10,000 observers for local government elections By Kshalini Nonis
More than 10,000 observers including several NGOs are expected to monitor the March local elections.
According to Godfrey Gunatilleke, joint chairman of the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), the observers will be following the same procedures adopted during the general and presidential elections in 1994 where the voters themselves monitored the elections and were therefore able to enter the polling booths throughout the day.
"Officially we are not allowed to enter the polling booths as we are not accredited by the government. This is because we do not want to act merely as an arm of the government," he said.
According to Dr. Gunatilleke, the monitoring will be mainly concentrated in the Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas in certain districts. "We are not getting down any international observers, but the National Democratic Movement in the US will be sending two or three people," he added.
Dr. Gunatilleke also said that they are at present compiling a 'situation report' which will be released as soon as the nominations are over. "We are hoping to meet the various party leaders, and will be monitoring the situation before the elections and will also try to monitor any pre-election violence," he said.
Some of the Non-Governmental Organizations that will be monitoring the elections are the Movement for Free and Fair Elections (MFFE), National Peace Council Sarvodaya, Young Men's Muslim Association (YMMA) etc.
Fifteen Sri Lankan Tamil youths, in the age group of 25 to 30 years, were taken into custody from a refugee camp at Mandapam by 'Q' Branch police on Monday on the suspicion that they could be militants. The youths were later taken under armed escort to Vellore special camp in North Arcot-Ambedkar district.
The Hindu
A leading Hindu Organisation has urged President Kumaratunga to postpone local elections until a political solution is found to the ethnic conflict.
The All Ceylon Hindu Congress in the appeal says conditions in the country are not conducive for elections because even Tamils outside the North East are living in fear amidst harassment and arrest by the security forces.
While appreciating the efforts made by the PA government to solve the ethnic conflict the Congress says diverting attention to the hustings would hinder rather than help these efforts.
British officials who visited Jaffna recently had extensive discussions for two days on matters relating to civil administration, resettlement and the food situation, Govt. Agent C. Pathmanathan, said.
The team headed by Deputy High Commissioner Peter Gregory met civil and military officers, Tamil political party representatives, religious leaders including Jaffna's Catholic Bishop and officials of several NGO's.
Mr. Pathmanathan gave no details of the talks except to say that when he was asked what the people felt he told the British officials to meet the people directly.
The British team included Andrew Hall, said to be a researcher at the British Foreign Office.
President Kumaratunga who set up a ministerial committee on external economic affairs recently, has set a 14 day deadline for each of the four ministries to come up with plans to enhance exports and boost the country's poor export industry.
The ministries of trade, industries, foreign affairs and aviation will submit their reports on how to compete in the world market.
Trade Minister Kingsley T.Wickremaratne told 'The Sunday Times' that trade missions abroad will be required to do a thorough salesman's job and promote Sri Lankan products as part of an accelerated plan of President Chandrika Kumaratunga to build the country's economy.
He said that in future the four ministries will work as a team in all exhibitions and export promotion work in order to gain more and effective results.
"Presently, trade mission officials are lethargic and hardly anything is done for the export industry. Now for the first time they will be required to put in extra effort to build the export trade," Mr. Wickremeratne said.
Mr. Wickremeratne said that he will open up new trade missions in Mexico, Brazil, and Vietnam. "But he will have to upgrade our products, speed up delivery and encourage Eco-Packaging & Eco-Labelling, in order to attract the foreign market," he said.
The trade ministry will also report to the President on the emerging markets in the region, and how the existing markets could be improved, and check on a range of new products for market penetration.
Colombo's former mayor, K. Ganeshalingam who quit the UNP after 36 years has said his main aim is to develop the City and not to confront the UNP. "The question of attacking the UNP will not arise as the main theme of our campaign is to develop the city and nothing else.'' Mr.Ganeshalingam said in an interview with 'The Sunday Times'. Excerpts from the interview:
Colombo's former mayor, K. Ganeshalingam who quit the UNP after 36 years has said his main aim is to develop the City and not to confront the UNP.
"The question of attacking the UNP will not arise as the main theme of our campaign is to develop the city and nothing else.'' Mr.Ganeshalingam said in an interview with 'The Sunday Times'.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: Are you going to be mayor under the PA Government?
A: The question of PA will not arise as we are contesting as an Independent group fielding 59 candidates of whom 53 will be elected. This group comprises candidates of the SLFP, LSSP, CP, SLMP, SLMC, DUNF, TULF, and CWC.
I will be a member of the nomination board comprising representatives of these parties. Candidates will be selected purely on merit, they will be a team of people who will be dedicated and capable of developing Colombo to meet the challenges of the 21 century. The main theme will be development of Colombo city and the environs.
Q: You will have to attack the UNP of which you were treasurer till the day before yesterday.
A: I joined the UNP in 1960. I have served on the executive committee for a few years. In 1989.I was elected treasurer, a post I held till my resignation. The question of attacking the UNP will not arise as our main theme of the campaign is to develop the city and nothing else.
Q: It is a PA backed list. Will PA leaders campaign for you?
A: When I met President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga the other day and discussed matters, it was her wish that I should be number one in the list. She has been convinced after reading my 1997 Budget that if we are voted into office we could deliver the goods.
My budget as mayor laid the first step to develop Colombo on a planned basis. As acting mayor for a little over two years I studied what should be done to develop Colombo. Colombo is the capital and commercial city of the country. All Diplomatic Missions are in Colombo.
Tourists have to be provided with necessary comforts, like in other 2 countries. In my budget I have laid down plans and proposals for transforming Colombo into a pleasant place.
