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LTTE
sends back deserter Sources said
the soldier had claimed that he decided to surrender himself to
the LTTE because he was disgruntled that he had not been given leave
to go home. The SLLM yesterday
handed over the soldier to the Army in Jaffna. Military sources said the soldier had been a deserter. He was arrested by the Police and sent back to the army. SC
ruling on 19th amendment on Tuesday A seven-judge
Supreme Court bench heard the submissions on the 18th and 19th amendments
to the Constitution last week and has sent its determination on
the 19th amendment to the Speaker. The bench comprised
Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, Justices S.W.B. Wadugodapitiya, Shirani
A. Bandaranayake, Ameer Ismail, P. Edussuriya, Hector S. Yapa and
Asoka de Silva. The 19th Amendment
seeks to restrict the President's power to dissolve parliament after
it completes one year. Twenty-three
petitions had been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the
constitutionality of the two amendments. President's
Counsel H.L.de Silva who appeared for the PA general secretary contended
that the sovereignty of the people couldn't be transferred or lawfully
vested in anybody else. He said those
responsible for introducing the 19th amendment seemed to be oblivious
of the implications several provisions in the Bill have on the meaning
and scope of the sovereignty enshrined in Article 3 and 4 and therefore
such a bill had to be approved by the people at a referendum in
terms of Article 83. Attorney General K. C. Kamalasabeyson, however,
contended that the Constitution being based on the Rule of Law could
not be construed as conferring absolute power on any authority. JVP
to protest US war cries A JVP spokesperson
told The Sunday Times that the demands made by the US on Iraq are
unjustifiable and another way of showing its supreme power. The party has also decided to send a letter to the United Nations with signatures of all Parliamentarians calling on the US to stop it from waging war on Iraq. Demand
to know details of peace talks Several Sinhala
organisations and Opposition political parties have decided to join
hands to protest against the ongoing peace process. Seven organisations
including the SLFP, JVP and MEP form the group. The group which
met on Wednesday decided to work out a comprehensive program to
be carried out. It is to set up a national forum where key issues
will be discussed. MEP leader
Dinesh Gunawardena told The Sunday Times that all parties have opposed
the division of the country. "We only
had one meeting, but we will meet again next Wednesday to work out
how we are going to carry out the protest. We discussed the situation
prevailing in the North and the secret pact between the UNP and
the LTTE . Though seven organisations participated at the first
meeting we hope to expand the number to 15" Gunawardena said. "We are demanding the Government disclose what took place in Thailand. So far no one knows what happened at the first round of talks. Now the Government is planning the second round of talks, the people have a right to know what was discussed," Gunawardena said. Landslide
wreaks havoc They said traffic
on the road came to a standstill as the landslide also destroyed
a bridge. Rescue teams
were at the scene, looking for the missing people while police directed
traffic throught alternate roads. Police said the main Badulla-Colombo road would be cleared by evening today. Shell
ups LP gas price He claimed
the world market price had gone up by about US $ 80 a ton during
the past five months and the company had no option but to raise
the price here. |
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