• 'Holey'-days in land of lotus eaters
• PoW families urge prelates to talk peace
• Balasingam fires back
• We're nobody's children
• Vavuniya trains still at red light
• Kumar killing: AI defends its record
• Eppawala protest in Kandy next month
• Blood supply to be centralised
• Bill looks private and confidential, claims UPTO
• Your conflict an internal matter, says Vajpayee
• They get ready to mark May Day
• Bipartisanship goes to the provinces
• Buzzing over beep
• Rajitha to sue State media for the 'smear'
• 'My party is the alternative to PA'
• Serious flaws tie the wings of the aviation authority
• Controversial bills to be presented again
• NIE seeks to clean up school admission malpractices
• No confidence motion on Colombo mayor coming
• Govt. to break stranglehold on services to the North
• Liz tells how Bostock died
• Dadayama: Court upholds right to protect sources
• Crime time
• In the interest of national security - POLICE PROBLEMS
• Sinhala party going full steam for polls - Interview
• Solheim coming; Oslo team to meet Prabha
• Deadly dispenser
• SriLankan passengers treated shabbily
• Cricket: Cronje, cronies, crooks
• Banished Bohra bullied at BIA
• Norway: Practise what you preach

'Holey'-days in land of lotus eaters

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

With Sri Lanka poised to enter the Guinness Book of World Records, not for the nation's productivity but for having a crippling number of holidays, the extended holidays following the festive season have caused much difficulty to the general public not to mention the economic repercussions to a third world nation.

Come April, the easy-going and holiday-making if not lethargic Sri Lankan nature takes over, and this time, it was better with so many other holidays falling close to each other. The new year period which also coincides with the Nuwara Eliya summer season generated much revelry and celebration and was followed by Poya and Good Friday holidays.

It is in this backdrop that the country's supreme institution, the Parliament also maintained the tradition of granting a holiday after the one and a half month long budget debate — an example though unofficial being emulated by many ministries and departments thereby bringing the country to a virtual standstill.

The dysfunctional state, according to some aggrieved persons who eagerly waited for the holiday mood to evaporate, would end only tomorrow when the holidays end.

The Sunday Times learns that while a key ministry only had eight persons reporting to work last Monday, other ministries also recorded an all-time low in employees' attendance.

Angry citizens called newspaper offices to complain how their work was affected due to high absenteeism of officials and senior employees. While ministries and departments remained dysfunctional almost from the beginning of April, the entire country seemed to have gone on a long vacation.

With the head of state and the opposition leader abroad in addition to over thirty parliamentarians from both sides of the divide including six ministers, others less fortunate also seem to have taken a leaf from the leaders' book and have applied for extensive leave to escape from what they see as the drudgery of work.

Inconvenienced by this plethora of holidays we find the ordinary man, denied the luxury of holidaying and affected by the malfunctioning services. Among the chief complainants were service personnel who found it difficult to attend to various matters as offices were nonfunctional.

With many general services and supplies at a standstill in a country where holidaying is a general malady causing sluggish growth, experts view this as one of the main reasons for they country's low productivity.

It has been revealed that countries with better per capita income, higher productivity and better economies also have a work force with a far greater commitment to duty and fewer holidays.

With a total of 174 holidays marked on the Sri Lankan calendar this year, it is not surprising that we are to receive Guinness recognition as one of the main lotus-eating nations. This year's 174 holidays of which 42 days are voluntary leave, with 106 Saturdays and Sundays and 26 statutory holidays out of which nine are public, bank and mercantile holidays and12 Poya days!

Accordingly, Sri Lanka has three main seasons for holiday making; the Sinhala- Hindu new year, Vesak and Christmas time. Scattered holidays have also been recognized as the main impediment as people tended to take leave in between holidays adding to overall absence of workers. With supplies and public transport heavily affected, there is little hope of productivity during the festive season.

With a fortnight of holiday making over and people dragging their feet to work in a post-holiday syndrome, it is not a killjoy proposal to state the system must be injected with more productive zeal and that those at the helm should try to lead by example, not by rhetoric.

PoW families urge prelates to talk peace

By Shelani de Silva

Families of soldiers held captive by the LTTE are to meet religious prelates and appeal to them to call for peace talks.

The families are scheduled to meet the Mahanayakas who have been campaigning against the peace talks and Norway's offer to facilitate the peace efforts.

