The young boy had arrived in an unregistered Porsche for the party together with his friends, backed by two jeeps with security officers, witnesses told the Daily Mirror. “It was a hip-hop party and the place was packed. When the minister’s son arrived, his security personnel kept pushing people out of his way from the car park all the way to the club,” one witness said.

According to another witness the security of the VIP even inside the club was tight to the extent that if he went to the bar those already there were forced to make room for him by the security personnel.

Although it is common to see the children of ministers at night clubs they rarely turn up with such heavy security as to force some club goers to leave the place early out of frustration.

Easwaran Rutnam

Who was this fellow ??? Anyone know ?

In recent years, the sons of S.B. Dissanayake, Mahinda Wijesekera and of course, the inimitable Malaka Silva, son of Mervyn and descendent of King Dutugemunu of Ruhuna, have been glaring examples of how the people’s franchise is abused to afford power to badly behaved children. The Dissanayake boys, Wijesekera boys and Master Silva have evaded the law and got away with all manner of misdeeds, including alleged obstruction of justice and drug abuse, all thanks to the power enjoyed by their politico parents.

This is why, Namal, the eldest son of Mahinda and Shiranthi Rajapaksa, is a relative surprise. Having stayed out of trouble and turned out to be a fairly upright young gentleman, Namal Rajapaksa is an aberration. He is the son of the country’s most powerful man, and yet there is a mellowness in his demeanour, a quick and easy smile and a certain lack of self-assuredness that is typical of a 20 year old, but atypical of a politico’s offspring, that clearly sets him apart (for now).
Last Friday (06) saw Namal address a press conference in Colombo to introduce several new projects coordinated by Tharunayata Hetak (a future for the youth), an organisation of which he holds Chairmanship and his brother Yoshitha, the Vice Chairmanship. While Yoshitha Rajapaksa was flown off to England for training after he joined the navy, Namal has spearheaded the campaign to get youth involved in development projects for youth especially those hailing from low-income families.
Tharunayata Hetak is currently in the process of collecting funds to provide infrastructure facilities, computers and supplies to schools in the north and east specifically, beginning with the east which is now almost entirely under security forces control.

According to Namal, the funds are being raised largely through contributions from Corporate sponsors. “We also get funding internationally, from Australia, America, Northern Ireland and China,” he said. Unlike his father’s administration, Namal seems to be relatively bereft of conspiracy theories about international NGOs, since some of the organisation’s funding comes from foreign organisations interested in development work in Sri Lanka. Not much though, he cautions. “We do get some money from NGOs, but for the moment, we’d prefer corporate sponsorships.”
A concession to the Rajapaksa Administration’s anti-NGO stance? Perhaps. But at least Rajapaksa junior did not attempt to hide it.

It remains to be seen how far Tharunayata Hetak will take Namal Rajapaksa – politically speaking. For the moment, power has yet to corrupt him absolutely from the looks of it. He is, for all intents and purposes, the ‘heir apparent’ to the Rajapaksa legacy, a family business of politics that has earned both wrath and wonder, since there was no sign of it whatsoever until two years ago. Perhaps Namal will follow in the footsteps of his father and uncles. And perhaps not. There was much speculation about the political ambitions of the Kumaratunga offspring back when their mother was Head of State but both Yasodhara and Vimukthi chose different paths, leaving the Bandaranaike dynasty with no heir. One thing is certain however: if Namal is to be ‘passed the torch’ as it were, he is certainly off to a good start.

By Dharisha Bastians

http://www.nation.lk/2007/07/08/newsfe5.htm

JHU monks sell their vehicle permits

The MP monks of the JHU have sold the duty free vehicle permits received by them as parliamentarians in contravention of the permit regulations.

The monks have said that the monies collected by selling the permits were transferred to the party account.

The government offers duty free vehicle permits to parliamentarians and other state officials for official use. However, according to the relevant financial regulations, such permits cannot be sold or transferred to a third person. The law also states that a vehicle purchased under such permit cannot be sold or transferred to a third party.

The JHU monks however, have sold their vehicle permits in contravention of the regulations, it is learned.

JHU and Presidential Advisor, H.M.G.B. Kotakadeniya told The Sunday Leader sister paper Irudina, “Nothing is given free these days.”

JHU Spokesperson and Parliamentarian, Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thero however declined to make any comment on the sale of the permits.

Kotakadeniya said the JHU monks had sold the vehicle permits to provide funds for the party and that they were not sold to drug dealers and businessmen.

Referring to the sale of vehicle permits by the monks, he had also said that the JHU had not done anything against the law and that it was done in good faith.

“The owners of the vehicles are the bhikkus. They have not violated the motor traffic ordinance. They can give their vehicles on a temporary basis to anyone. But the registration is under the real owner. They will get ownership only after five years. The party does not have funds. That is why the permits were sold. Some parliamentarians have even sold their permits to the Tigers. We have not sold them to drug dealers or businessmen. If the law has been violated then we can go to courts. We have not violated the law. The bhikkus don’t need such luxury vehicles. But the bhikkus in parliament need some vehicle. We have given these vehicles only to people on whom we have total confidence that they would not use these vehicles for a wrong purpose,” Kotakadeniya said.

