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What's
in a name? Dot, dot, dot When JVP group
leader Wimal Weerawansa raised the matter on Wednesday and charged
that Sri Lankans were being treated like criminals, Speaker Joseph
Michael Perera said there should be no reference to Britain by name
as a case was pending in the Supreme Court. He was referring
to a fundamental rights petition filed by SLFP whip Mangala Samaraweera
and a civic rights activist, claiming that the fingerprinting of
Sri Lankans by the British High Commission was degrading, cruel
and inhuman. Mr. Weerawansa
questioned the Speaker's order saying the case had only been listed
in the Supreme Court and discussing it in parliament would not be
sub-judice or prejudicial. But Speaker quoted Standing Order Clause
31:6 and insisted that Britain must not be named. An unhappy
Mr. Weerawansa then went on with his outburst and when it came to
mentioning Britain, he said "thith, thith, thith" (dot,
dot, dot), causing amusement amidst outrage. Constitutional
expert H. L. de Silva told The Sunday Times that he wondered whether
a mere reference to Britain would be prejudicial to the case. "Of course
the Speaker's ruling cannot be argued in any Court and it is his
discretion, but the Speaker must look into the question as to whether
such a statement can cause prejudice, and must not easily control
freedom of speech," Mr. de Silva said. In the wake
of this, opposition party leaders are to seek clarification and
guidelines from the Speaker on who can and who cannot refer to whom
at what time. They pointed out that in an earlier instance, when the JVP made a statement about the recent Gulf War, the ruling was that they could not refer to George Bush but there was reference to Saddam Hussein. Bala
not coming for Paris legal talks Instead, LTTE's
Political Wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan who is being groomed to
take over from Mr. Balasingham will be presiding at the meeting.
Mr. Thamilselvan accompanied by S. Prabagaran alias Pulithevan among
other LTTE members is due to leave later next week to attend the
talks. LTTE sources
said that after initial attempts made to get down Mr. Balasingham
for consultative talks in Paris before resuming peace talks with
the government, it has now been confirmed that Mr. Balasingham would
not be taking part. The sources
gave no reasons for Mr. Balasingham skipping the LTTE talks in Paris,
but his health condition has been cited as one of the reasons, though
not the only reason. A French embassy
spokesman in Colombo said that his government had decided to grant
permission for the LTTE to have its meeting in Paris as part of
France's efforts to support the peace process. "France is prepared to encourage the resumption of dialogue between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan authorities. Our action to that end is in line with international efforts, in particular those of Norway and Japan," a French government spokesman was quoted as saying. At the Paris meeting, the LTTE experts are expected to discuss the government's proposals for a provisional administrative council and the counter proposals to be submitted by the LTTE. The Government is expecting the LTTE's counter proposals later this month, and hopes peace talks would be resumed later next month. Tainted
soft-drink scare Allegations
of pesticide contamination in Coca-Cola and Pepsi that broke out
in India raised concern among Sri Lankans about the likelihood of
such contamination in the local manufacturing plant. "The companies
maintain the highest standards, yet, we cannot rule out the possibility
of contamination. We might initiate an investigation," an officer
of the unit Mr. S. Nagaiah told The Sunday Times yesterday. The sale of
the two brands plunged despite the Soft Drinks Association of India
refuting the allegations. Following the alarm caused in India the
Sri Lankan market too has raised concern of possible toxicities
in the drink manufactured here. Coca-Cola Beverages
Sri Lanka said that manufacturing procedures conformed to both the
Sri Lankan government standards for the food and beverage industry
and the Coca-Cola Company's own standards. "Our beverages
are made locally using local water. Stringent quality monitoring
takes place, both of source water and of the finished product, by
accredited laboratories," the Coca-Cola company said. Although
no serious impact has been reported in the local market, sales outlets
have made inquiries on possible contamination. "When
I checked with the Coca-Cola agent, he confirmed there was no such
toxins in the drink. There have been no customer hesitation either,"
Premasiri Supermarket Manager, Derek Arnolda said. Manager for Cargills
Food City, Fort, Maurus Gonzalia said the story hasn't had an impact
on sales and customers have so far not made inquiries or complaints. Officials for Pepsi were not available for comment. Journalism
says to veteran Editor Siva - 'NANDRI' It was the
Wijewardenes, the founders of Lake House, who saw the need for a
Tamil national newspaper in a country where three languages were
spoken (Tamil being the language of the Muslim community as well)
and where the forging of bonds between the communities was a prime
need of post-Independence times. The monumental 'Thinakaran' editor
was K. Kailasapathy, who deserted journalism for academia and whose
early death robbed Sri Lankan Tamil letters of one of its most brilliant
scholars. Stepping into Kailasapathy's sandals was no easy task
but Siva did it with typical eclat. Portly in appearance and with
a commanding presence, Siva also had a superb sense of fun and was
nobody's puppet. He was entirely loyal and committed to any administration
for which he worked but that was not because of any timidity or
servility on his part but because of his fine sense of pragmatism.
He knew the ranges and constraints under which an Editor had to
work in a country where the newspapers were owned either by private
owners or the Government and operated within that area to the best
of his ability and to the satisfaction of his readers. Once he was
asked at a meeting of Editors by the then newly appointed Chairman
of Lake House Lionel Fernando (in the first flush of Chandrika Kumaratunga
becoming Prime Minister in 1994) how he (Siva) operated as an Editor,
drew up policy and handled the issues of the day. Fernando obviously
expected a serious answer from this most senior editor but Siva
merely said with his usual chuckle, 'If my Chairman asks me to jump
out of this window (he was seated near one) I just do it.' Everybody
burst out laughing, thinking that this was one of Siva's typical
witticisms but that comment held all that had to be said about the
stifling effects of Government control of the media (under whatever
political dispensation). A lawyer and
a visiting lecturer at the Sri Lanka Law College, Siva was Treasurer
of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists' Association and it was a testament
to his immense popularity and standing in the profession that he
was the only Tamil to be elected its President and that too at a
time when communal feelings were sharpening. In recent years Siva
also served as a judge for the Editors' Guild Journalism Awards
programme. A big-made
man with a large heart, Siva was proud to be a Tamil but did not
trap himself in his Tamilness alone. He had a larger vision for
his country and gave his entire life to the cause of decent national
journalism. Both the profession and Sri Lanka are the poorer by
his loss. |
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