Letters to the Editor

• Show me your card, sonna
• Spare the trees
• Rice and fish to JVP
• The need for a high- powered Commission
• Who knows the law putha?
• Bouquets

Show me your card, sonna

Every citizen in Sri Lanka over 18 years of age, irrespective of race, religion, caste or creed is expected to carry with him/her the National Identity Card (NIC) whenever he/she moves around in public. Therefore, it should be made compulsory that every voter be requested to produce his/her National Identity Card for scrutiny, so that impersonation could be eliminated. 

Over to politicians in the Governing party, the Opposition and the Election Commissioner, to ensure a free and fair trouble-free General Elections.

Ranjan Mendis
Moratuwa

Spare the trees

Trees have feelings too Mr. Politico and it hurts us when you hurt them. Don't you people have hearts?

These are people who will do anything at any cost to come first. It is hypocrisy of the highest order and these are the ones who want our votes for a better tomorrow.

There will be no better tomorrow if you kill our trees, Mr. Politico.

Sumana Fernando
Moratuwa

Rice and fish to JVP

Accordingly the President would invite the leader of the victorious party to form a government. With the consent of that leader, the Prime Minister to be precise, the President will appoint the Cabinet. There is no doubt that the People's Alliance or the United National Party will be in office. 

The new Prime Minister whoever he may be, must not forget the strength, talent and the organisational skill of the third force, the JVP. The people of this country will whole-heartedly approve if he invites the JVP to join the new government. 

It is true that the veteran politicians who introduced socialism to this country had failed in their struggle for achieving power and happened to cling on to 

Ms. Sirimavo Bandaranaike's saripota and Mr. Dudley Senanayake's imperial coat, in the end. 

It is also true that those socialist lions' heirs and kith and kin did the same thing by hanging on to other saripotas. 

Even if they had something worthwhile in their doctrine, they would not put them into practice, for they were old, feeble but under democratic rule. Some of them were only preachers but not doers. 

But the very same thing cannot be said of the present JVP. That naughty boy who rebelled against the governments in 1971 and 1987 is no more a troublemaker. 

He is 35 years old now. He is matured, strong and clever. He is neither power-crazy nor money- crazy. He proved it by rejecting preferential votes. 

His behaviour during the just ended election campaign, while the two major parties were involved in all types of misdeeds was commendable. 

Very recently, at a discussion on TV, an authoritative officer of the JVP gave an assurance to the nation by saying that the JVP would not take arms again. 

Therefore the new Prime Minister must be clever enough to tap the JVP for the betterment of this land. 

For that he can give them our sea and land - the Ministries of Fisheries and Agriculture - and entrust them with the task of feeding the entire nation. 

H.M.P.Wickramarathne
Kengalle

The need for a high- powered Commission

There are a number of persons who by their criminal activities have decimated the flower of our youth by the supply of sub-standard arms and armaments. These vultures have no place in decent society but have amassed such wealth and power that they are accepted both by knowledgeable and unsuspecting persons. Their accomplices are both political patrons and public officials who bask in the reflected glory with substantial gains. There has been enormous wealth in this business as can be seen from the spectacular rise of the persons concerned from modest beginnings to ownership of multi-storied buildings, mansions, flats and land which are totally unacceptable.

The big names of some of the beneficiaries are well known but they remain safe in their acquired castles and mansions. The entire procedure for tendering, calling for specifications, making decisions, scrutinizing credentials of supplies may have to be revamped. 

The human vultures who were responsible for supplying sub-standard materials must be brought to book and not allowed to leave the country while investigations are pending. If the dead could speak they would tell us what failed them. They probably had to meet superior weaponry and superior fire-power with sub-standard equipment.

The evils of those death dealers and the guile of their patrons can only be met by a high-powered Commission with members whose absolute integrity cannot be questioned by anybody. There are Supreme Court Judges or recently retired Judges who could constitute such a body together with a Commissioner of Inland Revenue or a retired Commissioner who can match up to the requisite standards. 

It should be stipulated that any files required from the Inland Revenue Department or Defence Ministry should be made available to the Commission.

A concerned citizen

Who knows the law putha?

