AN 32 mishap
For the AN 32s of the Sri Lanka Air Force, snags seem to be never ending.
Last week a plane load of troops bound for Palaly had the shock of their lives.
An Ukranian pilot who was at the controls taxied the AN 32 for take off. Just as he readied to roll out, one of the engines failed.
They had to carry out a systems check and put things right before the flight resumed. Whether the problem was caused by the lack of proper maintenance is not known.
The loss of 16 SLAF aircraft during the two year long Eelam War Three - four every six months - has drawn the attention of aircraft suppliers. Many are making new bids.
And this week, in Colombo is a team from the manufacturers of AN 32s. They are also making a strong bid to secure orders to replenish the SLAF fleet.
Promotion after retirement
The Sri Lanka Navy has been in the media focus in the past few weeks.
It has ranged from achievements in the battlefield to controversial procurements from foreign suppliers of military hardware.
Now comes the news that the former Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Daluwattege Anthony Mohan Reginald Samarasekera VSV, USP has been promoted to the rank of Admiral. The promotion, already gazetted, will be retrospectively from January 27, 1997 - the day he retired.
Through another gazette notification, he has been transferred from the regular force of the Sri Lanka Navy to the Regular Naval Reserve.
Courting gunfire
The influx of displaced persons to controlled areas helped the security forces discover what may have been a deadly security threat.
A large number of men, women and children who moved from the Mannar (Palavi) areas travelled in boats hugging the western coast thus avoiding detection by shore based radars. That was less risky for the displaced persons. If they were further into the sea, there were chances of their being mistaken for Tiger guerrillas. That would be courting gunfire from the troops.
But the troops were soon to discover that the guerrillas themselves could have arrived in the controlled area using the same method. That would have made things worse.
But the matter has now been rectified.
They are refuelling.
The rumour mill was busy last week building on the understanding President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Opposition Leader, Ranil Wickremasinghe, reached to adopt a bipartisan approach to the ethnic problem.
One story doing the rounds said plane loads of British assistance was arriving at the Bandaranaike International Airport every day, sometimes both in the morning and at night.
No such thing. An assortment of Royal Air Force aircraft are making refuelling stops in Colombo en-route to Malaysia where a joint British-Malaysian military exercise is under way.
Well, there is a benefit for Sri Lanka too. They pay for the refuelling.
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