• Bar Assn. backs judge to sue AG
• Port deal blocks corrupt holes
• Three SPs recalled
• Rise of Monica in blue
• Four council employees arrested over Jaffna blast
• Airport security sweep for CBK
• 'Mangala remarks irresponsible'

Bar Assn. backs judge to sue AG

Legal crisis taking major turn

By Our Legal Correspondent

Attorney General Sarath Silva is likely to be made a party both in his official and personal capacity in a fundamental rights application to be filed by High Court Judge Mahanama Thilekeratne, following his recent arrest which has set off one of the biggest legal crisis in recent years.

Amidst widespread protests by lawyers and judges against the Attorney General and the CID for the manner in which Mr. Thilekeratne was arrested, released on bail and re-arrested in a bizarre series of events, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has decided to fully support the judge's fundamental rights petition.

Following an executive committee decision of the BASL, its President Romesh de Silva invited leading criminal lawyer, Ranjit Abeysuriya to file papers on behalf of the judge.

President's Counsel Abeysuriya last night confirmed he would be filing a fundamental rights application on behalf of the judge and that he was "considering" naming President's Counsel Sarath Silva in his personal capacity as a respondent in the case.

The Attorney General will be named as a respondent in his official capacity.

The Sunday Times learns that the basis for naming Mr. Silva in his personal capacity is on whether he had acted maliciously because the judge had recently acquitted an Opposition UNP MP on charges of cheating and passed strictures on the manner in which the prosecution framed the MP.

The Attorney General is learnt to have told the Chief Justice, G. P. S. de Silva, who had made inquiries about the re-arrest of the Judge that the case must take its course and that the course of action taken by the CID at that moment was perfectly legal as it amounted to a cognisable offence.

The team of lawyers now drafting papers on behalf of the judge is studying the scope of application and the need to obtain an affidavit from the Chief Justice.

This has become necessary as the Attorney General has now denied any knowledge of the warrant to arrest being recalled, especially after President Kumaratunga had called for a full report from the IGP and ordered the transfer of CID Director Bandula "Show" Wickremasinghe, who re-arrested the judge and took him to CID headquarters.

The Sunday Times learnt last night that the need for an affidavit from the Chief Justice arose in the light of the recent Supreme Court decision in the Shirani Bandaranaike case where petitioners could not prove that the Chief Justice had written to the President recommending the appointment of Justice D.P.S. Gunasekera, to fill the vacancy in the Supreme Court.

The other respondents to be named in the fundamental rights case will be CID chief Punya de Silva, ex-director Bandula Wickremasinghe and CID Superintendent H.H.M.R. Premaratne.

In the first major international reaction to the legal crisis here,the Human Rights Law Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) meeting

in Vancouver, Canada, has set up a special committee to go into the arrest of Judge Thilekeratne.

The issue was raised by IBA President Desmond Fernando during a joint session on the Independence of the Judiciary.

Meanwhile UNP MP Sarath Kongahage has met lawyers to consider filing an application in the Court of Appeal against the Attorney General's recent order transferring a case filed by the AG against him from Judge Thilekeratne's Court to another High Court also in Colombo.

His lawyers told The Sunday Times that the order transferring the case was dated September 7 and the judge was arrested on September 10, which they felt was substantial proof that the AG's motives were mala fide.

D. S. Wijesinghe PC along with Anil Silva, Ronald Perera instructed by Samararatne Associates are appearing for Mr. Kongahage.

Port deal blocks corrupt holes

By Hiranthi Fernando

For the first time in Sri Lanka, a tough clause to deal with any bribery or corruption has been introduced in a major multi-million dollar agreement.

The recently initiated Agreement for Development of the Queen Elizabeth Quay of the Colombo port includes a clause specifically prohibiting offer or payment of money to influence any party.

The concession agreement between the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and South Asia Gateway Terminals (Pvt.) Ltd. (SAGT), specifically prohibits the offer, agreement to pay, payment, or approval of payment of any money for the purpose of influencing the judgement of any person in anyway relating to the Agreement.

It prohibits all acts collectively described as bribery or corruption.

If an SAGT official or an official connected to the consortium commits any act of bribery and corruption, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority shall be entitled to recover from it the value of any payment or gift given and any direct loss resulting from the breach of these provisions as well as to request the dismissal of the person committing the act of bribery and corruption.

