by Chitra Weerarathne - Free Lance Journalist Ruwan Amarajith Weerakoon, currently in detention custody, through a lawyer, filed a fundamental rights violation application against the CID and the Terrorist Investigation Department.
He had said that he had been illegally arrested on March 15, and thereafter detained in TID custody.
The petitioner requested the Court to direct the CID and the TID to release him from unlawful custody.
The petition said that the detainee had been arrested while he was receiving medical treatment at the Nawaloka Hospital Colombo.
Detained former Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka's wife Anoma was questioned by the CID officials in connection with the ongoing investigations against her husband.
"The CID questioned her for about three hours last evening," the Daily Mirror said today quoting reliable sources, after which she charged the government with not sparing any member of her family.
"I was the only one left out by the CID in this case. All our relatives have now been questioned," the news paper quoted Anoma as saying.
The general's wife said "under the present political circumstances" she expected questioning by the CID.
"I am ready to face them. I am not scared to tell the truth," she said.
"The CID had to pause questioning as Mrs Fonseka had to take meals to Gen Fonseka who is under detention at the Naval headquarters," the report said.
JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake has also been asked to appear before the CID, the Fonseka led (JVP dominated) Democratic National Alliance (DNA) party said.
Anoma has told reporters that "Fonseka who helped in eradicating terrorism will not in any way assist terrorists." She said her husband was suffering from accumulation of phlegm inside the lungs which is very dangerous.
"He has been told to be careful about cough and cold." "Only I have been granted permission to take food for him. Despite the court granting permission, it is yet to materalise that we have been given a order from the higher ups. I don't think they have even heard about warm water (required for him)," Anoma said.
DNA General Secretary Vijitha Herath told a news conference prior to the questioning that his party comprises politicians who were ready for any eventuality, and therefore they would not shy away from any of such threats.
Sri Lankan opposition groups demonstrated in Colombo on Tuesday demanding the release of former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who attempted to unseat the president in recent elections.
Hundreds of activists from the JVP, or People's Liberation Front, which backed Fonseka's failed bid for the presidency, shouted anti-government slogans outside the main railway station.
On Monday dozens of unidentified men pelted stones at an independent television station in Colombo in what was thought to be a politically motivated attack before next month's parliamentary elections.
The latest protests came ahead of another court martial hearing against the detention of Fonseka after he lost the presidential election to incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse.
Fonseka, who led the military to victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels last year, fell out with Rajapakse and the two became bitter political foes.
Court martial hearings are due to open on April 6, two days ahead of parliamentary elections at which Fonseka is a candidate from the Democratic National Alliance, a party backed by the JVP.
Fonseka entered politics after quitting the military in November, six months after the separatist Tamil rebels were finally crushed after decades of ethnic bloodshed on the island.
When he resigned from the military, Fonseka said that Rajapakse suspected him of planning a coup.
All 16 suspects who had been arrested over yesterday’s mob attack on the MTV/MBC head office at Braybrooke Place have been released on bail, the police said today.
Police Spokesperson S.P. Prashantha Jayakody told Daily Mirror online that all the evidence had been produced to court and the police would conduct further investigations.
“For the moment all the suspects have been bailed out,” SP Jayakody said.
An armed group believed to be associated with a notorious Deputy Minister attacked the MTV/MBC office at Braybrooke Place yesterday afternoon severely damaging the place.
MTV staff members were attacked by stones and the staff had retaliated by throwing the same stones at the gang afterwhich the gang had fled the scene.
Police who arrived at the scene made atleast 16 arrests.
Eye witnesses had said that some of the attackers at the scene had held placards against the upcoming concert by popular international artiste Akon for which MTV/MBC is a sponsor.
Hundreds of people stormed the head office of Sri Lanka's largest private broadcaster on Monday and hurled stones at the building, smashing windows and damaging parked cars, witnesses said.
The attack by an estimated 200 people on the pro-opposition network came as the campaign for parliamentary polls on April 8 hots up.
Witnesses also said the attackers shouted slogans against the Maharaja Broadcasting and Television (MBC/MTV) Network's sponsorship of a concert by R&B singer Akon next month. Many people in the Buddhist-majority nation say a recent music video starring Akon defames the Buddha.
Officials at MBC/MTV, which runs three TV and four radio stations from its headquarters in central Colombo, said four employees were injured.
"The entire head office came under attack and our guys got hit with rocks," Chevaan Daniel, the head of news at MBC/MTV, told Reuters at the scene.
The network aired visuals of the attack, clearly showing people throwing stones at the building.
Prashantha Jayakody, a police spokesman, said he was not aware of the incident.
A Reuters reporter saw some attackers being dragged away by police amid shattered glass outside of the office and damaged vehicles.
Over 100 incidents of violence related to the April 8 parliamentary election having been recorded since the parliament was dissolved in February, election monitoring groups said on Monday.
