Trinco Port to become industrial harbour

Monday, October 20, 2014 DN
Business

Trinco Port to become industrial harbour

The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is now planning to transform the Trincomalee Port, which is one of the biggest natural harbours in the world, into an industrial port.

“As the port is not seeing much exploitation as of current, we have decided to bring into existence a strategy that will see future benefits to the country’s economical status,” SLPA Chairman Dr. Priyath B. Wickrama said recently.

SLPA records that the Hambantota Port has shown optimistic signs in terms of transshipment and the amount of fuel supply to foreign vessels. As of current, this year, the number of vessels that had come in to the port down south has increased from 137 vessels last year to 184 as of last week.

Vehicles transshipment has also shown a vast increase when compared to 2013, from 38,649 in 2013 to 101,883 in October 2014. The local import of vehicles though, has shown signs of a slight decrease when compared to last year but, an overall boost from the initial stages.

In 2012, imports were initially recorded at 6406 units, in 2013 25,875 units were imported and this year, by mid week of October, 25,551 units were recorded.

The number of vehicles that were handled totally from the year 2012 to October 2014, was documented as 202,707 units out of which 29% were local and 71% were imported vehicles. The total number of vehicles that was being handled as of current, this year, was 446.

The month of October this year, as of current had recorded 5416 metric tones of fuel that was sold, with the month of September seeing the largest output of fuel being sold. With regard to the number of foreign vessel arrivals this month, a decrease has been recorded in comparison to the previous four months.

The Galle harbour is set to be a tourist port specially for yachts.

- See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=business/trinco-port-become-industrial-harbour#sthash.arp2ZFMJ.dpuf

Turkey: Shift in policy as US drops weapons to 'city’s defenders'

Last updated: October 20, 2014 1:06 pm FT

Turkey opens corridor for Kurdish fighters to relieve Kobani
Daniel Dombey in Ankara, John Aglionby in London, Erika Solomon in Beirut and Borzou Daragahi in Cairo

Turkey has announced it is allowing Kurdish fighters from northern Iraq to cross over its territory to relieve the besieged Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, a striking shift in Ankara’s position that was prompted by a request from Washington.

“We are helping peshmerga forces cross over to Kobani,” said Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, using the name for Kurdish fighters. “Consultations are going on.”

Turkey’s announcement came hours after the US military carried out an air drop of weapons to aid Kobani’s defenders, despite opposition from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

''But the US airdrop – which US President Barack Obama informed Mr Erdogan about in a phone conversation on Saturday – demonstrated to Ankara that the Turkish government’s objections would not stop Washington from providing weapons to the group directly if it felt it had no other option.''

US secretary of state John Kerry said on Monday that the airdrop was a temporary measure and confirmed that the US had asked Turkey to allow passage for the Iraqi Kurdish fighters.

"It would be irresponsible of us, as well morally very difficult, to turn your back on a community fighting Isil [an acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or Isis] as hard as it is at this particular moment," he told reporters in Jakarta.

Until now, Ankara has refused to allow a corridor of weapons and fighters to be established across its territory to aid Kobani, which is attacked by Isis fighters on three sides and which borders Turkey to the north.

Ankara is suspicious of the Kurdish fighters defending the town, who are affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an organisation designated as terrorist by the US, EU and Turkey and which has fought the Turkish state in a 30-year conflict that has claimed some 40,000 lives.

At the weekend Mr Erdogan said it was impossible for Turkey to support arming the People’s Democratic Union (PYD), the PKK’s Syrian sister organisation, describing both as terrorist organisations.

But the US airdrop – which US President Barack Obama informed Mr Erdogan about in a phone conversation on Saturday – demonstrated to Ankara that the Turkish government’s objections would not stop Washington from providing weapons to the group directly if it felt it had no other option.

It would be irresponsible of us, as well morally very difficult, to turn your back on a community fighting [Isis]
- John Kerry, US secretary of state

"We understand fully the fundamentals of their [Turkey’s] opposition and ours to any kind of terrorist group, and particularly obviously the challenges they face with respect the PKK," said Mr Kerry. "But we have undertaken a coalition effort to degrade and destroy [Isis] and [the group] is presenting itself in major numbers in this place called Kobani."

Mr Cavusoglu called for the PYD to change its goals, arguing that, like Isis, it wanted to control a part of the country rather than fighting against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

US Central Command confirmed on Sunday that C-130 aircraft “conducted multiple airdrops” to deliver supplies “provided by the Kurdish authorities in Iraq and intended to enable continued resistance against Isil’s attempts to overtake Kobani”.