Three SPs recalled

Police Headquarters last night recalled to service three Superintendents and an Inspector who had been sent on compulsory leave following the findings of presidential commissions.

The SPs are H.G. Wickremasinghe (Terrorist

Investigation Division), Wilfred Mahanayake (Kelaniya SCIB) and H. Chandradasa (Narcotics Division).

Inspector Chandraratne, personal bodyguard of Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe, has also been recalled for duty. He is attached to the Ministerial Security Division (MSD).

Rise of Monica in blue

ROME, Saturday (Reuters) - Monica Lewinsky has agreed to make a catwalk appearance in Italian stylist Gattinoni's October fashion show in Milan, the design house said.

"She is already available...and we are in contact with her lawyers," a Gattinoni official said.

He said the former White House intern had agreed to model a blue two-piece suit from Gattinoni's new "Roma Outsize" line at his Oct. 6 show. Lewinsky's affair with President Clinton has rocked the U.S. presidency after details of the liaison were made public including revelations that tests of a blue dress saved by Lewinsky had found semen matching Clinton's DNA.

Four council employees arrested over Jaffna blast

By Chris Kamalendran

Four employees of the Jaffna Municipal Council – the Public Relations Officer, two watchers and an office assistant – were taken into custody by a special CID team probing the bomb explosion that killed Mayor Ponniah Sivapalan, senior Army and Police officers.

The arrests came after the special CID team led by Senior Superintendent Asoka Wijetilleke interrogated more than 100 persons in Jaffna during the past three days.

The suspects, who were all flown down to Colombo yesterday, were identified as S. Rathnasingham (PRO), M. Devasingham (watcher), S. Vimalachandran (watcher) and K. Shanmugapathy (office assistant).

The next of kin of those arresed lodged protests at the ICRC office in Jaffna yesterday alleging that they had not been informed of the arrests. They complained the arrests had taken place after the four suspects had been told to present themselves at the Jaffna police station.

A suspected claymore bomb planted in the roof of the Jaffna Municipal Council exploded on September 11 when Mayor Sivapalan was discussing traffic arrangements for Jaffna with Army and Police officers.

Twelve persons were killed including Jaffna Brigade Commander Susantha Mendis and Senior Superintendent Chandra Perera. They were posthumously promoted Major General and Deputy Inspector General of Police.

Airport security sweep for CBK

More than 700 policemen were deployed on a special operation on Friday night in areas around the Bandaranaike International Airport.

A Police official said it was intended to crack down on criminal and suspected terrorist elements.

The move came on the eve of departure of President Chandrika Kumaratunga to New York.

She is due to address the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow. The President is expected to call for international support against terrorism in her speech.

'Mangala remarks irresponsible'

The Editors' Guild has accused Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera of making irresponsible statements regarding the independence and impartiality of the editors.

Minister Samaraweera was reported in the Dinamina of September 11, as saying the Editors' Guild had met Opposition UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and obtained his advice before they appeared before a Parliamentary Select Committee hearing on media law reforms.

Mr. Samaraweera said this meeting showed how independent the Editors' Guild was, and asked as to what purpose a Parliamentary Select Committee would serve if Editors got advise from an opposition leader.

In a strongly worded response the Editors' Guild said the meeting with Mr. Wickremesinghe followed a decision by the membership of the Guild to have consultations with leaders of all recognised political parties regarding the Select Committee proceedings.

The Guild had also written to the leaders of the Peoples' Alliance Government seeking appointments.

It said the Guild had neither asked nor obtained advice from Mr. Wickremesinghe and the discussions with him revolved mainly around issues of importance involving the media, the priority areas being the introduction of a Freedom of Information Act, Abolition of the existing laws on Criminal Defamation, appointment of an independent media council, opening discussion of Parliamentary Select Committees to the media and having Parliament debates broadcast live on radio and television.

The editors said they urged the UNP leader to act now to show the party's faith in the free media, without waiting till the party came back to office. These same issues were also highlighted by the members of the Guild, when they appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee, the statement said.

The Guild has expressed its displeasure that neither the Media Minister nor the deputy was present when the Guild appeared before the Select Committee, and that the Media Minister made an irresponsible statement thereafter accusing the Guild of partisanship.