Letters to the Editor

• Is there humane killing? 
• What other govt. has done this?
• Jaffna Govt. Agent should have known
• It's not loving kindness; it is ignorance
• Names were thrust on us
• Which way towards peace? 

Is there humane killing? 

Is the use of a sledgehammer to stun an animal before killing, as shown in recent TV discussions, less humane than the use of a bolt-gun in abattoirs? 

Does the stunned animal feel pain irrespective of the method used? It may be of interest to know that in tribal societies a similar method is used to stun the animal by delivering a blow on the head, using a heavy stone.

Is bleeding the animal a normal practice even in abattoirs in order to increase the storage life and quality of meat produced? 

For comparison, why not show how animals are 'killed' in a factory?

Are we more conscious of the suffering undergone by large animals and especially, by animals whose flesh we do not eat?

In the case of aquatic animals, say fish, death is caused by suffocation. 

In some instances, large fish are killed by delivering blows to their heads, which look more horrendous than the less humane but 'natural' method. How do we reconcile these strange perceptions? 

Do we propose killing of land animals by drowning to deprive them of oxygen?

The most important aspect of the debate is whether there is a humane form of killing? For instance is the use of a lethal injection, as practised in executions, an acceptable method? 

If this method is not harmful to the flesh-eater, why not use it in animal slaughter? 

Then why not use such 'humane bullets' in combat rather than shrapnel that cause death through painful and horrific wounds? 

The most misplaced accusation is against doctors for not advising patients on the benefits of vegetarian food. From when has the doctor replaced the mother in telling you what is good for you to eat? 

Are we not guided more by our culture than by doctors' prescriptions on what to eat?

I strongly feel that these are issues and questions best answered by each individual according to his conscience. To embark on the vilification of others' practices would not help one to overcome one's own desires and emotions. 

If one were to talk of 'humane wars', instead, this may make more sense in Sri Lanka, although in a limited way, at the present juncture.

G. Kulatunga 
Colombo 7

What other govt. has done this?

Can anyone tell what other socialist government in the world has increased the salaries of its legislators in this manner? Such information may, perhaps be a good May Day message!

Upali. S. Jayasekera
Colombo

Jaffna Govt. Agent should have known

Bureaucrats in Jaffna, particularly the Government Agent and his officials, are to be blamed for the sorry state of affairs. The G.A. who is born and bred in Jaffna should be aware of the prices of commodities.

He is trying to put the responsibility on the District Agriculture Co-ordinating Committee, which is an ineffective body. The G.A. is preventing the transport of potatoes and other essential items.

I hope the G. A. and other bureaucrats will stop this and prevent more agony for the Jaffna man.

V. Sukirthan
Colombo.

It's not loving kindness; it is ignorance

Unfortunately, he has missed the crucial point I made, i.e. we continue using roads named after former colonial masters out of ignorance of their wrongdoings and not because of noble thoughts such as "loving kindness".

Let us look back. At the very beginning, the roads were named after the governors in order to honour them. At that stage their good deeds were publicised and the bad ones ignored. Then came independence and we continued merrily ever after, without for a moment thinking of what we were doing. So Mr. B. there is no "loving kindness" in this sequence of events. Please do not give excuses to cover up ignorance!

In order to drive home my point, I would urge Mr. B. (and other readers) to do the following experiment. Ask a few of your friends (preferably those who have not read these letters) the question: "What are the good and bad deeds of the following colonial governors: Maitland, Brownrigg and Torrington?" The answers are bound to surprise many of you. 

The results I got were amazing: most spoke of road building, railways and "fair" administration of the colonial masters, but were woefully ignorant of the negative side. Hardly anyone spoke of the violent suppression of human rights, arrests and murders without trial, unleashing genocide to quell rebellions, forced labour and evictions of peasants from their land. 

Why is this? Is it because our education system is feeding us with a warped history?

