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| Sunday, 19 December 2004 |
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Accent on Solheim's visit, floods Tamil Press by S. Selvakumar Tamil dailies in the past week gave prominence to Norwegian special envoy Erik Solheim's visit to the country, his statement after talks with Thamilselvan and the outcome of his talks with President Kumaratunga. Similar prominence was also given to the heavy rains and floods in the East. The Thinakaran on Monday quoted Western Province Governor Alavi Moulana and said next year's Prophet Mohamed's birthday celebrations would be held in Vanni and the government had allocated several millions of rupees. He had further said that this was decided by President Kumaratunga for the benefit of Muslims affected by the North-East war. The Virakesari had a large picture of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar greeting Dinesh Rajaratnam who was abducted in Iraq and released last week. The Thinakkural in its lead story quoted President Kumaratunga's address in Matara and said that she would in future control the UNP's terrorism since Ranil Wickremesinghe could not do so. The Sudaroli in its lead story screamed that even parliamentarians had been prohibited from meeting jailed S.B. Dissanayake, a UNP parliamentarian. All Tamil dailies on Tuesday highlighted the floods in the East. The Thinakaran in a front page story said Minister Mangala Samaraweera would appoint a committee to probe whether the media had a hand in the troubles that erupted at the Race Course grounds during the Temptations 2004 show. Following a complaint by the LTTE that attempts were made to set fire to the LTTE political office in Nilaweli, an SLMM team visited the area and held an inquiry, the Thinakkural reported. It further said that Navy personnel attached to a nearby camp were the main suspects. The Sudaroli quoted Commissioner General of Prisons Rumy Marzook and said a parliamentarian could visit the prisons to examine its shortcomings but would not be allowed to meet S.B. Dissanayake on that guise. In another story, the paper quoted Parliamentarian Karu Jayasuriya and said that Dissanayake's release would be secured through Parliament. Four Tamils had been abducted by an armed gang in Seruwila, the paper said in another front page story. The Virakesari reported the arrival of Erik Solheim and his intended meeting with the LTTE on Wednesday. Erik Solheim met with Muslim representatives of the North-East at the Norwegian Embassy and assured that he would arrange a meeting between their representatives and Prabhakaran on his next visit to Sri Lanka, the Thinakaran said in a front page story on Wednesday. The Thinakkural in its lead story said no relief had reached the 250,000 people affected by floods in the East and North Central provinces. The Virakesari in a prominent front page story quoted the Asian Human Rights Commission and said the judgement in the S.B. Dissanayake contempt of court case was a disgrace to law. The paper also announced the arrival of two Indian coast guard vessels for a joint naval operation with Sri Lanka Navy. The Sudaroli in its lead story said Solheim's Vanni visit would not be of much significance since the LTTE would not come out with any new suggestions. The Sudaroli in its lead story on Thursday quoted Solheim and Thamilselvan and said the ceasefire was in jeopardy. Justice Ministry had granted permission to S.B. Dissanayake to undergo cataract surgery at the Sri Jayawardenapura hospital. The Thinakkural quoted JVP parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa and said if the president wished to talk with the lTTE on the latter's terms, she could go ahead and need not worry about the JVP. The Virakesari in its lead story quoted Thamilselvan and said the hopes and aspirations of the Tamils were shattered and based his statement on the anti-peace signals that emerged from the South. Thinakaran reported the MoU signed between Minister Ferial Ashroff and SLMC leader Rauf Hakeem to establish a Muslim Peace Secretariat to achieve Muslim aspirations. The Virakesari on Friday quoted UNP's Deputy Secretary and said his party accepted the stand of the Tokyo donor nations' on the opposition shown by the JVP to peace talks and urged the President to commence talks. In another story, the paper said the SLFP Central Committee would meet Friday afternoon to examine donor nations' statement on the JVP's opposition to the peace talks. The meeting would be presided by President Kumaratunga. The Sudaroli in its lead story said there were no new developments in the President - Solheim talks and a usual blah-blah was released. The paper in another front page story quoted S.B. Dissanayake's wife Tamara and said her family was not that mean to seek a pardon for her husband from President Kumaratunga. The paper said Cabinet had approved a subsidy of Rs. 2.5 billion to Prima Company to help keep the price of flour at international market prices and prevent a price hike. The Thinakkural in its lead story said that Solheim assured the President that the LTTE would adhere to the ceasefire agreement. Heavy rains accompanied by winds continued in Batticaloa even on Thursday and that no substantial relief had reached those affected. The state-owned Thinakaran in its lead story said the government would uphold the ceasefire agreement and at the same time was ready for negotions. In another story, the paper quoted the IGP and said that cash rewards would be given to those who could give correct information on the bomb blast at the Race Course grounds. |
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