Subaru STi 8 vs Ferrari 360 in the Streets of Sri Lanka…

STi 8 vs Ferrari 360 in the Streets of Sri Lanka….Video 2

Guess there ain’t gonna be no more racing!

BUT it’s a damn shame, but I don’t think I would feel bad for him, maybe he earned it, but a Ferrari is not a car for Sri Lanka. People are suffering here, and he’s parading around Colombo all over the place in the very flashy and expensive car and it can put off people. All eyes are on him, well he likes those cars and he likes the attention but has he ever given more than a million to any charity or helped people ? People might respect him, but if he doesn’t acknowledge the masses who were his fans / supporters and just show off, he’ll just be cursed into a situation like this

but then again, he bought it so I’ll stop my bitching.

Anyways wonder how many millions it would cost to fix ?

But atleast he’s ok, the air bags alone may cost millions but atleast he’s alive and ok.

It also might not be his, as Dhiren owner of tramps also has his old one which might be this, and Aurthor Senanayake also had one.

J

LBN, you get all the channels that Comet and Dialog offer, and more, plus you just plug it and tune from your tv. You don’t need to get a dish or a decoder box, plus say you want to share the connection at home you simply run the line to the respective tv and just tune from the tv. With comet and dialog you have to purchase a decoder box for each tv or share it, but you have to watch the same program in all.

The advantage with the other 2 is they have wider coverage, I guess dialog has more, as I remember in some outstation areas the CBN Sat as it was know was available out of Colombo, and I mean far far from Colombo.

Most number of channels – 1. LBN 2. Dialog 3. Comet
Best Coverage – 1. Dialog 2. Comet 3. LBN

Comet has been stable for a long time, but they are not customer friendly, plus from the time they started they haven’t added many new channels or provided better services/benefits to their customers.

LBN and Dialog are and will provide better services for their customers, as they are doing now.

Some issues with LBN are, that every channel on their network has different volumes, some are really loud and some you can’t hear at all. If they can fix those little issues that would be perfect. Z Studio would be really low and HBO just right. With comet and dialog picture quality is excellent and so is the sound.

Since I have LBN in my area and my budget is limited I would go with that.

LBN
http://www.lbn.lk

Dialog TV
http://www.dialog.lk/en/tv/

Comet
Don’t know the address

I think for all these ministers kids they should ban them, not too long ago he had beaten up some guy at white horse this pub in navam mawatha. There is something called cnl here and he wasn’t allowed in for some reason so he deicded to beat up one of the organisers after that when he had found out or seen him at this white horse.

This is just absurd, people like us who have nothing to do with these also get into unnecessary trouble because of them. It’s like when they terrorised that place sopranos near clanys. They couldn’t get into the place clancys which they had a problem with so they destroyed the inoccent place next to it which had nothing to do with it. They harassed the guests there, stole their phones and jewellery, destoyed the bar and so on, and walked free. A friend had been there and they are now terrified to go anywhere, they used to go to this place as this type of people didn’t come there but after what happened even decent places they are scared to go to as these poeple will come there for some stupid reason and bash it up.

Who the hell is going to put a stop to this ????
Nimal

The Colombo High Court yesterday (2) lifted the ban imposed on the son of Deputy Minister Mervin Silva, Malaka, on visiting night clubs. He has been given the Court`s permission to visit and freely move about in night clubs from December 15 to January 15.

Malaka Silva, a son of Deputy Minister Mervin Silva, was arrested by the police after an incident at a night spot where he is alleged to have assaulted policemen.

Counsel for Malaka Silva pleaded with the court yesterday to lift the ban on him during the festive season.

High Court Judge Rohinin Perera allowed the application subject to a bond for Rs.50,000 being entered into with the Malaka`s father. Court ruled that the bonded amount will be confiscated by the Court in case of an incident of the breach of the peace by the Deputy Minister`s son.

Global Towers Hotel murder suspects further remanded

By Nirmala Kannangara

Chief Magistrate, Mt. Lavinia, Ayeshani Jayasena on January 11, further remanded till January 18 the eight suspects charged with the murder of Rehan de Silva at the Global Towers Hotel, Wellawatta.

Although the magistrate on an earlier occasion asked for the detailed fingerprints of the suspects and DNA samples, and reports from the JMO and the Government Analyst, only the JMO’s report and the suspects’ medical examination reports had been produced before court at the last hearing.

It is learnt that the attorneys appearing for the respondents had made an application for bail in the Colombo High Court on January 8, but the application had been refused, as all the detailed reports had not yet been scrutinised.

As requested by the attorneys of the respondents to make a fresh application for bail, the magistrate requested the authorities to submit all the relevant reports before courts by January 18 to enable the suspects’ appeal for bail to be considered.

“The suspected party has to resort to formal procedure to obtain bail as all relevant reports are yet to be received by court. The bail application has been refused on January 8 but they will re-apply for bail on the 19th,” Attorney Jeewantha Jayathilaka told The Morning Leader.

Meanwhile, the Management of Global Tower Hotel has requested the court to give permission to re-open the suite in question as the hotel has already lost a considerable amount of money due to the long closure on the request of the AG.

The magistrate ordered the CCD to give a further report in this regard on January 18 after considering the hotel management’s request and wanted the CCD to take immediate action to release the suite in question to the management.