Q: You must know as Treasurer of the UNP, that it is a party with a lot of financial resources.
A: As I have now resigned from the UNP, it is not ethical for me to disclose or discuss the financial resources of the UNP. Every political party in the world is rich.
Q: You were re-appointed Treasurer of the UNP only in December and you accepted that post.
A: Yes. There's nothing wrong, it is re-endorsed by credibility.
Q: Isn't it clear that you resigned from the UNP only because the UNP refused to make you the Mayoral candidate this time?
A: I didn't seek re-election as mayor from the UNP. I need assistance from the government to implement my budget proposals. The government extended its fullest cooperation in this respect by giving me assistance in many ways. The President intervened and waived customs duties amounting to Rs.170 million on the Japanese grant aid vehicles and machinery worth Rs.400 million, the first of its kind in the form of a gift in CMC history.
Government funded the CMC to develop two new road projects, the Marine Drive and Duplication Road extension. Some in the party did not like my links with the government. Colombo can't be developed without the support and the blessings of the party in power, and as the PA government understood my plight they readily helped me to develop the city. Earlier CMC staff and machinery were utilised to develop Gam Udawas neglecting the needs of Colombo. I was harassed and humiliated by a set of UNPers.
There was one person who appreciated my work and it was UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe. I did not seek re-election for this reason.
The CMC has a set of efficient officers. One can't find a set of people who are hundred percent efficient in any institution. After 15 years today CMC has a bank credit balance of over Rs. 500 million. Is this inefficiency?
Q: Ratepayers have complained to newspapers that Town Hall is corrupt and inefficient. Do you say 'no' to that?
A: Corruption was introduced into the CMC by some UNPers.
Q: Local government elections are now devalued because local councils themselves are devalued with the introduction of provincial councils?
A: Government will make the CMC an autonomous body directly under the centre with full powers over finance, personnel and other resources. As stated by me in the budget proposals CMC should be empowered to directly obtain funding from international lending agencies such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japanese International Cooperation Agency, Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund, United States Adiminstration for International Development or from friendly nations through the lines of credit they may extend to Sri Lanka. Sri Jayewardenepura and Trincomalee councils too are considered to enjoy this facility by the government. Services rendered by local bodies and PC's are different.
Q: The General Secretary of the UNP Gamini Athukorale said that he had not received your resignation from the UNP until Friday.
A: I sent my resignation to General Secretary on January 30.
The JVP has expressed fears of a govt. ploy to postpone polls and run the local administration through special commissioners as it did in the 1970's.
General Secretary Tilvin Silva said there was no valid reason for the govt. to dissolve all local bodies before the elections in March. These councils could have continued on a caretaker basis till new members were elected.
Mr. Silva said he felt even the UNP was collaborating in this ploy. But the JVP would fight +gainst such underhand tactics. He said the JVP was expecting a big protest vote in its favour as most people were disappointed with both main parties.
One of the three vessels used to ship displaced persons from Vavuniya to Jaffna peninsula is out of order. This has disrupted the smooth process of transporting displaced people to their homes.
According to divisional office sources, orders have been placed in Singapore for spare parts and it would some time before the defective vessel, 'Ngromah' is back in service.
Hundreds of displaced persons wait in welfare centres in Trincomalee to get back to their homes in the North.
The Government Surveyors Association (GSA) has alleged that the authorities are trying to appoint a Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS), officer for the top technical post violating the provisions of the existing Sri Lanka Surveyors Service Minute and the procedure followed for the last 196 years.
According to the GSA this is the fist time in 196 years that the Survey Department has been without a Surveyor General, since the retirement of M.P. Salgado in November 1996.
The GSA added that no surveyors have been issued with licences to practice for 1997. As a result all court commission surveys are unduly delayed, and urgent highway expansion surveys undertaken by the private survey agencies are also delayed because of the non-availability of the Surveyor General's licence.
Under the Survey Ordinance of Sri Lanka, no one other than the Surveyor General can issue licences.
K. Shanmugalingam GSA, Assistant Secretary said that the Surveyor General is not only the head of the survey department, but also head of the surveyor profession in Sri Lanka. He should hold a post-graduate First Class Maths Degree and must have acquired special training in survey science in a foreign university.
He has also pointed out that all the national work undertaken by the Survey Department is almost at a standstill as there is no Surveyor General to give directives to carry out the various tasks.
An Irish mother, allegedly betrayed and deserted by her Sri Lankan husband is going around all over Sri Lanka in a desperate search for their four year old son.
Joan Ratnam from Nothern Ireland told The Sunday Times she had married a Sri Lankan, and they had a son.
But problems arose and in 1993 they obtained a divorce with a London Court ordering that the child be in her custody for six months and in the father's for another six.
A heart broken Joan said that her husband had taken the child to Sri Lanka in 1996 and since then she has not seen the boy. As she could not get through to him even on the telephone Joan said she decided to come to Colombo to find the child.
Through two lawyers K.V. Thavarasha and Gowry Shengary, who also appeared in the famous Chitra Rajendran case recently. Joan launched investigations till eventually they were told that David, now an estate owner in Kurunegala was allegedly living with another woman. Joan said she then filed action in a Kurunegala Court and a warrant was issued. But the father appears to be evading it.
The Irish mother said they owned a house in London but her husband had allegedly sold it for some 82,000 pounds and she did not know what happened to the money.
The trip and the case here were also costing her a lot of money but she was prepared to offer a handsome reward to anyone who helped her to find her dear child Joshua who was all she had, Joan said.
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