| Letters
to the Editor |
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Divisions towards
permanent peace The minorities,
as well as the majority, would quite rightly want the same fundamental
rights for everyone to live with dignity, and without harassment,
in any part of the country. The British
divided the country into nine provinces for administrative purposes.
This division is not inviolable - it is not something sacrosanct.
The J.R. Jayewardene
government, in spite of dissension within its ranks, attempted to
solve the ethnic conflict through a process of devolution of power
at provincial level, based on the British demarcation of provinces.
While the crying need was to grant redress to those in the north
and the east, the then government decided to grant devolution to
all the provinces, apparently to counter opposition from some sectors,
though there was no such demand from all provinces. The expense
incurred, thereby, has been phenomenal - governors, chief ministers,
ministers, staff, buildings etc. Disagreements
have arisen about both the areas of demarcation and the functional
rights, privileges and responsibilities of the provinces. Furthermore,
the Muslim population is agitating for its own province, pointing
out that the Eastern Province has a large number of Muslims and
Sinhalese, in addition to Tamils. Here are some
suggestions (limited only to the areas of demarcation - and not
including functional allocations): *The country
should be divided into four regions for the purpose of devolution.
De-link the Amparai and Moneragala districts from the Eastern Province
and join them to form a South-Eastern Province. This new province
- small though it may be (USA has large states such as Texas and
small ones such as Rhode Island) - could satisfy some of the aspirations
of the Muslims, mitigate the fears of both the Muslim and the Sinhalese
in that region and also counter the argument that a north east Region,
based on the present demaracation of the provinces, would provide
far too extensive a coastline for it. *Divide the
rest of the country into three other regions- a North East Region
consisting of the present Northern and Eastern Provinces (without
the two districts mentioned above); a South West Region, consisting
of the present Southern, Western and Waymba Provinces; and a Central
Region, consisting of the present Central, North Central, Uva and
Sabaragamuwa Provinces. *The central
government should be vested (India has some specified districts
under the jurisdiction of the centre) with the administration and
control of: a) The cities
of Colombo/Kotte (from the South West Region), Kandy (from the Central
Region), Trincomalee (from the North East Region) and a city (to
be selected) from the South- Eastern Region b) All points
of exit and entry to the country - airports, harbours, etc. Help
us God Who started
the horror? This is especially
so in the context of what Anton Balasingham said at the news conference
in the north in April this year. On being questioned on the murder
of Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE, he said not to dig the past and digging
the past was exactly what the Professor did. Be that as
it may, the Professor has not correctly understood the circumstances,
that resulted in the July '83 incidents, apparently because he was
in London. Any commission
or person probing July '83 should first try to find out how it all
started and place the blame squarely on the person/s who caused
it. The July '83 incidents were only a reaction to an action that
took place in Jaffna where 13 soldiers who were travelling from
one point to another, not on combat duty, but on a perfectly legitimate
mission, were murdered without provocation. Suffice it to say, that
if this action did not take place, the July '83 incidents would
never have taken place. Who was responsible
for precipitating the July '83 riots? Those who wax eloquent about
the full moon being dark in July, have purposely forgotten to speak
a single word of appreciation about the restraint and tolerance
exercised by the majority community, in the midst of very grave
and sudden provocation caused since August 1983 up to date, thousand
times worse than July '83. The Professor
states that the Tamils have never stopped feeling like second class
citizens in their own country. The Tamils living outside the north
and the east would certainly deny his statement. In fact, it is
the Sinhalese and Muslims living in the north and the east who would
now be feeling like second class citizens. He laments
about the Tamils leaving the country. These Tamils left the country
in search of greener pastures, in the same way the Professor left
for England, in spite of being a Sinhalese, whereas a majority of
students of this country whether they are Sinhalese or Tamils do
not enjoy such privileges. The same remarks are applicable for the
Burghers of this country. They were not chased from this country
in the same way that 20,000 Sinhala families were chased from the
north. Neither were they murdered in the same way the Buddhist monks
were murdered at Arantalawa. Having criticized
the Sixth Amendment, he questions whether it stopped the move towards
separatism. Well, it didn't but it was just one step in the right
direction to ensure a unitary state which all of us are yearning
for. Project Hope
- limited information Limited information
was available over the internet at their website hope@eureka.lk
Contributions were to be made through branches of the Seylan Bank.
Before deciding to contribute to this admirable cause, I sought
more information on the project from two branches of the Seylan
Bank. None were able
to help, except to inform me that they collected the contributions
for the Hope Cancer Hospital. They were also unable to tell me whom
I could contact for more details of the project, or even the address
of the Project Hope office. I finally obtained
the address of the office - 16A, Ward Place, and called over. There
was no one there. The office is located in a small room equipped
with a single desk for the manager. There was no evidence of any
one else occupying the office. There was no secretarial staff. I sent a message
through the e-mail address of Project Hope requesting information
on the following the specific reasons for the project. Where this
hospital is to be located? The names of the office bearers and their
role in the Project. The estimated cost of the project and the amount
collected so far. I have had
no reply to date. Eventually, I met the manager who also had no
information to give me. He had no project information available
for prospective donors. The only information he gave me was that
it was being run by the cricket team! Who selected this "team"?
He did not elaborate. 'Letters
to the Editor' should be brief and to the point.
Address them to: 'Letters to the Editor, The Sunday Times, P.O.Box 1136, Colombo. Or e-mail to steditor@wijeya.lk or stfeat@wijeya.lk Please note that letters cannot be acknowledged or returned. |
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