A spokesman for the Kurdish fighting force confirmed the “happy news” of the air drop on Twitter but gave no details. It is unclear where the Kurdish forces in Iraq obtained the weapons.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a consistently accurate UK-based monitoring network, reported that a large amount of weapons and ammunition was delivered to Kurdish fighters in Kobani but did not specify the origin.

The group also described multiple US-led air strikes targeting Isis to the west of the city and clashes near the centre of the city.

Speaking from the besieged city, Abdullah Mohamed, a Kurdish fighter, said he had heard the weapons had been received although he acknowledged he had not seen them. He described about 27 tons of weapons and ammunition as well as medical supplies.

The fighting is going very well from our side, and in the coming days I think it will only get better.- Idriss Nassan, political leader in Kobani
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The announcement confirms claims made last week by the PYD that the Kurdish guerrillas’ recent success was built on new, direct co-ordination with the US-led coalition.

Mr Obama has been urged by longstanding allies and even by some of his senior military advisers to expand the scope of US-led operation against Isis. Some analysts have suggested that greater US co-operation with Kobani’s Kurdish defenders could serve as both a practical alternative to more aid from Turkey and a form of pressure on Ankara.

Soli Ozel at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, said: “This weakens Turkey’s hand”, arguing that the US action came because of Turkey’s reluctance to contribute more to the anti-Isis coalition.
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But he added that much of the Turkish public would see the airdrop as direct aid to the PKK, “adding to the problems between Turkey and the US, particularly the general mistrust of the [Turkish] public of the US and its intentions”.

As a condition for closer ties, Turkey has demanded that the Syrian Kurds roll back steps towards autonomy, distance themselves from the regime of Mr Assad and join other opposition groups.

Ankara has also set conditions – notably the establishment of “safe zones” in northern Syria – for increasing its co-operation with the US-led coalition at a time when Washington has made clear its desire to run air strikes out of its air base at Incirlik, southern Turkey.

The Centcom statement on Sunday confirmed that US forces have conducted more than 135 air strikes against Kobani in recent weeks, helping to kill hundreds of militants, while noting that the security situation in the city “remains fragile”.

“Kobani could still fall,” Centcom said.

However, Idriss Nassan, a political leader in the Kurdish city, claimed the tide of the battle for Kobani had turned in recent days. “The fighting is going very well from our side, and in the coming days I think it will only get better,” said Mr Nassan.

Turkey loses out on UN Security Council seat

17 October 2014 Last updated at 02:41 BBC

Turkey loses out on UN Security Council seat

Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo y Marfil casts Spain's vote in New York, US on 16 October 2014

The two Western nations seats were the only contested positions on the Security Council

Turkey failed to win a seat on the United Nations (UN) Security Council after member states voted on Thursday.

The five non-permanent seats were given to Venezuela, Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand and Spain, the latter two beating Turkey to represent the West.

Turkey has been under international pressure to help combat Islamic State militants waging war along its border.

The new members of the Security Council will begin their two-year appointment on 1 January 2015.

Despite lobbying heavily amongst the UN's 193 member nations, Turkey lost out to Spain, which won the third round of run-off voting for the second of the two Western seats.

New Zealand won the first round with 145 votes.

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying: "We could not abandon our principles for the sake of getting more votes."

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key said: "We just put on display the credentials of New Zealand, which is a country that's seen as an honest broker, someone that stands up for what's right."

Human rights concerns

UN representatives for Venezuela,  celebrate being elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in New York, US on 16 October 2014

There were celebrations in Venezuela as the country took the Latin America and Caribbean seat unopposed.

The United States, who publicly opposed Venezuela's bid in 2006 remained silent this time though they would not say how they voted.

Shortly after the vote however US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said: "Unfortunately, Venezuela's conduct at the UN has run counter to the spirit of the UN Charter, and its violations of human rights at home are at odds with the Charter's letter."

Venezuela's victory is likely to benefit its allies Russia and China who sit as permanent members on the Security Council, analysts say.

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro also has close ties with Iran and Syria.

Malaysia and Angola also ran unopposed for the Asian and African seats respectively and their election, as well as Venezuela's, has prompted concern from human rights observers.

"The Security Council's new membership could prove more problematic on human rights issues," said the UN director of Human Rights Watch Philippe Bolopion.

He added: "This is particularly true of Venezuela ... but also of Angola and Malaysia, which need to demonstrate a more human rights-oriented approach."

