• Cloud over magistrates transfers
• LTTE hand untying the noose in India
• Asian pirates sell arms to LTTE
• Toilet spoils taste of paradise
• Sri Lankan: What are friends for?
• Tailor-made soldiers
• Teachers plugging bras and perfumes
• Making Indo-Lanka ties stronger
• Election News
• Gentle wisdom was Willie's gem
• Victory for idealistic fools or sour cynics? - Focus on Rights
• Don't disgrace our soldiers - Police Problems

Cloud over magistrates transfers

By Ayesha R. Rafiq

A list of magisterial transfers due to take place with effect from January 1 next year will be finalised this week, Judicial Service Commission sources told The Sunday Times.

The controversial list is being objected to by Magistrates alleging that they are being unwillingly transferred due to political reasons.

JSC Secretary A.W.A. Salam said the list was still not complete as appeals against such transfers were being now considered. But other sources said the list was due to be finalised next week.

A senior magistrate who has already received transfer orders said there were no reasons given for the transfer. He also said it was not likely that it was an annual transfer as he had served in the district for less than a year, and transfer orders were generally received after three years.

He also pointed out that in cases of sudden transfer a hearing was usually conducted before the transfer. The magistrate alleged that he was being transferred out due purely to political reasons.

While the Galle Additional Magistrate F.R. Fernandopulle has, according to JSC Secretary, been interdicted on grounds of general inefficiency, the Kandy Additional Magistrate has also received transfer orders, reportedly to Kebetigollewa.

Among the several other transfers due to take place are those of the Kandy, Gampaha and Hambantota Magistrates and Kandy Additional Magistrate. The Tissamaharama Magistrate is also due to be transferred out while the Kalutara Magistrate is reportedly due to be placed on compulsory retirement. A majority of these transfers are reportedly taking place against the wishes of the magistrates, many of whom are said to have served less than three years in their respective courts.

High Court judge Mahanama Tillekeratne who was last year caught up in an alleged attempted murder controversy against his Army officer neighbour was recently transferred to Balapitiya while a High Court judge has also reportedly received transfer orders.

Meanwhile Mr. Salam said representations had been made to President Kumaratunga to appoint a committee of Appeal Court judges to look into the charges against interdicted Fort Magistrate M.G. Wijetunge.

LTTE hand untying the noose in India

A fresh wave of protest against the imposition of the death penalty in India has been launched there following renewed interest about the persons who have been convicted in the Gandhi assassination case.

The Tamil Nadu state assembly was rocked with a noisy debate calling for the abolition of the death sentence altogether while other groups too have being lobbying for it.

Observers say the timing of the call is linked to the decision of the Indian Supreme Court turning down appeals by the four persons who were sentenced to death for the Rajiv Gandhi killing which is widely attributed to the LTTE.

The four persons were due to be hanged on November 5, but the execution was stayed after several clemency appeals were made to the President.

They said it was possible that the LTTE was triggering off the call for the abolition of the death penalty.

Meanwhile, Sonia Gandhi, widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has pleaded with the Indian President to commute the death sentence imposed on Nalini, one of the LTTE members convicted of assassinating her husband.

Ms. Gandhi, President of the Congress (I), held a private meeting with President K. R. Narayanan and conveyed her feelings, and those of her children, to spare the life of Nalini on the grounds that she was mother of a seven-year-old child. Nalini, along with three other LTTE members, Murugan, Peranvulan and Santhan were sentenced to death for their part in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi using a human-bomber Dhanu, while he was campaigning in Tamil Nadu in 1991.

There were reports in the Indian media that an NGO, Guild of Service (GoS) had lobbied Ms. Gandhi for clemency. Its Chairperson Mohini Giri met Ms. Gandhi and pleaded with her to urge the President to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment. GoS is also to file a mercy petition in court.

Reports of the GoS move along with Ms. Gandhi's plea for clemency for Nalini on the grounds that no child should be orphaned or suffer by an act of the State came amidst a noisy debate in the Tamil Nadu State Assembly on Thursday calling for the abolition of the death sentence altogether.

The call came from the pro-BJP chief Minister M Karuna-nidhi during an adjournment motion debate on this week's riot at the Chennai Central prison where one jailor was burnt alive and nine inmates shot dead by riot police.

Mr. Karunanidhi, a one time LTTE sympathiser, who has had an off-on relationship with the rebel organisation said his views against the death penalty were echoed in most countries, and that his remarks would not apply to the Rajiv Gandhi case.

Tamil Nadu Opposition Leader S Balakrishnan (TMC) is reported to have criticized Mr. Karunanidhi for not upholding the correctness of the death sentence to the four convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.

Another MLA, I Ganeshan (PMK) referred to human rights activists petitioning President Narayanan to commute the death sentence for the Rajiv killers under the guise of scrapping the death penalty.

Another claimed that the international conspiracy behind Rajiv Gandhi's killing had yet to be unravelled and therefore the mercy petitions had to be supported. Mr. Dheeran, an MLA and an LTTE sympathiser, told the Assembly: "Can it be denied that it was Rajiv Gandhi who had given a bullet-proof jacket to the LTTE supremo V. Prabhakaran?".

