International   

Referendum on merger: Colombo

B. Muralidhar Reddy

JVP threatens to file contempt petition against the Government

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratna Wickremanayake told Parliament on Tuesday that the issue of merger or otherwise of the north and east provinces would have to be decided through a referendum.

He was responding to a demand by the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) asking the Government to spell out its stand following the Supreme Court verdict on October 16 declaring the temporary merger as invalid.

Demands have also been made particularly in north and parts of east asking the Government to consider legislative measures to re-merge the provinces.

The Government has so far not acted on the order and the ultra-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which moved the court on the issue, has threatened to file a contempt petition. It was not clear how the Government intended to hold referendum in the volatile east.

R. Sampanthan, Parliamentary Group Leader of the TNA on the merger issue, urged the Rajapaksa Government to restore status quo ante.

At least five persons were killed in the north and east in sporadic violence and build up by the military as well as the Tamil Tigers. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said the security situation had deteriorated particularly since the collapse of the Geneva-II talks.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour welcomed the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into extrajudicial killings and disappearances.

Editors warned

She expressed concern over several shortcomings in the national legal system that could potentially hamper the effectiveness of the Commission, particularly the absence of any legal tradition of establishing command responsibility for human rights violations.

The Free Media Movement has alleged that the Commander of Army 512 Brigade in Jaffna summoned the Editors of three Jaffna dailies on November 6 and warned them against publishing any news critical of the military. The three dailies are Uthayan, Walampuri, and Yal Thinankkural.

It said it deplored the threat to the freedom of expression and considered such attempts as censorship by the State machinery. "Notably, these veiled threats come in spite of assurances given to the International Advocacy Mission on Press Freedom in October by Defence spokesperson and Minister Keheliya Rambukwella that no military/police officer has any right to censor or threaten the media, and will not be allowed to do so either."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Iraq to re-employ Ba'ath cadres
Hang him, says Iran
Referendum on merger: Colombo
Leftward tilt in Latin America continues
Pakistan's fears allayed
Clashes in Bishkek
Musharraf meets Corps Commanders
Hu's visit a chance to "enhance political trust"
Technical aids may replace soldiers at posts along the LAC

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu