the FM radio system. The English may manufacture within a certain
frequency band and the US manufactures in another. What is important
is the spot frequency that is allocated by the TRCSL. In this case
it is 98 Mhz which no existing operator has been assigned. The Regulatory
Authority has the powers to monitor the frequency and the radiated
power . 4. The Role
of the Norwegian Embassy:The major concern that you have referred
in your letter to the Prime Minister of Norway is that
of the involvement of the Norwegian Embassy in assisting in the
importation of the radio transmission equipment. My observation
on this is as follows: The Government
had decided that the acquisition of a FM radio transmission facility
would enhance the peace process. With the intention of assisting
in this endeavour, the Government sought to utilise the good offices
of the Royal Norwegian government, which had done so much to facilitate
the peace process, to assist in the clearance of the equipment through
the Customs. One of the reasons for obtaining the assistance of
Norway was that as the facilitator if the consignment was found
to contain anything other than what was intended that is, radio
transmission equipment, the Government was going to disallow the
import and send the consignment back. It was in these circumstances
that the Norwegian Embassy acted as the consignee with the objective
of transmitting the security cleared consignment to the SCOPP (the
Peace Secretariat) which would in turn transmit it to the LTTE Peace
Secretariat. However, even
before this clearance was done the Government took the step of ensuring
that the items would be subject to the strictest check. A four-member
expert team consisting of senior officials of the Rupavahini Corporation,
Sri Lanka Air Force, Sri Lanka Army and the Ministry of Mass Communications
thereupon went to the Customs warehouse and after opening the packages
examined all the equipment. They confirmed that the equipment was
such that was needed for FM radio transmissions and also made some
technical observations. These have been conveyed to the LTTE Peace
Secretariat for compliance. It was this team, which confirmed that
the VSAT equipment was not among the list of items which were imported. You will appreciate
that the FM radio transmission equipment after checking was sealed
and finally sent to the LTTE Peace Secretariat under armed guard.
This was done to prevent any other material being introduced into
the packages or any items being removed. The matter
that awaits settlement is that of the duty payable since, after
import by the Embassy the goods were passed on to the SCOPP as the
SCQPP is an agency of the Government. The Minister of Finance will
determine in the next few days the manner in which the issue of
duty payable will be resolved. While endorsing
your assertion that the Norwegian Government and its Embassy here
have been always fully supportive of our efforts to consolidate
the peace process, I must urge a note of caution in your intended
intervention with the Prime Minister of Norway. The Norwegian peace
support team of Deputy Minister Vidar Helgessen, Eric Solheim and
Jon Westborg have, as you know, been extremely active in facilitating
the peace process. Ambassador
Jon Westborg has been in service here for almost six years and has
an unrivalled experience of the ground realities in Sri Lanka. It
is known that the credentials of his successor have been handed
over to the Foreign Ministry in mid-November and that on completion
of his assignment in Colombo he will be shortly returning to Norway.
Undoubtedly the Government of Norway will continue to utilise his
expertise. I think therefore that as a Government we should exercise
due care, at this critical stage in the peace process, to ensure
that the enthusiasm of the Norwegian facilitation and the momentum
thus far generated continues undiminished. Since you have
released copies of your letters to the media, I am doing so myself
since the public need to be kept fully informed. Yours sincerely, Ranil
Wickremesinghe |
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