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| Thursday, 17 January 2002 |
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Letters | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Sports Obituaries
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How to end the war and achieve peace? The whole nation should appreciate and applaud the attempt of the new Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe to usher in a period of peace, though he is faced with an almost impossible task, since it entirely depends on the final decision of the LTTE leadership as to whether they would be satisfied with a solution acceptable to the Sinhala leadership and whether the LTTE would give up the claim for a Tamil homeland and self-rule under a Federal Government which will finally end up in setting up the State of Eelam. LTTE Leader Prabakaran and the de-facto Deputy Tamil Chelvam are reported to have spoken that there would not be lasting peace, until they achieve their ultimate aim for the state of Eelam vide (1) Prabhakaran's statement reported in the Daily News May 9, 2001 on page 1 under the caption "Goal of Eelam is not complete until fundamental aspirations are met" and (2) statements made by Tamil Chelvam on or about August 14, 2001 in Vanni jungles to E. P. Nanayakkara, the President of Parents Association of Servicemen Missing in Action revealed in a TV program on 28.08.2001. So it is not prudent to set up an interim administration in the North and East with delegated powers over the entire coastline in the North and East over harbours, and the airport in the North and East without any supervision by the Central Government because the LTTE would use the opportunity as a stepping stone to smuggle military equipment as they please, and on the day of their choice declare the State of Eelam. G. L. PREMATILAKE , On the TNL 'Jana Handa'program held on December 17th, 2001, Mr.Tilak Karunaratne of the Sihala Urumaya (SU) was saying that Mr. Bradman Weerakoon should have not been appointed as the Secretary to the Prime Minister as he is now over 70-years-old. May be that Mr. Karunaratne is unaware that old is gold. He was of opinion that there are youngsters available for that post and since the Prime Minister is an experienced politician, apart from being a Minister and a Prime Minister too during the past UNP regime, he could manage a young secretary by guiding the latter for a perfect job. Mr. Karunaratne should not forget we had an old, feeble Prime Minister confined to a wheel chair. A secretary will be employed by someone so as to attend to the latter's work independently and efficiently and in it, if it is to a Prime Minister, will it be possible to lend such a training to a novice? The educated masses of this country are well aware who Mr. Bradman Weerakoon is and what his experience has been having worked for so many Prime Ministers in the past, specially to the Oxford giant the late Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. He is a veteran Civil Servant par excellence and the functions of a secretary to a Prime Minister require brain not brawn. Yet as something has to be anyhow opposed for the sake of opposing, Mr. Karunaratne had to even reluctantly or perhaps for some reason, enviously make it an issue to the attention of the viewers. 'Young men (not Mr. Karunaratne) think old men are fools, but old men know that young men are fools', said George Chapman. Many things that are old like wine, books, stamps, proverbs etc always have a good market and value as well wherever it is or for whatever it is. I am pleased to see that a gentleman like Mr. Bradman Weerakoon is still able to serve this country through his experience and wisdom by holding key posts in any government. Mr. Karunaratne also said that it was unfair for the UNP/F to have many Muslims in the National List. Here he looks as usual with a squinted eye in regard to this community and because of the narrow minded attitude of the SU members that they failed even to secure one seat in the Parliament this time. The majority Sinhala people in their wisdom did not wish to create a party like SU that would further create problems to the country. If not the SU would have got some seats winning from each district should the Sinhala people supported them. There are a few eminent and distinguished people in the SU but they seem to be having a sort of vengeance due to the existence of the Muslim Congress and Tamil Congress. But the prudent Sinhala majority do not want to fall into that category and rise against those Congresses by creating another 'community party' and hence rejected the ideas of the SU. The Sinhala people at the moment needed 'samaya' not 'urumaya' and the votes the SU got were from those who did not want to vote for PA or UNP/F. We welcome SU only in their stand of annihilating terrorism. NAZLY CASSIM, Garbage clearance in Trincomalee Garbage clearance by vehicles in Trincomalee