Clarification

It is learnt that the determination of the Court regarding the Bill has been forwarded to Parliament and in accordance with normal procedure will be announced by the Speaker at the next sitting of the House, scheduled for June 8. The determination relates to eleven petitions filed against the Bill.

Deadly blow for cancer patients

Patients said the machine in unit one of the hospital had broken down last week and according to officials it cannot be repaired until an expert is brought down from Canada.

Patients from all parts of the country, some of them travelling from as far away as 200 kilometres come to Maharagama daily for Radium Treatment and what has happened now is a deadly blow to suffering patients.

They appealed to pilanthropists and generous well-wishers to come forward in raising funds to get another one of these life saving machines.

Salaka partner dies in accident

Mr. Neththikumara, brother of Gamini Neththikumara, the Senkada (Salaka) group owner, was killed when he was returning home after attending a function where he had met his brother Gamini. They had planned to visit their mother on Saturday.

His vehicle had hit the centre island and had turned turtle while he was thrown out of the vehicle. Mr. Neththikumara was the current President of the Otters Club, former Vice President of the Sri Lanka Cycle Federation and a promoter of the Sri Lanka Bridge Federation. He leaves his wife, Vajira and three children. The cremation will take place at the General Cemetery, Borella on Wednesday.

Arms withdrawn after clashes

By S.Selvanayagam

Security force personnel are disarming the two groups from Monday in a bid to minimise the intensity of the clashes. But yesterday morning an abandoned PLOTE office was blasted. Reports said, when the security forces wanted PLOTE cadres to surrender their weapons, they refused. 

Brigadier S. Jayawardene told them he was carrying out an order from higherup. After the Brigadier gave them one-and-a-half hours to consider the order, the PLOTE cadres surrendered a set of guns.

The smouldering enmity between the two Tamil groups flared up last week with the gunning down of two TELO leaders along with a party supporter in the heart of Colombo city last Saturday evening. 

In an apparent retaliation within a couple of hours, two PLOTE cadres and two supporters were hacked and shot dead in sperate incidents in Vavuniya. 

200 monks on peace mission to north

By Shelani de Silva

The Ven. Kumburugamuwe Vajira Nayaka Thera, who has been in the forefront of peace moves during the past few months, told The Sunday Times the peace delegation and the monks would leave for the north tomorrow on a mission aimed at providing relief and consolation to tens of thousands of displaced people in the LTTE controlled areas of the Wanni. 

He said they hoped to rebuild trust and confidence between the two communities as a means of creating a better environment for peace talks. 

The delegation on its way to Jaffna will conduct a medical clinic for the displaced people and a peace seminar in the Madhu area. They will also distribute school books and other material.

The peace group representing the religious and national alliances for peace on its first visit in February held talks with top LTTE leaders and reported that the rebels were keen on a dialogue to end the conflict. 

They also visited the displaced people and later met President Kumaratunga to tell her of the immense suffering those people were going through without basic needs of food, medicine and educational facilities.

President Kumaratunga told the peace delegation the government was also ready for talks but on condition that the LTTE drops its demand for a separate state and agrees to a timeframe. 

She told the delegation she would do everything to provide what was needed for the displaced people through government and other channels.

Ven. Vajira Nayaka Thera, former vice chancellor of the Buddhist and Pali University, said they would explain the government's position to the LTTE during the Vesak peace mission.

Tigers burn trial bus

The bus from the Vavuniya Deprt, was set on fire in the Kalmadu area about 10 km from Vavuniya town after the LTTE ordered a group of officials travelling on the bus to get off.

The depot had put the bus on a trial run along with some depot officials who were looking into the possibility of resuming normal bus services in the area.

Rickety vehicles off the roads

Motor Traffic Commissioner D.S. Edirisinghe said that under the new programme random checks on vehicles were being conducted by Motor Traffic officials and the Traffic Police to ascertain their road worthiness.

He said that after a monthly check of about 1000 vehicles island wide, about 400 were banned from the roads.

Mr. Edirisinghe said these vehicles would be banned from the roads until they were fully repaired and fitness certificates were obtained.

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