The prison riot debate brought up the LTTE issue in the South Indian state. There were unconfirmed reports that the four LTTE convicts were at the Chennai Central prison.

The execution of the four convicts has been stayed but the mercy petitions on behalf of all four have been rejected by the Tamil Nadu Governor. The Madras High Court has reserved orders on the petitions filed by the four challenging the Governor's decision.

Asian pirates sell arms to LTTE

The 10 pirates, who hijacked the Japanese Cargo Vessel, Alondra Rainbow on October 22 are believed to have bartered 3,000 tonnes of aluminium ingots in the ship's hold for arms and ammunition and supplied the consignment to the LTTE before they were intercepted on the high seas off the Goa Coast on Tuesday, The New Indian Express reported.

This is evident from the fact that only 4000 tonnes of the white metal were recovered from the vessel, which was intercepted by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard after it is suspected to have sailed from Colombo.

The barter is believed to have taken place in Cambodia, which is known for its gun running activities.

The ship was hijacked soon after it left the Port of Kuala Tanjung in North Sumatra, Indonesia, the Japanese crew have told the Thailand Marine Police who found them marooned near the shore. They said the vessel had been hijacked by 10 men, believed to be of Indonesian nationality, wielding swords and pistols. According to Coast Guard officials the 3000 tonnes of ingots could have fetched $ 3 million in the 'grey' market.

They said the pirates are suspected to have sailed the Alondra Rainbow to an unknown destination in Cambodia, which is also known to have links with insurgents in North-East India. From here the pirates are believed to have berthed in Thailand before proceeding to Colombo.

In January last year, a consignment of sophisticated arms from Cambodia was seized from the Andaman Islands.

Intelligence sources say the earlier consignment too had originated in Cambodia and came via Thailand.

Toilet spoils taste of paradise

By Nilika de Silva

Passengers on SriLankan Airlines flight UL 506 from London to Colombo were subjected to a nightmare voyage courtesy of the craft, captain and crew, on November 6 and 7.

The flight which was scheduled to leave London's Heathrow airport at 10.25 a.m. on November 6, took off at 11.10 a.m, only to return a few hours later and was rescheduled to leave a day later.

Passengers who had checked in three hours before the flight were kept starving for eleven hours, until they were checked in for the night at the Renaissance Hotel at about 6 p.m.

There was something wrong with a toilet on the plane, which made it necessary to turn the plane around, ditch excess fuel and land at Heathrow a couple of hours after taking off.

"About one hour into the flight (somewhere over France) two or three members of the cabin crew were seen inspecting the area around the right hand side of the rear exit door, next to the toilets," one passenger, Adrian Ratnayake said. "The floor area was sprayed with a substance and four passengers were moved to the crew area at the rear," he said.

"After about 20 minutes there was an obnoxious smell and when we inquired about it we were told that sewage was escaping into the cabin area around certain seats at the rear," Mr. Ratnayake said adding that soon afterwards the chief steward and two flight deck crew members also inspected the area and left.

About 15 minutes after the inspection an announcement was made by the Captain that there was a problem with a toilet and a decision had been taken to turn around and return to Heathrow, another passenger said, adding that the Captain had further said that because the plane had a full load of fuel, he would have to dump the fuel before landing.

Meanwhile, no food had been served, with only orange juice and water given out, even though cabin crew were observed taking trays of rolls to the front section. "We then had to ask for rolls, and only those who asked were given," another passenger said.

One diabetic patient, said she was on insulin and since her sugar level was dropping had requested a bread roll. This request too was ignored for some time, until it was repeated very forcefully.

The next day when the passengers boarded the plane they had noticed that the problem toilet was still closed and sealed.

Having inquired as to why this toilet was still out of action, they had been told by the cabin crew that the blockage was cleared, but the repairs would take longer and as such the toilet would remain sealed.

Meanwhile, more than half way to Colombo a second toilet at the very rear of the plane was also closed, due to another leakage or similar problem.

Five minutes before the touchdown I went to a forward toilet and noticed that the floor was covered in liquid, Mr. Ratnayake said.

This passenger said his overall impression of how the flight crew/cabin crew/ground staff handled this incident indicates they have little knowledge of crisis management.

Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines Acting Manager Victor Abeysekera said the airline was obviously concerned about inconvenience caused to passengers, and that measures to solve such in-flight problems had already been discussed extensively.

Mr. Abeysekera admitted that flying with a full complement of passengers on a long distance flight with one toilet out of order could cause problems.

He added that they were hoping to rectify the situation, regarding toilets getting blocked, with the next aircraft modification.

Sri Lankan: What are friends for?

SriLankan Airlines passengers expecting to board an uneventful flight from Chennai to Colombo on Thursday night were treated to a veritable nightmare when their flight was delayed by one day.

Passengers of flight UL-124 Chennai to Colombo complained that in addition to the inconvenience caused by the subsequent cancellation the airline's service was inefficient and they were treated shabbily with little thought for their basic comfort.

