News in Brief

[TamilNet, Monday, 22 February 1999, 13:44 GMT]
Minster's son charged with assault; President to discuss forthcoming elections with opposition leader and UNP plans to censure Government over appointment of new Secretary General of Parliament.

Minister's son charged with assault

Arumugam Thondaman, the son of the Sri Lankan Minister for Rural and Industrial Development, appeared before the Hatton magistrate's court today for assaulting a doctor that lead to a strike by medical officers in the hill country over the weekend.

The striking doctors demanded that Thondaman be arrested for the assault on their colleague.

Arumugam's lawyers pleaded for bail and the magistrate allowed him to go on 1000 rupees cash bail and 10000 rupees personal bail.

The strike has been called off.

---

President discusses polls with opposition leader

Sri Lanka's ruling party sources said this afternoon that President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga will meet opposition leader Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe for talks on the conduct of the provincial polls on April 1.

The meeting will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25 they said.

The discussion between the President and the and the UNP leader has been arranged with a view to preventing a repeat of the polls violence and rigging that marred the elections to the northwestern provincial council last month they added.

UNP sources, however, were sceptical about the usefulness of the exercise, saying that the move is a cosmetic measure intended to parry the still unabated protests against the rigging of the Northwestern polls.

---

UNP to censure Secretary General's appointment

The UNP will bring a motion in Sri Lanka's legislature to censure the appointment of the new Secretary General of the Parliament by the government in contravention of all norms and traditions.

The UNP leader has also written to the speaker of the Parliament pointing out that the government had not even consulted him on the matter.

The date for the motion has not been fixed.

UNP politicians met with other political groups in Parliament today to discuss the move. The leaders of the EPDP, PLOTE and TULF MPs Mr.R Sampanthan and Dr. Neelan Thiruchelvam were also present at today's discussion.