E. P. Nanayakkara who heads an association comprising families of missing persons told The Sunday Times they have decided to meet the Mahanayaka's to explain the need to start peace talks with the LTTE and to end the war.

"We are the people who are affected by the war, we have lost our children.

People can carryout protests but if they know what we are going through they will realize the futility of these agitation's. We feel that the Mahanayakas need to be briefed on these matters. No where in the world has there been a military victory," in a guerrilla war," he said.

Meanwhile other peace groups are also scheduled to meet the Mahanayakas to explain their stand.

Ven. Siyambalagaswewa Wimalasara thero told The Sunday Times a group comprising Buddhist and Catholic clergy would meet the Mahanayakas.

Meanwhile Mahanayakas are awaiting a response from the Government to the petition and the seven non negotiable conditions they had put forward.

The prelates have stated that they are willing to meet the president not to negotiate but to explain their stand regarding the conflict in the country.

Balasingam fires back

By S.S.Selvanayagam

LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham has reiterated charges that Tamils in Sri Lanka are being repressed through measures like pass system, which he compares to the apartheid segregation in the earlier white-ruled South Africa.

Responding to a statement issued last week by the Foreign Ministry, Mr. Balasingham said the flourishing agriculture and fishing industry of the north had been paralysed by bans and trade embargoes. He accused the Foreign Ministry of distorting or underplaying various issues.

We're nobody's children

Pix and text By M.A. Pushpakumara

While a Western media hype focused world attention on one child in Miami, two nameless and unknown children who were abandoned at the Negombo hospital, have without much fanfare found a new home at the Munakkara Nil Diya Sevana, an orphanage in Negombo.

The girls aged five and three — not knowing even their names or the whereabouts of their parents — were handed over to the orphanage on a court order.

On April 16, the little girls had been found on a corridor or the hospital. They said their mother had left them there, saying she was going to get them some toffees. An eye witness, Upul Chandana, who works at the Water Board, said children had apparently been there from morning and others at the hospital realised their plight when the helpless children begged for food from another woman in the ward.

Later they found a parcel containing, two plates, two tooth brushes and some clothes — apparently their only possession.

A ward doctor said the elder girl was deaf and her left arm underdeveloped but the other child was quite healthy.

During their stay in the ward, the children had stuck together and made sure they were never separated.

The younger girl when coaxed to speak said she remebered her father shouting and hitting her mother — apprently in a drunken state. She said they lived near a shop and they had come on foot to the hospital.

Vavuniya trains still at red light

By Chris Kamalendran

Security forces and railway authorities are discussing ways of resuming train services to Vavuniya after a dispute between engine drivers and authorities over responsibility for this week's bomb explosion in Vavuniya led to the terminating of train services at Anuradhapura.

Railway trade union members are scheduled to join the discussions with the security and rail authorities over the weekend due to be held in Anuradhapura.

Since Thursday the unions have refused to operate services upto Vavuniya despite the track being fully repaired after the Sunday night explosion in which the intercity train engine and another train engine were badly damaged.

Immediately after the explosion Transport Minister, A.H.M. Fowzie claimed that the engine drivers had violated the directions given to them and operated the train at night.

But subsequent investigations revealed that the Police had ordered the railway authorities not to park trains at Vavuniya due to possible LTTE attacks.

The unions protested at the minister's statement and have refused to operate the train services up to Vavuniya.

Additional General Manager (Administration), N.M. Weerasinghe told The Sunday Times that on Friday they had discussed with the unions about resuming rail services to Vavuniya, but had not reached a final decision.

"We will have to continue these discussions over the weekend', he said.

Kumar killing: AI defends its record

By S.S.Selvanayagam

Amnesty International has declared that it is pursuing its investigation into the killing of All Ceylon Tamil Congress leader Kumar Ponnambalam.

This claim has been made by Amnesty International's Asia & Pacific Program acting director Graham Bennett in response to an allegation made by M.Sivarajah, the president of the Tamil Welfare Association based in the UK.

The Tamil Welfare Association's president in a letter to Amnesty International accused it of bias in its work in Sri Lanka making specific reference to Amnesty's failure to condemn the killing of Mr. Ponnambalam.

Responding to the accusation in a letter to Mr Sivarajah, Mr. Bennett maintained that as the person in charge of the Asia & Pacific Program, he had always felt their work on Sri Lanka to be of the highest standard.

