President Chandrika Kumaratunga and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran have written to Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamed following Kuala Lumpur's decision to ban LTTE activities there - as the Sri Lankan authorities provided round-the-clock security to the Malaysian diplomats in Colombo.
President Kumaratunga sent a letter thanking Dr. Mahathir for his decision to ban all LTTE activities in that country, including fund raising campaigns and demonstrations. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar sent a separate letter to his counterpart.
LTTE leader Prabhakaran is also learnt to have sent a message to Dr. Mahathir condemning the decision of the Malaysian government.
In Colombo the government stepped up security around the Malaysian High Commissioner's residence. Armed policemen in steel helmets were placed on static duty from this week.
The men from Cinnamon Gardens Police would be on 24 - hour vigil, a senior officer said. They have been placed opposite the Colombo Public Library. Chief Librarian M.D.H. Jayawardene told The Sunday Times that they did not ask for any special protection. "But we welcome it," he said.
The Sunday Times learns that the Malaysian Foreign Ministry has been in contact with the Foreign Office here to ascertain the security requirements of their mission in Colombo after death threats were received by them immediately after Kuala Lumpur's decision to ban the LTTE.
Meanwhile the Japanese embassy in Colombo which also received threats not to issue a visa to TULF MP Neelan Thiruchelvam for him to attend a conference in Tokyo, is also under special supervision by police.
The Tokyo Conference on 'conflict resolution' to which Dr. Thiruchelvam had been invited along with Kumar Rupasinghe, the President's ex-brother-in-law who now resides in Norway, has been cancelled since.
Dr. Thiruchelvam confirmed that he had been invited for the conference but had not accepted the invitation, by the time it was cancelled.
ETv (Extra Terrestrial Vision) will be sold to EAP Edirisinghe Films and Theatres Ltd., next month for around Rs. 200 million, ETv Chief Nahil Wijesuriya told The Sunday Times.
The EAP Edirisinghe Group, the owners of Swarnamahal Jewellers, also owns the Majestic Cinema.
ETv currently has two channels ETv-1 and ETv-2 which broadcast free-to-air signals from BBC and Star TV respectively.
The Sunday Times learns that the new owners of ETv are considering using one channel to beam teledramas, and negotiate with BBC and Star TV in Hong Kong for the other channel.
The Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) has expressed disappointment that the one man committee appointed to probe the alleged irregularities in the purchase of IV fluids was concentrating only about the purchases, but not about the quality of the product.
A GMOA spokesman told The Sunday Times that a letter to Health Minister A.H.M. Fowzie calling for the expansion of the scope of the committee to investigate the standard, quality and the safety of this particular brand of IV fluids for treatment of patients had been ignored.
"There is no use of investigating only the tender procedures as the quality of the product is the more important aspect," he said.
The spokesman said although the GMOA had not received a response from the minister, it decided to go before the committee and make submissions because there were serious irregularities in importing the particular stock of IV fluids.
The one-man committee headed by former Public Services Commission secretary, D.A. Wijewardene was appointed by the Health Minister, to inquire into alleged irregularities in the purchase of IV fluids from Core-International of India.
The Committee report is due to be handed over to Minister Fowzie this week.
The GMOA told the committee that the particular company did not have a registration to sell IV fluids to Sri Lanka.
It produced copies of letters of leading medical officers, who said the nipple type saline bottles produced by the Indian company were not suitable for use in state hospitals.
They were thin in texure and prone to fungus penetration.
Considering the regular leakage and other aspects of this troublesome nipple type bottles, the GMOA strongly recommended that the only affordable alternative is the rubber bung type.
Minister Fowzie when contacted by The Sunday Times about the failure to expand the scope of the committee to look into these matters said he was expecting a comprehensive report on the entire issue, to bring an end to the long standing problem.
Sri Lanka has intervened at the highest level to secure the release of a Sri Lankan youth languishing in jail in Abu Dhabi after being arrested for collecting money for the National Defence Fund.
Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar during his visit last week to the United Arab Emirates has called on the United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Sheikh, Hamdan bin Sayed Al Nahyan to help in securing the release of Aruna Kithsiri. The minister also handed over an appeal from Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike to the UAE ruler appealing for the release.
The move to secure the release of Aruna Kithsiri who was the President of the Sinhala Youth Association in Abu Dhabi has been described as an unprecedented effort to get the Lankan released.
The UAE ruler had assured the Foreign Minister that he would personally look into the matter. The Lankan Ambassador in the UAE, A. M. Samsudeen has been told to meet the Director of the office of the ruler, Ahamed Sallem Mukarab to follow up the matter.
Sri Lanka has allocated Rs. 300,000 for a lawyer to defend Mr. Kithsiri.
Mr. Kithsiri late last year made a donation to the National Defence Fund when he visited Sri Lanka. The donation was made from funds raised from various projects in Abu Dhabi.
Lankan Ambassadors in the Gulf have also acknowledged funds received from the Sinhales Youth Association in Abu Dhabi.
Troops destroyed an LTTE base including an office and a food store killing over 25 rebels in the Mullaivadduwan area of the Batticaloa district during a military operation, an army spokesman said yesterday.
After a fire fight, which lasted over 45 minutes, rebels had withdrawn carrying their dead and wounded.
Troops were supported by artillery. They recovered two bodies of rebels and two automatic weapons. Eight soldiers wounded in the confrontation were evacuated to the Batticaloa hospital.
In a separated incident, one LTTE cadre was killed in a confrontation in the Kovilady area in the Trincomalee district.
Also one terrorist was killed and one wounded due to a premature explosion when they were trying to assemble a bomb. The explosion also killed one civilian and wounded another.
Dr. Sivali Ratwatte Chairman of the Upali Group filed a civil defamation case against the 'Ravaya' newspaper claiming damages to the tune of Rs. 300 million. The case has been filed for a series of articles in the "Ravaya' three months back alleging that Dr. Ratwatte, his daughter Mrs. Lakmini Welgama (Chairperson of the Island Group) and the Island newspaper had been involved in a sale of arms to the Sri Lanka Security Forces.
Earlier, Dr. Ratwatte made a complaint to the CID for the Attorney General to indict the Ravaya Editor on criminal defamation, but the CID had informed him that they had no time to investigate the complaint. The case was filed in the District Court of Colombo last Thursday. Attorney-at-law S.L. Gunasekera, Upul Jayasooriya and Lakshman Perera instructed by Samararatne Associates are appearing for Dr. Ratwatte.
The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Chairman W. P. S Jayawardene has resigned from his post with immediate effect.
Mr. Jayawardene told The Sunday Times last night his resignation was linked to problems within the SLBC. He will however remain as Secretary to the Buddha Sasana Ministry.
Mr. Jayawardene, a senior administrative officer, was appointed to the post after the PA victory in August 1994.
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