I was shocked by news reports on the suicide bombing at Narahenpita. Not by the suicide bomber's mission which has been common for quite some time, but by the naive methodology used by the police in their attempt to arrest the bomber. This unnecessarily cost five lives and left 16 injured. This has happened before, but the police do not seem to have learnt from the experience.
There seems to be an astounding hiatus in the education and training of men who are expected to carry out dangerous missions to safeguard others. To defend others the first qualification is to be able to defend oneself. A dead man cannot defend anyone!
Stabbings and clubbings of policemen who are on patrol duty, attempt to search suspicious persons or try to arrest criminals are reported frequently. I saw two constables being attacked by an insane person who had turned violent on Galle Road in the early 1970s. I invited the then I.G.P. to witness a special demonstration by a Japanese police coach of Judo techniques useful for the police and this resulted in the introduction of Judo to the police. That was good for those times but more education and equipment are now required to deal with suicide bombers.
Common sense and modern techniques have to be applied.
The first principle would be not to go within range of the suspect. From a safe distance, the suspect should be commanded to halt and raise his hands, with a warning that he would be shot if he did not obey. He should be kept covered with a firearm. If he obeys, he should be ordered to strip off his clothes sufficiently to reveal the presence or absence of bombs or weapons. If any are seen he should be told to lay them on the ground and turn full circle for inspection followed by arrest.
If he does not obey the commands to halt, raise his hands, and strip, he should be shot with an instantly acting temporarily paralyzing tranquillizer like those used on elephants and approached for search only when safe to do so and even then only by a trained bomb disposal team. The last option would be to shoot him dead if all others fail.
Judo and Judo-based self defence and police techniques do not seem to be given sufficient prominence and imparted to policemen as compulsory training to develop their reflexes to meet unexpected situations. Daily training is a must for every policeman as is the practice in Japan.
Their lives can depend on this as maintaining skill and speed is like trying to fill a leaking bucket, with regular topping up being essential.
The policemen who detected the suspect had the good sense not to indicate they did so. But what beats me is why the others tried to arrest a suicide bomber treating him like an unarmed suspect.
The Police Department should take steps to educate and train its men to serve and survive.
Lincoln Wijeyesinghe
Past President
Sri Lanka Judo Association
While many are euphoric about the UNP coming to power after the December 5 election, one has to make a proper assessment of its 17-year rule.
*What was the UNP's contribution to the education of youth with Ranil Wickremesinghe as Minister of Education? The party's policies only helped tutory mudalalies become millionaires. How many schools were opened during his tenure?
*What was the UNP policy towards food production and making this country self- sufficient? The multies took over the import of food and its distribution.
*Private sector firms that became engines merely shunted the West Asian remittances to the capital Colombo without any contribution to national wealth.
*Every imaginable industry was destroyed or crippled.
*Land and house construction went beyond the reach of even the middle class.
*Health-care was handed over to vultures thanks to UNP policies
What are we to await?
L.M. Marzook
Galle
Please do not break our houses, is the mournful song of the birds, the vanishing rare species of the Attidiya-Bellanwila bird sanctuary.
It is sad to see acres of land within this bird sanctuary being cleared, driving away the birds and destroying nests. This sanctuary is believed to have birds, fish and butterflies. But today, very few can be seen.It is a pity that when world organizations are funding the preservation of such sanctuaries, Sri Lanka is not alive to the situation.
A wayside shanty boutique has come up along the Dehiwala-Maharagama Road bordering the sanctuary which in time to come will turn out to be a permanent building, with living quarters. There is also a hut put up on the bund of the canal.
Why is this government, Wild Life Department and Land Reclamation Board silent and lethargic in enforcing the law which provides for safeguarding sanctuaries, low-lying land and preserving fauna and flora. At least now cannot the authorities open their eyes, before this sanctuary turns out to be a mortuary?
Birds have no votes to send their representatives to Parliament, but we hope the government elected on December 5 will appoint a nature lover as a Minister in charge of such sanctuaries.
Amali
Devalamulla
Sri Lanka Telecom has the right to cut phone lines if subscribers do not settle their arrears on time. There is no question about this. My line was cut for non- payment of Rs. 704/75 of arrears though I had settled the August bill amounting to Rs. 1,150. I had ignored the Telecom warning assuming that as my payments were regular, the arrears were negligible.