After having been kept waiting for more than seven hours to board the flight they were informed that due to a cancellation they would only be able to board the flight the next day and that they would be given hotel accommodation.

According to a spokesman of SriLankan Airlines, the delay was due to a technical fault. No further details were provided.

Economy class passengers, including women, complained that they were put into tri-shaws with their baggage and sent alone to unknown hotels in the middle of the night.

One of the hotels —Mass Hotel — lacked even the basic amenities and its immediate environment was open sewers, garbage and piggeries. One of the passengers, K. Athukorale, complained that even her room door could not be locked while others complained of toilets which did not flush, no towels, blankets with more holes than material and unclean linen. Breakfast being two iddlies and one vadai. The room rate was US $ 7.

The Station Manager of SriLankan Airlines at the Chennai airport claimed there had been a problem with finding suitable accommodation as on the same day both a Singapore Airlines and an Indian Airlines flight had been delayed or cancelled and finding available rooms had therefore been a problem.

The next morning a group of passengers had stormed the SriLankan office at Chennai airport and accosted the Station Manager demanding humanitarian treatment. Some of them were then transferred to better hotels.

First Class passengers were not informed of developments regarding rescheduled flights. Several businessmen coming from the Indo-Lanka Business Forum in Bangalore were also stranded overnight.

The Colombo Chennai flight is a money-spinner for SriLankan Airlines but passenger comfort is of a step-motherly nature, one of the regular passengers said.

Tailor-made soldiers

By Leon Berenger

Army outfits, complete with boots, belt, hat and even the insignia of various ranks from the common soldier to the highest general are up for sale in a row of tiny shops behind the old bus station in Anuradhapura.

The prices range from Rs. 950 to Rs. 3,000 or more for a complete uniform, depending on the rank and quality of the material.

Material imported from the United States which is used to manufacture officer uniforms only always fetch a higher price, The Sunday Times found out.

The traders are small-time businessmen, and according to them uniforms are sold only to military personnel who hold valid Army identification papers.

This requirement by the traders is a mild regulation that is seldom or never enforced. If one could afford the price then he/she could walk away with a uniform with no questions asked.

And the scary part is that customers could be any one — underworld operatives and sometimes, even agents from the LTTE.

The uniforms are supplied to the traders for a small commercial return mainly by errant soldiers who have access to additional uniforms.

The traders and even the suppliers have taken little trouble to hide their tracks, and the way in which they conduct their business it is clear that the law has just decided to ignore them altogether.

Some of the name boards of these shops are Rajarata Tailors, Ranjan Tailors, Lucky Tex, Sanjeewa Traders, Nirupma Textiles and Kandy Traders.

An official at Army Headquarters said that it was forbidden to sell any type of military uniforms to civilians.

Even the casual wear of camouflage shirts, banians, hats, and trousers sometimes worn by civilians, mainly teenagers, is outlawed under the emergency regulations, the officer said.

Furthermore it is the military that provides uniforms for its personnel so there is no requirement for any of them to purchase it from outside sources, he said.

Army spokesman, Sunil Tennekoon told 'The Sunday Times' that he was not aware of the sale of Army uniforms in Anuradhapura, but would investigate the report.

Teachers plugging bras and perfumes

By Nilika de Silva

Teachers doing the job of agents for certain brands of products, including brassiers and perfumes, are causing a grave problem in several schools in Colombo, with students feeling they have no alternative but to purchase the commodities being promoted by the teachers.

This new trend is causing immense embarrassment to students who feel obliged to buy whatever the brand of product the teacher is selling, even if it is a product which they would not normally buy.

Needless to say the teachers gain the commissions and other perks dished out to the agents of these brands. This method of using agents to popularise products is considered to be one the most modern ways of accessing the market, and is being used by producers of the newer brands in the market.

Making Indo-Lanka ties stronger

A newly set-up India-Sri Lanka Foundation established has identified key areas to foster relations between the two countries.

At its first meeting held yesterday in Colombo, the board of directors of the foundation identified education, culture, archaeological studies, agricultural research, science and technology, health, technology, development and women's studies as areas of interest.

They also agreed to an exchange of academics and to assist students from both countries financially for higher studies and other educational activities at institutions in the two countries.

Both Sri Lanka and India are to fund the activities of the foundation with about Rs. 60 million (40 million Indian rupees) each.

Indian High Commissioner Shiv Shankar Menon and the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in India, Mangala Moonesinghe, are jointly heading the foundation with Peradeniya University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Leslie Gunawardane, Chamber of Commerce President Hari Selvanatha representing the Sri Lankan side and India being represented by Prof. P.V. Indrasen of the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and M. Rasgotra, Member of the National Security Advisory Board.

Training for Sri Lankan agriculture scientists in Indian and teaching of Karnatic music to Sri Lankans were also agreed upon. They also agreed yesterday to send three Sri Lankan children who won the Shankar International awards to India.

The foundation also will invite recommendations from individuals and institutions on the above proposals to make it a successful programme. Those interested in submitting proposals are required to contact the Secretary to the Indian High Commission

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