The five new members each received over two-thirds of the votes cast in a secret ballot.

They will join five other non-permanent members: Chad, Chile, Jordan, Lithuania and Nigeria.

Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, South Korea and Rwanda will step down at the end of the year to make way for the newly-elected members.

Turkey Says It Will Aid Kurdish Forces in Fight for Kobani

MIDDLE EAST

Turkey Says It Will Aid Kurdish Forces in Fight for Kobani
By KAREEM FAHIM OCT. 20, 2014

Turkish army tanks took up positions Sunday by the Turkish-Syrian border opposite the Syrian town of Kobani. Credit Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images

MURSITPINAR, Turkey — Hours after American military aircraft dropped ammunition and small arms to resupply Kurdish fighters in the embattled Syrian town of Kobani, Turkey’s foreign minister said Monday that the country would facilitate the movement of Iraqi Kurdish forces, known as pesh merga, to the city to join the fighting.

The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking at a news conference in Ankara, said that his government was “helping the pesh merga cross over to Kobani,” an apparent shift from Turkey’s previous refusal to allow any military assistance to Kurdish fighters in the town.

The developments reflected escalating international pressure to help Kurdish forces push back Islamic State militants who have been attacking the Kurdish town for more than a month. The battle has become a closely watched test for the Obama administration as it embarks on a war reliant on air power against the militant group in Iraq and Syria. It has also raised tensions across the border in Turkey, where Kurds have accused the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of abandoning the city to the militants.

Kurdish fighters, backed by an intensifying campaign of airstrikes by the United States-led military coalition, succeeded last week in pushing the militants back in several places, including in the west of the city. But over the last two days, the Islamic State fighters have mounted significant counterattacks with the support of dozens of mortar strikes.

Kurdish officials had repeatedly complained that without new supplies of ammunition and weapons, the airstrikes would not be sufficient to drive away the militants. On Monday, a commander in Kobani, Abu Hasan, said that “spirits and morale were high,” after the airdrops, which United States officials said included 27 bundles from Iraqi Kurdish authorities and contained medical supplies, ammunition and weapons.

Polat Can, a spokesman for the Kurdish fighters in Syria, said that shipment had included antitank weapons. And he said that the Kurdish forces were expecting more airdrops in the coming days.

Mr. Cavusoglu did not say how or when the Pesh Merga fighters would cross into Kobani, but a Foreign Ministry official said that their passage through Turkish territory would be opened immediately.

Until now, Turkey has denied access to Kurdish fighters trying to cross its borders to help the embattled town because of concerns about empowering the Kurdish separatists who have for decades battled the Turkish government for autonomy.

U.S. Airdrops Weapons and Supplies to Kurds Fighting in Kobani

MIDDLE EAST

U.S. Airdrops Weapons and Supplies to Kurds Fighting in Kobani
By ERIC SCHMITT OCT. 20, 2014 NYT

WASHINGTON — Escalating its assistance to Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State in the Syrian town of Kobani, American military aircraft on Sunday dropped ammunition, small arms and medical supplies to resupply the combatants, officials said.

The United States and its Arab allies have conducted more than 135 airstrikes in and around Kobani in the past two weeks to help slow the advance of hundreds of Islamic State fighters on the town along the Turkish border.

But in a sign of the growing symbolic and operational significance of the town to both sides, three United States C-130 transport planes for the first time dropped 27 bundles of supplies provided by Iraqi Kurdish authorities to help the Syrian Kurds continue to resist the militant attempts to seize it, American officials said late Sunday.

The aircraft flew without fighter escort, faced no hostile ground fire, and left the airdrop zone safely, American officials said.

Gen. Lloyd J. Austin, head of the United States Central Command, spoke to reporters at the Pentagon on Friday.U.S. Commander Reports Heavy ISIS Losses in Syrian City of Kobani OCT. 17, 2014
“There was an urgent need to resupply,” a senior Obama administration official said in a hastily organized conference call Sunday night. “This was the quickest way to get the job done.”

When Kobani first came under attack several days ago, American officials said the fight for the town was not part of the coalition’s strategic campaign to weaken the Islamic State by attacking its oil refineries, headquarters and arms depots in Syria — all a part of the militant group’s ability to sustain its fight in neighboring Iraq. American officials appealed in vain for Turkey to deploy its sizable force just across the border to help.

But in the past few days, the Islamic State has poured heavily armed reinforcements into Kobani, providing allied warplanes with an array of targets — tanks, artillery and armed vehicles, Pentagon officials said.