"We have recorded 159 incidents up to yesterday (Sunday)," D. M. Dissanayake, the coordinator of the Center For Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said.
The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) said 127 incidents have been recorded.
Both monitors agreed that Central Province had been the most violent province followed by North Western Province.
"Most of these violence are directed at candidates of the same party," Dissanayake said.
Candidates of the same party are involved in expensive propaganda campaigns in order to win preference votes.
According to Sri Lanka's election system, the candidate with highest number of preference votes gets elected to parliament.
These individual campaigns give rise to violence as fellow candidates' material are either defaced or destroyed.
Activists face physical assaults too.
The police said some 65 people have already been arrested in connection with election related violence.
Election officials said 7,620 candidates are running for the parliament's 225 seats elected for a six-year term.
By Kelum Bandara - India is to invest more money in Sri Lanka with plans in place to launch some housing projects, vocational training centres and an agricultural research centre in the war-ravaged north as grants to the country was set to reach the Rs 12.5 billion mark pledged last year. The Indian government has already spent around two billion rupees of it on ongoing projects in the country, authoritative sources said yesterday.
The grant is to be spent on various projects to be undertaken by India in Sri Lanka mainly in the north of the country. Accordingly, plans are under way to construct six vocational training centres all over the country and an Agriculture Research Centre too would be built with Indian assistance in the North. These vocational training centres would be established in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Nuwara-Eliya.
Among the other projects in pipeline are the development of the Kankasanthurai harbour and the Culture Centre in Jaffna. Also, a hospital with 150 beds would also be set up in Hatton as part of this assistance. Sources said it would take several years to complete some of these projects. “Some projects are in various stages of implementation,” sources said.
Asked to elaborate on the Agriculture Research Centre about to be built in the country, sources said that an Indian team had done a preliminary study on the matter and had submitted their proposals to the Indian authorities concerned for further action. “It is now just a matter of time before it becomes a reality,” the sources said.
Among the earlier projects the Indian government had given assistance to construct and renovate were the northern and southern railway projects. This was despite Chinese interest in getting the jobs. All these projects are being funded through the Line of Credit offered through the Export-Import Bank of India. Although India also expressed interest in the Hambantota airport project the Sri Lankan government turned to China for financial assistance for this project.
Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake yesterday (18 March) ruled out the possibility of having foreign monitors at the counting centers for the forthcoming General election.
The Elections Commissioner said that none of the political parties made such a request on the nominations day.
The main Opposition, the United National Party has sent a written request to the Elections Commissioner asking for the presence of foreign poll observers at the counting centers to ensure accuracy of election results.
The Elections Commissioner has turned down this request saying that the request should have been made on the day nominations were submitted.
Reporters Without Borders condemns the arrest of a journalist close to Sarath Fonseka, the former armed forces chief who was President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s main challenger in January’s election, and calls on the authorities to release him at once.
“We are outraged by Ruwan Weerakoon’s arrest,” Reporters Without Borders said. “What we feared has come about. The decision to prosecute him is part of a witch-hunt against the relatives and supporters of Gen. Fonseka, who is himself under arrest. The police and judicial authorities have again abused their powers in order to silence an opposition journalist.”
The press freedom organisation added: “Just a month ago, President Rajapaksa ordered the police to personally inform him before any arrest of media personnel. We would like to know if presidential consent was obtained before this journalist’s arrest.”
Weerakoon, who was arrested earlier this week, writes regularly on defence issues for two newspapers, the Nation and Bottom Line, and the Asia Tribune website. It was as a defence correspondent that he became close to Gen. Fonseka when the latter was in command of the army during the final stage of the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009.
Five media organisation issued a joint statement today condemning his arrest. “We ask the inspector general of police to disclose the reasons behind his arrest and detention and make arrangements for him to receive legal aid immediately,” the statement said.
Prior to being arrested, Weerakoon was hospitalised under a police guard after suffering a heart attack brought on by the pressure he has been under for several weeks.
Sri Lankan media groups Thursday protested against the arrest of a reporter close to Sarath Fonseka, the detained ex-army chief who tried to unseat the president in recent elections.
The groups issued a joint statement demanding the release of Ruwan Weerakoon, a reporter with the Nation newspaper, who was arrested this week.
"We request the Inspector General of Police to disclose the reasons behind the arrest and detention of Ruwan Weerakoon and make arrangements for him to receive legal aid immediately," the statement added.
Weerakoon maintained close contact with Fonseka when the general led the military during the final phase of last year's war against Tamil Tiger rebels.
Fonseka was an ally of President Mahinda Rajapakse when the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were crushed in May, but the two men later fell out and contested the presidency in January's elections.
Fonseka was arrested soon after losing the poll and appeared in front of a court martial this week. The case was adjourned.
Local and international rights groups have accused Rajapakse of cracking down on dissent, a charge the government has denied.
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