Discussions on whether to hold a referendum or the provincial Councils election first have been postponed for March, People's Alliance General Secretary D.M Jayaratne said.
Holding the referendum, is the key to introducing the government's political package, Mr. Jayaratne said adding that it is the public who will give the final verdict on the package.
He said the PA will go ahead with the package despite protests from the Mahanayakes, opposition parties, and other interested groups, all of whom were against the devolution of power.
Meanwhile Ven. Sobitha Thera who was spearheading protest campaigns against the devolution proposals, also expressed his opposition to the UNP's alternative proposals which also contained elements of devolution.
Sobitha Thera said that the Mahanayakes are presently studying the UNP's proposals. But, 'The Sunday Times' learns that all the Mahanayakes have expressed their disappointment over the UNP's proposals as they feel it is somewhat similar to PA's proposals.
Directories Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., official publishers of the Sri Lanka Telephone directories and Yellow pages says a misprint has occurred in the government index of 1998 directories of Greater Colombo.
Marketing Manageress Anusha Perera says two of the pages in the government index have been misprinted but there is no problem in the rest of the directory.
Customers could request for a corrected directory or seek any other assistance from the publishers, she says.
The opposition UNP launched its people's petition to impeach President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Friday with a picketing campaign and a massive public rally in Galle.
UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the rally said the problems and chaos the PA were creating with its short-sighted policies and astoundingly poor adminstration would have long-term effects on the country and it would require not one but three formidable cabinets to solve them.
Ranil at the protest meeting
Mr. Wickremesinghe also said the issue of President Kumaratunga's interview with the Time magazine, where she had reportedly offered the administration of the north to the LTTE for ten years, had raised eyebrows and created more confusion among people.
"Minister G.L. Peiris was unable to give a satisfactory reply when this issue was raised in Parliament. A President's term of office, being just six years, she has no moral right to take upon herself the right to offer a part of Sri Lanka to the LTTE for ten years," he said.
Describing the offer as an example of her short-sighted policies and authoritarian rule, Mr. Wickremesinghe said the President had not consulted any one, not even her Cabinet colleagues, when she made this offer.
The UNP youth front members organised a picketing in front of the Olcott Square to coincide with the launch of the people's petition which will be handed over to Speaker K. B. Ratnayake after it is signed by one million people.
Security Force Commander (North) Maj. Gen. Lionel Balagalle told visiting Colombo based journalists at Palaly that security forces suggested a two-hour ceasefire after the LTTE attack on the army camps of Kilinochchi, Paranthan and Elephant Pass on February 1 to facilitate the handing over the dead bodies of the LTTE cadres but the LTTE did not respond positively.
He said that he offered to hand over about 200 dead bodies of LTTE members recovered after the attack on army camps on February 1.
He added that the bodies were in good condition at the time and the offer was made at 1 p. m. on February 1 through the ICRC but there was no proper response from the LTTE until 8 a. m. on February 2, then came the reply from LTTE giving certain conditions.
This was given careful consideration by the security forces and was agreed in full. Security Forces suggested that there should not be any offensive action one hour before the hand over until one hour after in all areas of Kilinochchi, Paranthan, Elephant Pass and the hand over to be done at 4.15 p. m., he said.
But the LTTE responded after 8 hours at 2 p. m. stating that they cannot agree to cease offensive action in all areas but only at the location of hand over. It was then pointed out that such a condition could endanger the lives of ICRC personnel and to reconsider same, he said.
The final reply came from LTTE at 5 p. m. with no change in their condition and it was at 5.05 p. m. 27 hours after the offer that the security forces informed the LTTE through ICRC the bodies are getting decomposed, hence would be cremated as there was no choice left, he added.
But when the LTTE offered the bodies of 41 soldiers it was promptly agreed and taken over at Vavuniya. It was amply demonstrated by the LTTE in this instance that they were not interested in obtaining the dead bodies of LTTE members for reasons best known to them, Maj. Gen. Balagalle said.
Meanwhile Security Forces and LTTE last Tuesday exchanged the one soldier and one LTTE cadre killed in the confrontation at Mirusuvil North in Thenmaratchi previous day. Arrangements for the exchange of bodies was done by the ICRC.
Following the last Monday's confrontation at Mirusuvil North, Security Forces handed over a dead LTTE cadre body to the Jaffna hospital.
On learning that the body of the soldier who was initially presumed to be missing in action was in the hands of the LTTE, the ICRC made arrangements for the exchange of bodies.
