The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) which campaigned on a vote for an unarmed democracy says that inspite of it not having a majority in the Jaffna Municipal Council it will not form a coalition with any of the other armed Tamil groups that contested the northern polls.
The majority vote in Jaffna for a democratic framework was won by the armed militant groups.
The EPDP led by Douglas Devananda won 10 Pradeshiya Sabhas while the TULF which contested the Jaffna Municipal council and Valigamam North won both.
The highest votes polled were for the EPDP. 38,720 with PLOTE totalling 25,576 votes.
Apart from the independent groups the TULF polled the least number of total votes amounting to 6.361.
There is speculation now that Ms. Sarojini Yogeswaran the New Mayoress of Jaffna will not be able to hold her seat in the Jaffna Municipal Council as she lacks the required majority.
However, the TULF maintain's local councils have a tendency to unanimously pass motions minus calling for a vote.
The TULF says if there is dissension and the new Mayoress is unseated the party will call for fresh elections.
"We are not afraid to face elections again." Mr.Anandasangaree of the TULF said in Colombo. He added the party entered the election fray only on the basis that it would not be part of an armed democracy in the north. "We have no intention of forming a coalition with any of the other Tamil militant groups." he said.
Ms. Yogeswaran of the TULF, endorsed this view when met in Jaffna saying, "I do not want to be part of an armed democracy." She said it is important to be one of the people and be cherished by them. It is important she added, that the people of the northern peninsula no longer are intimidated or threatened.
Meanwhile Mr. Devananda, Leader of the EPDP, said his party would not seek to oust Ms. Yogeswaran unless her actions proved detrimental to the people of Jaffna. The EPDP have pledged their full support for Ms. Yogeswaran. The EPDP would not immediately cause dissent as it was the people's decision to vote Ms. Yogeswaran in as Mayoress of Jaffna, and so, "we will not contest the people's decision," he added.
The flawed polling lists have caused further speculation, while allegations are being made that some of the Tamil political parties bought polling cards and as a result impersonation on a massive scale was initiated.
Mr. Devananda ruled out any rigging on the part of the government. "This time the government machinery played clean," he said. However, he alleged that some of the other Tamil parties took advantage of the 1986 census statistic's list, to buy polling cards that would not be used and gather party supporters to impersonate people who no longer live in the northern peninsula.
PLOTE leader D.Siddarthan voiced similar sentiments when he said, they would not oppose the new mayoress in Jaffna. However he asserted this would depend entirely on her attitude, saying that it was now upto Ms. Yogeswaran to prove her competence in managing the council.
According to the present law Ms. Yogeswaran will be the new Mayoress of Jaffna. Her appointment will be gazetted on the 18th of this month.
However problems will arise when resolutions need to be passed as in such instances the TULF will have to depend on the support of either the EPDP or PLOTE.
The general opinion in Jaffna was that TULF being one of the longest standing Tamil political parties would pull at the sentiments of the older generation of Jaffna Tamils. An unarmed group that has sacrificed many a leader, yet, the TULF is not seen as being more credible than the other militant Tamil groups apart from the fact of being unarmed.
Many people in Jaffna, said that it is a tragedy that Tamil politicians in Sri Lanka have found it impossible to take a common stand on matters of crucial importance.
The demand for Eelam by the LTTE and its violent activities have made the Tamil political groups extremely vulnerable not only in the North and East but in the South as well.
Though carrying the name Eelam, the Tamil political parties have in practice revoked the call for separation when they accepted the 6th amendment. The TULF however has not completely dis-sociated itself from this call for a separate state.
The TULF raised the demand for a separate Tamil Eelam in Vaddukoddai in May 1976. In the General Elections of 1977 the TULF obtained massive support for this demand from the northern district and to some extent from the east as well.
Since the law and order situation soon deteriorated since then and with the communal riots which took place in 1977, 1981 and 1983 a trail of untold misery and suffering to the Tamils put Sri Lanka back politicalhy, economically and socially.