ASP, CCD Palitha Fernando meanwhile told The Morning Leader that a further report as requested by the court would be submitted on January 18 to enable the hotel to re-open the suite.

Attorneys M.A. Sumandiran and Jeewantha Jayathilake appeared for the aggrieved party.

—————————————

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One of the injured children in yesterday’s attack in Mannar that left 15 persons dead being brought to hospital. Inset: The air force said it was right on target and released the above aerial footage to indicate the exact location.

Top News
Govt. alarmed over SLMM pullout
LTTE may have three aircraft,
reveals Keheliya
UNP to hold talks with all parties
No international monitors in N-E
15 killed in Mannar aerial attack

More News…..
UNP calls for amendments to emergency regulations
Ranil writes to President ERs present real danger to people Restricts media to act in public interest

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe charging that the newly introduced emergency regulations are drafted in unduly broad language presenting a real danger to the citizens has in writing called on President Mahinda Rajapakse to amend several provisions before they are presented to parliament for approval next week.

In a letter dated December 27, Wickremesinghe has proposed the amendments in line with representations made to him by organisations, members of public and discussions within the UNP, the President was informed.

Wickremesinghe has in his letter drawn the President’s attention to the ‘large number of abductions frequently reported’ and proposed the appointment of an office of ombudsman or a committee of three persons to hear representations.

The letter titled ‘Amendments to Emergency Regulations and the PTA’ was hand-delivered to President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga on December 28.Upto yesterday morning there was no acknowledgement received, a source at the UNP Leader’s office told The Morning Leader.

“On a perusal of the regulations, it shows that they are drafted in unduly broad language. This presents a real danger to the activities of both citizens and civil society organisations in the pursuit of their legitimate activities,” Wickremesinghe wrote.

The UNP Leader has cited regulation 16, which prescribes the powers of the Competent Authority as a ready example adding that the provision violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which deals with the fundamental rights of the people.

The UNP Leader has also drawn the President’s attention to Regulation 9, which he states is too wide and is a source of uncertainty to the media and restricts their right to publication in the public interest.

Wickremesinghe has further called for amendments to regulations 18 and 20 dealing with the composition of the Appeals Tribunal and governmental change charging that the wording used once again is unduly wide and could result in the transgression of the citizens’ democratic rights such as the freedom of speech and publication.

He has further proposed that the detention orders under the PTA should be signed by a DIG.

The Morning Leader learns the UNP will not support the regulations in parliament on January 9 unless the proposed amendments are introduced. (See Page 8 for details)

To the top

Govt. alarmed over SLMM pullout

By Arthur Wamanan

The government yesterday said it was alarmed by the manner in which the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) pulled out of the conflict areas.

Government Defence Spokesperson Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the SLMM did not follow the proper procedure in leaving the conflict areas a few days ago.

He said the organisation had stopped its operations five days ago in the conflict areas and had moved to Colombo.

“The government is greatly alarmed in the manner in which the SLMM pulled out of the conflict areas. Operations in seven offices have stopped due to the monitors pulling out of these areas. There is always a proper procedure to follow when stopping operations and moving out, especially when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed. The SLMM’s act should be condemned in terms of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA),” the Minister said.

He added the government called for a meeting with the SLMM on December 31 last year on this issue.

“The SLMM admitted that it had not followed the proper procedures before leaving. However, it stated that its main objective was to look into complaints on small issues,” he said.

The Minister however stated the SLMM’s actions last year in the cases of Sencholai and Muttur did not match their statement.

He added that the SLMM had stated that the situation had become more serious and that their lives were in danger.

“They said now they had to deal with claymore mines and landmines. The military does not deal with these. It is the LTTE. In other words, the SLMM has said they had problems due to the LTTE although they did not mention the name,” he said.

He also said the absence of the SLMM in the areas had increased child recruitment by the LTTE.

The Minister said the Secretariat to Coordinate the Peace Process (SCOPP) would discuss the issue with the Co-Chairs and relevant officials.

To the top

Does not deny there was plan to arrest Editor

LTTE may have three aircraft, reveals Keheliya

Government Defence Spokesperson, Minister Keheliya Rambukwella did not deny there was a plan to arrest the Editor of The Sunday Leader last week and cautioned the media of providing information to the terrorists even unwittingly because of reports that the Tigers may have in their possession at least three aircraft.

Minister Rambukwella made this observation when he was questioned by the media yesterday whether there was a plan to arrest the Editor and added the reporting may not have been done deliberately to provide information to the LTTE but merely for the news value.

Rambukwella said there were a lot of plans after a story relating to a Presidential bunker was published. The Minister unwittingly gave the location of the bunker though the newspaper had refrained from mentioning the location.

The Minister said various media organisations had earlier published details about Kadirgamar’s movements including times he visited the swimming pool but he did not identify the media organisations which reported such details or produce proof thereof.

“These may not have been done deliberately and may have news value but because we are dealing with terrorism, one must be careful,” the Minister said.

Referring to the aircraft the LTTE may be in possession of, the Minister said they could now load them with 500kg bombs instead of 50kg bombs and launch an attack.

Rambukwella said UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Gampaha District MP Karu Jayasuriya were also under threat by the LTTE.

