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| Friday, 7 February 2003 |
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I was happy to see Mahinda, Jeyaraj and Fowzie participating in a Hindu Kovil function in Jaffna recently on T.V. These are some of the few enlightened leaders in the S.L.F.P. It is refreshing to note that they have realized the utter futility of a war which cannot be won because it was not given the political leadership from the beginning and funds voted for the war went into the pockets of various top people. Mahinda of course is a potential leader of the country and I believe that he has the necessary mental set up. He is a balanced person. He has the support of the people and the Sangha and the welfare of the country at heart. He has no prejudices and is a true SLFPer who knows the strength of the SLFP in the country. The SLFP is the only party that remembers its founder, late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike at all branch meetings even today. It is the only party that has islandwide alms giving on his commemoration day. It is unfortunate that Mrs. Bandaranaike and now her daughter continue to woo small parties to form coalitions to the ultimate detriment of the SLFP without knowing its strength. When I was in the Central Committee of the SLFP on more than one occasion I have told Mrs. Bandaranaike that she did not know the strength of her own party. We have seen and see even today how small parties hold to ransom the government of the day. Ashraff was virtually strangling the President to get his demands at the time of his death. This is grossly unjust and undemocratic when a few small party leaders prevent the major party from acting for the greater benefit of the country and not for narrow concerns. Ranil also has to give into pressure. As Leader of the Opposition, Mahinda is organizing a Jana Gosha. The Government should not take lightly what Mahinda organizes as it was the Jana Gosha in 1994 and the Pada Yatra that helped the SLFP to win and the P.A. to form the government though the necessary recognition was not given to Mahinda. In 2001 the U.N.P. held a Jana Bala Meheuma and came into power. The demonstration was against the rising cost of living, unemployment, power failure and frequent blackouts. One year later, the problems have not been solved and the cost of living has soared like an astronaut. Shell gas is plundering the people in the guise of free enterprise. Low income investors in fixed deposits have been rendered helpless with taxes on interest and so the wagon goes on and there are many other woes. The biggest achievement for which all should be grateful to the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is the cessation of hostilities. So far thousands of lives have been saved and billions of rupees saved from the pockets of arms dealers and their cohorts. It is naive to believe and expected all problems to be solved in one or two years. There will be the necessary bumps on the way to total peace. Since the L.T.T.E. has come down on its Elam demand which every Southerner objected to, now everyone of us must support the Prime Minister in his endeavours to bring lasting peace. It would be unpalatable to some parties to see Ranil succeeding; but for the greater welfare of the country I appeal to everyone to help the Prime Minister. The J.V.P. in the guise of the redeemer of the Sinhala people has quickly forgotten the fact that they murdered more unarmed Sinhala civilians than the LTTE in the brutal war. In the 1971 insurrection innocent planters like Noel de Costa were killed; likewise in the 80's. They killed soldiers and policemen for carrying out their duties. They are wolves in sheep clothing waiting to enforce their fascist regime on the people with the help of the PA. In the 80s they killed harmless Sinhala villagers and prevented the cortege being taken at a height above the ankle. This was the meanest and depraved treatment meted out to a dead body. In 1989 a large number of SLFP leaders like Abeywira were assassinated. They killed intellectuals like Prof. Stanley Wijesundara and Prof. Jayawardena - both of whom were my beloved teachers. They killed Nandalal Fernando and Harsha Abeywardhana and thousands of others. It is unfortunate that the President Chandrika Kumaratunga has not realized the dangerous situation she is trying to put the country by cavorting to the whims and fancies of the JVP. She has forgotten the fact that it was the JVP that killed her husband. The SLFPers must resist this unwholesome relationship. I am sorry that the President has forgotten how in the brief period of their probationary government in 2001 the tail wagged the dog. Considering the precarious situation the country is in, the President must realize that this is not the time to play politics. This is not the time to disunite the Sinhala people. She must consider the country first and cohabit with the UNP. As she had said the cabinet must be strengthened. It can only be strengthened if she and the key SLFPers are in the cabinet. Then there would be a very strong government in the centre. It would then be possible to reduce the unwieldy and expensive cabinet to about 25 ministers. President Chandrika would be doing the greatest service to the country by forming a strong government with the UNP. If she does it the SLFP could one day come into power if not the JVP would slowly but surely gobble up the SLFP. Dr. Neville Fernando, Liquor Bar in a residential area I as a resident of Hamers Avenue, Wellawatte, wish to highlight the hardship experienced as a result of a tavern at Hamers Avenue, Wellawatte, which is a highly residential area. This bar commenced business in 1997 and ever since has become a public nuisance to all of us living down Hamers Avenue and the adjoining roads. The Marine Drive leading to Hamers Avenue, Nelson Place, Collingwood Place and Lilly Avenue is crowded with Trishaws and Vans, whose occupants consume alcohol purchased from "Thas Wine" and disturb the peace and create a common nuisance to all those who use the Marine Drive, particularly to ladies and children in the evenings. It is a common sight to see schoolchildren, in uniforms, consuming liquor during the day, in the beach adjoining