![[Image]](fmain.jpg) 'Guess what I found': In the aftermath of the Kelanitissa bomb attack security forces cordoned off the area and interrogated the people Pic. Anuruddha Lokuhappuarachchi |
Contents |
A Sports Ministry top runger made love to me many times, Sri Lanka's sprint queen Susanthika Jayasinghe, revealed last night.
"He has turned his wrath on me after I resisted his overtures to marry him," she told The Sunday Times.
We met Susanthika at her second floor apartment at Manning Place. It was gifted to her by the Government after she won the silver medal at the World Athletics meet in Athens. She was relaxing with her two Pomeranian pets 'Ritzie' and 'Rex' who she said helped her to relax peacefully. Also present were her husband Dhammika Nanda Kumara, her father and mother.
The more she resisted the top runger's marriage offer, the more she was harassed, complained Susanthika. She said a senior Police officer, linked to a sports body, met her and asked her to divorce her husband and marry the top runger. When she refused, her husband was harassed, she added.
Susanthika said a senior Sports Ministry official also met her and advised her to travel abroad. "His ruse was to ask me to say I was leaving for the United Kingdom but instead travel to Australia," she revealed.
She said the idea was to ask her to remain there for three months so she may forget things. She was most worried for Dhammika, she pointed out.
Susanthika rejected charges that she was money minded. "My real wealth is my family life. I cannot forsake that," she asserted.
The sprint queen who brought fame to Sri Lanka said she was "most disheartened" that the marriage proposal had been forced on her. "The pressure I am going through is very heavy. My husband's life is under threat," she said. She warned that if any harm should befall her husband, she could not help but point the finger at the top runger who proposed marriage.
Susanthika said all her training for the forthcoming international athletic events had come to a standstill. "Unless I am relieved of this harassment, my hopes to win a gold medal at the upcoming Olympic Games are too distant," she complained. She said she was shocked and grieved to hear Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera's remarks that she was "mentally deranged" and that she resembled "a black South African man."
Mr. Samaraweera asked "who would have wanted to have sex with her because she looks like a black South African man."
"I am not sure whether this is also an attempt to drive me crazy. The remarks are a disgrace to the entire nation. We are all dark coloured people," she declared.
Susanthika scotched rumours that she had plans to leave the country. She said she had not taken a firm decision on the matter yet.
She said Sports Minister S. B. Dissanayake had telephoned her last Sunday and apologised to her for the difficulties she had got into. She said the Minister had said he would even quit his portfolio if that was necessary for her to continue with her athletic career.
Negligence by police and security guards at the vital Kelanitissa Thermal Power station allowed room for the LTTE sabotage on Friday and four policemen and a security guard have been arrested, detectives said yesterday.
Crime Detective Bureau officers who made the arrest said they were also interrogating about 75 persons rounded up from the Orugodawatte area after Friday's attack. They said the four policemen and the security guard were among those who were on duty at the time when at least two LTTE cadres carried out the operation.
One of them had cut the chain-link fence while the other had crept in and placed magnetic improvised explosive devices on four tanks. Two of the devices exploded causing one inch holes in the tanks which led to some 500 litres of fuel gushing out. A resultant fire was brought under control by the Fire Brigade.
CDB detectives said negligence had been identified as the main cause of the security lapse that enabled the LTTE guerrillas to infiltrate. They said police and security guards had failed to maintain proper vigilance.
A CDB officer said that at any given time, the Kelanitissa station was guarded by more than 45 security personnel consisting of at least 30 Policemen and 15 security guards of the CEB. The total strength of the security is 200 persons consisting of 155 policemen and 45 CEB guards.
Soon after the attack top police officers met for an emergency review of security at Kelanitissa and other possible targets.
The conference chaired by Deputy Inspector General D.M.T.B Dissanayake continued for a marathon session till yesterday.
Meanwhile, Intelligence reports have warned that other vital locations are being targeted by the LTTE. Among them are the Central Telegraph Office (CTO), National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) head office, People's Bank Headquarters, Ports Authority, Orugodawatta Oil and Kolonnawa Oil installations and the Rupavahini and the SLBC.
Meanwhile an attack on three transformers in the heart of the Badulla town almost at the same time as the Kelanitissa attack has also caused security concern.