To the top

UNP to hold talks with all parties

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is to hold discussions with all political parties in parliament on the proposals to resolve the ethnic issue and the electoral reforms.

Wickremesinghe told The Morning Leader he will be meeting with all parties shortly after he returns to the country and work towards evolving a consensus on the two issues.

He said the decision to meet with all the parties was taken since the UNP has already entered into an MoU with the SLFP and that there was a need to consult the other parties as well.

It is learnt Wickremesinghe has already met with the Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms, Minister Dinesh Gunawardena informally and discussed the issue.

To the top

No international monitors in N-E

By Amantha Perera

There are no SLMM international monitors anywhere in the north and east at present.

All SLMM international monitors are currently in Colombo and are not expected to return to their district offices in the immediate future.

The monitors have been recalled to Colombo to attend a workshop on the future activities of the SLMM, monitors said yesterday.

The workshop that commenced on January 1 was expected to continue for several days and Acting SLMM Spokesperson Torril Skjet told The Morning Leader that no exact dates could be given on when the monitors would return to their area offices. “All international staff is in Colombo. But the district offices have remained open with the local staff looking after affairs,” she said.

However, Skjet said that the local staff could not carry out the full monitoring duties and there were restrictions.

Only international monitors can visit to investigate incidents like the aerial bombing in Mannar yesterday.

Commenting on changes to monitoring, Skjet said that the SLMM was not looking at altering or changing its mandate but was looking at optimizing its role under prevailing circumstances. She however declined to detail the envisaged changes.

The SLMM has invited both the government and the LTTE to attend the workshops and has also held a meeting with the government peace secretariat.

The government has come down hard on the moves to change the activities of the monitors and has said that it has sought clarifications from the SLMM itself.

Skjet also declined to comment on what or who promoted possible changes to the monitoring role. “We do not want to discuss it with the media. We will discuss it with the parties,” she said.

Thirty monitors from Norway (20) and Iceland (10) currently serve as monitors. Twelve are based in Colombo, two in Killnochchi and the four district offices in Jaffna, Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Batticaloa are served by four monitors each.

The two offices in Ampara and Mannar have remained without international monitors since the departure of European Union nationals in September.

To the top

Military says target was tiger base

15 killed in Mannar aerial attack

By Amatha Perera and Jamila Najmuddin

At least 15 people including four children were killed in an aerial bombing in Mannar yesterday morning, the Tigers charged.

However, the army denied that civilian targets had been bombed and said that the raids were carried out on an identified LTTE Sea Tiger base.

The air force carried out the raids at around 9:30 yesterday morning in Palanthurai, Mannar.

LTTE Military Spokesperson, Rasiah Illanthariyan told The Morning Leader four K-fir jets had bombed a fishing village consisting of 30 houses and that 25 houses had been completely damaged.

“There is chaos in the area because the village consists mostly of poor fishermen. Most of the houses which had been destroyed were huts. Soon after the bombings, international actors such as the ICRC rushed to the site to assist the injured,” Illanthariyan said.

Head, LTTE Peace Secretariat, S. Pulidevan said that the ICRC and UN agencies had been informed of the incident and had arrived in Mannar. Six patients injured in the attack had also been transferred to Kilinochchi.

The Tigers in a statement released soon after the attack said that the families were on holiday and were relaxing after their New Year celebrations when the Sri Lankan Air Force K-firs attacked the village.

Meanwhile, ICRC officials in Colombo told The Morning Leader that they were aware of the incident but no official communication had arrived from the LTTE by yesterday afternoon.

Illanthariyan further said that 25 people had been admitted to Mulangaville Hospital and 15 bodies had been recovered soon after the raid. The Tigers said the casualty figures were likely to increase.

“There are many civilians, including children who have been seriously injured. Although the Mulangaville Hospital is not fully equipped, arrangements will be made to transport the injured to Kilinochchi,” Illanthariyan said.

However, Military Spokesperson Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe denied that civilians had been targeted and said that the Air Force had carried out the raid on an identified Sea Tiger camp complex.

“These were identified targets by the air force and the operation was successful. Although the LTTE says that civilians have been killed, the air force maintains that those killed were cadres and not civilians,” Brigadier Samarasinghe said.

The government also said that intelligence reports had indicated that the Tigers had called for medical and transport facilities soon after the raid.

Air Force Spokesperson Captain Ajantha De Silva said that the identified target was the area’s main Sea Tiger base. “We are very sure about the target, that it was a Sea Tiger base,” Captain Silva said.

However, Pulidevan insisted that it was a fishing village and the government did not know any details of the village.

The Military Spokesperson also said that they could not confirm if any children were amongst the dead. He however did not rule out the possibility of underage recruits among LTTE ranks being among the casualties.

Meanwhile, the SLMM said last afternoon that it was holding internal discussions on the incident.

To the top
More News…
Tissa shocked at MR’s baby elephant talk

By Kumuthu Amarasingham

The UNP yesterday expressed shock at the comments made by President Mahinda Rajapakse regarding “baby elephants” joining the government and stated the leaders of each party had a responsibility to treat the other party with respect, following the signing of the MoU.

Rajapakse earlier this week said there was no need for an election as a lot of “baby elephants” were waiting to join the SLFP.

“We signed the MoU to cooperate in solving major national problems and as we are a responsible party that puts the country first, that’s what we will do.