The Tamils in Jaffna voiced both hope and disillusionment with the present constitutional changes being proposed, saying it is not clear yet if President Kumaratunga together with Tamil party leaders will be capable of making necessary accommodation to arrive at an amicable settlement with justice, fairplay to all.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga has personally called on all military deserters to return and join the forces to help fight the LTTE and protect the unitary status of the country.
"Your return to duty will be a great service to the country. Since we have banned the LTTE we cannot delay defeating it militarily," she said in statement.
The President who is the Commander in Chief of the ArmedServices said she had directed military authorities not to take disciplinary action or conduct inquiries on deserters who return back to service.
Main opposition UNP is organising mass rallies throughout the country starting in Galle on February 20, party leader Ranil Wickre-mesinghe said.
Mr. Wickremesinghe said that UNP had given the government three years to prove itself but it had failed miserably.
The government is now drafting a new law to curb ragging on the basis of a very stringent ordinance currently in force in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
But stringent though the proposed law is, it differs in one very vital respect from its Tamil Nadu parent - it lets off the hook the head of the institution where the gruesome ragging had occurred.
Under Sec. 7 of the T' Nadu ordinance, if the head of an institution, on receiving a complaint of ragging, had failed to inquire into it and suspend the guilty, he would be deemed to have abetted the offence. The punishment for ragging and abetting is the same - two years' imprisonment. In the context of a widespread breakdown of discipline in South Asian universities and higher educational institutions, the abdication of the authorities as it were, this provision is expected to force the head of the institution to enforce discipline in his domain.
The argument against holding the head of the institution responsible is that the head cannot be held responsible for everything that goes on in his institution. There are many others down the line, whose culpability could be more or less direct. But the rebuttal to this is that the least the head could do is to institute an inquiry and take some preliminary action like suspending the student, which is what the Tamil Nadu ordinance expects of him or her.
However, the Sri Lankan law is harsher and more intricate in other ways. It prescribes a minimum of five years and a maximum of ten years in prison for serious forms of ragging like sexual harassment and grievous hurt. Hostage taking could invite a minimum of three years and a maximum of seven. Criminal intimidation could mean a minimum of two years and a maximum of five. The court could order compensation to the victim or the victim's family.
As in Tamil Nadu, the Lankan law would also define ragging very widely to include teasing, playing practical jokes and even use of words which are in contempt of the dignity and personality of another person. Ragging of the staff is also being brought under its purview.
Dr. David Ratnavale, a leading Colombo psychiatrist, observes that ragging reflects "hidden rage", which is there in the most "normal" of people. "Violence has become part of day to day speech. We talk of the killer instinct in sport. The opponent in a game is thrashed and in films, violence, blood and gore are now routine," observes N. V. Yasapala, Addl. Secretary, Higher Education.
Ragging is essentially, a group activity, says Dr. Ratnavale. "Many of those who rag gruesomely are nice guys individually. But in a group,. like most, they lose their individuality and do things they'd never do alone," he said.
Impunity for those responsible for human rights abuses remained a serious problem and no arrests were made in connection with the disappearance and presumed killings of at least 300 LTTE suspects in Jaffna in 1996, the United States said in an annual human rights report on Sri Lanka.
In most cases, however, no progress was made or there was no investigation or prosecution at all, giving the appearance of immunity for those responsible for human rights violations, it said.
According to the report compiled by U.S. Department of State, as part of its worldwide survey for 1997, during the year under review some members of the security forces committed serious human rights abuses, though the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens in areas not affected by the conflict, the report said.
"The ongoing war with the LTTE continued to be accompanied by serious human rights abuses by the security forces. Security forces committed as many as 100 extrajudicial killings. In addition, at least 100 individuals disappeared from security force custody on and near the Jaffna peninsula in the north during the course of the year and 25 such disappearances occurred in the east. Torture remained a serious problem and prison conditions remained poor.
