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to the Editor |
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Interim administration:
Let the vote decide Trying to hand
over the interim administration - without holding an election -
to the Tigers who speak of a homeland and who have been for the
last 20 years or so classed as terrorists, is beyond the understanding
of the people. In the last
general election, the PA was defeated by the UNF. It was the choice
of the people. Likewise it will be good to see whether the LTTE
is popular in the north and the east. What about the Muslims and
Sinhalese who live there? Have we forgotten
the attacks on the Central Bank, Dalada Maligawa and civilian targets.
I feel the LTTE should sell its huge arsenal and use the money to
rebuild the north. When we look at the daily papers, we are inundated
with big schemes running into billions of rupees to rehabilitate
the north. The government should also remember there are hundreds
of remote villages in the south without accessible roads, proper
health care, schools or water. Thank God for
good docs For a patient
nothing is more important than getting well fast. For the patient's
relatives and friends the only concern is to save the life of the
patient at whatever cost. They will sell or pawn their valuables,
beg or borrow towards saving the life of their loved one. It is quite
natural, therefore, for lay people to expect the best medical attention
whether it is from a government or private hospital. People are
forced to channel specialists through the private sector network
because of the belief that their patient will get better care. We have seen
many instances of doctors taking the patient for a ride. Likewise,
there are many who are like gods. Neurosurgeon
Sunil Perera is one such. He not only put off his personal plans
for a long weekend but also cancelled the plans of a team of about
20 doctors, sisters, nurses and helpers and took a gravely ill patient
for brain surgery on a Poya holiday. Had he not done this, the patient's
life would have been in jeopardy. The surgery lasted more than six
hours and thanks to Dr. Perera's commitment to his noble profession,
it was successful. Kotmale: Read
Roy This book won
an international award and has been translated into many languages,
including Tamil. It highlights the role multinationals, NGOs, global
actors and powerful nations play by promoting massive projects to
solve the economic and other problems in Asia. This is done with
self-interest at heart, eventually bringing disaster and unforeseen
hardships in their wake. Stamp of negligence
The Cinnamon
Gardens Post Office has a proud history of serving the masses from
the colonial era. Today, this building has discoloured walls, dirty
counters and sticky floors. The stretch
from the main road to the post office is in a mess, with large craters
filled with muddy water. People have to wade through ankle deep
water to reach the counters.Over to you, Mr. PMG. Where is Vigamanika
Piyasa? But most Sri
Lankan workers were unaware of its existence. Those who were able
to locate it gave negative comments. There was no reception, no
serving of refreshments. There were no short-eats either, as mentioned
in the newspaper. Some said that when inquiries were made a token
was provided at a counter for a cup of tea. By that time it was
time for boarding. Possibly the
bureau had failed to provide the necessary information regarding
its new project and the appropriate staff to carry out the work.
I wonder whether
the bureau is really interested in caring for migrant workers -
or making an attempt to appear to be doing a lot? Towards
a corruption-free Lanka No wonder that
Sri Lanka has the dubious reputation of being the ninth most corrupt
country in the world. The World Bank
has provided US$ 50 million and the ADB another 50 million to develop
war-ravaged areas. Countries like Japan and the USA and the EU have
pledged millions more. Going by what
happened to the war money and how it found its way to bank vaults
of some politicos, the Prime Minster should take steps to ensure
that funds will not be siphoned off this time. Top politicians
siphoned off the war money regularly from 1983 up to recent times.
