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| Sunday, 24 October 2004 |
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Robbin Hood of India sans bow and arrows From the Tamil press by S. Selvakumar All Tamil dailies gave wide publicity to the killing of Tamil Nadu bandit Veerappan. Highlighted were also interviews with his wife and the plight of his two daughters. Villagers in the adjoining areas of the jungles where he lived went in their hundreds in search of large amounts of cash believed to have been hidden by the bandit. The Thinakaran on Monday quoted the Norwegian Embassy and said a high level Norwegian delegation would arrive in the country in an attempt to revive the stalled peace talks. In another front page story the paper quoted LTTE Trincomalee political wing chief Elilan had said Prabhakaran was keen in giving equal status to the Muslims and added that it was unfortunate they were evacuated from the North. Erik Solheim was scheduled to meet LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham in London on Monday, the Thinakkural said in a front page story. The Sudaroli said EPDP leader Douglas Devananda who earlier assured his party's support to Karuna's new political party would not do so. The paper said Devananda had told this to his party seniors. The Sudaroli on Tuesday reported the meeting Erik Solheim had with Anton Balasingham in London and said Norway has assured that government's alternate proposals would not be submitted to the LTTE before peace talks recommence. Thamilselvan has urged the European Union that pressure be brought upon the government to recommence peace talks since the government has the unconditional support of the Opposition, the Sudaroli said. The Virakesari quoted the Petroleum Corporation and said that in the event of crude oil reach a price of 60 dollars a barrel, local price of petrol would increase to Rs. 90 a litre, diesel Rs. 65 and kerosene Rs. 55. The Indian delegation in Colombo was engaged in fine tuning the defence pact that would be signed between the two countries in the near future, the Thinakkural said. The Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat said that the demands of the Muslims would be considered at the next meeting of the National Advisory Council on Peace and Rehabilitation, the Thinakaran reported in the lead story. All Tamil dailies on Wednesday gave prominence to the killing of Veerappan, the most wanted man by the Indian Police. The Sudaroli in its lead story said Norway's Foreign Minister would arrive in the country in mid November to make arrangements to restart the peace talks. The paper said that this was made possible following a meeting the President had with the Norwegian envoy where she requested that Foreign Minister Jan Peterson be sent to Colombo. Several media men and human rights officials demonstrated on Tuesday at the Jaffna bus stand to commemorate the fourth death anniversary of journalist Nimalarajan who was killed. The demonstration urged the authorities to bring the culprits to book. The Thinakural reported that four youth had been gunned down in Batticaloa within the last three days and added that the latest was Kingsly Rajanayagam who contested in the Batticaloa district at the last general elections and won. The Virakesari said that it was contemplated at the SLFP Central Committee meeting whether private vehicles could be banned on Sundays to save fuel. The Meeting was presided by President Kumaratunga. All Tamil dailies on Thursday reported the colourful Saraswathy Puja celebrations held in Parliament premises on Wednesday and carried pictures on the front page. The Thinakaran said government condemned the killing of Kingsly Rajanayagam in Batticaloa while the Sudaroli said the LTTE had condemned this killing and accused the Karuna faction. Sudaroli in its lead story said Thamilselvan met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Peterson and complained that anti-peace moves had gained strength in the South of Sri Lanka while Peterson had told the LTTE that they should adhere to the ceasefire agreement and should commence peace talks without delay. The TNA and the Upcountry People's Front have expressed concern over government's increased allocation of funds for the defence sector in the forthcoming Budget, the Virakesari said in its lead story. The paper also predicted that the portfolio of Muththu Sivalingam of the CWC could change soon and already talks were under way between the CWC and the government towards this end. The Thinakkural in an inside page story said Wijayakumar who spearheaded the police force that neutralised Veerappan, the most wanted man in India, shaved his head in a temple to fulfil a vow that he would do so when police could kill him. Tamil dailies on Friday carried several follow up stories on Veerappan's killing and Thinakaran in one such story said hundreds of villagers adjoining the jungles where Veerappan lived had gone into the deep jungles is search of money believed to have been hidden by the bandit. Meanwhile his wife said she had doubts about the killing and appealed to the authorities to stop harassing her and also to withdraw all cases filed against her. Head of the peace secretariat Jayantha Dhanapala met with SLMM deputy chief Hagrup Haukland on Thursday, according to the Thinakaran. Demonstrations were held in several places in the East on Thursday to protest against LTTE breakaway leader Karuna forming a political party. In one such protests schoolchildren blocked the traffic and the STF was called to clear the road, the Thinakkural said. President Kumaratunga had a two-hour meeting with CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman and according to Thinakkural the talks centered on a no confidence motion against Speaker Lokubandara and added that Thondaman had told the President that he could decide on this issue only after consultation with party stalwarts. According to Virakesari presidential spokesman Harim Peiris has said the LTTE does not interfere with the rehabilitation work of the government in the Northeast. Doctors in Singapore ruled out surgery on LTTE sea tiger leader Soosai and instead he would undergo physiotherapy to move a bullet embedded in his shoulder to a different place, the Sudaroli reported. A high level committee has been appointed to look into irregularities and corruption in the import and distribution of rice from India and Pakistan, the paper said in a front page story. |
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