The National Joint Committee (NJC) representing a number of Sri Lankan organisations that are active in the maintenance and protection of the unitary state of the country, has expressed its shock and dismay at the recent Norwegian cash gift to the government of Sri Lanka.
President of the NJC, former Supreme Court Judge, Raja Wana-sundera, writing to the Charge d’Affaires of the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, Mr. Ove Danbolt has stated they were reliably informed that this funding was to promote sustainable ethnic harmony in Sri Lanka; the purpose of which was to canvass for a general acceptance of the multi-ethnic nature of our society and the need for power sharing and democracy at the grassroots level. The Association has condemned vehemently the blantant interference by the Norwegian government in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.
The Association alleged that the assumption of the Norwegian government to donate cash specifically to promote the so-called ‘ethnic harmony’ clearly demonstrated its total ignorance of the actual situation in contemporary Sri Lanka for the people here were facing a vicious and an atrocious terrorist campaign conducted by a group of people belonging to a minority Tamil community.
"Some observers have commented that this gratuitous assumption and the resulting action is analogous to the despicable betrayal of the Norwegian people by Vidukum Abraham Quisling’s connivance with Hitler in the invasion of Norway. So the action of the Norwegian government to influence events in another country could be misunderstood to presume that the foreign policy of Norway is structured on Quisling edicts," the NJC added.
The Association has further noted that the Norwegian government should realize that the political package was only in the form of a proposal submitted by the ruling People’s Alliance.
Thus, it is of the view that a foreign government has injected a cash gift to Sri Lanka’s new Ministry of Ethnic Affairs and National Integration, even before the people of the country, its opposition parties and above all Parliament has had the chance to debate the issue.
"This is unacceptable under any circumstances and tantamounts to a form of bribery of a government department in a sovereign state," it observed.
It was further said that the government’s devolution package advocated the fragmentation of a unitary state into eight or nine regions and many political analysts, academics, professional bodies and the country’s most respected heads of the Maha Sangha (Buddhist Monks) were against this move.
The NJC emphasised that the evidence showed that many people were against the creation of a federal Sri Lanka and charged that the Norwegian government’s intervention was to enable the Ministry here carry out its propaganda activities in favour of the proposals.
Mr. Wanasundera also told the diplomat that The Sunday Times reminded that the Norwegian in particular had a record of brokering the historic Israeli-Palestinian deal and the later events showed that it was the US that was behind this historic summit at the White House between Arafat and Rabin. "The so- called ‘broker’, the Foreign Minister was only taking a side role and the Norwegians were just front men", the letter stated.
The June 22nd issue of The Sunday Times said: "Let us remember too that there is an LTTE lobby in Norway. So when there is a national debate in sovereign Sri Lanka on the national question and the government has put forward a set of proposals that is the subject of the debate, is it proper for foreign monies to be infused in this way?"
Mr. Wanasundera observed on behalf of the NJC that the Norwegian government’s action had violated one of the basic principles governing international relations, namely the non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
The Norwegian diplomat has been asked to convey to his government the NJC’s opposition over this issue.
A protest march to Colombo has been organised to condemn the decision to dump garbage collected in over 20 municipal council and pradeshiya sabha areas including Colombo, Kotte and Dehiwela - Mount Lavinia at Alpota Watte in Meepe , Padukka , Awissawella P.A. pradeshiya sabha member, Attorney -at - Law, Chandrapala Kumarage said.
The march organised by the Association for the Preservation of Kelanivalley Environment will start from Meepe at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and will be followed by a meeting at Hyde Park at 4 pm
Members of some 300 families virtually thrown out of their houses12 years ago to make way for the expansion of the Batticaloa airport are still waiting for compensation.
A spokesman for families told The Sunday Times they would be staging a satyagraha outside the Batticaloa kachcheri next week to protest against what they saw as plain indifference and injustice .
The spokesman George Pillai whose family has lost house and property including paddy fields to the value of Rs 1.5 million, said they had been appealing to various people ranging from local politicians to the President herself. But all their pleas had gone un heeded.
Even last month they had sent an appeal to the President and got an acknowledgement, but nothing more. Mr. Pillai said a few of the families had received some compensation or alternative land but that too appeared to be under-valued.
"When the the UNP govt. coaxed or forced us to leave, it promised compensation within six months. Then it became one year; now it is 12 years and still they are making excuses while we go through a hard grind", a desperate Mr. Pillai said.
The airport is located about two miles out of Batticaloa town and the people living around it had been told to quit for security reasons. But Mr. Pillai pointed out that the airport was not extended and no new runway was built. The only thing that happened was that the whole place was fenced with barbed wire.
He recalled how some officials had acted in 1985, sometimes threatening to throw them out or bulldoze their houses if they did not leave.
