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No-faith motion, Iraq war top House agenda

By Chandani Kirinde
A no-confidence motion against Defence Minister Tilak Marapana and a debate on the consequences of a possible war against Iraq on Sri Lanka will be among the items included in the business of Parliament during four days of sittings starting on Tuesday.

The opposition moved the no-confidence motion against Minister Marapana several months ago in the wake of communal clashes in Valaichchenai but the government had deferred the debate until now.

Opposition members said the debate was crucial in the wake of serious breaches of the ceasefire agreement by the LTTE, especially the Delft incident where three LTTE cadres blew themselves up after being detected that they were carrying weapons. They said they would also question the government's role in allowing the LTTE to bring in radio transmission equipment.

Meanwhile, the government will seek parliamentary approval for a treaty signed between the governments Sri Lanka and Germany in February 2000 concerning the promotion and reciprocal protection of investment.

Besides, the Employees Provident Fund (Amend-ment) Bill, the Housing Development Finance Corporation of Sri Lanka (Amendment) Bill and the Inland Revenue (Special provisions) Bill are also scheduled to be presented.

Nightmare at nightclub over girls, beer and cashew plate

By Tania Fernando
A night of fun turned out to be a nightmare for five boys who had visited a nightclub in Fort.

According to a complaint lodged by the five boys with the Fort police, they entered the nightclub in a hotel in Fort around 11.30 pm last Saturday after paying the Rs. 500 per head entrance fee.

On entering, a group of girls approached them and asked whether they would want a bottle of whiskey. The boys declined to order the bottle of whiskey, as the price was exorbitant. Instead, they ordered four cans of beer, according to the complaint.

The boys claimed that a nightclub employee had then told them that they could dance with the girls only if they bought eight cans of beer. The boys, however, stuck to their order of four cans.

After a few minutes one of the girls had approached a boy and insisted that he danced with her and while dancing a waiter had approached him with a plate of cashew nuts. When the boy protested that he did not order it, the plate was taken to the table where his friends were enjoying their beer.

When the boys denied having ordered the cashew nuts, nightclub security guards dragged the boy on the dancing floor out and allegedly assaulted him.The boys told police that when the assault took place, they paid for the cashew nuts. But they claimed the assault did not stop even after that.

"We were beaten by poles even after we told them that we had paid for the cashew nuts," one of the boys told The Sunday Times.

In the meantime, one of the boys rushed to the Fort police station and arrived there with a group of policemen.

Several security guards were arrested and three of them were identified at a magisterial court parade this week.

The Colombo Fort Magistrate had instructed the Fort Police to hand the case to the mediation board as there was a counter claim by the hotel security personnel.

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