Observers said that it is the first time that the security forces and the LTTE have exchanged bodies in the Jaffna district which is under the control of the forces but the ICRC did not reveal where the bodies were exchanged.
An alleged plot to kill an MP of a breakaway group of the EPDP has been revealed after the man assigned for the job reportedly refused to carry out the task and informed the police, but the party has dismissed the whole affair as a political stunt.
The Jaffna District parliamentarian, N.R. Ramamoorthy, who broke away from the EPDP last year along with his brother Ramalingam, was to be killed by throwing a hand grenade into his house at Martin Road in Jaffna. A man said to have close links with the EPDP had allegedly contacted a neighbour of the MP and handed him two grenades along with Rs. 50,000 for the job.
However, the neighbour, had refused to carry out the killing and went to the Jaffna police.
The police acting on the complaint had arrested a person identified as Thavaraja Kaviraja. The suspect was produced before the Jaffna Magistrate, S. Balachandran who after an inquiry allowed the suspect bail in Rs. 5,000.
The Editor of Ravaya has accused the Attorney General of violating his 'constitutional rights to equality', freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to engage in his lawful profession, by prosecuting him indiscriminately for criminal defamation.
Editor Victor Ivan has stated in a fundamental rights petition to the Supreme Court that he has been subjected to harassment by the Attorney General who has filed several indictments against him for criminal defamation.
This has been done indiscriminately, arbitrarily and for collateral purposes without proper assessment of the facts as required by law for criminal defamation prosecution, and without regard to the constitutional guarantees given to journalists. As a result his fundamental right to equality has been violated, Mr. Ivan has said..
He has also said that due to such action of the Attorney General he and other journalists have been intimidated to the extent that his right to freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to engage in his lawful profession has been violated.
Mr. Ivan has claimed that he is being continuously questioned by the CID on several publications and that he is compelled to spend considerable time in court as a result. He states that he considers the filing of most of these cases as personal harassment.
By an open letter published in Ravaya on November 2, 1997, Mr. Ivan had addressed a letter to Justice Minister G L Peiris on several matters, including the conduct of the Attorney General's Department. In this open letter, the editor had requested the government not to disrupt the work of journalists who are acting in the interests of the public and had stated that the government did not see a distinction between hard core criminals and journalists.
The Editor also cites several instances where his newspaper has questioned the conduct of the Attorney General on matters of "tremendous public interest". These include the Divulapitiya abduction case, the well-known Carlton Casino case involving the son of the Deputy Defense Minister, and the inquiry into the conduct of a Deputy Solicitor General of the Department in dealing with a file relating to one of his brothers-in-law.
Mr. Ivan states that he understands that future criminal defamation prosecutions are also being considered against him in respect of articles published regarding allegations of personal impropriety against a judicial officer and with reference to a political column regarding a public servant.
The last indictment against him by the Attorney General was in relation to an article exposing a former Fisheries Minister, Joseph Michael Perera with regard to irregularities in awarding a contract to his son's company, and causing financial loss to the Government. It has been pointed out that a senior officer of the Attorney General's Department had been the legal advisor to the Minister of Fisheries at that time.
Mr. Ivan has prayed that the Supreme Court, besides declaring that his fundamental rights have been violated, make order suspending the High Court trials in case numbers 7962/96, 8650/97 and 9128/97 until the final determination of the application. He has also asked for Rupees one million as compensation.
Filing of the Ravaya fundamental rights petition comes in the context of at least five criminal defamation prosecutions launched against the Editors of Sri Lankan newspapers since 1994. Two such prosecutions against The Sunday Times and the Lakbima for defamation of the President concluded recently with the Editor of The Sunday Times being convicted and the Editor of the Lakbima acquitted on publication of a news item with substantially the same content. Another defamation suit against Lakbima by Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera was withdrawn following the state consenting to a settlement.
At present, the All Party Parliamentary Select Committee which is currently sitting has asked representations to be made before it on the abolition of the Law of Criminal defamation from the country's statute books.
Continue to the News/Comment page 4 * MP says goon squads linked to defence VIPs * Why Lakbima editor was acquitted
Return to the News/Comment contents page
| HOME PAGE | FRONT PAGE | EDITORIAL/OPINION | PLUS | TIMESPORTS
Please send your comments and suggestions on this web site to
info@suntimes.is.lk or to
webmaster@infolabs.is.lk