Is the sacking of UNP rebels imminent?

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

The United National Party is fast getting ready to decide the fate of the four rebel parliamentarians who extended support to the government on the basis of forming a national government, "Sirikotha" sources said.

Five committees appointed by the UNP leadership to probe the conduct of the dissidents are ready to hand over their reports to the party leader when he returns from Egypt next week.

The specific charges levelled against the rebels, Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Nanda Mathew, Wijayapala Mendis, Susil Moonesinghe and Chula Bandara, are that they supported the main rival candidate of the UNP leader in contravention of the party constitution and a working committee decision and that they campaigned on the rival candidate's behalf.

Meanwhile, further charges have been levelled against the two rebel ministers. Explanations are to be called from them for allegedly accepting portfolios in the PA government despite party directives to occupy opposition benches, for being seated among government rankers and for not casting their vote at parliamentary voting time in accordance with UNP decisions.

Sources confirmed that it would be the end of the road for all five members despite heavy pressure on the government to introduce the anti-defection laws in Parliament by June.

Apartments for shanties program gets off ground

By Tania Fernando

Colombo is dotted with slums and shanties that house 51% of the city's population.

The Sustainable Township Programme has begun a project to settle these deprived families in high-rise apartments.

It was initiated at the end of 1998 by the Ministry of Urban Development Housing and Construction to help provide housing facilities to shanty dwellers living on government property.

The project, while being self-financing, will also be socially acceptable and environmentally friendly.

The first step in the project has been taken in Wanathamulla, where 680 flats to house the shanty dwellers of that area will be built on 2.2 acres of land. This first project will free eight acres of land occupied by shanty dwellers.

"Providing quality housing with adequate infrastructure for those deprived families is the main aim and would be the first step towards making Colombo safer and healthier," said Dr. Krishan Deheragoda, Director of the Township Sustainable Programme (STP).

He is also a member of the Board of Management of the UDA, the Monitoring Committee on the Implementation of the Presidential Task Force on Housing and Urban Development, and Chairman/Managing Director of Real Estate Exchange (Pvt) Ltd (REEL).

Because of the sheer complexity of this programme, this new company, Real Estate Exchange (Pvt) Ltd was formed by government agencies whose lands have been encroached upon. These agencies are the STP, the Urban Development Authority, National Housing Development Authority, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation & Development Corporation and the Colombo Municipal Council.

The STP will re-house 66,000 households currently living in slums in Colombo in fully developed townships and this process will liberate nearly 1,000 acres of encumbered prime land in the city, presently occupied by these squatters. While 60% of this will be used for urban development, the proceeds from this sale will be reinvested to finance the re-housing project.

The STP will improve the social and economic conditions of all deprived families and lay a foundation for them to become productive partners in the economic development and progress of Colombo, said Dr. Deheragoda.

As the management arm of the STP, REEL will manage all commercial as well as construction aspects of the STP.

At present each slum and shanty household occupies an average of 2.25 perches. By re-housing them in high rise flats, which are bigger, REEL can reduce the per family land ratio to about half a perch and thereby be able to liberate about 1.75 perches land from each family that is re-housed.

According to Dr. Deheragoda, after the location is picked, they will inquire from each household their willingness to move into flats, after which tenders are called from construction companies who will indicate the types of flats they are able to put up. These models will be shown to the householders and a construction company will be picked accordingly.

Some question the effectiveness of this project stating that although there is a need to offer opportunities to the under privileged, they question if there is a guarantee that they wont sell the flats and move on to squat on other land to claim another flat.

Dr. Deheragoda claims that it is not possible for this to happen, as a head of a household is chosen and his details stored in their computers.

Therefore it is not possible for him to reapply, because before houses are given the data base is checked to ensure that he has not previously received any assistance from STP/REEL.

It is common knowledge that drug suppliers and thieves come from these areas and it is possible for them to actually change their lifestyles after being offered an opportunity to better their lives.

"We are planning on joining forces with institutions like ADIC, and other rehabilitation organisations, in order to help these people to live a better life", said Dr. Deheragoda.

The apartments will be legally owned by the householders and can even be sold if they wish. The whole process, from identifying the location to choosing the construction company, takes 2 1/2 months.

There are various types of flats ranging from 300 to 600 sq. ft in the categories of basic, luxury and super luxury.

"These shanty dwellers never had a legal right to settle down on their encroachments.

"They could not find better shelter because of the high cost of land and their inability to obtain long term housing finance due to a lack of credit worthiness.