the bar. There is also a Buddhist Temple, at the end of Station Road, and in close proximity to the bar. The bar also sells liquor on Poya days and other days where sale of liquor is prohibited, through a grocery shop adjoining the bar and also owned by the same parties. The train commuters are pelted with bottles & stones by the drunkards and many complaints have been made to the Police by Railway authorities. After numerous complaints and representations made by residents, the licence was not renewed after 31st December, 2002 and we understand that the owners have filed action against the Excise Department for the renewal of the licence, which is pending. We shall be grateful if the authorities who make decisions with regard to the renewal of the licence, could act wisely. R.H.A., Development of a coal fired station at Hambantota According to a news item appearing in the business page of the "Ceylon Daily News" of 10th, it was a relief to hear a proposal being made for a coal fired power plant to supply adequate electricity by the year 2006. It is also gratifying to hear of the ensuing benefits such as large-scale employment to the Southern Youth of Sri Lanka suffering from a much needed development in areas such as Hambantota. However it is alarming to hear of the step-motherly attitude by the authorities concerned in not grasping such an attractive proposition of supplying electricity at a very cheap rate of Rs. 4 per unit with the prospect of developing an additional capacity of 600 MW in the future. It is time that the people of the deep south question the authorities concerned as to the reason for delaying if not shelving a project with such attractive terms which undoubtedly at long last help, the consumer of electricity and the Youth of the South. It is pertinent to ask whether there is a hidden agenda of not developing the South but are very vociferously concentrating in the development of the North & the East. The people of the South have suffered as much as the people of the North & East with the destructive war that snapped out a good portion of the lives of young Men & Women who has scarified their lives for the Independence & Sovereignty of our Motherland. It is time that the UNF Government looks at the development of the North, East & South and not be overshadowed by the peace process. It is time we ask ourselves, are we going to have peace in the North & East and war in the South? Are you not challenging the youth of the deep South to rise in revolt crying for employment, low cost of living and in simple terms, the right to live? I have no doubt that the pangs of hunger biting into the stomachs of hordes of families in the South will bring abut a greater force that will no longer be bothered about peace in this country. Hunger can be a very powerful force that has no respect for peace. It is pertinent to ask whether the Government is playing into the hands of a very powerful force of the people that can be seen very clearly developing in the not too distant future. Are we all living in the dark without even a flicker of light in the distant horizon? Wake-up and clear the way for prosperity by doing away with the bureaucracy. Attractive proposals will not come our way every day of our lives. Perhaps they come only once. L. U. Weerasinghe, Conscription... is this the prescription? There is no doubt that Milinda Moragoda, making his Convocation Address at the Sir John Kotelawala Defence Academy recently, thought of conscription as a remedy for the pathetically low level of discipline that has hit our country and society. This is not something that has happened overnight but over the years, the twenty year war, un-employment and under employment, in particular of the educated un-employed and under employed, discrimination, nepotism, bribery and corruption in all its ugliest forms contributing in large measure to this situation. But, compulsory military service is by no means the answer to improve the discipline and the ravaged inter communal harmony of our people. In fact, the cure envisaged by the Moragoda, with all his very good intentions, may be worse than the disease itself, as some of your readers have already clearly pointed out. What then is the answer to this crippling and paralysing disease, which has affected and will continue to affect the country? In so far as discipline is concerned, those who have some knowledge of the subject know that the psychology of discipline is that, discipline deteriorates rapidly in a situation, where minor acts of ill discipline are condoned and ignored. In such a situation, where minor acts of ill discipline are tolerated and accepted over a period, result in these becoming habitual and the norms, and gradually being accepted by society and ignored by the concerned authorities. To cite an example, take the case of cyclists on our roads. Although, these are vehicles using our public roads, no laws are applicable today to the cyclists on our roads. They do not use the left edge of the road, but ride where they like, generally on the center of the road, carry any number of passengers on the pillion and the bar and have no headlights and tail lights, several riders riding abreast of each other, indifferent to other traffic and road users. These are all traffic offences for which charges were framed and offenders duly fined some thirty or forty years ago. It does not happen any more and it is sad to watch these offenders, brazenly riding past traffic police officers, totally ignored. Is it any wonder that traffic discipline has deteriorated to the level it has today? Therefore, the answer is clearly not to ignore minor offences. If minor offences are dealt with immediately and are eliminated, these do not proliferate Cancer like to major offences. The other impact, essential for discipline, is absolute respect for the law. When minor offences are eliminated, respect for law and order remains and grows and the authorities are free to deal with the major offences, which naturally reduce due to a higher standard of discipline and respect for the law. The important aspect is that no offenders should be permitted to get away by contacting "friends", politicians etc, which is also a well known trait in our ill-disciplined society. The law