That was the
reason why the war could not be won. There were
patriotic generals such as Denzil Kobbekaduwa and ordinary soldiers
who sacrificed their lives. They would have lived today if they
were given the proper equipment to fight the war. The present
Prime Minister has a reputation for being Mr. Clean but this cannot
be said of some government politicians and close supporters. Let them not
spoil his reputation. There should
be a strong accounting policy and transparency since 'Komis Kakkas'
may be hovering around ministers. It is essential
for the Prime Minister to have incorruptible people around him and
not mercenaries. 'For
free books, contact me' Mirage and
An Eye For An Eye. Publisher, Orion, UK.) About one and
half years ago, when I visited my old school, I was saddened to
see the school library had less than 50 books for about 2500 pupils,
and most of them were old, some without covers, dog-eared. Since
then I bought them a large number of books and my daughter - Kumudini
Chandraratna - who is a teacher at Leys Primary school in Stevenage
in England sent a large shipment of surplus books from her school. I was in Sri
Lanka recently and was appalled to see that there were less than
25 novels at the Cargills in Nuwara Eliya and no other bookshop
there sold any English books. When I was
at the Lake House Bookshop in Colombo, a young boy from S. Thomas'
College, asked the salesmen whether they had a copy of 'A Streetcar
Named Desire'. They didn't. I asked the boy how many copies of that
book the class had. Only one copy. I took the boy's name and address
and when I came to England, I posted my copy of that book. In this country
millions of books get pulped every year. Schools and universities
throw away their old and surplus books. I started collecting them
to send to Sri Lanka. One of our local newspapers wanted to write
an article about my books and me because the paperback version of
'An Eye For An Eye' came out recently and it had very good reviews
in almost all the broadsheet newspapers here. I asked them whether
they could write something about my work about sending free books
to Sri Lanka and if anyone has unwanted books to contact me. They published
the article recently and the response was wonderful. So many kind
people offered me thousands of books. They vary from new publications
to old. Children's books to university level books. Novels, and
nearly one thousand French books - most of it for learning French
- Spanish books, computer books, a wide spectrum of books. The first
shipment of several thousand books will be taken to the shipping
warehouse soon. I hope to continue this work and send at least one
or two shipments every year. The Cambridge
University promised to give me their unwanted books. The Leicester
University, where my second daughter - Visaka Chandraratna - was,
promised to give its surplus books. This shipment
will be going to my old school - Kirrillawala Maha Vidyalaya, near
Kadawatha. This is far too many books for one school. Telephone:
+44 1832 273241; Fax: +44 1832 275649 Trico, the
shipping agent kindly agreed to give me a discount on shipping costs.
Another Sri Lankan shipping agent when I asked for a discount, told
me, 'You are doing charity, I am doing business'. I was angry. We
all have to help our children. They are our future. We must do that
without expecting any personal gains. Putting the
record straight in fairness to DS The versatile
author's judgement that "nearly every head of government since
Independence has let down the nation" cannot be contested easily.
He goes onto make a sweeping statement that "our ablest leaders
have placed their personal and party interests above national interests".
He accuses
D.S. Senanayake, the first Prime Minister in particular, of putting
his personal interests above national interest and grooming son
Dudley as his successor, ignoring the seniority, ability and experience
of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, who, the author claims, crossed over to
the opposition as a result. In fairness
to D.S. Senanayake, I wish to put the record straight lest the younger
generation, not knowing the trend of events that preceded the sudden
demise of D.S,. come to the hasty conclusion that he manoeuvred
the defection of Mr. Bandaranaike paving the way for Dudley to succeed
him. In the words
of the author himself, S.W.R.D. defected in 1951. The death of D.S.
occurred on March 22, 1952. Then Dudley Senanayake succeeded him.
It was Sir
John Kotelawala, the then Transport Minister, who was instrumental
in getting S.W.R.D. to quit the UNP. Being the senior most leader
in the party next to S.W.R.D., Sir John had the ambition of becoming
Prime Minister after D.S. He made life uncomfortable for S.W.R.D.
within the party and saw to it that the latter broke away paving
the way for himself to achieve his ambitious goal. Although D.S.
would have astutely tolerated this tug-of-war between the two senior
most cabinet colleagues it is hard to believe that he engineered
this rift with an ulterior motive. However, Sir John's calculation
did not work. Lord Soulbury,
the then Governor-General who was away in England on holiday rushed
back to the island on the death of D.S. Senanayake. Chief Justice
Alan Rose who was acting for the Governor-General awaited his arrival
to nominate the new prime minister. Lord Soulbury had consulted
D.S. on his sick bed for his views on the question of succession.
The choice was Dudley. His wish was translated into action by Lord
Soulbury. The party endorsed
this choice, as Sir John was not popular among his colleagues in
the cabinet and the party rank and file. Impact
of US-Iraq war on Sri Lanka The reality
of any potential war has immediate consequences on the global scene
and economy, deeply affecting Sri Lanka which is dependent on tea,
migrant labour, tourism and export trade for valuable earnings from
the crisis stricken Middle East. As in the previous
Gulf war, Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the
Philippines and Sri Lanka, will be the worst affected with millions
of migrant workers returning home. This would undoubtedly create
undue unemployment strains to an existing high load, leading to
potential economic instability. The hospitality
industry will be affected adversely with downturns in airlines,
hotels, tourism and shipping. People all
over the world, especially those in developing countries like Sri
Lanka, have to brace for the worst case scenario as oil prices shoot
up. One-time Saudi
oil minister Sheik Zaki al-Yamani, has warned that if there is a
new war in the Middle East, the price of a barrel of crude oil may
escalate from the present average of $30 to almost $100. '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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