had met Fonseka on behalf ofthe UNP in the capacity as a lawyeras no other political representativehad access to Fonseka in custody.

UNP General Secretary TissaAttanayake said Rajapakshe haddiscussed the issue with Fonsekaon behalf of the UNP but they wereyet to receive a response.

Former JVP MP SamanthaVidyaratne yesterday told TheIsland that the JVP would seekaccess to Fonseka before finalizing

nominations.He said thatthey intendedto hand overtheir nomina-tions laterthis week. Heemphasisedthat the gov-ernmentcould notdeny them anopportunity tomeet Fonseka,though he wasbeing held bythe Army onwhat hetermed unsub-stantiatedconspiracycharges.

JVP heavy-weight AnuraKumara

Dissanayake yesterday (Feb 21)lashed out at the UNP for havingbrought down the Oppositionalliance, which backed Fonseka atthe presidential election.

Speaking on behalf of the JVPpolitburo, the former KurunegalaDistrict MP said that those who val-ued democracy should now gettogether to take on the Rajapaksaregime. Dismissing a recent state-ment attributed to TissaAttanayake that the UNP was readyto discuss the possibility of a jointalliance, Dissanayake emphasisedthe need of the hour was to form astrong alliance to protect democra-cy. This was the time to take viableaction and decisions. There was nouse in discussing the issue further,he said.

Dissanayake said that the UNPwhose actions had caused the col-lapse of the Opposition alliancewas trying to deceive the public byhaving what he called ‘mediashows.’ He urged the UNP toreverse its decision to go it aloneand immediately reach an agree-ment with political parties whichhad backed Fonseka at the presi-dential polls. He reiterated theJVP’s call for fielding candidatesunder the ‘swan’ symbol therebyensuring a joint Opposition chal-lenge to what he called theRajapaksas’ dictatorial regime.

Home NewsThe Island Page Two2 Monday 22nd February, 2010

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SATURDAY FORTUNEDate 23-01-2010 Draw No.2090Bones No55Winning No:

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by Shamindra Ferdinando

The UNP, which comfortably wonfive out of the eight seats in theBadulla electoral District at the lastparliamentary election in April 2004,will face an overwhelming task ofretaining the district without the sup-port of the CWC.

Two CWC members, M.Satchithannathan and Vadivel Sureshentered Parliament on the UNP ticket.Of them, M. Satchithannathan recent-ly took membership of the UNP where-as Suresh threw his weight behind theUPFA.

The UPFA secured the remainingseats, including one won by SamanthaVidyaratne, who remained with theJVP, though some of his parliamentarycolleagues quit the party along withWimal Weerawansa over difference ofopinion with the top leadership.

Uva Province comprises Badullaand Moneragala electoral districts.

Satchithannathan yesterday toldThe Island that the UNP would makeevery possible effort to retain five slots,though it wouldn’t be an easy taskunder existing ground conditions.According to him, they would focus on

the plantationvote and some44,000 votesbelonging to theMuslim commu-nity.

In keepingwith theParliamentaryElection Act,three candidatesmore than theactual number ofMPs elected froma particular elec-toral districtshould be nominated from each politi-cal party

Responding to our queries,Satchithannathan said that he joinedthe UNP-led Opposition camp in therun-up to the January 26 presidentialpolls.

UNP stalwart LakshmanSeneviratne accused UPFA organizersof causing mayhem in the district.“They are targeting all UNP support-ers. Even three wheeler drivers aren’tsafe,” he said, expressing concern overwhat he called UPFA terrorism direct-ed at Opposition political parties.

Referring to for-mer Speaker W.J. M.Lokubandara’sdecision

to come onthe UPFAnational list inthe wake of hisson, UdithSanjaya contest-ing BadullaDistrict on theUPFA ticket, hesaid that the vet-

eran politician had done himself animmense harm. He expressed confi-dence that the UNP could take the dis-trict, though the government seemedto have taken the upper hand followingPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa’s victoryat the presidential polls.

Of the five elected on the UNP tick-et from the Badulla District, two MPs,including Lokubandara had switchedtheir allegiance to the ruling coalition.Political sources said thatLokubandara was likely to secure asecond term as the Speaker whose sonnow represented Haputale electorate.

Former JVP MP Samantha

Vidyarathne told The Island that theywould field a strong team in Badulla.He said that former Speaker’s movedidn’t surprise them at all. Anyone fol-lowing the parliamentary proceedingswould have known of theLokubandaras’ planned move, he said.He said that the party had soughtaccess to Gen. (retd) Sarath Fonsekanow held on unsubstantiated conspira-cy charges to finalise their nomina-tions.

Chief SLFP organiser for PassaraMinister Vadivel Suresh told TheIsland that the UPFA could easilysecure six out of eight seats. Now thatPresident Mahinda Rajapaksa hadsecured an overwhelming victory atthe presidential polls, the people wouldrealise the futility in exercising theirfranchise in support of Oppositioncandidates. According to him, amongtheir candidates would be some mem-bers of the Uva Provincial Councils.