"For the first time the rights of the squatters are recognized. They will be offered a permanent home worth over Rs. 1 million," he said.

At present the STP is in the process of commencing three more projects, a commercial and 100-apartment project with a multi-storied car park in Panchikawatte at Sri Vajiragnana Mawatha in Maradana and another project on St. Sebastian's Street.

Right of way at roundabout but...

By Nilika de Silva

Many drivers and motor cyclists are complaining that motoring has become complicated following the introduction of traffic lights at roundabouts.

Among the latest developments in the city transport system, is that roundabouts are in the process of acquiring traffic signals.

Hitherto, motorists were aware that when they approached a roundabout the right of way prevailed.

But the recently introduced traffic lights system is now making confusion the order of the day. Motorists are stopped at various points around the roundabout by blinking lights.

DIG Traffic Police, Camillus Abeygoonewardena explained that placing traffic signals on roundabouts was not something unheard of since it was used in countries like the UK as well.

"It will be confusing for a short while till the procedures are known," said DIG Abeygoonewardena responding to The Sunday Times.

The Colombo Municipal Council is the main body involved in introducing this novel feature to Colombo roads.

Meanwhile, the question has arisen whether it becomes imperative to place these traffic signals somewhere as they are locally manufactured.

If this is so, then who knows where the line will be drawn?

Lankan case in Law report

An immigration case handled by a law firm owned by a Sri Lankan in Britain has been reported in the widely quoted Times Law report.

The Sri Lankan firm represented an asylum seeker to whom the Home Secretary had refused leave to enter Britain and seek asylum.

On an appeal to the special adjudicator, the Home Secretary's decision was overturned but the Home Secretary had subsequently appealed to an immigration appeal tribunal.

The Court of Appeal of the UK, allowing an appeal of the asylum seeker, stated that an immigration appeal tribunal had no implicit power or discretion to accept further evidence at a hearing without notice. At this point, evidence had been presented relating to David Macharia, the asylum seeker, on the morning of the hearing and his counsel had little time to assess the evidence. The tribunal however accepted the evidence and ruled in favour of the Home Secretary.

However on appeal to the Court of Appeal, the court ruled that the tribunal had no implicit power to receive further evidence without notice and that the tribunal itself could draw on relevant information known to its members, provided both parties were given a fair opportunity to deal with it. The court held that the hearing had been procedurally unfair since the applicant had had only ten minutes to assess the evidence.

The applicant was represented by a Sri Lankan Law firm in Britain, Perera & Co. and by solicitors, Mahinda Perera and Chandrika Perera.

Headache of a factory

The residents living close to a factory that manufactures asbestos sheets have complained to the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) about the noise and the pollution coming from the factory.

The residents in and around Attidiya have complained about the fumes and the noise from the asbestos factory.

The factory makes asbestos sheets, which have been banned in most countries due to the health hazards they can cause.

It was decided at a meeting held with a few of the residents, the CEA and officials of the asbestos factory, that the factory officials should check if the pollution caused is within the specified limits set by the CEA.

The CEA has given the factory two months to monitor its pollution and make arrangements to ensure that it falls within the specified limits.

"We complained on many occasions, but they never bothered to take any notice.

But once the CEA had written to them, some officials from the factory visited our residences", said Christopher Paul, a resident of the area.

The factory manager confirmed that they will be taking the necessary steps to ensure that they are within the limits set by the CEA.

"Basically we have to work on a few things. We will contact the CISIR and other organizations of that nature and get their assistance in trying to reduce the pollution," he said.

He also said that there are three types of asbestos, the blue which is completely banned, the brown which is somewhat harmful and the white, which is relatively safe. They manufacture only the white sheets at their factory, he said.

The Director of the CEA when contacted refused to give details on individual cases of this nature, saying that the decision could be biased if undue publicity is given.

According to another resident S. M. Perera, even after the meeting with the CEA, the factory has not taken any steps to rectify the situation.

"It looks like they don't intend taking any steps and it actually looks like the noise and smoke has increased" he said.

The residents question whether this factory should be moved into an industrial area.

"The factory might have been put up before we moved in, but now this is a residential area, and the factory management should understand this and try and rectify the situation or look for an alternative" he said.

Although manufacturing of asbestos sheets has been banned in many countries due to the health hazards it can cause, in Sri Lanka it is still an economically feasible choice.

More buses for reverse flow

Eighty additional buses will be plying today while 75 buses have been commissioned to run tomorrow and 80 on Tuesday to transport people back from their villages as the New Year holidays draw to a close.

