|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CEB chairman resigns
Rohan Gunasekera in Colombo,
08.45 p.m. SLT Friday March 9.
Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) chairman Arjun Deraniyagala has resigned. His
resignation came in the wake of allegations of corruption made against the
CEB by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga in a recent television
interview. President Kumaratunga said corrupt officials in the CEB have built
expensive homes in Cinnamon Gardens and added that she may have to sack some
officials as she had done previously. Following her remarks, Power Minister
Anuruddha Ratwatte asked the auditor-general to probe the allegations of
corruption in the CEB.The power utility has been under fire in recent months
because of alleged corruption and mismanagement and for buying electricity
at high prices from private power plants.
Published: Fri Mar 9 10:14:28 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
O
T
H
E
R
H
E
A
D
L
I
N
E
S
|
|
Imports kill Lankan economy
The Hindustan Times,
Colombo, March 9.
IF THE Sri Lankan economy has been in poor shape for the last 10 years, it is not just due to the unending war, but because of the systematic neglect of domestic industry and agriculture by successive governments. In a seminal piece in The Island daily today, economist Dr J B Kalegama said that between 1989 and 1999, both the United National Party (UNP) and the Peoples' Alliance (PA) governments have favoured imports.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 16:43:54 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Politics trumping security: ex-spy
Former CSIS chief accuses Liberals of being timid on terror for fear of losing ethnic votes
National Post,
march 9.
A former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service says the Liberal government is reluctant to take strong measures against groups that raise funds for international terrorism because ethnic communities are among the party's biggest supporters.Mr. Morden also criticized Paul Martin, Minister of Finance, and Maria Minna, Minister for International Co-operation, for attending a dinner in Toronto last year for a Tamil group that has been accused by both CSIS and the U.S. State Department of raising money for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam."I really am disappointed when government ministers attend their fundraising events because it gives everybody the sort of good housekeeping stamp of approval and it makes it look like it is OK," he said. "It would have shown a lot more leadership to say, 'No, not until ... we can be assured that your money is going to go to the widows and children of that civil war.' "
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 22:45:16 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
Sri Lanka sees lower growth, more defence spending
Yahoo India,
March 8.
Sri Lanka said on Thursday economic growth would slip to 4.5 percent this
year and forecast surprisingly high defence spending that raised questions about last year's military
spending and budget. Deputy Finance Minister G.L. Peiris told parliament in a budget speech Sri Lanka would spend 75
billion rupees ($862 million) on defence, but added some of the money would cover purchases made last year.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 09:38:35 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Colombo banking on peace to revive growth
Asia Times,
March 9.
Sri Lanka's government is banking on likely peace talks with Tamil
Tiger rebels to kick-start an economy slowed down considerably by 18 years of
ethnic conflict.Economic analysts said the government's March 8 budget was based on the hope
that the peace talks, widely expected to start in May, would trigger a major
economic revival, helped by an infusion of US$700 million in foreign aid. The
aid has been promised to support rehabilitation programs in the conflict-torn
northern region of the country.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 09:54:43 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Pakistan Interior Min To Ask Taliban To Save Statues
Yahoo India,
March 9.
Pakistan, the Taliban's closest ally, said it will send its Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider to
Kandahar Saturday to try to dissuade the Taliban from destroying two towering statues of Buddha. "The minister will impress upon the Afghan authorities not to implement their decision, in view of the spirit of
tolerance enjoined upon by Islam and also in response to the international sentiments," said a Pakistan foreign ministry
statement.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 16:48:35 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
IMF Endorses Sri Lanka Budget; Advises Deficit Vigilance
Yahoo India,
March 9,.
The International Monetary Fund Friday endorsed Sri Lanka's budget for 2001, but said the
government would have to be very vigilant to achieve a planned narrowing of the budget deficit.
Sri Lanka overran targets last year due to battles with Tamil Tiger rebels.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 09:30:02 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Sri Lankan president to visit Germany next week
123India.com,
Mar 09 2001 21:12 IST.
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga will make a four-day visit to Germany beginning Monday for talks on increasing bilateral trade and economic aid.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 16:53:11 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Sri Lanka Won't Privatize State Banks - Tsy Secy
Yahoo India,
Friday, 9 March.