However, Telecom is not so quick in other areas. I traded my old phone with Telecom in February on the promise that I would be given free calls worth Rs. 1,500 in March and a monthly deducation of Rs. 28 from the rental from February till the full settlement of the purchase price of Rs. 1995. Though these phones are available for Rs. 700/- in the Pettah market, I opted to purchase it from SLT due to the free calls and deduction of the purchase price.
Todate, the agreed rental deduction has not neen made despite several reminders and representations to the World Market Teleshop from where I purchased the phone. Due to the intervention of the Fort Teleshop, the promised free-call package was deducted only in June despite its promise of deduction in March.
On the day of the settlement of arrears at the Maradana office on October 25, I referred to this matter but could not get a proper reply. Computers trace the payments of subscribers meticulously. But there are no records or computers to pinpoint the arrears Telecom owes to subscribers. When a subscriber sought clarification from the General Manager of Sri Lanka Telecom about its disconnection warning, he assured him through the newspapers that it would not stoop to a low level to stop the service for negligible amounts.
M.S. Jamaldeen
Colombo 9
They................
Abuse the language
Sling mud at one another
Reveal the nakedness
Of their own political clan
*****
We...............
The masses stay in miserable darkness
Suffer the inflation and unemployment
Turn a blind eye towards exploitation
Happily vote believing election promises
***
They............
Commit terrible crimes
Lie and promise development
Waste and sell national resources
Of their own poor land
***
We.................
The voters watch their election comedy
With disgust and contempt
Recognize the blackguards and
Vote in the scoundrels as no one seems to be a saint
***
They...............
Talk and talk forever
Have been talking since independence
Will continue until infinitum
Of their never occurring development plans
Thus................
History repeats
Manjula Priyantha Ratnayake
Gampaha
The Dalada Maligawa where the Tooth Relic of the Lord Buddha is enshrined is the holiest shrine in the Buddhist world and for the people of Sri Lanka. It surpasses other sacred places not only in sanctity but also with regard to socio-cultural and even political significance.
Thus, it would be good if people like Minister Mangala Samaraweera refrain from referring to two Maligawas in the Udarata, the Dalada Maligawa and the S.B. Maligawa. There is no Maligawa other than the one which is venerated by the entire Buddhist world in Kandy.
Disgusted Buddhist
Kandy
I read with interest 'Words, words, words' by M. Nizam Samoon and wish to add a few more such bloomers to the list.
Here are some from hotels and eating houses: Cured and trickle (curd and treacle); frash aggs (fresh eggs); cutless and pattisses (cutlets and patties) and bistake (beef steak).
From business establishments: Janaka tailros (tailors); Tours and Travails (travels); R.M.P. Hotle (hotel) and high class cutleries and crockeries (cutlery and crockery).
E. Ferreira
Galle
It is sad indeed to note the hypocrisy of a section of Sri Lankans who are not only supporting terrorist Osama bin Laden but also selling T'shirts and car stickers with his image. These hypocrites never protested when the LTTE masscred innocent villagers including men, women and children from all races and faiths.
R. Silva
Kohuwela
Quoting from Arundhati Roy's article on Tuesday, October 23, 2001:
*International coalition against terror launched an air strike against Afghanistan on October 7.
*Little boys all over the world stopped clamouring for video games and watched the one-sided war.
*An act of terrorism whether it is committed by religious, race oriented fundamentalists, private militia, people's resistance movements or whether it is dressed up as a war of retribution by a recognised government, is the same.
*Each innocent person who is killed must be added to, not set off against the grisly toll of civilians who died in New York and Washington.
*People rarely win wars. Governments rarely lose them. Only people get killed. Governments use flags to shrink and wrap people's minds and thoughts.
This article brought me around to what is currently taking place in our own little island. Here too we are facing terror, corruption and brutality dressed up in an 'election'. Posters, acts of brutality, unexpected violence springing up in our midst, thuggery on both sides, misuse of state and private media to influence and shape confused minds. Where, oh where are the politicians with feeling for the people, where have they gone?
People deceived by false promises over and over again, stand bewildered and silent. People rarely win. Only governments do. People all over the world are sharing today a common bond, in whatever form it comes. Shouldn't the people still holding the values of life, try to contradict what is wrapped round loud speakers and interviews given over the media?
Or are we helpless, like all citizens all over the world? Can we only stand and wait hoping for a new, balanced and honest government? Or is that like wishing for the moon?
Punyakante Wijenaike
Colombo 7
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