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It is unfortunate that the political situation in this country has
somewhat worsened since my last visit.
There is an atmosphere of fear and discontent among the public. I
believe most of it is due to innuendos and baseless allegations
propagated by some sections of the media and self-serving dissidents
trying their best to defame and destabalise the legally elected
Government. In order to grab power they have not only joined the enemy,
the LTTE, but also taken steps to defame the country abroad and sought
trade sanctions with the hope of creating mayhem.
All is however not lost, at times like this we need to look at the
strategies taken by the other civilised nations of the world to instil
confidence in the ruling regime. Firstly, the Government, in our case
the President, needs to address the nation on prime time television to
inform the public of the current status and the steps taken to assure
the security and the well-being of the public.
Unfortunately, Government press releases, to date, have not been
properly co-ordinated and have been somewhat contradictory fuelling the
uncertainty and fear among the public. The media too, except the Daily
News appears to be engrossed in sensationalism rather than in
professionalism.
In Australia, the Prime Minister would be the first to take advantage
of the electronic media to address the nation to explain any
controversy. This is also true of US and Britain. What is said may be
the Government perspective but it is sufficient for the public to be
assured that the Government is in control of the situation.
The silence on the part of the Government can only add credibility to
the publicised innuendos and allegations. Silence supports the assertion
of guilt by association. A good example in recent times is the case of
Saddam Hussain who could have averted the Iraq war, if he was open and
candid about the weapons of mass destruction. His silence led the world
to believe in the allegations led by the coalition.
I would therefore like to appeal to the Government, in particular the
President, to consider using the electronic media to address the fear
and discontent in the community.
JANAKI WIJEGUNASEKERA, Australia
Dr. Thilak S. Fernando writing to the Daily News of June 21,
expresses his opinions on the Homeopathy Medical Council's lethargy,
fleecing of practitioners and dissolving of the present Council.
His solutions may appear simple and effective, but in reality these
views cannot be implemented as there is a Homeopathy Act and any type of
procedural changes will by itself take several more years to bear fruit.
As President of NAHA (National Association of Homoeopaths and
Affiliates) I together with three other office-bearers met the
Secretary, Ministry of Indigenous Medicine Asoka Malimage, in the
presence of the Minister and Assistant Secretary Mangalika Ekanayake, on
June 13, 2007.
Asoka Malimage clearly understood our problems and agreed to resolve
these issues. The main point was to revoke the 1982 date set by a
previous HMC for registration of practitioners and allow the HMC to
follow the Act and register practitioners only with relevant experience,
qualifications and the ability to pass the HMC examinations.
A Ministerial Directive will be sent to the HMC in this regards;
stating that the Ministry has no objections to the revoking of the
arbitrary 1982 date for registration, set by a previous HMC. We are
confident that the present HMC will accept his directive and action
registration without further delay.
The Secretary will summon all other Associations and Unions to get
concurrence on this subject.
The support of all Homoeopaths for setting up the Homeopathy Medical
College and the issue of temporary registration (as in Ayurveda) to meet
the new Health Ministry requirement for registration of all medical
institutions was also discussed. We also spoke on the subject of adverse
propaganda being generated by so called highly qualified homoeopaths,
with a view to discredit the Homeopathy Medical College proposal and
other progressive measures.
With regards to Dr. Thilak Fernando's contention that money was being
extracted with the promise of granting registration; this is definitely
not the true picture. This may have happened in the past when the
leadership was different and allegedly involved in many corrupt
practices.
To the very best of my knowledge, the Foundation collected money for
the 252nd anniversary celebrations of the founder of Homeopathy Dr.
Samuel Hahnemann. Foundation members and practitioners contributed
whatever they could. The more affluent contributed more, while there
were some who did not contribute anything at all.
Every Professional Association/ Institution collects money for its
ongoing expenses. Membership fees, seminar and training fees (including
refreshments and lunch), membership certificates and ID cards, making of
the Dr. Hahnemann's statue and layout of pond, celebration expenses at
Welisara and the dinner get together at a 5 Star Hotel; are some of the
many expenses.
The intention and policy of NAHA is to work constructively to resolve
the problems of our members and other Homoeopaths and strictly abstain
from slighting mud.
Dr. Thilak as a practising Homoeopath I kindly invite you to join
hands with NAHA and the several other Homeopathy Unions and Associations
and give your support for the Medical College and revision of the
registration process.
B. A. Azhar, Dehiwala
The crude bomb discovered in London got international coverage. The
1,000 Kg deadly bomb recovered in Sri Lanka or the previous lorry bomb
with another 1,000 Kgs of deadly explosives never made the news in the
West.
So now was the London car bomb the work of rebels fighting
discrimination, IRA guerillas, home grown Islamic rebels, people angry
at political oppression by the British Government? or the work of an
international rebel movement? Or was it a calculated cold blooded act of
terrorism?
How will the western media cover that in comparison to LTTE
terrorists' bombs?
MANO RATWATTE |
