CWC leader on arrest warrant

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 09 September 1998, 13:55 GMT]
The Colombo district court judge Sarath Ambepitiya issued warrants this morning for the arrest of the senior Sri Lankan cabinet Minister and leader of the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC), Mr.Soumiyamoorthy Thondaman and his grand son Arumugan Thondaman, the secretary of the CWC.

The judge issued the warrants when the two did not turn up for the hearing of a case filed by the former secretary of the CWC Mr. M.S Sellasamy against the two for contempt of court.

Mr.Sellasamy, who was ousted from the CWC by Thondaman and his grandson, had filed a case that Thondaman and his grandson had convened the party's general body on March 8 this year, ignoring an injunction on the matter he had obtained from the courts.

He had said that both had thus acted in contempt of the courts.

Sources said that the CWC leader and his grand son had turned up three hours later but the courts had turned down a motion by them.

The matter will be taken tomorrow, said court sources.

Mr.Sellasamy was ousted on grounds of corruption and abuse of power.

But it was generally seen in the party and political circles as a move to istall Thondaman's grandson as the real heir apparent.