As government officials yesterday moved to provide dry rations to nearly 4000 families affected by last week's encounter between Special Task Force commandos and Tiger terrorists, a controversy broke out over the fate of a multi-million dollar prawn culture project. The government run media centre said on Saturday the "sea food" factory had been closed by " terrorist, action" and that Newton, "second in command of LTTE in Batticaloa" was occupying it forcibly.
Here is a page I lead news story that appeared in "The Island" Colombo of 25th January 1987. President J.R. Jayewardene responding to Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's claim that Sri Lanka was vacillating in finding a solution to the ethnic issue has quoted the words of the Buddha in an interview with "The Island" New Delhi correspondent S. Venkatanarayan.
That was why they have wanted the parents of the captured soldiers, journalists and photographers to be present at their release. Kittu said they had earlier released two policemen unconditionally, also two run-away soldiers who had surrendered to them. They had also sent the bodies of nine soldiers killed in Mannar to the Jaffna Port camp, as a gesture, since they too had suffered casualties and they knew that parents would always want to have the last rites done for their sons killed in action.
On October 20th afternoon I left for Jaffna to help secure the release of two army men who were taken prisoner by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the course of the fighting in Mannar the previous week. I had earlier received a telephone call from "Rahim" ( his real name I learned later was Kanagaratnam) promising to release the two soldiers to me in Jaffna.
The Sri Lankan navy was alerted last night to the unannounced arrival of a foreign vessel which had anchored off Colombo and maintained strict radio silence for more than 12 hours. Only the funnel of the ship was visible to the port but vessels that passed it on the way reported that it carried the name "Conghul" and was flying a Chinese flag.
Police yesterday took into custody a monk and another person in connection with the Galgamuwa bank heist and established the value of cash and jewellery robbed at five million rupees. The robbers stayed at the Panakaduwa temple in Wariyapola a day before the heist, police investigations have established.
A solution to the ethnic problem is close at hand. The Muslims will not to be adversely affected by this. but stand to gain from a devolution of power, said Foreign Minister Mr A.C.S Hameed, yesterday at a gathering of Muslim leaders and organisations at the Islamic Centre in Maligawatte. The meeting was presided over by Transport and Muslim Religious Affairs Minister, Mr M H. Mohamed, who also spoke.
The Jaffna Mothers' Front has expressed shock at the unseemly conduct of an Army Officer who had entered the labour room of a hospital in one of the islands off Jaffna, and by arrangement with the doctor in charge, had witnessed the delivery of a child. The Mothers' Front has also condemned the action of the doctor. It was stated that the Officer-in-charge of the Army Camp in the island had jocularly told the medical officer that he would like to see 'how a Tiger cub' is born!
More than 125,000 refugees, mostly from the north and east are to be resettled before the setting up of the Provincial Councils, the Ministry of Rehabilitation announced yesterday. The Ministry is also making arrangements for talks with Indian authorities to settle the 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees from Tamilnadu, Secretary Austin Fernando said.
A solution to the ethnic problem is close at hand. The Muslims will not to be adversely affected by this, but stand to gain from a devolution of power, said Foreign Minister Mr A.C.S Hameed yesterday at a gathering of Muslim leaders and organisations at the Islamic centre in Maligawatte. The meeting was presided over by Transport and Muslim Religious Affairs Minister, Mr M.H Mohamed, who also spoke.
Construction here of a powerful new Voice of America Transmitter a key part of a planned 1.5 billion dollar expansion of the US Overseas Network has been delayed because the Government of Sri Lanka wants to change the site although ground has already been broken for the project. US officials here expressed confidence that the station designed to beam shortwave radio programmes to India, the Soviet Union, East Africa and China will be completed at the new site. But according to other sources the 100 million project is in trouble, mainiy because of regional political consfderatidns.
