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Awards for Sri Lanka’s veteran journalists
The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka will honour five senior journalists this year with the Long and Distinguished Service Gold Medal Award at its annual Journalism Awards for Excellence ceremony to be held on June 24 at the Mount Lavinia Hotel, states a press release by The Guild.

The five distinguished journalists selected for this honour are Edwin Ariyadasa, D.F. Kariyakarawana, Jeffry Yoonus, Annalukshmi Rajadurai and Dalton de Silva.
Fourteen Awards and several Merit Certificates too will be presented at the Awards Night, at this fifth consecutive annual awards presentation organized by The Guild.

This year's ceremony is jointly sponsored by Upali Newspapers, Associated Newspapers of Ceylon (ANCL), Wijeya Newspapers, Express Newspapers, United Newspapers together with Sri Lankan Airlines, Ceylon Tobacco Company, National Savings Bank, People's Bank, the National Lotteries Board and the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka. The Mount Lavinia Hotel is the host-hotel.

Pen-sketches of the five journalists who will receive the Long and Distinguished Service Gold Medal Awards are as follows;

Edwin Ariyadasa:
Having passed out of the University of Colombo with a Bachelor's degree in 1948, Mr. Ariyadasa joined the Ceylon Insurance Company, but entered journalism the very next year by joining Lake House.

During a long and illustrious career, Mr. Ariyadasa worked in the Dinamina, Janatha, Silumina, Daily News, Sunday Observer as a writer and sub-editor, and finally became the Editor of the Navayugaya. He has contributed more than 17,000 English and Sinhala articles and written a number of Sinhala books and also translated some of the books.

After leaving Lake House, Mr. Ariyadasa held several media-positions, among them as the Media Advisor to the Arthur C. Clarke Centre. He is currently serving as a consultant to the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources Management.

Mr. Ariyadasa has been engaged in the preparation of syllabuses for Journalism courses in Universities as far back as 1969 and also serves as a lecturer at various Universities. Mr. Ariyadasa has been awarded the Kalakeerthi award.

D.F. Kariyakarawana
Mr. Kariyakarawana, began his career as a teacher and soon became a well-known poet in the Negombo area.

He started his Journalism career at the 'Gnanathapradeepaya'. In 1947 he joined 'Lankadeepa', published by the Times of Ceylon as a sub-editor . In 1951 he crossed over to the rival Lake House Group where he rose to the position of Editor of the Silumina and Janatha newspapers.

He was instrumental in introducing the Yowun Janatha and Kreeda tabloid newspapers while at Lake House.

In 1955 he set up a Sri Lanka Newspaper Society, and in 1979 the Working Journalists Association. He also played a major role in introducing journalism courses at the University of Colombo.

Mr. Kariyakarawana participated in world-wide press associations and on one occasion was elected vice president of the International Press Union and held that position for seven consecutive years. In 1996 he was elected Deputy General Secretary of that Union.

Mr. Kariyakarawana has completed 58 years as a journalist, and continues to contribute to local newspapers.

Jiffry Yoonus
Mr. Yoonus is a renowned political-cartoonist in the country, who has been in the profession for more than 50 years.

Born in 1931 in Maradana he received his education at Presbyterian and Wesley College, Colombo, Mr. Yoonus joined the 'Thinakaran' newspaper in 1952.
In 1970 he joined the Communist Party organ, 'Aththa' .

His popular cartoons usually triggered controversy among politicians of the day, but despite harassment and intimidation, he continued his work undeterred. Following the closure of the Aththa, Mr. Yoonus joined the Ravaya newspaper in 1998, but has now stopped drawing cartoons due to ill health. Mr. Yoonus was awarded the Vishva Prasadeeni Award in 1996, and the Kalasuri Award in 1998.

Annaluxmy Rajadurai:
An old girl of Senguntha Hindu College in Thirunelvely and Ramanthan College in Chunnakam, Ms. Rajadurai joined the Virakesari newspaper back in 1962. In 1966, she was made Editor of Jyothi, a family tabloid and in 1973 of the weekly Mithran, a sister newspaper of the daily Virakesari.

She is presently in charge of Kalai Kesari and Mangaiyar Kesari, two weekly tabloid supplements of the Virakesari Group. Ms. Rajadurai has written several books including ' Vizhichchudar' (a short novel), 'Ullaththin Kathavugal' (a novel), 'Neruppu Vezhichchem' (a collection of short stories) and 'Irupakkangal' (a collection of verses).

