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New C M orders
probe on alleged corruption
The Central Province's new chief minister, W. M. P. B. Dissanayake,
has ordered a probe on alleged large scale corruption during the
past administration. Mr. Dissanayake said massive frauds were alleged
in the Health and Education Ministries especially over the misuse
of vehicles and funds. He said more than 25 vehicles were still
unaccounted for.
The council had been plunged into crisis for two months till the
defeated PA administration resigned recently to make way for the
UNF to take over.
LTTE political
wing legal
By Shelani Perera
The registration of the political wing of the LTTE which was effected
by the Elections Department more than 12 years ago remains valid
up to date, though a new party secretary has not been named yet,
Elections Department sources said. The political wing of the LTTE,
which is now opening offices in the North and East, has been registered
as the 'People's Front of Liberation Tigers' with the party symbol
as the tiger and Mr. Yoganathan Yogi as party secretary.
The correspondence
address has been given as No. 61, Abdul Caffoor Mawatha, Colombo
3. An Elections Department official told The Sunday Times that once
a political party or group is registered with the Department it
remains valid although it has not contested any election.
The official
added that the LTTE political wing had not notified the Department
of any changes since it was registered. 'We need to know the changes
for our records but we continue to send all correspondence to the
secretary registered with us," he said.
Water
cut to control prices
The Agriculture Ministry is taking measures, incuding a water cut,
to maintain stable prices for vegetables as prices plummet due to
a surplus yield. Agriculture Minister S.B. Dissanayake said plans
were underway to control the production of tomatoes and other crops
to ensure a better price.
Among the measures
being proposed are withdrawal of assistance and control of water
supplies. These measures would prevent excess produce from glutting
the market, he said.
Pooja
to protect Sinhalese in NE
By Shelani Perera
A group of Sinhala parliamentarians will hold an Adhistana Pooja
on Tuesday at the Sri Maha Bodhiya, making a vow to protect the
interests of the Sinhala people living in the North and East.
The pooja which
will coincide with the 17th anniversary of an LTTE attack on devotees
at the Sri Maha Bodhiya will be attended by former Prime Minister
Ratna-siri Wickremanayke and several MPs, including Sinhala MPs
from the East.
The group met
the President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickre-masighe to explain
their campaign aimed at creating an awareness on what it perceived
as dangers inherent in the ceasefire agreement between the government
and the LTTE.
Convenor Dinesh
Gunerwardena said the president had been positive about their proposals
and pleased with its activities. The group was also planning to
meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to brief him on
the various aspects of the agreement but no date had been set for
it so far, one MP said.
Devaraj envoy
to Wanni
Breakaway CWC group leader P.P. Devaraj has sent an emissary to
the Wanni for discussions with LTTE leaders. The decision to send
a representative came after CWC President Arumugam Thondaman was
invited by the LTTE for discussions.
Before sending a representative Mr. Devaraj visited Britain where
he attended a forum on refugees resettlement. The forum was also
attended by LTTE members.
Police continue
the search for weapons
By Tania Fernando
Police were able to recover more than 20 small arms and hundreds
of rounds of ammunition in a series of raids carried out since February.
Though the seized weapons were just a fraction of nearly 50,000
illegal weapons in circulation, police said their crackdown on the
underworld would continue. The police began the war against weapons
on a directive issued by Interior Minister John Amaratunga.
Daluwatte's
appointment challenged in court
By Laila Nasry
A senior officer in the Army has challenged the appointment of General
Rohan S. Daluwatte as Sri Lankan ambassador to Brazil. Major N.
G. Chandrasena, a decorated serviceman, in a petition to the Court
of Appeal claimed that General Daluwatte was not fit for the post
in view of his questionable conduct.
The officer said he had sent the petition to the Parliamentary Committee
which screens those who are appointed to high posts, but no action
had been taken.
Alleged 3 million-rupee fraud in Kandy police
By Shane Seneviratne
An alleged 3 million-rupee fraud in the Kandy police has been detected
but investigations are reported to be stalled. The Sunday Times
learns the fraud involving overtime and batta payments had been
detected by internal audit officers.
But the probe appeared to be blocked amidst reports that a top officer
might be involved.
Ringing, ringing no answer
Thousands of telephone subscribers connected to the Nugegoda division
were put into inconvenience over the past two days with the change
of their numbers.
Persons calling subscribers found that the phones were not being
answered.
The reason was the Telecom had changed the numbers for upgrading
purposes but had failed to record the message to the caller that
the number had been changed.
Veteran broadcaster dies
Veteran broadcaster H.M. Gunasekara passed away at a private hospital
last night. He was 76.
Mr. Gunasekara who joined the Radio Ceylon in 1952 as an announcer
later rose to the position of Director Sinhala Services. He also
served the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation as its Deputy Director
General. Funeral arrangements will be notified later.
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