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Five PSD personnel challenge their arrest
By Laila Nasry
Five officers of the Presidential Security division (PSD) arrested in Maturata during the last elections for being in possession of weapons, challenged their arrest and detention, last Friday.

The officers filed individual fundamental rights applications in the Supreme Court alleging their arrest and detention was unlawful and that they had been treated in an inhuman and degrading manner. The petitioners W. Anthony Eden, Athula de Silva, K. A. Sumedha Sisira Kumara, S. A. Thilakadasa Perera and N.W.K. Kamal Premajayantha, citing Inspector General of Police and OIC of the Maturata Police station D.M.R. Dissanayake as respondents, alleged their presence in Maturata was to furnish security to the President who was due to travel to Hanguranketa and Nuwara Eliya from Kandy.

Further it was stated that two suspects named by the CID are attached to Monaro Security Services and were providing security to Mr. D.M. Jayaratne and were not of the security contingent of the PSD. The petitioners stated that in the process of setting up security measures they had encountered a blockade at Padiyapelella bridge. There was a huge commotion and a crowd had started advancing towards them. The petitioners had tried to reverse their vehicles and get away.

It is further stated that the OIC of Maturata police had arrived at the scene in a Land Cruiser. Alighting from it he had pointed his revolver at the petitioners asking them to surrender saying that if they move he will shoot them. Thereafter they claim he had taken possession of their weapons and placed them under arrest, with no reasons given, despite their furnishing service identity cards and national identity cards.
The petitioners state they were locked up in the Maturata police station and denied food and water having been told by the OIC that it was not a hotel. Their identity cards were collected from them.

They also claim that they were taken to hospital to determine whether they were under the influence of liquor. Subsequently transferred to the Walapane police station their signatures were obtained for statements which were not read out to them. They were subject to a torrent of abuse and were also not permitted to take any phone calls.

The following day they were produced before the Kandy Magistrate's Court where they learnt of the charges against them. The petitioners asked for leave to proceed with their applications, a declaration that their rights guaranteed by Articles 11, 13(1) and (2) of the Constitution had been violated and compensation of Rs. 500,000 each.

Jobless youth on the rise
By Nilika de Silva
The Draft National Employment Policy for Sri Lanka released this week by the Labour Ministry revealed sixty seven percent of the unemployed are between the ages of 20 and 29.

The policy which aims at providing better labour market information among participants gives details regarding the number of job opportunities which exist in foreign countries. Sri Lanka at present has approximately one million migrant workers most of whom are working in the Middle East. They remit approximately US$1 billion in foreign exchange and are today the largest net foreign currency earner for Sri Lanka.

Analysing the labour force the draft policy states that 2.3 million persons are engaged in Agriculture, 1 million each in Manufacturing and Personal Services and 0.8 million in Trade and Hotels, these sectors accounted for over 80 percent of the total employed in the year 2000.

Meanwhile, the Draft Policy which spelled out the profile of the unemployed stated that 50 percent of those unemployed are GCE o/L educated and above. It further stated that 1/5th of the unemployed are from the Southern Province while 1/3rd are from the Western Province.

UNESCO takes peace to Lankan teachers
UNESCO is launching a publication titled "Learning the Way of Peace - A Teacher's Guide to Peace Education" in the Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Education and Culture, and the Sri Lankan National Commission for UNESCO.

The launch of the guide book will be done in the presence of the UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura, who will be on an official mission to Sri Lanka from May 8-10.

This publication brought out by UNESCO New Delhi comes with inputs provided by educationists, intellectuals and resource persons from the SAARC region, who made presentations at a UNESCO Regional Seminar held in Colombo from January 3-5, 2001.

The publication is an attempt to encourage member states to formulate policies to institutionalize and implement the peace education programmes, in their countries. This publication has already been launched in the Indian Parliament and has received great support for its implementation.

The guide targets the teacher as a peace educator, by way of an integrated and holistic approach in all subjects taught in schools and teacher education institutions.
This initiative is first expected to be tested in the South Asian countries, which took part in the seminar and then globalized as a peace movement by proposing these concepts and programmes to be adopted by UNESCO's member states within the context of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence for the Children of the World.

The teacher guide comprising 20 chapters and running into 240 pages, is divided into four parts. The first part deals with the nature and concept of peace education, while the second part deals with peace values in school curricula. Part three focuses on developing peace education staff and reducing violence in school and part four discuses thematic models of peace education.

At the seminar held in Colombo in January 2001, many resource persons from Sri Lanka were included and it provided valuable inputs towards the guide.
The book was compiled and edited by an eminent peace educationalist A.S. Balasuriya.

Prithiviraj Perera of UNESCO in New Delhi also played an active part and is one of the key players in conceptualising and coordinating efforts in producing the guide.

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