However the President insulting the UNP and making that kind of statement is a very serious issue,” UNP Secretary General Tissa Attanayake said.

Attanayake added that with the new reforms in place and a lot of work going into restructuring the UNP, it would not be easy for the President to recruit its members.

“The UNP is not composed of ‘baby elephants’ but of adults with a strong sense of responsibility toward the country, and we are confident the party is strong enough to face any situation,” Attanayake said.

Meanwhile, UNP MP Jayalath Jayawardena at a press conference yesterday said the “king elephants” would not move. “It’s immature kids who jump around from one party to another, the greatest forces are stable and we as a party can face anything,” Jayawardena said.

UNP Spokesman Gayantha Karunathilleke said all major party reforms and decisions taken in 2006 would be implemented in 2007, adding that the party would select organisers for every seat by end January and increase its Working Committee membership to 90.

Vaiko expelled, but defiant

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

General Secretary, Marum-alarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) V. Gopalasamy alias Vaiko who was expelled from his party by a majority decision on December 29 had charged that his expulsion was illegal and claimed that the party was intact despite the revolt by some dissidents.

On December 29, the MDMK, which has four members in the Lok Sabha, suffered a split with the dissident leaders expelling Party Chief Vaiko from the party membership.

The General Council meeting called by dissident leaders L. Ganesan and Gingee N. Ramachandran, two party leaders stripped off their party posts as presidium chairman and deputy general secretary respectively by Vaiko, recently managed to get Majority Council members’ support to pass a resolution expelling Vaiko.

Another member, Thiyagapari, who was also recently expelled from the party by Vaiko, read out the resolution with the dissidents at the special meeting attended by 673 General Council members.

The special meeting found fault with Vaiko for forging an alliance with the AIADMK during the Assembly and local body polls.

The resolution adopted at the meeting claimed Vaiko forged the alliance for “personal reasons” which was not acceptable to the party.

The meeting also urged the centre to take “appropriate action” to mitigate the sufferings of Tamils in Sri Lanka who have been suffering untold miseries with mounting military action.

However, Vaiko had pledged support to the UPA government at the centre from outside. Vaiko had told Chennai media on January 1 that despite the break up, his party would continue to be part of the ruling alliance.

He had told reporters that AIADMK Leader Jayalalitha with whose party MDMK had struck an alliance for the Assembly had also told him that there was no need for him to quit the UPA.

Fighting back, he claimed that a meeting convened by the dissidents was illegal. Only about 100 general council members, most of who had been expelled from the party for indiscipline had attended, he had charged.

However, the expulsion of Vaiko from the party founded by himself after breaking away from DMK, the mother party to many of today’s’ Dravidian politicians suffered a massive blow following the formal split.

In the meantime, Vaiko’s fall from grace is largely attributed to his failure to articulate views supportive of the LTTE as India’s most popular Tiger sympathiser. Some Indian commentators have remarked that the LTTE had begun to distance themselves from Vaiko for reasons of ‘political prudence.’

Indian FM due on Jan 9

India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will arrive on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka, January 9.

The visit is for the purpose of handing over the invitation to President Mahinda Rajapakse to attend the SAARC summit in India scheduled for early April but The Morning Leader learns the current status of the peace process and the humanitarian crisis in the north and east is also to be discussed during the visit.

Minister Mukherjee is scheduled to meet both the President and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on January 9.

A meeting with Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was also requested but not yet confirmed since he is expected to return to Sri Lanka on the morning of January 10.

Ready for anything, says LTTE

By Jamila Najmuddin

The Tigers yesterday warned that they were ready to face any challenges at any given time amidst rising fears of hostilities taking a turn to the worst.

“We are ready to face anything at any given time,” LTTE Military Spokesperson Rasiah Illanthariyan told The Morning Leader.

In the first two days of the New Year, at least 25 people have died in violence in the north east. Ten deaths were reported on January 1 and yesterday at least 15 more were reported from Mannar after aerial bombing.

The LTTE warned on New Year’s Eve that the government was pushing them to war and sought the support of the international community for their struggle.

“Presently, the Rajapakse government is implementing a well-planned programme to force a war on the Tamil people and carry out ethnic cleansing in some areas of the Tamil homeland. Under these circumstances, neutral statements from the international community will not produce the desired outcome,” the LTTE said.

The Karuna group has also warned that it would continue to attack Tiger targets in the east.

This week senior Tiger Commander Veeraman, who led the Charles Anthony Brigade, was killed in the Toppigala area in the east. The Karuna group claimed it carried out the attack while the Tigers claimed Veeraman died in a road accident.

The two sides also clashed in the same area during the weekend and the Karuna group claimed that it had killed 35 Tigers during the confrontation.

However, despite war fears, Illanthariyan said the LTTE hoped for the best in the New Year.

Bus tickets not issued for lack of checking

By Risidra Mendis

A shortage of ticket checkers in buses has resulted in bus conductors not issuing tickets to passengers.

Despite a new law imposed by the Western Province Chief Minister’s Office that passengers traveling without bus tickets and conductors who do not issue bus tickets will be charged, the number of ticket checkers was not increased.

The new law came into effect from January 1. Under the new law, passengers who travel without bus tickets will be fined Rs. 100 and double the bus fare, while conductors will be fined Rs. 250 for not issuing tickets.