by the Urban council, Trincomalee was suddenly discontinued a few weeks ago. Hence house holders are forced to leave their rubbish on the roadside and those increasing unsightly dumps are becoming common place much to the disgust of rate payers. People in Trincomalee Town and the school children have to hold their noses due to the offensive smell emanating from the garbage dump and they fear this to be a possible breeding place for dengue mosquitoes. V. GNANESAMPANTHEN , I take this opportunity to congratulate K. Arvind for his timely views on the above subject (DN Jan. 03). We have also seen that all most all government offices have displayed banners congratulating the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Even this should be stopped as all government servants are expected to serve any government that comes to power through the will of the people so as the Armed Forces and the Police. They should be disciplined to bow their heads to the will of the people and continue to serve the people for they are paid from the taxes received from the people. In other words these categories of servants should be neutral to any government in power. Further, even the Ministers should not expect people to garland them and hold big reception wasting valuable money and time. K.A. has already enumerated some of the most important facts in his letter, but I should like to remind the corporation and statutory bodies to prevent from placing notices congratulating ministers on achieving success in election and other related matters wasting the institution's money, when they are undergoing financial hardships and they should think that beggars cannot be donors. C.M. MAYADEEN, It is pity to observe that sand mining is being done at large scale, along Mahaweli, the longest river in the island. Among the mother nature's splendour Mahaweli Ganga has become the precious asset and the attraction of this beautiful island. Especially in Katugastota, Peradeniya and other areas of Central Province, sand bar is taken place in vast scale on commercial purpose, despite the warning made by sociologists, environmentalists and geologists. In many parts of our neighbouring country like India, sand mining has already been banned, in order to protect environment and also to preserve the water resources. We think it is time to follow this ideal method in our country as well to protect our environment. Hope the new UNF Government would take appropriate steps, methods to ban this sand mining forthwith, for the welfare of the country and its people. S.M.J. DEEN, I think the new PM has set the way by leading by example. Well done for the new PM. Slashing perks and privileges of ministers should have happened long ago. Why would a minister need more than one car in the first place? People had high expectations from the PA government in 1994 only to be totally let down. At that time people were fed up with the arrogant behaviour of members of the previous UNP government and voted for a change in attitude only to be let down by greedy and insensitive people once again. Is there any wonder why there is so much cynicism? Vulgar conspicuous consumption at state expense has been going on for too long. I fail to see why politicians and their kith and kin think it is essential to live a "Boru shoke" image, and live an ostentatious and pretentious life. Politicians in troubled economic times are expected to lead by example. Why would politicians need so many cars for their use bought and paid for by the public's money? Those with legitimate security needs to be provided the safest cars, but most others do not need fleets of luxury cars paid for by the State. If Ministers and MPs want luxury cars and an opulent lifestyle they need to do so with their own honest hard earned money and not rip off Public Corporations and Ministries which are their temporary privy by the grace of people's votes. Some politicians after being in power for a while, think they are demi-gods and above the law. They think that the tax payer's are there to sustain them and their corpulent life styles and that is when they start dishing out State property such as vehicles left right and centre. This rot has been going on for too long. Well done Mr. Prime Minister, I hope you continue this trend and enforce these restrictions strictly and without favour. Sri Lanka after all is one of the poorer nations of Asia and we depend a lot on foreign aid for development. Bravo. MANO RATWATTE, Interchanging of gas cylinders In response to a reader's query as to why LP gas cylinders cannot be interchanged, the Corporate Communications Managers of Shell Co. Mr. Steven Bartholomeus (DN, Dec 12) has given a reply which is far from convincing. Anybody would agree that it is the defects in the cylinder or its connections that are likely to pose safety risks whatever the make is; therefore Shell need not unduly worry about 'safety' as long as the cylinder and