In a dramatic turn of events, Additional Solicitor General Upawansa Yapa's passport has been impounded by the Special Presidential Commission probing the death of Lt. Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa and one of the commissioners has resigned, 'The Sunday Times' learns.
The move by the Chairman of the Commission, Supreme Court Judge Tissa Bandaranaike, came on the eve of Mr. Yapa's impending appointment as Solicitor General.
No reasons were given except that the commission wanted to interview Mr. Yapa, the second most senior law officer of the government who led evidence before the earlier Ismail Commission that probed the death of Gen. Kobbekaduwa.
The move to impound the passport came days after another Supreme Court Judge Sarath Silva was appointed the Attorney General who ranks No. 2 in the judicial order next to the Chief Justice. Mr. Yapa has already been recommended by the Attorney General for the post of Solicitor General. Court of Appeal Judge D.P.S. Gunasekera another member of the Presidential Commission probing Gen. Kobbekaduwa's death resigned over a disagreement with Justice Tissa Bandaranaike.
Letters were exchanged between the two commissioners before Justice D.P.S. Gunasekera finally sent his resignation to President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
Initially Justice Bandaranaike had asked Justice Gunasekera to reconsider sitting on the commission as the latter was a classmate of Gen. Kobbekaduwa. This drew a fiery response from Justice Gunasekera who asked the chairman of the commission why he did not think of this fourteen months ago when he was appointed to the commission. He also said it was the President who appointed him and Justice Bandaranaike had no right to ask him to step down. When 'The Sunday Times' inquired from Mr. Yapa whether he had plans to go abroad he said, "Let alone go abroad, I have to think twice before even going home. "
Australian High Commissioner, Bill Tweddell has been given a big promotion by the new John Howard Government which scored a sweeping election win on Saturday.Diplomatic sources said Mr. Tweddell has been appointed to head the new Cabinet Office and will be leaving for Canberra immediately.Mr. Tweddell was recently instrumental in defusing a diplomatic row when the Australian cricket team refused to come to Colombo for their World Cup match.Mr. Tweddell travelled to Kandy this week to be the chief guest at the Sri Lanka - Kenya game and received a noisy reception from the 10,000 strong crowd.
There has been another strange twist to the continuing saga of the controversial Puttalam cement deal.
The Foreign Ministry's Publicity Director Ravinath Ariyasingha had sent a fax message to the Senior Vice President of Holderbank, a company that was interested in the cement deal, that someone posing off as Mr. Ariyasingha had asked the bank for details of the bid.
Mr. Ariyasingha has said that a telephone call to Holderbank requesting this information purportedly by him seems to have gone out from a Chinese restaurant in Colombo.
He says that Holderbank was requested to send this information to a fax number which is not his but of a Chinese restaurant.
According to Mr. Ariyasingha's fax, this information from the Holderbank had already been sent to the restaurant.
Holderbank, based in Switzerland was an unsuccessful bidder for Puttalam Cement and is reported to have canvassed Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar's support after he gave an opinion to Cabinet in March last year.
Mr. Ariyasingha's letter states, "I have been instructed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to inform you that he did not even reply your letters because he has no interest whatsoever in the parties wishing to invest in this company. Such matters have nothing to do with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are of no concern whatsoever to the Minister."
Mr. Ariyasingha has called this attempt to obtain copies of letters from Holderbank by using his name as "a blatant effort of interested parties to create mischief. "
The controversial Puttalam cement deal has taken a dramatic twist with the Cabinet Secretary, Ranaweerage Abeyratna informing the government that a second Cabinet decision which revised an earlier decision has now been "found."
Earlier the Cabinet Secretary had told Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar that there was no second Cabinet decision on the Puttalam Cement Corporation privatization deal, after the first decision of March 23.
But after the recent controversy over the deal broke out, the Cabinet Secretary has informed the Government that there has been a second Cabinet decision dated June 21, 1995.
All Cabinet decisions are computerised and this particular decision of June 21, 1995 had been stored under different headings.
While the decision of March 23 had been stored under the heading of "Finance Ministry" the June 21 decision was under "President". In addition the word "Puttalam" was mis spelt.