Speaking to The Morning Leader, Chairman and Media Officer, All Ceylon Private Omnibus Owners Federation, Anjana Priyanjith said the shortage of ticket checkers was not discussed by the government prior to the new law being imposed.

“There are 20,000 private bus conductors. We requested the government to provide a proper training to private bus conductors prior to imposing the new law on bus tickets. But our request was ignored. According to the new law, if private bus conductors are charged by the Transport Authority, it is the bus owners who have to pay the fines,” Priyanjith said.

According to Priyanjith, Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) conductors are given training by the government prior to being employed. He added that the Transport Authority’s main aim is to fine passengers and private bus conductors to earn an extra income.

“The Transport Authority is not interested in the problems faced by private bus owners,” he charged.

President, Private Bus Owners Association (PBOA), Gemunu Wijeratne said it was pointless to introduce a new law for bus tickets without first implementing the franchise system.

“As part of the franchise system, terminal controlling centres would be introduced to issue bus ticket files or ticket machines to bus conductors. Bus conductors will have to collect their ticket files or ticket machines from the terminal controlling centres and return them to the centres once their rounds for the day are over,” says Wijeratne.

According to Wijeratne, ticket checkers would be employed by the terminal controlling centres to check if bus conductors are issuing tickets to the commuters.

Chairman, Transport Authority, J.M. Somasiri said due to the new laws his officials have successfully nabbed passengers and private bus conductors.

“We have charged private bus conductors and passengers on buses plying on Galle, Negombo, Kandy, Highlevel, Hanwella and Horana Roads. At present 61 private bus conductors have been charged for not issuing tickets and 11 passengers for traveling without bus tickets. We have responded to complaints made on the phone by passengers and other issues relating to bus tickets,” Somasiri added.

GM foods have to be labeled now

By Shezna Shums

All Genetically Modified (GM) food or foods that include GM organisms that are being sold in the country have to be labeled stating that they are GM modified.

This new regulation came into effect on January 1.

If the products are GM or contain GM organisms, the sellers or importers have to specify so. In the case of not doing so, they can be fined up to Rs. 10,000.

Director, Food Control Unit, Health Ministry, P. Madarasinghe explained that importers have to be vigilant with the products coming into the country and have to specify if they are GM.

However, he said that Sri Lanka gets very few GM foods even when it comes to imports since many products come from China and India.

“Importers have to declare if they are GM,” explained Madarasinghe.

Previously the Health Ministry had gazetted a list of GM foods that may be available in Sri Lanka, however this has now been cancelled.

“Some foods in the West that may be GM are not GM here, which is why this list had to be cancelled,” he said.

Currently however there is no Gazetted list regarding the GM foods that may be available in the country.

“If people or importers want to, they can contact us and we will take samples to test if they are GM or not,” said Madarasinghe.

The Director has also contacted three universities in the island where such testing can be carried out if needed, he said.

“But there is really nothing to worry about here,” said the Director.

He also noted that energy drinks that are available in the local markets can be as bad or even more damaging to ones’ health than GM foods.

There are no inspectors to visit supermarkets and shops to see if GM labeling is done, but the unit has its own officers at Customs, who would check the products entering the country and if they are suspicious would investigate and carry out tests to evaluate if they are GM.

Traffic signs in English and Tamil too

By Risidra Mendis

Traffic signs in English and Tamil indicating the new one-way road system will be introduced shortly.

The one-way road system that came into effect a few weeks ago has caused inconvenience to some people as most of the traffic signs are in Sinhala.

The new one-way road system was introduced to reduce the congestion of traffic in Colombo. However the public is yet to get used to the new system.

Speaking to The Morning Leader Director, City Traffic, SSP Y.G.P. Laffir said the traffic signs on Reid Avenue and Thurstan Road were changed for the benefit of the public.

“The traffic signs were originally put in Sinhala because the lettering was available at the time we introduced the new-one way system. We have realised that people who cannot read Sinhala will have a problem,” SSP Laffir said.

Laffir added that plans are underway to have traffic signs in Sinhala, English and Tamil for the convenience of the public soon.

“We plan to introduce only the symbol indicating the change in the one-way system for some roads,” SSP Laffir said.

• ETF funds for Mihin Air

UNP expresses serious concern

By Kumuthu Amarasingham

The UNP yesterday expressed concern over the use of the Employment Trust Fund (ETF) money to fund the budget airline Mihin Air.

“Having obtained cabinet approval for the Airline, ETF funds are being invested in it, which is very unfair to the public,” UNP Spokesman Gayantha Karunathilleke said at a press conference yesterday.

He said the government was risking people’s hard earned savings on the project.

“It is all that most people have, whether to educate their children, take a loan, buy a house or have something to fall back on in their old age, and it’s not fair for the government to put that money at risk,” Karunathilleke said.

The initial capital contribution for setting up the airline is estimated at around Rs.500 million while the total project cost is estimated at Rs.1500 million.

The cabinet last month granted its approval for the establishment of the government-owned low cost airline aiming to provide affordable services to less affluent travellers and people leaving for overseas employment, particularly the Middle East and Asian countries, and to promote regional tourism.