Combined with resistance to the Islamic State on the ground, American officials said, the airstrikes had slowed the militant advances into Kobani, killed hundreds of fighters and destroyed or damaged weaponry and fighters’ positions.

“We’re trying to stay one step ahead of an opportunistic enemy,” an administration official said on Sunday night.

Still, American officials repeated the warning that Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the head of the Pentagon’s Central Command, offered last week: that despite intensified allied efforts, Kobani may still fall.

Are the US, France, and UK lining up to support the 'terrorist' PKK in Iraq?

Are the US, France, and UK lining up to support the 'terrorist' PKK in Iraq?

The PKK - a Kurdish separatist group based in Turkey that the US has placed on its 'terrorist list' – has been in the thick of the fight against the Islamic State in Iraqi Kurdistan.

By Dan Murphy, Staff writer  AUGUST 15, 2014

Azad Lashkari/Reuters View Caption

Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) have been in the thick of the battle in Iraqi Kurdistan against the so-called Islamic State – the Al Qaeda offshoot that now holds significant chunks of territory in northern Iraq and in Syria.

=====================================================================

The PKK is a separatist group that has long fought the Turkish government in an effort to carve out an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey. PKK members have long lived in a refugee camp in Makhmour, a town in Iraqi Kurdistan that earlier this month was the front line in a battle to prevent an IS advance on Erbil, the Iraqi Kurdish capital.

Sharp fighting, aided by US airstrikes, managed to stem the IS advance, at least for now. And in recent weeks US military advisers have been in Baghdad and Erbil, trying to coordinate efforts by the Iraqi Army and the Iraqi Kurds peshmerga fighters to craft a joint strategy for taking on IS. France has promised to send weapons to Iraq's peshmerga and the UK is also moving to arm the Iraqi Kurds.

Reporters in Iraqi Kurdistan have spotted PKK fighters working with the peshmerga near Makhmour, and elsewhere, in recent weeks, so it's likely that some of the foreign support will end up in their hands. The Obama administration is likely to use airstrikes again if IS threatens Erbil or other Kurdish population centers.

What this means, wittingly or unwittingly, is that the Obama administration has been effectively working with the PKK. A problem? Well, Ankara might complain, but the situation was desperate, and losing large chunks of Iraqi Kurdistan, long the most stable corner of Iraq, would be a disaster from almost everyone's perspective.

But the PKK is also a designated a "Foreign Terrorist Organization" by the US, and has been since 1997. What this means is that any assistance to the group by the US is illegal. A Financial Times reporter spoke with PKK fighters yesterday in Erbil, who left little doubt about the group's growing role in Iraqi Kurdistan.

"Our support is just as important for the peshmerga as these US strikes – bombings alone can’t get rid of guerrilla groups – we know from personal experience,” says Sedar Botan, a female PKK commander who came with seven units from the group’s stronghold in the Qandil mountains to help secure Makhmour, a strategic point between the regional capital Erbil and the oil rich Kirkuk province. “We will keep fighting until all of Kurdistan is safe.”

..."This is the first time we have military co-operation with the peshmerga, and we plan to increase it,” says PKK commander Tekoshar Zagros, speaking from the group’s hilltop base overlooking the plains beyond Makhmour, as white smoke from Kurdish rocket fire rises up from below.
Here's how the State Department explains the ramifications of designating a group a "terrorist" organization:

It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to a designated FTO. (The term "material support or resources" is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(1) as " any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel (1 or more individuals who maybe or include oneself), and transportation, except medicine or religious materials.” 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(2) provides that for these purposes “the term ‘training’ means instruction or teaching designed to impart a specific skill, as opposed to general knowledge.” 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b)(3) further provides that for these purposes the term ‘expert advice or assistance’ means advice or assistance derived from scientific, technical or other specialized knowledge.’’
Presumably the US government can do things that a US "person" cannot. And most people would agree that if the US has an important interest in stemming the advance of IS in Iraq, ignoring the niceties of the FTO designation is the right thing to do.

But this should shine a light, perhaps, on the expansive nature of the terrorist designation list itself, and that in times like this, it makes the US government look like hypocrites, with the constant proclamations that "terrorists" are never to be dealt with and must be destroyed.

The PKK, whose ideology is a bland of ethno-nationalism and Marxism, isn't a group of sweethearts. In the 1990s they used terrorist tactics against the Turkish government both inside the country and in Western Europe. As recently as 2012 the group took responsibility for a suicide car-bombing that killed a Turkish policeman in Pinarbasi. In 2009, the US Treasury Department accused three senior PKK leaders of being heavily involved in international narcotics trafficking, and the US says the group funds its activities by transporting heroin into Europe.

