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to the Editor |
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Call of nature:
A stinking affair at Yala Park When I visited
the park on December 30, the toilets at the entry point where the
ticket counters are located were stinking. The women's toilets did
not have a drop of water while the men's toilets could not be flushed. Even the toilet
close to the beach, where the army camp is, had no water and was
filthy with polythene scattered all over. In some countries,
zoos and nature parks have toilets and drinking water every 500
metres, with special facilities for the disabled. It is time
the authorities looked into these shortcomings and rectified them
immediately, particularly at a time when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
is keen to develop tourism. Having charged
a very high entrance fee from foreigners, it is unfair not to provide
them with basic facilities. Maybe the authorities could charge a
nominal fee for the use of toilets and channel that money to wards
their upkeep. No fairplay
in insurance In September
1985, my house along with several houses and buildings in the area
was damaged during the violence. I forwarded
the claim forms with the necessary documents, but the National Insurance
Corporation denied liability on the grounds of the damage occurring
under terrorism. Despite numerous appeals, the National Insurance
Corporation has been adamant. Meanwhile,
in fire cases initiated by claimants in the District Court, the
judgments were given in favour of the plaintiffs and the respective
claims settled in full with interest, in 2002. On the face
of this, I appealed to the Corporation on December 15, 2002 and
January 17, this year. However to my disappointment they have refused
my appeal with the excuse that the relevant documents have been
destroyed. Where is justice and fairplay? Bags of burden Soon we will
have a generation of hunched adults. This form of cruelty to children
can be put right if school authorities instruct teachers to work
according to a timetable. Then the student will only need to bring
the books required that day. Fuss over a
woman PC The service
commanders and the IGP "saluting" the woman PC, has been
severely criticised. The fuss over
this incident may be due to ignorance. At a rehearsal the events
are gone through exactly as for the event proper to ensure that
the participants know exactly what should take place at a particular
time, detailed timings, the sequence of actions etc. Having been
a participant in many Indepe-ndence Day parades, I know this for
a fact. Of course, this is the first time a woman PC represented
the President and she happened to be from the PSD. National Flag:
Power of the bat, not the sword I have noticed
that the National Flag is used quite often for cheering at games,
particularly cricket. Cricket has brought Sri Lanka forward and
with it, the National Flag. Foreign fans
are impressed by the 'unity in diversity' of our cricket team consisting
of Sinhalese, Tamils, Buddhists, Christians and Muslims. At lunch
during a national conference in Canberra, I overheard an Australian
telling another that Sri Lanka is a great country, for in spite
of war they are doing fairly well in their cricket and in their
economy. When the Sri
Lankan cricket team arrived in Sydney airport, two children (Cleon
and Nina) held Sri Lankan flags with the lion holding a bat instead
of the sword. Probably they got the idea from an Australian sports
flag where the kangaroo is in a boxing action. Certainly,
the children did not want to disgrace the flag, just to welcome
the team with cheers. For them probably, the green and saffron stripes
as well as the four leaves were insignificant. They were not
interested in the power of the sword, but in the power of the bat.
They brought humour and good feelings to our cricketers after losing
very badly with 64 all out to Australia-A on the previous day in
Adelaide. It’s an
abomination and rebellion against God In the New
Testament, Apostle Paul says in 1 Cor. 6:9,10 that those who practise
homosexuality will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul goes on
to say that homosexuality is a final order of rebellion against
a holy God. When people exchange the truth of God for a lie, and
begin to worship the creature instead of the Creator, they (the
people) are given up to evil. When values
are turned upside down and moral anarchy appears, men burn with
lust for other men and women for other women, and will receive in
their own bodies the punishment for their actions (Rom. 1:22-27). When God created
us, He created man and woman. It was His will that men should multiply,
so they can serve and worship a good God, whose blessings to those
who obey Him are plentiful. The ultimate
purpose of God is to dwell with man/woman. Man/woman is to be blessed
in God, and God is to be glorified in man/woman. John, a disciple
of Jesus, points to this in his Gospel (John 1: 11 to 14). Then let us
look at the article in The Sunday Times. It states that experts
are yet to find a gene to explain homosexuality. I can tell you,
based on the Bible that teaches about man's creation and his genealogy
that there is no such gene because God never intended man to "define
his/her own sexuality". What is the Christian marriage all
about? As a believer, we must pray for those of our brothers and
sisters who think that homosexuality is a "way of life",
and not condemn them. Christ condemned no one, only taught us how
to live, have love for one another and worship God. We may hate
the sin, not the sinner. Homosexuality
is definitely a sin. It is not a way of life. While the efforts
of Women's Support Group and other similar associations are commendable,
such help and advice, from a human perspective, will not lead to
a solution to the problem (of these women and/or men). We have to
accept the fact that homosexuality is unnatural, as stated in the
Bible. If at this
stage we choose to say that what is said in the Bible (about homosexuality)
is wrong, or that this truth may be "stretched" to suit
our needs and desires, or that we are taking Bible teachings too
literally then we must also accept that the Bible and all that is
said in the Scriptures, written by the holy men of God, as inspired
by God, the Holy Spirit are also wrong! We cannot say that some
passages in the Bible are literal and others not! Those of us who
believe in the God of the Bible cannot accept the position as reported
in The Sunday Times. I must also
emphatically state that these homosexual women (and men) must never
be ostracized or humiliated. They must never be criminalized. Jesus never
did that. He healed sinners and forgave them. I agree that love
and the right to love are sacred. We are all
called upon to love one another, as Christ loved us. This is Agape
love. And that does not mean that the homosexual form of "love"
between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, is an accepted
form of love scriptually. An adulterous form of relationship, abortion
etc are also sins, according to the Bible. These women
(and men) who are under the notion that their lifestyle is normal
need the prayers of righteous people, who acknowledge God's power
to heal and forgive. They need to
be told that homosexuality is unnatural. If they are not told the
truth then they cannot be helped. There are many
instances of homosexual persons being healed, renouncing their homosexual
lifestyle, marrying and raising families. As stated,
those of us who read the Word of God as found in the Bible and apply
those teachings in our lives can never accept that "people
must be allowed to define their own sexuality". Raw deal for
disabled people However, it
is regrettable that no useful purpose is served, Those who call
over there are treated with utter disregard. It is time the Minister
of Social Welfare looked into this matter. '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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