There would seem to be some local insurers who, either, deliberately or due to ignorance, tend to misinterpret their own policy conditions. In the first place, if a service is to be rendered, it must be backed up by knowledge, as the saying goes. 

For example, in a case in point, the standard endorsement assigning a motor insurance policy to a lessor (identified as the "owner"), the relevant clause of the assigning endorsement clearly indicates that, but for the insurers' option to repair, reinstate or replace a vehicle or lease which is damaged by a risk covered under the policy any monies shall be paid to the owner. 

There is at least one local insurer who persists in paying monies arising from their insurance to the lessee, thereby totally ignoring the rights of the lessor/owner, to whom the policy is assigned. 

The insurer insists on a "Letter of Consent" from the lessee to pay proceeds of a claim to the owner of the vehicle named in the assignment. 

That is, say the least, a most ridiculous demand when, on the contrary, and insurer should have the consent of the owner/lessor, if proceeds of a claim are to be paid to him. 

To justify their demand, the insurers concerned - and a Private Sector insurer at that have, from time to time, adduced the following reasons for their arbitrary stand:- 

1) That they (the insurers concerned) have exercised the option of repairing the vehicle, as provided in the policy when they pay the lessee/insured and not the repairer; and that to the prejudice of the lessor/owner of the vehicle, to whom the lessee is in default. 

2) That only total loss claims are payable to the owner and partial loss claims to the lessee, when there is no distinction drawn in the contract between a total loss and a partial loss. 

3) That the Insurers' Association of which they are members, perhaps, have decided to adopt the peculiar practice referred to at (2) above, when an Association of that nature has no authority to take such arbitrary decisions on behalf of its members, contrary to the latter's to contract. 

If an insurer takes such an arbitrary action due to ignorance, they cannot plead ignorance as an excuse and they should, presumably, be liable to make good any loss caused to the assignee of the policy thereby. 

C.S.A. Fernando,
Moratuwa

Bouquets

We shall not any more weep for Susanthika

For with your spurt of final glory, you turned all of these, yours and ours, into pearls of purest joy. You are so young but I know your spirit has been of tested steel. 

At these times of highest achievement for us all, you have also displayed yourself as a true Sri Lankan not Sinhala, Dravidian, Muslim or Burgher, divided amongst ourselves but united. Very soon another Sri Lankan, young Murali - from my own old school at St. Anthony's will hit his 300th wicket and lead us agaizn into glory. 

I remember Duncan White first at the same school, then on to Trinity where the dew-laden Asgiriya ground led him to his final hurdle of fame. (You may not know this, when he got his Silver Medal both he and Cochrane, who came first, broke the old Olympic record).

One day I hope when sanity returns here, I am sure a Tamil lass from the village soils like you will follow, and you will be there to help and guide her. That is how we are all - if politicians allow us! I was to end this here - but many friends insisted that I should add that I have just been in Intensive Care and still under medical attention. When they asked me in hospital if I wanted any newspapers. zI said not even one - but when the Olympics start just tell me how Susanthika is doing. 

Prof. C.Suriyakumaran,
Colombo

That great feeling!

To see a couple of Sri Lankan flags flying high as Susanthika reached the winning post made us feel so proud. To witness a Sri Lankan lass getting on to the podium at the medal ceremony was a dream come true. To see the lion flag going up as we all stood up when the American national anthem was being played (winner Marion Jones being an American) was a unique moment. To stand up and cheer Susanthika as she walked past us draped in a huge Sri Lankan flag was a once-in-a lifetime experience. 

With two Australians running in the 200m final, the vast crowds were naturally cheering them. But what a disappointment for them? Most of us expected Marion Jones to grab the gold. Not many thought the Bahamas girl would hit the silver. Seeing the way Susanthika ran in the semi-final, we were quite confident that she would win a medal. 

And she did not disappoint us. A great moment for her, a great moment for the country.

To tell the Australian seated next to me that the bronze medal winner was from my country was exciting. Naturally he wanted to know more. He wouldn't have dreamt of a winner from a country possibly he hadn't heard much about.

DCR 
Sydney

In admiration...

In admiration, 
a well-wisher 
Dr. Ronnie Rannan-Eliya 

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