The second point made by Mr. B. is that we have embraced names, words, songs, religions, dresses and languages of our colonial masters. If so, he asks, why fuss about a few road names?

I have no objection to anyone borrowing the good from any culture. That is beside the point. The question we should ask ourselves is "Should we as a nation, continue to honour those individuals who have violated human rights in Sri Lanka and crushed the dignity of our country?" 

To me the answer is an obvious "NO". I am sure if Sri Lankans are made aware of the good and the bad of our colonial past (instead of the usual rosy picture of a benevolent, righteous and progressive colonial period) they would agree with me.

Similar situations have arisen in other countries: Americans were relatively ignorant about their legacy of slavery until the best-seller, 'Roots" was published. Australians are now beginning to acknowledge the forced separation of aboriginal children from families when they were sent to "correction homes". South Americans are learning about the rape, genocide and annihilation of Incas and other civilizations by the invading Spaniards etc. 

For the sake of future generations, let us call a spade a spade and not fool ourselves by mixing up ignorance with loving kindness. 

K Jayasinghe 
Nugegoda 

Names were thrust on us

All liberated countries are adopting their own names in keeping with their culture and to show that they have a national identity. 

For instance, India has changed Bombay and Madras to Mumbai and Chennai. 

If you go through a diary you will see that the Colombo Municipality alone has changed about 50 old street names after independence.

Personal names adopted from the Portuguese, Dutch and British periods are gradually being replaced with indigenous ones such as those named after Anagarika Dharmapala and G.P. Malalasekera. 

All foreign things will gradually change. 

A majority of school leavers are not from big towns and when they occupy important positions in the country alien practices will have no place, for they will give pride of place to our own culture. 

V.K.B. Ramanayake
Colombo 3

Which way towards peace? 

Most people have also lost confidence in the war - in the possibility of a military victory. Such a possibility has been the basis for political mobilization by the government in its campaign to wage war for peace. 

The loss of confidence in the war is related to a general, and more fundamental, crisis relating to the political legitimacy of the state and the political order.

Peace appears to have become the agenda of donor nations. These international moneylenders who know how to extract interest through the lifelines of the economy adapt their strategies accordingly. 

They are tired of the monumental waste, corruption and destruction caused by the war. Not that the plunder and corruption will end. Conflict generation and resolution - war and peace - are ways in which these powers command and control the global political, economic and security order. 

Now, Norway has entered as a facilitator, with the backing of the European Union, and no doubt, the concurrence of America.

Which way towards peace? The only way is for the government to mobilize the people for a democratic peace. Mobilizing the people is to make them self-reliant and able to decide for themselves. 

Therefore, the government must undertake a nationwide programme to educate, discuss and debate the issues of sharing power in a democratic state. It should be a free debate, including all sections of the Sri Lankan community.. 

Representatives of rebel groups should be invited. 

An environment for free debate and constructive political activity should be created to build mutual understanding, trust and confidence and create the political will for peace. 

Everywhere in the world, the barriers and barricades of war have been ultimately brought down by people.

Mobilizing the people will diminish the need for foreign facilitation. The only way to defeat foreign interference is to mobilize the sovereignty of the people.

The government should also consult and engage the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an open dialogue on the principles and framework for a negotiated political settlement. 

Efforts to marginalise, isolate, downgrade and demonise the LTTE will lead to a continuation of war. Negotiations are about affirming the right of national self determination for which the war has been fought. While building consensus one needs to see how that right could be exercised in a new form of sharing power.

The challenge for the government is to integrate the LTTE within a redesigned system in a united Sri Lanka so that the demand for a separate state would become superfluous. 

Institutional forms of sharing power at the centre as well as in the regions should be developed creatively leading to a durable peace. This is the lesson that experience has taught us. 

It is up to the People's Alliance government, the UNP and all other political parties who share the responsibility for this crisis to provide such leadership. If not the system will explode in their faces as the people tire of this game.

Surendra Ajit Rupasinghe
Colombo

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