She has covered overseas assignments in the Philippines and China and has been conferred the title 'Thamilmani' by the Ministry of Hindu Cultural Affairs in 1992 for her contribution to Tamil language and literature.

Dalton de Silva:
Trained in British newspapers in Fleet Street, London, Mr. Dalton de Silva has worked as a reporter, feature writer, news editor and associate editor at the Daily News and The Island.

A veteran journalist for more than 50 years, he was also a foreign correspondent for two major news agencies, Agence France Presse (AFP) from 1975 to 1981 and Reuters as Chief of Bureau from 1982 to 1991.

He is a founder member of the Foreign Correspondents' Association (FCA) of Sri Lanka where he served two separate terms as President and has been appointed a life-member of the Association in appreciation of his services.

Mr. de Silva worked as an Assistant Director of the then Ministry of Defence and External Affairs where his duties included briefing the local and foreign press and keeping Sri Lanka's diplomatic missions abroad informed about developments in the country.

He served as Information Officer to Sri Lanka's delegation headed by Prime Minister Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike at the Non-Aligned Summit in Zambia, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in Singapore and during bi-lateral talks with the Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi on the citizenship issue of workers of Indian origin in the tea plantations. During the past 12 years, Mr. de Silva has been conducting lectures in Diploma in Journalism courses held at the Aquinas College of Higher Education, the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute and other institutions.

Crisis looms over SLFP National Convention
By Harinda Vidanage
A leadership crisis has now emerged in the backdrop of the SLFP's 14th National Convention due to be held today at Sangabodi Vidyalaya in Nittambuwa. While the Anura Bandaranaike faction is supposed to bring up the issue regarding the election of deputy leader of the SLFP and according to the Convention organizers this post is expected to remain vacant and the matter would not be taken up at the executive committee where party appointments are made.

Information has also been received regarding another dispute that has arisen within the SLFP. This time it is in the Sangha committee of the SLFP- a very powerful arm of the party - a section of whom are supporting the anti Mahinda Rajapakse group who are trying to oust the present Sangha committee head Ven. Watinapaha Somananda known to be a staunch ally of opposition leader Mahinda Rajapakse.

Ven. Somananda, had not received the official invitation to attend the Convention even upto Friday and a senior SLFP parliamentarian said the monk's exclusion would lead to a crisis within one of the most important and traditionally powerful arm of the party,
The opposition leader was not included in any of the main organizational functions of the national convention and he was only co opted into one of the committees supposed to organize and coordinate the program.

Initially his name was not even among any of the 23 committees while Ratnasiri Wickramanayake a former Prime Minister was included in more than five of the most important committees. The convention will focus mainly on drawing up a new economic policy statement outlining the future political vision of the SLFP.

Amendments to the party constitution are also expected to be introduced.
The policy statement is being formulated mainly to help the party to function in a broad based coalition. The much talked of JVP-SLFP coalition has been the main issue that has made the party to alter its political outlook.

The other concern has been garnered from the experience the SLFP has gained within the People’s Alliance coalition with the mounting criticism of faced by the SLFP in recent times and the fear of some parties opting out of the present coalition.The policy statement had been formulated by top presidential advisors including P.V. Jayasundara and Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe.

Matara Fort sports complex
Archaeology Dept. says no, but residents say it is on
A sports complex project in the historic Matara Fort initiated by Minister Mahinda Wijesekera is going ahead as the Archaeological Department is apparently ignoring the illegal construction.

Archaeology Department Director General Dr. W.H. Wijepala, told The Sunday Times that no unauthorized building is currently being erected within the Matara Fort. But residents said a considerable part of the building had already been completed and the project was very much a going concern.

The 1940 Antiquities Ordinance prohibits any erection within the Matara Fort. Minister Mahinda Wijesekera had initiated his project in the historic Matara Fort after ordering the cutting down of a 500-year-old mara tree but he has reportedly said, despite growing criticism from the public and environmentalists, that it was only a mara tree which is of no use and was used by foreign women to rub their backs against.

Meanwhile Attorney Mohammed Illias, whose office was demolished to make way for the sports complex, has filed a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court citing the Minister as a respondent among others.

Mr. Illias told The Sunday Times that Minister Wijesekera has used powers excessively to cause a deliberate destruction of his property for which he is not being compensated.

JVP Municipal councillors in Matara said that they were planning to obtain a mandamus order against the Archaeology Department Chief to stop the illegal construction at the Matara Fort following his inability to ban the construction taking place in the Fort.


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