must apply irrespective of influence, without fear or favour. And, the punishment meted out to offenders, who breach the law, has to necessarily be a deterrent to minimise, if not eliminate repetition. Therefore, the punishment has to be corrective and painful. The other aspect the Hon. Minister was seeking a remedy for via conscription was communal harmony. Communal harmony has been ravaged by many factors, notably by nepotism, favouritism, bribery, corruption and other acts which are perpetrated ad infinitum, on the basis of political influence, caste, creed, community etc. Whilst these are serious offenses, which cause pain of mind to the affected parties, yet the law is toothless and impotent to the extent that, the whole country ignores these criminal acts. When this happens to a person of a different community he naturally feels that he has been discriminated because of his community. Therefore, I would urge the Hon. Minister to do all he can to tighten the law to make any acts of discrimination criminal offenses, where the perpetrator of such discrimination is mandatorily given a jail sentence. Not only tighten the law, but ensure the law is implemented without fear or favour, irrespective of political influence, caste, creed and community. If the Minister can implement this suggestion it will certainly have a much greater impact on communal harmony than the community living of conscripted soldiers. Already, strategic planners and other miscellaneous experts, (mainly bureaucrats outside the Armed Services) have considered troop reductions, troop deployments on United Nations Operations, etc, to reduce military expenditure. What will be the financial implications of conscription and how will this tie up with the troop reduction plans of the "experts"? Maj. Gen. Gratiaen Silva VSV, Dental Faculty - Putting the record straight Apropos Professor Rajiva Wijesinghe's comments regarding the Dental Faculty, University of Peradeniya in his column titled "The Storms Eye" (Daily News, 29.1.2003) I would like to correct some of the misconceptions highlighted therein. Professor Wijesinghe apparently has quoted from a "Study on Resource Utilization of Universities". It is obvious that whoever who did this study has not done a proper job and had not looked at the whole picture in order to come to the correct conclusions. I do not know how anybody could say that the Dental Faculty does not have "the enthusiasm", when the Dental Faculty has been able to increase, the number of patients it treats from 40,000 to 120,000 a year, a three fold increase since the Japanese Grant Aid project was completed and the new Dental Faculty was opened. Further our Faculty has treated hundreds of oral cancers, cleft lip and palate, facial deformities and injuries using modern technology. The Final Evaluation Team sent by the Japanese Government after a thorough study of the functioning of the Dental Hospital declared that the project has been a complete success. The Evaluation Team reported that it was one of the better projects if not the best undertaken by JICA in Sri Lanka in terms of quality and quantity of training, research and treatment. How the Study Team on "Resource Utilization of Universities" came to the conclusion that the Japanese Grant Aid is not utilized to the best is beyond comprehension. The Study Team's observation (as quoted by Professor R. Wijesinghe) that lectures are held only for two hours a day and the Faculty has fifty staff to serve a student intake of 75 per year and therefore it should take in a further 50-75 students shows how incomplete and shoddy the study has been. Apart from these two hours of lectures, the staff has to do teaching in the clinics, laboratories, wards, operation theatres and field visits. Lectures are the least important in our teaching programme. Clinical work where the students attend on patients supervised by staff is much more important. Our academic staff is kept busy the whole day. The approved norms for staff cadre has been based on the above facts. As for increasing the student intake by another 50-75 it must be mentioned that apart from the fact that the Faculty cannot accommodate more students whether the country needs more dental surgeons has to be considered. In fact according to manpower needs the country may need about 50 well trained dental surgeons per year. Therefore, even the present production rate of 75 per year may be excessive. As for the suggestion that the Dental Hospital should be kept open in the evening it must be said that the Dental Hospital do not have the resources at present in staff, drugs and materials to treat a larger number of patients and keep the hospital open after 4.30 p.m. Prof. N. A. de S. Amaratunga Today traffic congestion along the Galle Road has become one of the major problems and the authorities concerned has been exploring ways and means of overcoming it for quite some time. The former minister of highways, A. H. M. Fowzie, in order to solve this problem to a certain extent, built a bridge over Weras Ganga connecting Borupana Road, Ratmalana with Gangarama Road of Werahera; in other words connecting Galle road with Horana - Colombo Road. Although Borupana Road, Ratmalana is 30 ft. wide; Gangarama Road of Werahera is only 20 ft. wide as a result of this majority of motorists are reluctant to use this route due to frequent traffic jams that occur along the Gangarama Road of Werahera. After constructing the bridge the former minister of highways Mr. A. H. M. Fowzie while planning to widen the Gangarama road of Werahera, the government changed as a result of this the widening of the Gangarama Road of Werahera had come to a standstill. Recently there was a news item to the effect that there is a proposal to develop 20 highways at a cost of Rs. 20 million under the provision of an agreement signed with the Asian Development Bank. Therefore it is good if the present minister of Defence, Transport, Highways and civil aviation Tilak Marapana could divert a mere fraction of this amount to wider the one mile stretch of the Gangarama Road of Werahera which might result in minimising of the traffic congestion along the Galle Road to a certain extent. PIYASIRI GUNASEKERA, |
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