Central Bus Stand General Manager, Nimal Prematilleke told The Sunday Times that on the instructions of the Chairman of the Central Transport Board, Ramal Siriwardena, 1,250 additional buses had been commissioned to run from April 7 to18.

On the days immediately prior to the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, when the most number of commuters were travelling, 250 additional buses were put on the roads.

Meanwhile, the roads remained relatively quiet in the city and suburban areas right upto yesterday.

Wahid case in a whirl

A dispute has arisen over the arrest of a businessman on charges of exchange control offenses relating to gold imports.

The businessman, A. I Wahid, was taken in by the CID on April 3 and has reportedly gone on a hunger strike, protesting against what he saw as an illegal arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

His wife has appealed to the police chief for a full investigation alleging that the CID had tricked her husband into ending his hunger strike.

CID director C.K.D.G. Gajanayaka told The Sunday Times that the businessman was being detained under PTA because there were allegations that some money from these transactions was going into illegal hands.

He declined to give further details saying the investigations were not yet completed.

Call for views in draft constitution

By M. Parameshwaran

A draft resolution for constitutional change prepared by the Citizens' Initiative for Constitutional Change (CICC) is to be handed over to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

CICC chief Ajith Rupasinghe said the group had visited various areas including Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee to get the views of people at grassroots regarding constitutional changes.

He told a meeting in support of peace initiatives held at Vavuniya last week represented by the Wanni Peace Foundation and the Citizens Initiative for Constitutional Change, to collect views at grassroots level regarding concerns which should be addressed by a new constitution.

The suggestion and views of around two hundred residents of Vavuniya, Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee, who were present at the meeting, were taken into account.

Ven. Siyambalagaswewa Wimalasara Thera of the Wanni Peace Foundation also spoke at a meeting held by the CICC in Vavuniya. He said members of the Maha Sangha who held extremist views would be invited for a dialogue with the Buddhist monks who supported a peaceful solution.

The draft resolution for constitutional change prepared by the CICC states as follows:

"A country of diverse and distinctive nationalities and linguistic, religious and cultural communities and traditions, each with a history of habitation and co-existence, Sri Lanka is home to the Sinhala Buddhist community, the Tamil community living predominantly in the north-east, the Moslem community, the Tamil community in the plantation sector, the Malay, Burgher and other ethnic, religious and indigenous communities.

"Although the Sinhala language and Buddhism constitute the major traditions of the majority of people, all other communities are heirs to distinctive historical traditions which have enriched and contributed in the making of a common Sri Lankan civilisation. They have an equal right to determine the form and content of their distinctive identity as well as their common destiny.

"While all communities in Sri Lanka are equal in political status and rights, all persons for whom Sri Lanka is their homeland have a sovereign right to be full and equal citizens.

"They should all participate as equal partners in defining and constructing a democratic state and in shaping a common future and destiny without any form of discrimination."

"The fundamental rights, duties and obligations of every citizen and community will be constitutionally entrenched and held inviolable where no community shall discriminate against any other community and no community, whether in regard to language, religion, or economic and political rights or opportunities, shall have exclusive privileges and status but shall pursue its own rights and freedoms in the context of ensuring the rights and freedoms of all other citizens and communities; that the state shall be secular and promote the freedom to observe religious beliefs and practice the language and customs of all communities equally.

"The colonial legacy, the politics of communalism and the political, economic and social inequalities generated by the development process have produced rivalry over the allocation and the control of resources and benefits among the various communities, classes and groups, which have lead to a process of fragmentation and division of society.

"Therefore, special institutional mechanisms must be defined that address the democratic aspirations of all communities where a sense of common belonging and purpose, reinforced by consensual decision-making on national policy, forms the basis for the articulation, protection and promotion of the right of self-determination of all nationalities and communities.

"The process of globalisation and economic liberalisation have brought increasing poverty and dislocation to all vulnerable sectors and groups of society who do not possess the means to compete and survive in the market.

"At the same time, social infrastructure in terms of health, education, nutrition is being degraded. In this context, the right to development, the right to a life free from want, free from insecurity, a life with a purpose in which the full creative potential of each may be realised is being increasingly violated.

"The concentration of wealth and capital and the centralisation of state power have combined to deprive the people of their sovereignty. Institutional mechanisms shall be designed and constitutionally entrenched where the people shall exercise their sovereignty as equal partners in deciding on the policies that affect their lives. Such institutions shall be introduced at all levels of central and local government."

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