CWC President Muttu Sivalingamtold The Island that they would fieldtwo candidates on the UPFA ticket.According to him, their candidatescontesting in Badulla would be amongnine contestants who would be on thegovernment ticket.

SLFP-CWC combine poised to take Badulla comfortably

Parliamentary Polls 2010

Vadivel Suresh Lakshman

by Don Asoka Wijewardena

Transport Minister DallasAlahapperuma says that promotions inthe CGR have been delayed owing tobureaucratic red tape and political influ-ence.

The minister said that the public sec-tor employees must get their promotionson the basis of merit and seniority.Promotional prospect of employees wasone of the main motivating factors.

After handing over 435 promotions toCGR employees at a ceremony held at theDematagoda Mount Mary Auditorium last

week, the minister said that it was for thefirst time in the CGR history that 435employees in different grades had beenpromoted on merit.

Transport Minister said that his pred-ecessors should have effected promotionsbecause there were some employees at theage of retirement since there was noeffective promotional scheme.

Minister Alahapperuma said tradeunions in the CGR were divided and thosecontrolled by the Opposition had labelledall progressive elements in the CGR asgovernment henchmen.

TransportMinister DallasAlahapperumahands over a let-ter of promotionto one of the 435CGR employeesat theDematagodaMount MaryAuditorium lastweek, while min-istry and CGRofficials look on.

CGR promotions delayedby bureaucratic red tape

letter ‘I’ - to represent Idol.Ampareen Lyngdoh, education min-

ister of Meghalaya state, strongly criti-cized the illustration.

“I am appalled and condemn the vio-lent pictorial presentation of Christ.The children for whom the textbookwas meant look up to Christ with rever-ence, and they are shocked beyondwords,” Lyngdoh said.

The government has seized all copiesof the textbook from schools and book-shops inMeghalaya foroffending pub-lic sentiment,she said.

The book,published by aNew Delhi-based companythat specializesin textbooks,was being usedby a chain ofprivately runprimaryschools inMeghalaya.

More than 70percent of the state’s 2.32 million peopleare Christian.

Copies of the textbook were ready fordistribution in at least 10 more schoolsin Meghalaya before the picture wasbrought to the notice of authorities.

“We have directed the district magis-trate to go ahead with legal proceedingsagainst the publisher,” Lyngdoh said.She did not say what legal proceedingsthe government planned to pursue.

Christians leaders in Meghalayawere outraged by the book and calledon federal Education Minister KapilSibal to take action against the publish-er.

“We are shocked to say the least.How can anyone think of publishingsuch a picture?” said Dominic Jala, thearchbishop of Shillong, the state capi-tal. “This has been done deliberatelywith malicious intent,” Jala said.

In New Delhi, a spokesman for theCatholic Bishops’ Conference of Indiasaid it had ordered Christian schoolsacross the country to remove all text-books published by the company.

“We have taken a strong stand anddecided to boycott the publisher,” saidCBCI spokesman Babu Joseph.

In 2006, the government in the north-ern Indian state of Uttar Pradeshbanned a school textbook that carriedportraits of the Prophet Muhammadand arrested the publisher afterMuslim leaders protested. Islam gener-ally does not allow depictions ofMuhammad. The case against the pub-lisher is still in court.

(AP)

resistance when they raideda house in Karachi in lateJanuary, taking several meninto custody.

Pakistani and US officialslearned only after a carefulprocess of identification thatBaradar, who ran the Taliban’swar against Nato and US forcesin Afghanistan, was one ofthose detained, the paper aid.

The account appears to putPakistan’s motivations in asomewhat different light, sug-gesting it did not necessarilyreflect a

new determination to goagainst Afghan Taliban leadersin Pakistan.

The paper said Pakistan’s ISIintelligence agency limited USaccess to Baradar and did notpermit direct questioning bythe CIA for two weeks after hiscapture.

(C) The Telegraph Group London 2010

NOW... From page 1

Indian... From page 1

Taliban...From page 1

Meanwhile, de-mining groupsdetected one Arul bomb, two 40 mmgrenades and one hundred and thirteenanti personnel mines during clearingoperations at Nochchikulam,Mankulam, Periyathampane,Tachchanamarthamadhu, Palampiddiand Adampan.

LTTE... From page 1

Army OperationalDirector, MajorGeneralShavendra Silvainspects a paradeafter declaringopen the coun-try’s first ParaDrop Zone at theUva Kuda OyaCommandoTraining School.Commandant ofthe TrainingFacility, Lt. ColJayanthaBalasuriya is alsoin the picture. Pic by GaminiMunasinghe

by LasithaDuminda

TNA BatticaloaDistrictParliamentarianThangeshwariKadirgaman, yester-day announced thatshe would contest the forthcoming gen-eral election on the UPFA ticket.

Presidential Secretariat said that shehad signed her nominations papers withthe UPFA yesterday.

TNA had declined nominations tonine of its MPs for the forthcoming elec-tion and Ms Thangeshwari was one ofthem.

When asked, TNA’S Jaffna DistrictParliamentarian, K.Sivajilingam, saidthere was no official intimation fromthe party about it.

Thangeshwarion UPFA ticket

Late City Edition