The group has long used Iraqi Kurdistan as a safe haven, and Turkish forces have periodically conducted airstrikes inside Iraqi Kurdish territory against the group, as recently as 2012. But the group has toned down its efforts in Turkey substantially since 2013, when a cease-fire was declared and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan opened up peace talks with Ankara. Thousands of PKK fighters withdrew to Iraqi Kurdistan that year.

Are the US and its allies doing the wrong thing in northern Iraq? It's an ugly situation, and sometimes you have to work with people you don't like in service of a greater goal.

But it's worth remembering that while there's a State Department list of "terrorists," not all terrorists are created equal, and the US can and does work with such groups when it thinks necessity demands.

மக்கள் ஆதரவு, அஞ்ச மாட்டேன் - ஜெயா

கூலி உயர்வு கோரி `UK- ஜூனியனில்' தொழிற்சங்கப் போராட்டம்.

Tens of thousands take to UK streets in pay protest

The Guardian 19-10-2014

Union members march in London, Glasgow and Belfast to call for pay rises for workers whose real-term incomes have fallen

Tens of thousands of union members have marched through central London to highlight their calls for pay rises.

Members of Unite, Unison, the National Union of Teachers, the Communication Workers Union, the Royal College of Nurses and Equity took to the streets in the capital on Saturday, while other protests were held in Glasgow and Belfast. Pensioners and anti-nuclear activists also took part. The TUC, which organised the Britain Needs a Pay Rise demonstration to mark the end of industrial action by public sector workers, including nurses, midwives and civil servants, said up to 90,000 people were on the march.

Pay Rise Protest England LONDON

Midwives went on strike for the first time this month to protest against the government’s decision not to pay a recommended 1% increase to all NHS staff. Hospital radiographers and prison officers are due to take action next week.

Nurses and midwives were well represented on the march, with some wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan “What if nurses just said no”.

Member of the Fire Brigades Union held aloft a blimp bearing the slogan: “We rescue people, not banks.” Police civilian staff, who are being balloted for strikes over pay, also joined the protest.

The TUC said workers were facing a significant squeeze on incomes, with average wages down by £50 a week in real terms since 2007 and 5 million people earning less than the minimum wage.

The TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said the high turnout sent a strong message to the government that wages needed to rise.

Pay Rise Protest Scotland GLASGOW

“After the longest and deepest pay squeeze in recorded history, it’s time to end the lockout that has kept the vast majority from sharing in the economic recovery,” she said. “Meanwhile, top directors now earn 175 times more than the average worker. If politicians wonder why so many feel excluded from the democratic process, they should start with bread-and-butter living standards.”

Union leaders called on the Labour party to do more to support workers struggling against the effects of cuts.

Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, urged Labour to offer a “clear socialist alternative” at the next election. He said: “I say to Labour – stop being scared of your own shadow. Don’t shrink what you offer the British people.

He accused the coalition of “dismantling and destroying” every gain working people have made since 1945, adding: “Their mission is to dismantle the NHS – slicing it up bit by bit and handing it on a silver platter to their friends in the private health companies.

“They are seeking to destroy the welfare state – characterising anyone who uses the benefit system in their time of need as a scrounger.”

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said 600 public sector jobs had been lost every day since the coalition came to power.

Pay Rise Protest Ireland BELFAST

“We have a story of two nations – one where champagne corks are popping for the bankers and boardroom pay is soaring, while in the other world our people are suffering from poverty pay.”

Sadiq Khan, the Labour MP for the south London constituency of Tooting, who was on the march, tweeted that one third of Londoners were living in poverty, despite two thirds being in work.

The march, which began at midday, crossed Trafalgar Square and travelled to Piccadilly before ending in Hyde Park.

India's Public Health Crisis

The Opinion Pages | EDITORIAL

India's Public Health Crisis
OCT. 17, 2014

An infected person travels from West Africa to India and seeks treatment at an underfinanced and overwhelmed public hospital. There, substandard treatment unleashes an Ebola pandemic. It’s the nightmare scenario set out by Peter Piot, the British microbiologist who first identified the Ebola virus. About 45,000 Indians live in West Africa, and Indian trade with Nigeria, particularly in medical services and pharmaceuticals, has boomed.