its connections are faultless whichever brand is used and whoever uses it. To sound more convincing Shell should get their claim backed by a responsible body of professional engineers about the putative risks involved in the interchanging of different brands of cylinders. The statement that Shell brand stands for core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people is a myth that Shell themselves exploded by underfilling their cylinders not many moons ago without the permission of the Fair Trading Commission and also without informing the public! N. AMARASEKERA , Nazly Cassim's letter on the above subject (DN Dec. 11) is timely. The cheapest fare to India would be the ferry service from the port of Colombo to the port of Tuticorin in South India. In the good old days there was a regular service between these two ports operated by India steam navigation company whose local agents were the cargo boat despatch company whose office was situated at Queens Road Fort. It was a nights sailing and the fare so low. From Tuticorin one could travel to Trivandrum, Trichy and Chennai in the inter city bus and rail services. NEVIS FERNANDO , There has been an increasing number of students offering subjects for the General Certificate of Education Ord. Level in the English medium. The Examination Department prepares the question papers in English. The students are drawn from the "International Schools" and also from other English medium schools. This may be considered to contribute to the raising of the standard of English. In this context it is relevant to point out the difficulties faced by the students and the schools due to lack of text books in the English language. Translation of these text books published by the National Institute of Education is done by individuals. Their efforts are to be highly commended in fact they are rendering a great service. Since a large number of students opt to do the G.C.E. O/L in the English medium, it would be very useful endeavour if the Ministry of Education undertakes the task of translating all the text books into English and make them available at a reasonable price. This would be a boon to the students and help in their efforts to achieve a high proficiency in the English language. M. Thowfeeq Hassan , "Burning Money" (DN Jan. 4) clearly shows how empty minded many people are in lighting crackers and creating a nuisance to others who value peace and quiet of mind. Another menace is the loudspeaker and our religious leaders should set an example by preventing the mike noise from going into neighbourhood as neighbours are not interested in religious noises: A good point made out by the writer is that Pensions are woefully inadequate. Pensions should be brought to the existing salary scale of the officer's designation. Another point that arises is that the writer states that he has not had a rice meal except at last Vesak. Obviously, if we look forward to buy food from shops, this is the sure way to starvation. There are many who look forward to buying their drink of tea from the Kiosk. One should equip oneself to prepare one's food. If one is a Pensioner, one's Pension will normally be credited to a bank account. With a bank loan one can equip oneself with a gas cylinder and burner and cook one's rice meal in one pot with dhal, leaf cuttings etc which meal will cut the cost of a bath packet or the tea can be made in one shot for 3 times a day. P.W., New slaughterhouse for Colombo A news item in the Sunday Observer of Dec. 16 under the title "New abattoir equipped for humane slaughter", refers to Colombo Municipal Council plans to construct a new slaughterhouse at Dematagoda in place of the present abattoir at the same place. This slaughterhouse, "equipped for humane slaughter," is to be constructed with "new infrastructural requirements, buildings and equipment at a cost of Rs. 243 million". The vegetarian organizations in Sri Lanka are deeply interested in the humane treatment of animals. In our view, what is called humane slaughter is not part of the humane treatment of animals. Moreover, cattle slaughter is abhorrent to the large majority of Buddhists and Hindus of Sri Lanka. We have a vigorous on-going movement among Buddhists, which seeks to reduce and if possible eliminate this practice, which they intensely dislike. In that context, we have a few questions to pose to the CMC in regard to this project. Rs. 243 million is a very large sum of money and it appears that the Council is embarking on a project of expanding the slaughtering capacity at Dematagoda. A large abattoir will be a waste of money unless it is for more slaughter than is presently done. We would like to know how much larger is the killing capacity of the new abattoir and how is this capacity expected to be utilized? If there has been no increase in the demand for beef, which we think is the case, having a larger killing capacity may lead to a dangerous temptation to