Sri Lanka's budget for 2001 looks beyond the government's war against Tamil Tiger rebels and aims to boost long-term growth and fix imbalances in the economy, the secretary to the treasury said Friday. P.B. Jayasundera told Dow Jones Newswires the government had earmarked 75 billion Sri Lankan rupees ($1=LKR85.70) for defense spending to fight the separatist rebels, but bold revenue-generating measures, including the initial public offering of Sri Lanka Telecom, would help achieve a lower budget deficit this year. "While recognizing the cost of the war, we are focusing on more forward-looking strategies to find long-term solutions," he said. The budget for the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1, unveiled Thursday, didn't give a breakdown for defense spending this year. However, the government last month allocated LKR63.4 billion for defense in 2001 in its appropriation bill.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 07:03:50 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
British cricket writers accuse Sanath Jayasuriya of racism
Yahoo India,
March 10,.
The Sri Lankan cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya?s remark that he would not talk to ?suddas? or ?white men? got him
into trouble on Friday with British cricket writers accusing him of racism. Jayasuriya?s comment to the local media
sparked protests by British writers covering the second cricket Test match between Sri Lanka and England. Cricket
officials here tried to ward off controversy by explaining that the word ?sudda? was not derogatory.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 16:46:39 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lankan women demand end to war, protest price hikes
Times of India,
9 March 2001 .
More than 1,000
women held two demonstrations Thursday,
demanding an end to the 17-year civil war
and protesting a hike in taxes and utility
prices.Both demonstrations marked International
Women's Day in the capital, Colombo.One group traveled in scooter rickshaws
decorated with colorful banners, asking the
government to begin Norway-backed peace
talks with the rebels.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 09:36:18 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Indian jets add color to Lankan air force celebrations
India Abroad,
March 09.
DOZENS of Indian skydivers trailing flags and streamers and air force jets blazing across
the sky added a splash of color to the Sri Lankan air force's 50th anniversary
celebrations held Friday. ndia's 'Akash Ganga' skydivers and 'Suriya Kiran' aerobatic team performed their breathtaking
stunts before a large audience of dignitaries and service personnel at the air force's main base at
Ratmalana, a Colombo suburb.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 09:33:01 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
'We will never ask India for military help'
Yahoo India,
Friday, 9 March.
Whether token or otherwise, Sri Lanka will ``never ask India for military help. That unfortunate chapter is closed,'' says Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Mr Lakshman Kadirgamar. In an interview to Business Line on Wednesday at his heavily guarded Colombo residence, which practically functions as his office for security reasons, the Minister described India's stand on the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka as a ``very good stand, which we appreciate.'' But when asked to spell out the unstated apprehension in certain quarters in New Delhi that if India is asked for any help in finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the island-nation, it might involve some token military assistance, Mr. Kadirgamar flatly ruled out such a possibility. ``This is absolutely ruled out. We will never, under any circumstances, ask India for any military help. That rather unfortunate chapter, when you look at it in hindsight, is closed. Neither country wants to reopen it.'' On the other hand, ``India's stand is a very, very good one.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 03:34:44 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Judge pleads for language rights for Sri Lankan Tamils
India Abroad,
March 08, .
A newly appointed judge of Sri Lanka's Supreme Court, charging that few Tamils rose to
high positions in the country today, called for Tamil to be made the dominant language
in the island's north and east.Making an impassioned plea for restoration of the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils, Judge C.V.
Vigneswaran, who is a member of the minority community, said most Tamils did not want
devolution of power, the Daily Mirror reported Thursday. He said Tamil
judges could not "hope to occupy the highest office in the judiciary except due to the
condescending discretion of the executive". "As a Tamil-speaking citizen, if I do not use my mother tongue, I will soon be forced to use my
brothers' tongue", Vigneswaran said, adding "the sterile and impotent cosmetic provision now
appearing in our constitution has little meaning to the Tamil-speaking people of the northern and
eastern provinces".
More...
Published: Thu Mar 8 09:14:58 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
‘LTTE acquires hi-tech rocket launchers from North Korea’
The Hindustan Times,
Colombo, March 8.