However, India’s most troubling threat is not abroad, but at home: the crippled public health system. The nation spends less than 1 percent of its gross domestic product on public health care. There are only nine hospital beds per 10,000 in India, compared with 41 per 10,000 in China, and doctors, nurses and lab technicians are critically lacking.

The Indian government has already shown itself incapable of dealing with lethal viral diseases. As many as 80 percent of the 30 million Indians infected with dengue fever every year never seek medical care or are turned away from hospitals whose beds are full. Ebola would quickly overwhelm such strained hospitals. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a universal health insurance plan inspired by the Affordable Care Act in the United States. This would help more people afford care but do little to plug the gaping holes in the system.

The government has set up screenings for Ebola at international airports and prepared isolation wards. And, so far, no cases have been found in India. The nation has also contributed $12.5 million to contain the Ebola virus in West Africa and has pledged to use its expertise in producing low-cost drugs to develop an affordable vaccine.

But with the World Health Organization warning that Ebola infection rates could rise to 10,000 new victims a week by the end of the year in West Africa, and the fumbles dealing with Ebola in Spain and America, improving India’s public health system is a national emergency.

Jayalalithaa gets bail with caveats

Jayalalithaa gets bail with caveats

KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL
Updated: October 18, 2014 00:39 IST The Hindu

Sentences of other convicts also suspended; time limit set for appeal

Taking former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on her word that there will be no attempt to delay criminal appeal proceedings in the Karnataka High Court, the Supreme Court on Friday suspended her four-year sentence in the disproportionate assets case and granted her bail.

A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice H.L. Dattu and Justices Madan B. Lokur and A.K. Sikri also suspended the sentences of the three other accused Sasikala, Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi and granted them bail. All the accused have to furnish two solvent sureties to the satisfaction of the Special Judge, Bangalore.

Jayalalithaa’s lawyer and senior counsel Fali S. Nariman argued that continued incarceration of the accused at a crucial stage when her appeal was pending in the High Court would cripple her “valuable right of appeal against conviction” and reduce it to an “exercise in futility”.

“But how many years did you take to complete the trial itself?” Chief Justice Dattu interrupted Mr. Nariman. “Far too many, My Lord,” Mr. Nariman said.

“So, if we pass orders to suspend your sentence now, you will take another two decades to finish the appeal. Should we not take into consideration the conduct of the accused in the Special Court, in the High Court and even in the Supreme Court... the case went on for years and years and years,” Chief Justice Dattu said.

Mr. Nariman said he was willing to give an affidavit on behalf of his client that there would be no delay. But the court decided to repose faith in Mr. Nariman’s oral assurances. It gave the accused exactly two months to prepare the appeal in the High Court. This would be the litmus test of their assurances that they would not delay future proceedings in the 18-year-old case. The case was listed for hearing on December 18, 2014.

“You will prepare the paper books and keep it ready in two months’ time. We will post this case for December 18. If you are ready, we will ask the Karnataka High Court to hear the appeal in three months. But Mr. Nariman, if the paper books are not ready, we will not give you extension for even one day,” Chief Justice Dattu observed.
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ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்கியது உச்ச நீதிமன்றம்

டெல்லியில் இருந்து இரா.வினோத் பாரதி ஆனந்த் தி.இந்து


சொத்துக் குவிப்பு வழக்கில் சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள தமிழக முன்னாள் முதல்வர் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு இடைக்கால ஜாமீன் வழங்கி உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டது.

அவருக்கு டிசம்பர் 18-ம் தேதி வரை இடைக்கால ஜாமீன் வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஜெயலலிதாவுடன் சசிகலா, இளவரசி, சுதாகரன் ஆகியோருக்கும் ஜாமீன் வழங்கி உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் இன்று (வெள்ளிக்கிழமை) உத்தரவிட்டது.

மேலும், ஜெயலலிதா உள்ளிட்ட நால்வருக்கு விதிக்கப்பட்ட தண்டனை நடைமுறைகளை நிறுத்திவைத்தும் உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிட்டது.

அதிமுகவின் 43-வது ஆண்டு விழாவன்று அக்கட்சியின் பொதுச் செயலாளர் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஜாமீன் கிடைத்துள்ள நிலையில், அக்கட்சியினர் கொண்டாட்டங்களில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளனர்.

ஜெயலலிதா தாக்கல் செய்த ஜாமீன் மற்றும் மேல்முறையீட்டு மனுக்கள் உச்ச நீதிமன்றத்தில் வெள்ளிக்கிழமை விசாரணைக்கு வந்தன.