He said that his organisation had been mandated to work on human rights violations by government agencies as well as on abuses by armed opposition groups such as the LTTE.

"When carrying out research on the latter concerns, we use the same standards as in our work on government violations," he said.

In his letter, Mr Bennett has, inter alia, intimated, "We have, and continue to engage closely with his (Kumar Ponnambalam's) family and still hope to be able to issue a statement at an appropriate time." "The problem has been that from the time of his murder we were investigating several possible scenarios of who could be responsible for his death. We could have issued a general condemnatory statement without naming a specific perpetrator, but actually in the initial period after the killing, we were close to naming those alleged to be responsible (i.e. the National Front Against Tigers who claimed responsibility)," he stated.

"Only later we learned that most people who saw their claim did not think it was genuine but saw it more as a prank or a cover-up. In addition, various other scenarios were being suggested which also sounded plausible," he added.

"By then, issuing a more immediate reaction/general condemnation was too late. Let me assure you that we are still pursuing our investigations, and that we still would like to be able to say something.

The magisterial inquiry is going on, so that may throw some light or provide an angle," he said.

Eppawala protest in Kandy next month

By Shelani de Silva

Following last month's massive protest in Colombo against the sale of the Eppawala phosphate mine, the villagers of Eppawala have decided to carry out a protest rally in Kandy next month.

Next month's protest will only have Buddhist monks participating. They will proceed from the Maligawa to an auditorium for a meeting.

Head of the committee for the preservation of the phosphate mine Ven. Mahamankadala Piyaratane Thera told The Sunday Times that the Sangha Sabha will carry out a public awareness program.

'The rally will be held on May 10 and we have already informed the monks.

The Asgiriya and Malwatta Mahanayakas too have confirmed their participation. The Mahanayakas have shown much interest in the issue and have expressed their objections to such a takeover' said the thera.

Last month's protest was one of the largest rallies to be held in Colombo more than 10,000 people.participating.

The committee will carry out similar protests in other parts of the country to denounce the government's move, he said.

Blood supply to be centralised

By Faraza Farook

The Ministry of Health and the Central Blood Bank (CBB) have decided to regularise blood transfusion services by doing away with private blood banks and making the CBB the main source of supply to both private and state hospitals in the country.

"Allowing private blood banks to mushroom can be dangerous considering the many diseases that can be transfused through blood," Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said adding, "it also becomes a business".

The CBB has drawn up a list of all the private hospitals in the country with surgical facilities and those that need blood. Presently, most of these hospitals borrow blood either from the CBB, its regional blood banks or from other private blood banks.

CBB Director Dr. Ranjini Bindusara said the SAARC country blood bank representatives who met in Sri Lanka to mark World Health Day complained that HIV positivity was high due to the multisectoral management. She said the Sri Lankan blood transfusion service has proved to be successful but can be made more effective and ensure safe blood if the CBB becomes the main source of supply.

As a first step in regularising the system and to ensure that the CBB and its regional blood banks have a sufficient supply of blood to serve all hospitals islandwide, the CBB wants all hospitals to draw up a list of regular donors. It was also suggested that private institutions refer their donors to the CBB or the regional blood banks.

"Private hospitals that need blood can register themselves with the CBB and store blood obtained from us at their blood banks," Dr. Bindusara said. The primary objective of the CBB is to upgrade the system in the provinces first by establishing a regular donors' list. Accordingly the CBB has been studying the population and listing those eligible to donate.

"We will be going to each district starting from Matara. All religious leaders in the districts will be called for an awareness programme and made responsible for organising blood donor campaigns regularly and establishing a list of donors," Dr. Bindusara said. Two districts that are currently doing well are Kandy and Badulla, she said.

At the international conference held in Colombo early this month to mark World Health Day, a constitution was drafted to implement the national blood policy. Once this policy gets Cabinet approval, the private hospitals will have to depend on the CBB for their blood.

Meanwhile, the Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes which welcomed the government move, was however, opposed to doing away with blood banks in leading private hospitals. Secretary to the Association Wijeya Ransi told The Sunday Times that if the state bans private blood banks, it will have a tremendous impact on the hospitals running them. He said that the Association has presented its views to the Health Ministry but has not received a favourable response yet.