Since the Foreign Employment Bureau, Employees Trust Fund and several other government agencies provide varieties of incentive schemes to support the local working population as well as those engaged in overseas employment, these agencies are also participating as shareholders in this venture.

Mihin Air is yet to get off the ground though, according to the Government Information Department, it will do so next month. Travel Agents are expected to be the major source in attracting business to the government airline, which, according to the information department, has attracted over 4,000 applications when they called for applications to recruit staff.

Karunathileke said capital for the formation of the Airline should have been sought elsewhere, without putting the public’s savings in jeopardy.

Suspects in Rehan’s murder case re-remanded

By Nirmala Kannangara

All eight suspects in the controversial Global Towers case were re-remanded till January 11 by the Chief Magistrate, (CM) Magistrate’s Court, Mt.Lavinia, Ayeshani Jayasena yesterday.

Twenty seven year old Rehan de Silva was found dead on December 4, at the Global Tower Hotels in Wellawatta and his friends now the suspects claimed the deceased committed suicide.

Meanwhile, the Finger Print Bureau in its report had indicated that 20 fingerprints have been found at the scene in which four prints could not be traced.

According to the finger print report, all the nine including the deceased’s fingerprints have been found at the suite and suspect Lahiru Perera’s fingerprints have been found on the door of the toilet in room ‘C’ where the controversial incident had taken place.

Also, apart from other prints, Kumara Seneviratne, Lahiru Perera and Rehan’s prints have been found in the toilet. The report further states that Rehan’s left palm print was found on the tiles on the left of the fanlight.

The CM meanwhile, ordered the Government Analyst to furnish the full report on the fingerprints and the DNA report while the Additional Judicial Medical Officer, Kalubowila Hospital, Dr. Dhammika Ariyaratne who conducted the postmortem was instructed to produce the detailed report of the JMO for further investigations at the next hearing.

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Sri Lanka cricketer Suresh Perera was arrested following the death of a youth at Global Towers in Wellawatte on Monday, police said.

The victim had fallen from the ninth floor of the apartment complex.

“The incident happened during a party thrown by the cricketer’s friends. In fact, it was supposed to be the cricketer’s bachelor’s party. We have taken nine into custody for questioning,” Police said.

Police further revealed that the youth were under the influence of drugs and the cricketer’s friends had arranged for two prostitutes to attend the party. Police refused to confirm whether the prostitutes too were arrested.

Perera was to marry on the 6th of January and the victim was to be his bestman.

The victim (27) was a father of one child and was supposed to fly off to Australia soon after the cricketer’s wedding.

Perera (28) was a member of the Sri Lankan team that created history by winning country’s first Test Match in England in 1998 at the Oval, where he made his debut. From thereon he played in two more Tests and 20 ODIs from 1998 to 2001.

Colombo High Court Judge Deepali Wijesundara refusing to grant bail to Sinnaiyah Subramanium chairman of Lotus Garments (Pvt) Ltd, Pethiyagoda and Upali Garments (Pvt) Ltd, Ja Ela, observed that the suspect was alleged to have misappropriated a large sum of money from public funds and there should be special reasons to grant bail to such suspects before serving indictment.

Further, the Judge observed that there was an ample possibility for such a suspect to flee the country.

Filing the bail application through Attorney Thejitha Koralage, petitioner Ponnasami Periya Thanemose, wife of Subramanium stated that her husband along with four others were taken into custody on March 29, 2006 by the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department in connection with an alleged misappropriation of Rs. 3.57 billion of Income Tax Department funds.

The petitioner further said that her husband was produced the following day and was in remand custody since then. She said that her husband was an employer of 510 employees and it was difficult to run the business without him. His presence was essential for a discussion with a foreign company to obtain an order to supply garments worth of US $ 5.2 million.

State Counsel Sanjeewa Dissanayake objecting to granting bail stated that there were cases filed against the suspect before the Gampaha Magistrate Court and the suspect had evaded appearing before the Court.

State Counsel Sanjeewa Dissanayake appeared for the Attorney General while President’s Counsel Rienzie Arsakularatne and Attorney Wasantha Batagoda appeared for the petitioner.

Earlier the seven suspects including a senior officer attached to the Inland Revenue Department who had been remanded in connection with the VAT scam were further remanded till February 21, by Colombo Fort Magistrate and Additional District Judge Namal Balalle.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is probing the massive VAT racket at the Inland Revenue Department.

Senior State Counsel Sanjeewa Dissanayake appeared for the Attorney General.

President’s Counsel Rienzie Arsacularatne instructed by Gowri Thavarasa appeared for the suspect.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/02/16/news20.asp

February 8, 2007 (LBO)– Guinness World Records could start a new record category on jumbo sized cabinets of ministers if a formal request is made, a Guinness official said.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet expanded to 54 ministers last Thursday, compounding logistical problems for parliamentary staff and government officials who are struggling to find them a big enough meeting rooms, office space and official vehicles.

The government also brought in two more junior ministers to take the total number of ministers, non-cabinet ministers and deputy ministers to an unprecedented 108.

The London based Guinness World Records says they don’t monitor jumbo sized cabinets of ministers as yet, but are willing to open a category, if a formal request is made.