உச்ச நீதிமன்ற விசாரணை விவரம்:

உச்ச நீதிமன்ற தலைமை நீதிபதி, ஹெச்.எல்.தத்து, மதன் பி லோகூர், ஏ.கே.சிக்ரி ஆகியோர் முன்னிலையில் ஜெயலலிதா ஜாமீன் மனு விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது.

ஜெயலலிதா தரப்பில் மூத்த வழக்கறிஞர் ஃபாலி எஸ்.நாரிமன் ஆஜரானார். ஃபாலி எஸ்.நாரிமன் சிறப்பாக வாதாடினார். ஊழல் வழக்குகளில் உச்ச நீதிமன்றத்தில் முன்னர் வழங்கப்பட்ட தீர்ப்புகளை மேற்கோள் காட்டி அவர் வாதாடினார்.

சுப்பிரமணியன் சுவாமி வாதம்:

சுப்பிரமணியன் சுவாமி மனுவில், "ஜெயலலிதா வருமானத்துக்கு அதிகமாக சொத்துக் குவித்தது தொடர்பாக நான்தான் முதன்முதலாக‌ வழக்கு தொடுத்தேன். எனவே எனது கருத்தை கேட்ட பிறகே அவருக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்குவது குறித்து முடிவெடுக்க வேண்டும்" எனக் குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தார்.

மேலும் நீதிமன்றத்தில் அவர் இன்று முன்வைத்த வாதத்தில், சொத்துக் குவிப்பு வழக்கில் முதன்முதலாக‌ வழக்கு தொடுத்தவர் என்பதை கருத்தில் கொண்டு நீதிமன்றம் அதிமுகவினர் வன்முறைகளுக்கு முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைக்க வேண்டும்.

ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு சிறைத் தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டதிலிருந்து அதிமுகவினர் தமிழக்த்தில் வன்முறைகளில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்றனர். கர்நாடக நீதிமன்றத்தையும், தீர்ப்பு வழங்கிய நீதிபதியையும் அவமதித்து வருகின்றனர்.

கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்ற நீதிபதி கன்னடர் என்பதாலேயே ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்க மறுத்ததாகவும் அவதூறு பரப்புகின்றனர். நான், சென்னைக்கு சென்றால் எனக்கு அச்சுறுத்தல் இருக்கிறது. ஜெயலலிதா, அவரது கட்சித் தொண்டர்கள் சட்ட விரோத செயல்களில் ஈடுபடக் கூடாது என அதிகாரப்பூர்வ அறிக்கை விடுத்தால் மட்டுமே வன்முறைகள் முடிவுக்கு வரும். இதை நீதிமன்றம் கவனத்தில் கொள்ள வேண்டும் என்றார்.

சுவாமியின் வாதத்தை ஏற்றுக் கொண்ட நீதிபதிகள், அதிமுக தொண்டர்கள் தமிழகத்தில் சட்டம், ஒழுங்கு பிரச்சினையை ஏற்படுத்தக் கூடாது என ஜெயலலிதா அவர்களுக்கு வலியுறுத்த வேண்டும் என உத்தரவிட்டனர். அதற்கு பதிலளித்த நீதிபதி நாரிமன், அதிமுகவினர் வன்முறையில் ஈடுபடக்கூடாது என ஜெயலலிதாவே அறிக்கை வெளியிடுவார் என உறுதியளித்தார்.

நாரிமன் வாதம்:

ஊழல் வழக்கில் ஒரு நபர் குற்றம் நிரூபிக்கப்பட்ட குறிப்பிட்ட காலத்திற்கு தண்டனையும் பெறப்பட்ட நிலையில் அவர் சார்பில் தீர்ப்பை ரத்து செய்யக் கோரி மேல் முறையீட்டு மனு தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தால் அதை உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் சற்று தாராள கொள்கையுடன் அணுக வேண்டும்.

உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் இதற்கு முன்னர் சந்தித்த பல்வேறு வழக்குகளில், தண்டனை கைதி மேல் முறையீட்டு மனு நிலுவையில் இருக்கும்போது அவரை தொடர்ந்து சிறையில் வைப்பது என்பது நீதிக்கு எதிரானது.