Specifying the charges of under- valuation Mr. Pillai said that while his property was worth Rs. 1.5 million they had received only Rs. 300,000. But an official of the Valuation Dept. denied any under valuation and claimed some families were seeking compensation for non existent property. Admitting the delays he said one reason was the destruction of the relevant documents when the department’s regional office in Batticaloa was burnt.
Senior
journalist, Mary Amaratunga who died last Sunday was a symbol of the ethnic
unity that Sri Lanka so desperately needs.
Though being a Sinhalsese, she emerged as one of the top Tamil sub-editors and feature writers during a journalistic career that spanned 25 years.
Born in Negombo, Mary Amaratunga (nee) Fernando possessed not only a multi-ethnic qualities but also ink in her veins.
She was just a nine year old student at Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya when she began writing for the Children’s Page of the Thinakaran.
In 1969, Mary joined the Dinapathi, a Tamil daily published by Independent Newspapers Ltd.
Fluent in Tamil, English and Sinhala, she had the rare ability of translating stories from any one of those languages to another.
The training perhaps came from her brother Anthony Fernando, also a journalist with a rare fluency in all three languages.
Anthony was not only Mary’s mentor, he was also like a father to her after Mary lost her father at the age of 12. "She came to me when she had any problem and whenever I was in trouble she was the first to come", Anthony said.
From the beginning Mary specialised in international affairs and was in charge of the foreign news page of the Dinapathi, besides writing an International commentary in their Sunday paper Chintamani.
Mary was a quiet, caring and very friendly journalist. "She may not have earned much money, but she earned many friends," Anthony added as scores of colleagues and friends poured into their Kottikawatte residence to say goodbye to Mary, before the funeral last Wednesday.
After the Dinapathi was closed down in 1989, Mary worked for some periodicals till she joined the Virakesari in 1992. She acted as foreign news editor, wrote a weekly commentary on international affairs and also compiled science and health pages. So varied were her talents that she was adjudged the best science writer in the Tamil media by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science.
When colleagues met Mary for the last time she could not speak or hear.
She only smiled but it was a smile that spoke a thousand words and a heartfelt ‘Thank you’".
Goodbye Mary, God be with you.
A man enjoying his drink at a rest house out of Colombo has helped the Excise Department to make the startling detection at a bottling plant in Kalutara where liquor was being adulterated in an unprecedented manner, Excise officials said.
The detection was made after one imbiber noticed an unusual smell in the extra special liquor bottle he ordered and made a complaint to the rest house keeper, who in turn took up the matter from where he took the stocks.
However the warehouse situated at Dehiowita had refused to accept the 85 bottles which were returned forcing the rest house owner to lodge a complaint with the Excise Department In Colombo.
A special Excise team last Wednesday was despatched to carry out a check on the bottles only to find the strength of the alcohol was less than the normal set standard.
Thereafter the team raided the Dehiowita regional warehouse which is responsible for supplies to the entire Sabaragamuwa province and found thousands of other bottles which contained alcohol below the normal strength.
The team then rushed to the Company in Kalutara from where the supplies had been drawn. They found 20, 000 litres suspected to be of less strength. Two vats have been sealed pending a top level inquiry.
Excise Department officials said that normal alcohol strength should be 33.5 per cent, but the liquor seized contained an alcohol percentage of 30.5 per cent.
When ‘The Sunday Times’ contacted Excise Commissioner, B. Wijetunga he denied that such a raid had taken place, but one of his deputies confirmed the detection and said that a full investigation into the matter is under way.
A resolution calling on the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) not to be a party to the government’s proposal to dump garbage at Alupothawatte in Niripola, Hanwella was defeated at the Council’s monthly meeting on Thursday, where acting Mayor Omar Z. Kamil presided.
MEP’s Geethanjana Gunawardena, moving the resolution, said the government has planned to set up a garbage dumping project in an area which is 500 feet above sea-level. Residents of the surrounding areas and the Sitawaka Pradeshiya Sabha, too, have protested against this plan.
He characterised the move as ungrateful to dump dirt in an area that gave water to city residents. He said the day’s garbage collection would be nearly 1000 tons. ‘’If this happens,’’ he stressed vehemently, ‘’the Colombo ratepayers will be drinking contaminated water.’’
Mr. Gunawardena said there were five springs feeding streams that fed the Kelani Ganga. With garbage dumped on this land the springs would be polluted which in turn would contaminate the water. Giving an alternative to dumping he said refuse would be converted into compost. The garbage could be deposited on land owned by the UDA, Land Development and Railway and, in time, turn them into parks and playing fields. The resolution was defeated by 35 to 4. The UNP and PA voted against.
Continue to the News/Comment page 3 - * Revamping UNP, plans lessons on politics , * Russian found dead in ship’s engine room , * Death of veteran Tamil Journalist , * CPJ urges President to repeal criminal defamation laws , * Lankan overstayers given 3 months to leave Saudi Arabia
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