Under the sub-title Respect for Human Rights the report adds: "Police (mostly STF officers) and army and navy personnel committed extrajudicial killings in both Jaffna and the Eastern province. Most of these were associated with operations against the LTTE insurgents or interrogation of suspected terrorists. Upto 100 individuals were killed, although the exact number was impossible to ascertain due to censorship of news relating to military or police operations and lack of regular access to the north and east where the war was being waged.
"In some cases these extrajudicial killings were reprisals against civilians for LTTE attacks in which members of the security forces were killed or injured. In many cases, the security forces were killed or injured. In many cases, the security forces claimed that the victims were members of the LTTE, but human rights monitors believe otherwise. The perpetrators of these killings had not been arrested by the government at year's end.
"Impunity remains a serious problem. Since April 1995 at least 700 persons have been extra-judicially killed by the security forces or disappeared after being taken into security forces custody and are presumed dead."
Under subheading torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, the report states:
"Methods of the torture included electric shock, beatings (especially on the soles of the feet), suspension by the wrists or feet in contorted positions, burnings and near drownings. In other cases, victims are forced to remain in unnatural positions for extended periods or bags laced with insecticide, chillie powder or gasoline are placed over their heads. Detainees have reported broken bones and other serious injuries as a result of their mistreatment. There were no reports of rape in detention, the report added."
The Public Enterprises Reform Commission(PERC) met with senior staff from AirLanka on Monday, February 2. PERC briefed AirLanka on negotiations with Emirates Airlines indicating Emirates will begin joint operations with Air Lanka on April 1.
The statement speaks of AirLanka's summer performance last year but strangely fails to mention that the airline will be in partnership with Emirates Airlines from April 1.
Instead the statement speaks of a net profit of Rs. 1,200 million after paying finance and interest charges. AirLanka's cash flow situation has also shown a tremendous increase and the cash bank surplus recorded as at October 31, last year has been at over Rs. 8 billion, it adds.
The statement claims AirLanka has broken records. But gives few if any details to back up the claims. The statement concludes that the airline has targeted a net profit of Rs. 2 billion for the financial year 1997/98.
Negotiations between the Public Enterprises Reform Commission (PERC) and Emirates meanwhile have been concluded. Emirates will officially takeover the management of AirLanka from April 1.
AirLanka will retain its logo and continue with its scheduled flight routes. The directorate of AirLanka will also remain the same with Harry Jayawardena as Chairman. Emirates will seal the deal by bringing additional aircraft into the Tristar and Airbus fleet of AirLanka.
Management staff at AirLanka told The Sunday Times they believed AirLanka unions would not oppose the deal with Emirates.
A statement issued by PERC on Monday said a Technical Evaluation Committee found Emirates to be the only technically qualified bidder.
Emirates officials say the airline is now checking its bank balances and final accounts, before making a commitment on the exact amount of liquid cash it is prepared to put into AirLanka.
The AirLanka statement states that the national carrier has flown in about 55% of the tourists to Sri Lanka in 1997. The airline also claims that it carried a total of 11,855 tonnes of cargo from Sri Lanka to several destinations worldwide. This in reality would mean that Emirates would need to compete against this figure or fly with it, to achieve the net profit targeted by AirLanka for 1998.
The question now is whether it would be a case of amalgamation or competition?
Continue to the News/Comment page 2 * DM hits out
at paddy policy * Upgrade request turned down * “Power of Sacred Relic”
* Dalada fund by Pera campus * Rs. 9m. fraud case: 186 complaints * The great
no-show in Sri Lanka * By Gad Sir, freedom, eh what!
| HOME PAGE | FRONT PAGE | EDITORIAL/OPINION | PLUS | TIMESPORTS
Please send your comments and suggestions on this web site to
info@suntimes.is.lk or to
webmaster@infolabs.is.lk