 The Sunday Times photographer Lakshman Gunathilake, captured this event moments before the arrival of Prince Charles at the Bandaranaike International Airport. Must one say the security was tight. Even Air Force Personnel according the Guard of Honour to the visiting Prince were also subjected to body checks. And that was by none other than the men from the Presidential Security System |
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The personal security of three government leaders - President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Deputy Defence Minister Anuruddha Ratwatte and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar - has been intensified after reports that LTTE suicide cadres have infiltrated the city.
The Sunday Times reliably learns that the measures came after last Tuesday’s meeting of the National Security Council where fresh intelligence reports concerning the matter were discussed.
According to these reports, suicide cadres had planned to execute their task by posing off either as traffic policemen on duty in a city street or by using a blue Pajero commonly used by the Police. The NSC also discussed a number of other methods the suicide cadres had planned to use and initiated action to counter them. For obvious reasons, such measures cannot be spelt out.
The fact that a suicide bomber triggered an explosion at Malay Street, just two days after the National Security Council discussed the likely suicide bomb attacks, has prompted the Ministry of Defence to conduct an in depth investigation. Three airmen, two soldiers and three civilians died in Friday’s incident. Police investigators are now trying to ascertain how the incident occurred and what the target of the attackers was.
With preparations for the Golden Jubilee Independence celebrations, security arrangements for the President were tightened. So much so, a minor diplomatic row broke out between the British and Sri Lankan officials over bodyguards of Prince Charles carrying weapons during their visit to Colombo. The matter was amicably resolved with Charles’ guards being allowed to do so except not to possess the weapons when the Prince of Wales was with the President.
The woman suicide bomber who set off an explosion near Air Force headquarters on Friday was not travelling in a van but walking on the other side of the road, detectives said yesterday.
In a communique on Friday the Defence Ministry had said the suicide bomber, identified as Indirani from Batticaloa, had been in a van with three others. But investigations have now revealed that she was walking on the other side of the road near SLAF headquarters and was summoned to the checkpoint on suspicion.
The Hiace van involved in the blast belonged to a textile shop in Pettah and the two persons in it were killed. They were identified as driver Paramaseelan, 32, from Wattegama and salesman Suresh Kumar,38, from Mutwal.
A third civilian killed in the blast was identified as Kumaravail Surendran, 29, a fish stall owner from Kompannaveediya. He was returning from St. Anthony’s church Kotahena.
The two woman soldiers killed were identified as Damayanthi and Nayana Kumari while airmen killed were Jayaratna, Weerakoon and Basnayaka. A Magisterial inquiry will be held on February 16, but all bodies except that of the suicide bomber had been released to family members.
Police said they were looking into the possibility that the woman suicide bomber was assigned on a mission to explode herself on a VIP motorcade. Meanwhile three lodges were temporarily closed down in Kotahena following information that the bomber had stayed in one of them. The closure had forced some 600 persons to find alternative places
A national referendum on the devolution package or provincial council elections are round the corner.
The likelihood of one of these polls became evident last week when the Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake met Assistant Commissioners and gave instructions to them.
The five-year terms of office of provincial councils end in June.
As a government appointed three-member committee began its probe on the Dalada Maligawa bomb explosion, the two top Buddhist prelates in Kandy insisted that three more representatives nominated by them should be included in the committee or they would not accept its validity.
The Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter, the Most Ven. Rambukwelle Sri Vipassi Thera told The Sunday Times that Buddhist prelates and other religious leaders in Kandy would meet soon to decide on their three nominees. He said they could have faith in the committee only if their nominees were included and he hoped the government would agree to their proposals.
Last Tuesday, President Kumaratunga appointed a committee headed by Defence Secretary Chandrananda de Silva to probe the January 25 bomb attack on Buddhism’s most hallowed shrine. The committee also comprises former High Court Judge W. T. A. Leslie Fernando and former Police Chief T. P. F. De Silva.
The committee was yesterday due to visit the scene of the explosion and it has called for written submissions from the public to be filed before February 16.
Some 600,000 estate workers will continue their crippling strike as negotiators including the Labour Minister have yet failed to hammer out a compromise between trade unions and the employers, union officials said.
The workers belonging to the Ceylon Congress, the Lanka Jathika Estate Workers Union and 16 other unions under the Joint Committee of Plantation Trade Unions launched their massive strike last Thursday in support of demand for a daily wage of Rs. 125.
As the biggest plantations strike in recent years was poised to continue into the new week, estate managements and the Employers Federation of Ceylon were insisting they could offer an increment of Rs. 15 a day and nothing more.
At present, the daily wage is Rs. 83 and employers say they are ready to increase it Rs. 93 plus the profit-sharing bonus of Rs. 5.
But estate unions, pointing to the sky-rocketing living costs and other factors, are demanding a daily wage of Rs. 125. During negotiations, they have indicated they would be ready to settle for Rs. 105, while Labour Minister John Seneviratne has proposed Rs. 100.
On Friday, a 90-minute discussion was held among all parties but though differences were narrowed no settlement was reached and thus the strike will continue, CWC leader and minister S. Thondaman said.
Space visionary Arthur C. Clarke, under a cloud for a week after a London newspaper threw child sex allegations against him, has come out fighting — describing the accusations as “nonsense, contemptuous and revolting.”
The British-born Dr. Clarke who was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth recently faced the storm when the Britain’s Sunday Mirror last week published an interview claiming he had admitted to being a paedophile.
The sensational report led to the postponement of the ceremony where the visiting Prince Charles was to have conferred the Commonwealth’s highest award on Dr. Clarke who is now a citizen of Sri Lanka.
In the aftermath of the report, Dr. Clarke had declined to speak to the media on legal advice.
But on Friday, Dr. Clarke broke his silence by announcing he was taking legal action on the matter.
Dr. Clarke strongly denying allegations of child sex allegations, said he had decided to speak out because “silence can easily, though wrongly be taken as an admission of guilt.”
He said that having always had a particular dislike of paedophiles, few charges could be more revolting to him than to be classed as one. “Indeed the accusations are such nonsense that I have found it difficult to treat them with the contempt that they deserve. My conscience is perfectly clear.
“In any event, I categorically state that ‘The Sunday Mirror’ article is grossly defamatory and contains statements which in themselves and by innuendo are quite false, grossly inaccurate and extremely harmful,” he said.
Dr. Clarke thanked all those who supported him after the allegations, and expressed his regret for the embarrassment caused to them and others over this issue.
Dr. Clarke has been hailed all over the world for his cosmic vision and predictions that have given him the image of a modern-day Jules Verne.
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