Some 20 people have been taken in for questioning on the Badulla incident, where some two kilos of explosives were used to blast the transformers. (See Special Assignment on Page 6)
The Permanent Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption has charge-sheeted Lal Gamage, husband of Director General Nelum Gamage
The plaint containing charges against Mr. Gamage was filed in the Magistrate's Court of Colombo last Thursday. Directing that summons be served on Mr. Gamage, Chief Magistrate Munidasa Nanayakkara ordered that the matter be called before him on January 15.
Allegations against Mr. Gamage are reportedly that he had continued to work beyond the age of 60 for one year and five months at the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO). Mr. Gamage had joined the NBRO as director administration in 1990 and left the institution in 1996.
The plaint has been signed by Deputy Solicitor General Rienzie Arsecularatne, one of three legal officers assigned to the Permanent Commission by the Attorney General's Department. Mr. Arsecularatne was appointed acting Director General this week in the absence of Director General Nelum Gamage who was on medical leave. The appointment was made by the Presidential Secretariat following a letter sent by the Permanent Commission recommending that Mr. Arsecularatne be authorized to act in place of the Director General during her absence. Accordingly, Mr. Arsecularatne had assumed the functions of acting Director General with effect from November 11 but had officiated only until November 13 on which date Ms. Gamage had returned to work. It was during this time period that the plaint against Mr. Gamage had been signed.
Earlier this week, a warrant issued for the arrest of Mr. Gamage by Chief Magistrate Munidasa Nanayakkara for purported refusal to submit himself before the Commission for fingerprinting and for obtaining a specimen of his handwriting during ongoing investigations against him was set aside by High Court judge Titus Cooray. The warrant was set aside on the basis that the procedures adopted by Commission officials in asking for an issue of warrant was not according to law.
The charge sheet against Mr. Gamage was issued a day after hearing of a writ application filed by Ms. Gamage in the Supreme Court against the Permanent Commission for initiating a mala fide investigation against her, was postponed, following Justice Mark Fernando's absence from the Bench due to ill health. Justice Fernando had been one of the three judges constituting a Special Bench nominated to hear Ms. Gamage's application. Todate, four Supreme Court judges have indicated their unwillingness to hear the case on the grounds that Ms. Gamage and the first respondent, retired Supreme Court judge T.A.D.S. Wijesundera, are personally known to them. Hearing of the application has been postponed till November 21.
The postponement was made amidst assurances by counsel appearing for the Attorney General that no investigations will start against Ms. Gamage untill her writ application is determined by the Supreme Court. Ms Gamage has cited Chairman of the Commission T.A.D.S. Wijesundera, Commissioner Rudra Rajasingham, Superintendant of Investigations M.M. S. Othanapitiya and the Attorney General as respondents in her petition.
A BBC crew now in Colombo for the filming of the controversial Salman Rushdie book 'Midnight's Children' in Colombo say they have only heard reports but have not yet been officially informed of any govt. decision to ban shooting of the film here in view of protests by Muslim Ministers.
The crew had already started pre-production work and were getting ready to start filming in January when rumours and reports of the govt. decision came to them, BBC associate producer Jennie Osborne told The Sunday Times.
She said they were going ahead with their work till they were offically informed of any decision.
On Friday, Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Alavi Mowlana issued a press statement announcing the ban though the subject does not come under his purview.His statement said that the three Muslim ministers in the cabinet — A.H.M.Fowzie, M.H.M.Ashraff and himself — had met President Chandrika Kumaratunga after Wednesday's cabinet meeting and urged her to ban the filming of Mr. Rushdie's book in Sri Lanka.
"The President never granted permission to shoot this film," the statement added.
However, Ms Osborne said the chairman of the State Film Corporation and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs had granted permission for the BBC to film 'Midnight's Children' in Sri Lanka.
"That is how we are here. Government officals till now have been very supportive," she said. Mr. Mowlana's in his statement said that author Rushdie had blasphemed Islam through his book "Satanic Verses".
But the BBC producer said 'Satanic Verses' was a different story and she was positive that 'Midnight's Children' would not in anyway hurt feelings or interests of Muslims.
Ms Osborne said that BBC officials visited Sri Lanka in August this year and decided that Sri Lanka was a good location. Following this, scripts were sent to the NFC and other government authorities which had given the go-ahead in writing. Production Manager Jayantha Jayathilaka told The Sunday Times, it was regrettable that after diong so much work and employing some 150 locals for the film, the BBC crew would now have to go home.
Please send your comments and suggestions on this web site to
info@suntimes.is.lk or to
webmaster@infolabs.is.lk