Mr J Dixit, India's High Commissioner in Colombo, questioned on the morality of allowing terrorists to operate from India at a luncheon meeting of the Rotary Club of Colombo said politics is not judged by morality. Apart from the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka, which are non-negotiable and sacrosanct when it comes to solving the ethnic problem, the identity of every community is also non-negotiable.
"The pens of journalists cannot build dams or cities. Nor can these pens build new roads." said Mahaveli Development Minister Gamin1Dissanayake at the openlng of a new medical centre at Siripura. Dehiattakandiya in System C of the Mahaveli Scheme on Sunday. Mr. Dissanayake who was critical of the "Divaina" carrying an article about threatening letters received by the settlers in System C. said that newspapers were out to highlight the shortcomings of the authorities but failed to recognise the difficult conditions under which the officers functioned.
Walking, instead of travelling in vehicles was the only answer to landmines which are responsible for 99 percent of deaths among the security forces in the North and East. This was said by Minister of National Security Lalith Athulathmudali after he declared open a factory for the production of white coconut fibre under the Export Production Villages Scheme at Seenimodera. Beliatte on Monday. The Minister said that security forces had studied various methods they could adopt to overcome the landmine hazard and had found that walking in readiness for combat was the best way landmines could be avoided. It should be done as a battle exercise in combat formation.
"Police took in for questioning a Tamil doctor in connection with the alleged video taping of the Colombo Dockyard and the Kochchikade Rangalla Naval facility by a group of foreigners.A Tamil woman resident in Colombo was also taken in for questioning in this connection. Meanwhile the foreigners involved in the incident were released on a request made by the Ambassadors of their respective countries in Sri Lanka. These foreigners however will not be permitted to leave the country. Police will keep a strict check on those foreigners. Police yesterday questioned the doctor to establish whether he had any connection with Northern Tamil terrorists (The Island - 13.5.86)
An Air Lanka tristar plane was ripped apart by a terrorist bomp yesterday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 41. The incident occurred at the Colombo Airport, katunayake yesterday morning minutes before the aircraft was to take off for a Maldivian Capital of Male with 128 passengers...Forty-one passengers were reported injured but according to official statistics only 24 were receiving medical treatment in five hospitals. One Japanese passenger succumbed to his injuries soon after admission to the Colombo General Hospital.
President J. R Jayewardene has in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) which is reported in the 'Hindu@ said India was maintaining double standards with respect to Sri Lanka and that Sri Lanka cannot be friendly with a person with double standards. Mr Jayewardene os also reported to have said that Pakistan was a better friend of Sri lanka than India.
A secret six page document examined by Ministers at their weekly Cabinet session last week calls for the extension of the principles of proportional representation to the Executive to enable all major parties to share Cabinet portfolios in proportion to the votes they polled thus creating a national government. Ministers to whom copies were circulated have all agreed to study it further and make their views.
A pilot and an officer cadet of the Air Force were killed when the Siai Marchetti they were flying crashed into the sea off Beruwala yesterday morning. They were on a training exercise in one of the six Siai Marchetti planes of the Air Force when the crash occurred. The bodies of pilot H.T.T.K Seneviratne and officer cadet R.P Punchihetti have been recovered. Air Force officials said Eye witnesses said that plane was flying at a low altitude at the time of the crash. The plane was destroyed completely. Operations are underway to recover the debris with the help of the people in the area. An inquiry is to be held shortly.
Tuesday's bout of Bhagat bashing was succeeded yesterday by the SLFP's fervent championing of the Kandyan peasantry. If on Tuesday Agalawatte's Merril Kariyawasam made use of the adjournment to beat the war drums against India, yesterday during adjournment Attanagala's Lakshman Jayakody was equally vocal in declaring war on Minister Thondaman ......... Mr.Jayakody, who opened the debate with a discursive speech, said that the upcountry Tamils would ask for a homeland of their own on the Eelam pattern in 18 months time though he did not explain the basis for the time frame. Mark my words, he warned the House.