The LTTE has acquired ‘stealth technology’ for their speed boats and also the ‘rare’ but very useful double tube 107 mm Katyusha rocket launcher, probably from North Korea. Writing in the latest issue of Jane's Intelligence Review, Roger Davies says that a video of the sinking of a Sri Lankan passenger ship at the Trincomalee harbour by a Sea Tiger suicide squad last year, clearly indicates these acquisitions. “This is quite a rare weapon,” the author says about the 107 mm double tube rocket launcher.
More...
Published: Thu Mar 8 22:29:35 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Sri Lanka Tigers softening terrorist stance: US
123India.com,
Mar 08 2001 14:04 IST.
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels showed signs of moving from its "terrorist" tactics and the US may reconsider a ban on them if they shed violence completely, the US embassy here said Thursday. The embassy quoted its ambassador, Ashley Wills, as saying during a visit to the embattled northern town of Jaffna Tuesday that he hoped the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will enter the democratic mainstream.
More...
Published: Thu Mar 8 09:08:13 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Appeal for release of Tamil journalist
BBC South Asia,
Thursday, 8 March, 2001, 14:36 GMT .
The international organisation, Reporters Without Borders, has called for the release of a Tamil journalist detained in Sri Lanka for more than two months. The organisation made the appeal in a letter to the Sri Lankan justice minister.It said the Jaffna-based journalist, Subramaniam Thiruchelvam, was arrested in Colombo for his alleged links with Tamil Tiger rebels.
More...
Published: Thu Mar 8 10:36:44 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Nominations close for cricket board elections
Waruna Karunatilake in Colombo,
1800 SLT 08.03.01.
Nominations for Cricket Board elections closed today with only Board
President Thilanga Sumathipala facing a contest. All other major posts have
been won by Sumathipala's supporters without a contest. Sumathipala who is
running for a third term is been opposed by Sumith Perera, from the
Maduraeliya sports club. Mr.Sumathipala is expected to win easily when the
elections are held on March 31st. Earlier there was speculation that
Parliamentary speaker Anura Bandaranaike would head a list of candidates
supporter by Sumathipala's arch-opponent former Board President Upali
Dharmadasa.
Published: Thu Mar 8 07:10:05 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Sri Lanka judge slams Ranatunga
Yahoo India,
Thursday, 8 March.
Sri Lanka's cricketing legend Arjuna Ranatunga has been castigated by a judge over allegations he assaulted teenage cricket players, seven of whom ended up in hospital.
Magistrate Kusala Weerawardhana said Ranatunga had committed a "very serious act" unbecoming of a celebrity and warned him to be better behaved.Ranatunga is accused of beating high school children who chased a cricket ball that went into the compound of the Ranatunga family home Friday evening. The Ranatunga home adjoins the Asoka College in Colombo. "Children are children. You were also a child. When dealing with children you should have been more careful, as well as a respected person in the country," Weerawardhana said.
More...
Published: Thu Mar 8 03:43:55 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lankan Parliament extends emergency powers
Times of India,
8 March 2001 .
Sri Lanka: Parliament extended
emergency rule for another month on
Wednesday.The extension was passed 102-17, with the
main opposition United National Party
abstaining.
More...
Published: Thu Mar 8 09:27:16 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Fighting as mediator leaves Sri Lanka
BBC South Asia,
Wednesday, 7 March, 2001, 18:28 GMT .
A military spokesman in Sri Lanka said troops ambushed and killed eight Tamil Tiger rebels in the Peraru jungles, near the eastern port of Trincomalee. The attack came hours after an international peace envoy, Erik Solheim, left the island. The spokesman said that, in a separate incident, rebels killed a soldier near Weli Oya close to the north-eastern front. And he said a rebel committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule when troops tried to arrest him in the northern Mannar district. The reports could not be independently verified.
More...
Published: Thu Mar 8 03:33:43 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
Cricket-ICC defends position on umpire referrals
yahoo,
march 9.
A Sri Lankan request that some umpiring
decisions should be referred to the third official in the current test series
against England was not refused, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said
in a statement on Friday. Friday's third day of the second test between the two countries was again
dominated by the kind of controversial umpiring decisions which have dogged
the series.
More...
Published: Fri Mar 9 14:41:23 EST 2001
|
|
|
|
|
|