ஊழல் தடுப்புச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ், மேல் முறையீட்டு மனு மீதான வழக்கு முடியும் வரை உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் சம்பந்தப்பட்ட நபரின் சிறைத் தண்டனையை நிறுத்தி வைக்க அதிகாரம் உள்ளது. இதை கருத்தில் கொண்டே கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் ஜெயலலிதா ஜாமீன் மனு விசாரணக்கு வந்தபோது அரசு தரப்பு வழக்கறிஞர் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு நிபந்தனை ஜாமீன் வழங்க எதிர்ப்பு இல்லை என பவானி சிங் தெரிவித்தார்.

பவானி சிங் வாதத்தில் தவறேதும் இல்லை. ஆனால், அவர் ஏதோ ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஆதரவாக செயல்பட்டதாக பேசப்பட்டது. எனவே, ஊழல் வழக்குகளில் உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் ஏற்கெனவே வழங்கிய தீர்ப்புகளின் அடிப்படையில் ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்க வேண்டும். அவரது உடல் நிலையை கருத்தில் கொண்டு அவருக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்க வேண்டும். தேவைப்பட்டால் ஜெயலலிதா வீட்டுக் காவலில் இருக்கவும் தயாராக இருக்கிறார்" என்று நாரிமான் வாதிட்டார்.

நீதிபதிகள் கூறியதாவது:

ஜெயலலிதா தரப்பு வாதங்களை கேட்ட நீதிபதிகள் அமர்வு, "ஜெயலலிதாவுக்கு டிசம்பர் 18-ம் தேதி வரை இடைக்கால ஜாமீன் வழங்கப்படுகிறது. எந்த ஒரு ஜாமீன் வழக்கிலும் உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் குற்றவாளிக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்குகிறதோ இல்லையோ, ஆனால் தனி மனித சுதந்திரத்தை வலியுறுத்தும் அரசியல் சட்டப்பிரிவு 21-ஐ இந்த நீதிமன்றம் மதிக்கிறது. எனவே வீட்டுக் காவலில் வைக்கும் உத்தரவை உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் பிறப்பிக்க முடியாது. இந்த வழக்கில் ஜெயலலிதா, சசிகலா, இளவரசி, சுதாகரன் ஆகிய 4 பேருக்கும் ஜாமீன் வழங்கி உச்ச நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிடுகிறது.

சொத்துக் குவிப்பு வழக்கில் ஜெயலலிதா கடந்த 18 ஆண்டுகளாக வழக்கை இழுத்தடித்தார். அதை கருத்தில் கொண்டால், அவருக்கு ஜாமீன் வழங்கினால் கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் நிலுவையில் உள்ள மேல் முறையீட்டு மனுவை இன்னும் 20 ஆண்டுகள்கூட இழுத்தடிப்பார்.

எனவே, ஜாமீன் வழங்கியத்தில் இருந்து 6 வாரத்துக்குள், அதாவது டிசம்பர் 18-ம் தேதிக்குள், கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் ஜெயலலிதா தரப்பில் இருந்து சொத்துக் குவிப்பு வழக்கு தொடர்பான ஆவணங்கள் அனைத்தும் சமர்ப்பிக்கப் பட வேண்டும் என இந்த நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிடுகிறது.

கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் ஆவணங்களை தாக்கல் செய்வதில் ஒரே ஒரு நாள்கூட தாமதிக்கக் கூடாது. குறிப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ள டிசம்பர் 18-ல் கட்டாயம் ஆவணங்கள் தாக்கல் செய்யப்படாவிட்டால் கடுமையான நடவடிக்கை பாயும்.

அதேபோல், ஜெயலலிதா மேல் முறையீட்டு மனு தொடர்பான ஆவணங்கள் சமர்ப்பிக்கப்பட்டதில் இருந்து மூன்று மாத காலத்துக்குள் கர்நாடக உயர் நீதிமன்றம் வழக்கை முடிக்க வேண்டும் என நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவிடுகிறது. அதிமுக தொண்டர்கள் தமிழகத்தில் சட்டம், ஒழுங்கு பிரச்சினையை ஏற்படுத்தக் கூடாது என ஜெயலலிதா அவர்களுக்கு வலியுறுத்த வேண்டும்.

ஜெயலலிதா உத்தரவின் பேரில் சட்டம் ஒழுங்கை சீர்குலைக்கும் நடவடிக்கைகளில் அதிமுகவினர் ஈடுபட்டால் கடும் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்படும். நீதிமன்றங்களையோ, நீதிபதிகளையோ விமர்சிக்கும் வகையில் ஜெயலலிதா கருத்துகள் வெளியிடக் கூடாது" இவ்வாறு நீதிபதிகள் கூறினர்.