There are only four major hospitals that run their own blood banks – Asiri, Nawaloka, Asha Central and Durdans. Others depend on the CBB. "These big hospitals have invested much and trained their staff. Therefore they should be allowed to run their own blood banks under the supervision of the CBB," says Ananda Kuruppu–arachchi, a spokesman for the Association.

He was also sceptical about the practicality of supplying blood to all the hospitals. "The supply of screened blood to small hospitals is good, but they shouldn't do away with private blood banks because they are doing fine," he pointed out. He said the Association has met both Health Ministry officials and Blood Bank officials with this regard several times last year, and represented their views.

Bill looks private and confidential, claims UPTO

A powerful postal union has claimed that it is unaware of the details of the proposed bill on the restructuring of the Postal Department due to be presented in Parliament on May 9.

N.P. Hettiarachchi, Secretary General of the Union of Post and Telecommunication Organization (UPTO) said the trade unions would oppose the bill if it was aimed at privatising the department, but would support it if it was to reorganise the postal service.

He said though the government had promised to show the draft bill to the UPTO before it was presented in Parliament, it had not done so yet.

Meanwhile, Acting Posts and Telecommunications Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, has denied any plans by the government to sell the Postal Department to the Netherlands as reported in certain newspapers.

Mr. Yapa in a statement said no necessity had arisen for the department to be sold to foreign investors.

"The reason for spreading this false information is to disrupt the good relationship between the government officials and the trade unions," the acting minister said.

He said suggestions put forward by the UPTO had been included in the bill to ensure that employees received benefits and proper increments.

Your conflict an internal matter, says Vajpayee

By Dilrukshi Handunnetti

Reiterating India's non-interventionist policy, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has welcomed the PA-UNP bipartisan approach in finding a solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic crisis, describing it as a bridge to bring the LTTE to the negotiating table.

"India only envisaged a friendly and assisting role without direct involvement in Sri Lanka's internal political matter best handled by parties to the same conflict," Mr. Vajpayee told the visiting Sri Lankan opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The meeting with Mr. Wickremesinghe took place on Thursday despite Mr. Vajpayee postponing several other meetings and appointments due to ill health.

The Indian Prime Minister and Mr. Wickremesinghe discussed chances of peace in Sri Lanka in view of the ongoing PA-UNP talks and the Norwegian initiative.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said both the ruling PA and the UNP gave high priority to the ongoing talks and expressed the hope that the Norwegian intervention would be meaningful in initiating a dialogue with the LTTE.

Accordingly, Mr. Vajpayee has expressed confidence in the ability of both the ruling and opposition UNP to 'show magnanimity and introduce a genuine power sharing exercise'.

He said India wished peace in all its neighbouring countries and it never wished to see the tiny island nation of Sri Lanka divided by hostility.

Mr. Vajyapee had suggested that the Sri Lankan conflict was one which should be necessarily settled by the parties to the conflict. India he had stressed would extend friendly assistance from outside to resolve the conflict though it had no intention of getting involved in a matter which was very much 'internal'.

UNP sources said that Mr. Vajpayee had said India had always followed a friendly policy towards Sri Lanka and other countries in the region.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said the SAARC could make greater progress by strengthening trade and economic relations.

In a series of meetings with Indian leaders, the Opposition Leader has proposed that a bilateral trade and economic treaty should be put into gear for the next 20 years to become regionally powerful with more clout and bargaining power against international trade forces.

The Opposition leader has claimed that the regional power actually rested in the collective power to become economically strong with the ability to internationally compete.

Mr. Wickreme-singhe also met Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh on Wednesday where he expressed hope of a possible resolution of the 17-year-old conflict through Norwegian intervention.

Mr. Singh has also reiterated the Indian stance on the Sri Lankan conflict and stressed that unity was the key to strengthening the SAARC union in which Sri Lanka could play a pivotal and dynamic role. Mr. Wickremesinghe proposed that a bilateral agreement be reached between the two nations on trade and economy operative during the next two decades.

Mr. Wickremesinghe who toured India on an invitation by the Indian government also held extensive talks with Home Minister K. Advani, Industries Minister Murasoli Maran, Human Resource Development and Science and Technology Minister Murali Manoharadoshi and Indian Opposition and Congress Party leader Mrs. Sonia Gandhi.

They get ready to mark May Day

By Shelani de Silva

With just a week to go for May Day, political parties and trade unions are gearing up for the event.