Anyone keen on creating a category to include Sri Lanka, can make a formal request of the record through their website ( www.guinnessworldrecords.com), the company’s Communications Officer, Amarilis Espinoza said.

“It will then be decided by our record management team, if the new category is suitable,” she said in an email interview.

Sri Lanka’s 225-member parliament now includes 108 legislators (out of the 121 government members) who hold some portfolio in Rajapakse’s cabinet.

“The tax payers will have to now cough out a monthly total of 6.9 million rupees simply to maintain three tiers of portfolio holding politicians,” the independent Sunday Leader newspaper said last week.

But others say the cost may be underestimated.

Transparency International’s local representative J C Weliamuna said last month that some ministries were paying 300,000 rupees a month (2900 US dollars) to rent super luxury SUVs for the minister.

Agriculture Minister Maithripala Sirisena has questioned the cost of the mega-cabinet to the public purse.

Rajapakse’s former ally, the Marxist JVP or People’s Liberation Front, said the huge cabinet for a country of 19.5 million people had made Sri Lanka the laughing stock of the world.

Take a look at this scan from a paper, look at the amount wasted on these useless guys. I would say 30% of them might be worth it, but the rest are useless. They are there only for perks, status, money, power but NOT FOR THE COUNTRY.

We dish out, out of are hard earned pockets to give these guys luxurious lives. If they atleast showed they made a difference with what we pay for them, then it would be a less angered topic, but just think of the things we could do with what we are paying these guys.

Assume 1 USD is 100 Rupees

Total per month for the 104 minister – Rs. 96,781,640 …… USD 967,816 per month

Total per year for the 104 minister –967,816 x 12 = USD 11,613,744 per year

Now we take also into considerations their vehicles USD 35,000

35,000 * 104 = USD 3,640,000 for their vehicles that is one per minister

Now if seen then never just have ONE, they have a few plus security vehicles, so lets add another 50,000 for security vehicles, and for the wife and kids, it’ll be more but lets say 50,000

50,000 * 104 = USD 5,200,000 on other vehicles

So for now we’ll base the cost per year, they keep the vehicles for an year …

Pay for a year for all ministers = USD 11,613,744 per year

Pay for their vehicles (Montero, Land Cruiser, X5, Land Rover, Benz, BMW, etc) = USD 3,640,000

Pay for other vehicles (Wife, Son, Daughter, Son in Law, Brother, etc) = USD 5,200,000

Now lets take accommodation and so on.

We’ll assume they rent, without considering new properties, and we’ll put the rent at Rs. 150,000 per month

150,000 per month rent
50,000 Electricity, water, etc
30,000 phone bill
40,000 home staff

We’ll take their usual extremes, AC in the whole house, long calls international and local, these will be used by the entire family.

270,000 per month for accommodation and so on

For all 104 = 270,000 x 104 = Rs. 28,080,000 per month …. USD 280,800 per month

For all 104 per year = 280,800 x 12 = 3,369,600 per year

Should we stop at that ? Earlier there was an article on their fuel usage, lets include that (http://lankabuzz.blogsome.com/2006/08/07/tax-paid-vehicles-and-fuel/) also but for 104 ministers

lets assume the petrol is refilled every 3 days

for one montero, filled once costs 100x80=8000 rupees
so for the month, filled 10 times(30/3) costs 8000x10=80,000

so for the 104 vehicles for the month it comes to
80,000x104 = Rs 8,320,000 per month on fuel

so lets assume each of them have on average 4 vehicles, the kids need to show their friends they have a cool car, and it has loads of power, and the wife has to show her friends at hilton her husband has given her the best car, and so on.
so we’ll follow the same formula, let’s assume they all got monetros or a skylines, or a jags or bms
8,320,000x4= Rs 33,280,000 a month for all minister vehicles

33,280,000 / 104 = 320,000 per minister per month for fuel for whole family

now we need to include the convoy vehicles
let’s put an average of 3 vehicles, these we’ll put a diesel something

let’s assume 5000 for fuel per tank and it’s filled twice a week
5,000 x 10 = 50,000 per vehicle per month
then for all three vehicles 50,000 x 3 = 150,000 per convoy per minister
so the total per minster for all vehicles per month comes to
320,000 + 150,000 = 470,000 rupees
470,000 x 300 = Rs 48,880,000 on fuel per month

Per month on fuel for ministers = USD 488,800 per month

Per year on fuel for ministers 488,800 x 12 = 5,865,600 per year

NOW LETS ADD IT ALL UP

Pay for a year for all ministers = USD 11,613,744 per year

Pay for their vehicles (Montero, Land Cruiser, X5, Land Rover, Benz, BMW, etc) = USD 3,640,000

Pay for other vehicles (Wife, Son, Daughter, Son in Law, Brother, etc) = USD 5,200,000

Pay for accommodation for all 104 per year = 280,800 x 12 = 3,369,600 per year

Pay for fuel for all ministers vehicles = 488,800 x 12 = 5,865,600 per year

WHATS OUR TOTAL

11,613,744 + 3,640,000 + 5,200,000 + 3,369,600 + 5,865,600

……….. ======== USD 29,688,944

TOTAL = USD 29,688,944

TOTAL IN RUPEES = RS 2,968,894,400 PER YEAR ON MINISTERS REQUIREMENTS !!!!

CORRECT ???????