create new demand. We certainly do not like to see the premier local body of Sri Lanka in the business of promoting the consumption of beef, i.e., the killing of more and more cattle. Secondly, Dematagoda is situated in the heart of our very congested capital city. It is impossible to rear animals for beef in or around Colombo. With its larger capacity, from where will the abattoir get the animals for slaughter? Will it not be from distant rural areas, as it is at present? All over the world, some of the worst instances of animals abuse occur in the course of transport of cattle to the slaughterhouse. How will the new abattoir contribute to better treatment of animals in this regard? We must sincerely express our third and worst fear. And that is, how can the CMC guarantee that the new abattoir, with its increased killing capacity, will not lead to exporting meat from our island to other parts of the world? This is an aspect of immense concern to all Buddhists, Hindus and animal welfarists. The CMC must address this issue and make its plans explicit, as the public has every right to expect from it. Prof. Mahinda Palihawadana , Shell Gas (SG) has been in the market for quite some time and they have been arbitrarily fixing prices and increasing prices at will for their gas, as well as for their cylinder right along. The current price of a 12.5 Kg cylinder is Rs. 509 Periodical raising of prices has been explained as, for no others reason, but because their agreement signed with the former government permits raising of their prices annually by a certain percentage. Why the governmental authority included such a clause for annual increases in the Agreement raises suspicion in the minds of the public. Laugfs gas (LG) has now entered the market and their price for gas of the same capacity cylinder was till recently Rs. 409 Minister Ravi Karunanayake has negotiated with their company and got them to bring down the price to Rs. 359. The current prices of SG and LG gas fora 12.5 KG cylinder Rs. 509 and Rs. 359 respectively. SG is in overwhelming control of the market in view of the fact that they have been in the trade virtually from the inception and consequently the gas consumers are in possession of only SG cylinders. LG as a new entrant to the market has introduced their own cylinders and do not accept for refill the cylinders of SG. Hence the vast majority of the gas consumers in the country are prevented from switching over from SG to LG gas since they are in possession of SG cylinders. An SG consumer wanting to return an empty SG cylinder to obtain a refund is being offered only a fraction of the price he originally paid to obtain a cylinder initially from the company. SG consumers are therefore held captive and cannot switch over to LG gas to obtain the benefit of the reduced price. What the gas consumers' expect from the Minister is for him to (a) Get shell Gas to bring down the price of a 12.5Kg cylinder also to Rs. 359 (b) Order Shell Gas to refund the Original price paid, for any consumer wanting to surrender Empty cylinders to them. (c) Request Laugfs Gas to accept for refill the cylinders of Shell Gas. T.A.N. SALLY , Nothing will remain if we take politics out of politics. During that last 2 or 3 decades we in Sri Lanka have learnt bitter lessons due to party politics. Party rivalry leads to confrontational politics. The filthiest abuses are traded. Man becomes inhuman. 46 people have laid down their lives for the sake of parties, during the last elections. The winners have still to depend on minor parties to keep up their majority. Ranil Wickremesinghe is the man of the moment. He has turned a new leaf. He is calling the main opposition to join the Government and cut a new path leading to peace and economic progress. Some ministers say the treasury is empty and they have to find the money. The same thing was said by Chandrika when she took over in 1994. Managing public money and the economy of a country is no child's play, if the experts know the answer let them get on with it. R. K.Y. Silva, How can one discourage an attack on person or property by not appearing an easy target The primary steps to be taken are embodied herebelow:- (1) Harden your home; (2) Have strong locks on doors & windows, and keep them locked; (3) Give your home a lived-inlook when you leave; (4) Never let a stranger in when you are alone; (5) Don't carelessly walk into danger. The cause of Crime is the failure of individuals to develop right values and to resist evil, and to move further is a canker to the mind, a corrosive to the conscience, and a curse to a nation. Crime, as we all know, is a real sin, and to eradicate this menace, nip it in the bud of temptation, because this sort of thing can plague all human society. So, if a Society doesn't train its youths to value other humans and property, it is certain to have Crime. G.R. SAMUEL , |
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