The PA which was earlier planning to hold its May Day rally in the outstations decided last week to have it in Colombo. The rally which will start at Campbell Park at 12 noon will proceed to Town Hall for the main meeting at 3 p.m.

Peace being the main theme for the People's Alliance rally the focus is on a political settlement through negotiation.

PA's Chief May Day Organiser Minister Alavi Moulana told The Sunday Times he was unable to say whether President Kumaratunga would attend the celebrations as she was out of the country .

The main Opposition party UNP will hold its May Day celebrations in Nuwara Eliya where they will focus on problems faced specially by farmers and the high cost of living. Farmers too will join trade union representatives in the protest rally.

The JVP will hold its May Day celebrations in Colombo. The party will assemble at Cooray Grounds and proceed to the BRC grounds for the public meeting at 3 pm.

This year too the party has invited representatives from Left groups and are expecting at least 10 from different countries. The party will focus on the growing pressure from the World Bank, privatisation, and the bringing in of restrictions on democracy.

Bipartisanship goes to the provinces

To make opposition politics at provincial level dynamic and result-oriented, the UNP has formed a union for provincial opposition leaders, party sources said.

UNP Chairman and Western Province opposition leader Karu Jayasuriya, who heads the union said the idea was to inject positive and contributory opposition politics into the body politik through provincial councils.

He said that with a vast number of educated and experienced persons entering politics, the meeting of minds could prove beneficial to the country at large.

Sabaragamuwa opposition leader Jayathilleke Podinilame has been elected Vice President and Central Province opposition leader Keheliya Rambukwella has been elected Secretary. Mr. Jayasuriya said the opposition leaders had resolved to work closely with the ruling party and work for the common benefit of the people and also set an example by adapting a bipartisan approach at the provincial level as well.

Buzzing over beep

An opposition MP has warned of serious though unseen health hazard to the people through the setting up of cellular towers in residential areas.

UNP parliamentarian Jayalath Jayawardena in a statement said that if one were to live in a city with a transmitter in close proximity, chances of a high level of radio frequency or radiation invading the residential areas could occur at frightening speed. He claimed that in New Zealand and San Francisco all cellular towers were banned in school property and residential zones.

Alleging that the Department of Civil Aviation watches only the air signals which interfere with the airlines, Dr. Jayawardena claimed that the Urban Development Authority has been granting approvals to put up cellular towers without considering the health hazards.

Meanwhile, officials of the cellular networks when contacted said there was evidence about the radiation from towers causing cancer or other health hazards.

Rajitha to sue State media for the 'smear'

Disqualified UNP national list parliamentarian Rajitha Senaratne is to sue the state media for allegedly conducting a campaign to malign his character in the aftermath of an appeal court judgment against him last month.

Dr. Senaratne told The Sunday Times that while he meant to appeal against the court determination which declared him unable to sit and vote in Parliament he would be filing action against the state media for conducting a campaign against him which went way beyond the judgment. He said counsel Sripathi Sooriyarachchi who appeared for petitioner Dilan Perera had informed the Commissioner of Elections to strike Dr. Senaratne's name off the voters' register and enforce seven years of civic disability on him for entering into a contract with the government.

"There was no reference at all in the determination against me about imposing civic disabilities or any other action.

There are attempts even to direct the Elections Commissioner as to what he should do with individuals, which he quite rightly refused to even respond to outsiders. It is for this reason that the state media have taken up the task of campaigning against me," he said.

The political future of Dr. Senaratne is to be discussed after Opposition UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and the judgment is studied by a panel of UNP lawyers.

'My party is the alternative to PA'

By Roshan Peiris

I formed the Puravasi Peramuna - Citizens Front as an alternative to the Peoples Alliance, Sirisena Cooray told The Sunday Times

He said" the people are fed up with the government especially with the cost of living rocketing sky-high. But what is their alternative choice ? " he queried.

There is no party he said for the people to turn to as the UNP under Ranil Wickremesinghe's leadership is weak and not making any headway.

"I am the Organising Manager of the Puravasi Peramuna. We have no leader as such but a leadership council which is far better" he said.

"We will dissolve this party tomorrow if only Ranil steps down, and we will join the UNP and make it win the next elections. I am confident it can be done, if Ranil gives up the leadership. With him as leader the UNP has no chance whatsoever to win the next elections" he said.

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