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Court
issues summons on Army Chief and his men They are charged under the Penal Code for keeping explosives in stock "without adequate care and precaution" at the Army's Safe House or Int Cell at Athurugiriya. The Kandy Police
Special Crime Investigation and Operations Unit, headed by ASP Kulasiri
Udugampola, filed the indictments on September 3, among others,
against a serving Army Commander for the first time in Sri Lanka's
post independent history. The indictments
came after Mr. Udugampola and a Police party on January 2, this
year, raided the Safe House where they found a cache of weapons,
explosives and other items - all of which had been officially inventoried
and accounted for. His action was also despite a subsequent CID
backed investigation, supervised by a Senior DIG, hand-picked by
Interior Minister John Amaratunga, confirming that the Safe House,
the weapons and explosives were used by the LRRPs. T.E. Anandarajah,
then acting IGP apologised to Army Commander Lt. Gen. Balagalle,
for Mr. Udugampola's action in filing indictments in Courts. The
Attorney General's Department urged the acting Police Chief to take
disciplinary action against him for not consulting the AG or his
own superiors in the Police. But the UNF
Government's wheels of justice, if it has not come to a grinding
halt, seems to be moving slowly. Ironically so, in a case where
men of its own Army are charged for the crime of carrying out legitimate
counter terrorism tasks. Action against Mr. Udugampola is still pending. So is action against those within the Army ranks who caused the "leak" of sensitive information leading to the fiasco. But there seems
to be exceptions too. Take the case of a deep penetration of a different
kind. When two armed Tiger guerrillas were caught by the Police
whilst felling trees deep inside a forest reserve in Kantale, near
Trincomalee, they were arrested by the Police and a Magistrate remanded
them. In retaliation, the LTTE took seven soldiers hostage. The events
that followed are now history. Government machinery worked overtime
and at lightning speed to facilitate bail for the two guerrillas.
This was whilst guerrilla leaders publicly declared the duo would
never appear in Courts to face charges under the country's Offensive
Weapons and Firearms laws. Enhanced
security for cbk Presidential
Security Division (PSD) teams subjected those taking part in a book
launch in memory of late SLMC leader, M.H.M. Ashraff, at the Sri
Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) in Torrington Square on Wednesday,
to thorough checks. One visitor said even his purse was taken out
and the contents closely examined. When the event,
where President Kumaratunga was the chief guest was over, PSD men
got the shivers. She wanted to drive from Torrington Square to Nugegoda
town where a PA rally was under way that evening - an engagement
she was advised to avoid due to security reasons. When PSD men
showed signs of resistance, she repeated her strong point to back
her demand - as President she does not wish to be kept away from
the people. She brushed aside the warnings and insisted she must
go. After much
haggling, it ended on a harmonious compromise - she drove past the
venue. The PSD men heaved a sigh of relief that it was only a drive
through. She was happy she saw a large turnout and said so. Bagful of
apples for the Tiger leader A Chief of
Defence Staff (CDS) who chairs such meetings, or one acting for
him, has been absent for the past five months. Taking the chair
was the first ever civilian overlooking the job since the vacancy
occurred - Defence Secretary Austin Fernando. His lament
centered round a report that said he had visited LTTE's Deputy Political
Wing leader, Puli Thevan, when he was in a private hospital in Colombo,
in August, for treatment. His presence in hospital was mistaken
by some for one of the guerrilla military wing leaders, Balraj.
According to
one insider, he turned to Lt. Gen. Balagalle and disclosed that
he (Mr. Fernando) had sought his assistance too for Puli Thevan
when he was hospitalised. However, he did not say what assistance
was sought from the Army. But being an Army Chief, Mr. Fernando
declared, Lt. Gen. Balagalle could not visit the hospital. So, what
is wrong in my paying a visit, he asked. Well, well..
There was a little secret Mr. Fernando did not reveal. To see Puli
Thevan, he did not go empty handed. He took with him a bagful of
luscious apples !!! Thalif Deen
figures in Security Council The Security
Council is considered a holy
of holies - the only UN body empowered to declare war and peace.
Last week, in an unusual turn of events, two Sri Lankans addressed
the Security Council on two different topics. On Monday,
UN Under-Secretary General Jayantha Dhanapala made his maiden speech
when he addressed the Council on the proliferation of small arms.
On Thursday,
Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative C. Mahendran, also made his
debut before the Council when he participated in an "open meeting"
where he expressed the Government's view on the need for UN arms
inspectors to return to Iraq. Additionally
The Sunday Times columnist Thalif Deen, who is also UN Bureau Chief
for Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency, was elated that one of
his stories on Israeli violations of UN resolutions was quoted in
the Council chamber by the Ambassador for the League of Arab States.
Perhaps it
was the first time an IPS story was cited at a Security Council
meeting and one for the record books of a Third World news agency
which is over 35 years old. Sir Gen.
Rose delayed Sir Gen. Michael Rose, who is tasked with the job, though expected last Thursday, has now told the Government he will not be able to visit Sri Lanka until after mid-November.
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