Meanwhile, a three pronged inquiry into the controversial cement deal has been launched.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is investigating a taped conversation between Jawaid Tawakkal of the Tawakkal Group and Ascanio Martinotti of Regent Pacific in Hong Kong. The Bribery Commission is conducting a separate probe.
The third investigation is being carried out by the "Mulberry Group", of the People's Alliance which demanded an inquiry into the deal.
The Sri Lankan youth, Aruna Kithsiri who was languishing for more than eight weeks in jail in Abu Dhabi for collecting funds for the National Defence Fund has been released, according to Foreign Ministry sources.
The office of the UAE ruler has informed the Sri Lankan Ambassador A. M. Samsudeen that on a direction from the ruler, Kithsiri has been released.
Kithsiri's case was taken up on March 6.
Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had recently appealed to the UAE President, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan for the release of Kithsiri. Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar also brought up the issue when he visited the UAE recently.
Kithsiri, employed in Abu Dhabi had previously raised funds from various projects for the NDF and handed over these donations to the Lankan ambassadors there. He also made some donations when he came to Sri Lanka on holiday.
The PA has refused to debate the no-confidence motion against the government on the Tawakkal issue but agreed to a debate on the matter based on the statement made in Parliament on Thursday by Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
At a party leaders' meeting on Friday, the PA represented by chief whip Richard Pathirana and Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, said they could agree only to a three-day debate on the issue from March 19 to 21, according to these sources.
UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had suggested that the no-confidence motion should be taken up on March 19 and 20. UNP sources said it was unprecedented for Parliament to have a debate on a statement issued in the House rather than a No Confidence motion on the same issue.
Meanwhile, three separate probes have been launched on the Puttalam issue -- one by the CID, another by the Bribery Commission and the third by a PA rebel gruop known as the Mulberry Gruop.
In a significant move, the leaders of several Tamil political parties yesterday met the Malwatte Mahanayake and a Buddhist delegation in Kandy for talks on the devolution package. The meeting was held at the request of Tamil parties.
`The Sunday Times' learns the Tamil parties asked the Malwatte prelate, the ve. Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi Mahanayake Thera to support the devolution package. But the Mahanayake Thera said the main ain now should be to disarm the LTTE.
The prelate also recalled how the Sinhala people and Tamil people had lived together in unity and how they have travelled freely from the South to North and vice versa.
At one stage of the discussion, there were arguments between the leaders of Tamil parties and members of the Buddhist delegation. The arguments at times became heated and at one stage the Mahanayake had to intervene, reports said.
It is learnt that the discussions ended abruptly and without agreement.
The leaders of the EPDP, the PLOTE, the EPRLF, the EROS and the TELO met the Mahanayake. EPRLF leader Suresh Premachandran said implementing the devolution package would help change the image of the LTTE and that it was difficult to depend on a military solution.
The Tamil party leaders said successive governments had deprived the Tamils of their rights leading to a section of them taking to arms.
Meanwhile a request by these Tamil parties to meet the Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter Ven. Palipane Chandananda Thera yesterday had been turned down.
On Thursday the leaders of the five Tamil parties met the chief incumbent of the Kotte Raja Maha Vihara Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera.
A dispute between MPs and the judiciary is developing with the UNP on Friday moving a motion alleging that certain statements made by a judge recently amounted to a breach of privileges.
The UNP was referring to a statement on February 29 by Justice Jayasooriya, an Appeal Court Judge and member of the Presidential Commission probing alleged malpractices of the past. Justice Jayasooriya had reportedly said the Commission would not be intimidated by "Juvenile chirpings emanating from parliamentarians hiding behind the cloak of Parliamentary privileges."
Former Minister John Amaratunga moved the motion on behalf of the UNP after he and party leader Ranil Wickremesinghe had discussed the matter with Speaker K.B. Ratnayake on Tuesday.
Mr. Amaratunga claimed the Judge's statement was a clear breach of privileges of parliament and brought MPs to public ridicule.
TULF MP Neelan Thiruchelvam is also supporting the UNP motion against the Judge.
