Letters to the Editor

Thank you for giving us the true picture
Through the 'Situation Report' (June 27) Iqbal Athas does a tremendous service to the millions of readers who do not have access to Internet, for want of personal computers. His latest disclosures about an attempted attack on the Batticaloa prison by the LTTE's Batticaloa deputy political leader Senadiraj, to rescue a prisoner has brought the truth to light. Otherwise, the public would have been misled by the subsequent false statements made by the government over the issue. Thank you Mr. Athas. Keep it up.

There are many Sinhala journalists but no one has come forward to educate people on what is really happening behind the iron curtains of the government. If not for the 'Situation Report' in The Sunday Times, many in the country will know nothing about the true picture. Many thanks to The Sunday Times too.

Every citizen wishes to live in peace and harmony. None will go against any peace process irrespective of the political colour of the person conducting it. However, from the inception of the present peace process we have seen signs which do not indicate peace.

It is similar to what we experienced during the war. The smuggling of arms and ammunition, the killing of security personnel and the setting up of new camps by the LTTE should have happened only during wartime. Under the ceasefire agreement signed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakaran, such things are illegal. The LTTE has reportedly violated the agreement on more than 2,500 occasions.

What is unreal is the SLMM's inaction in stopping these violations. It demands only that the government, the navy and the army should fulfil various obligations. The impression given is that the government has provoked the public each and every time the LTTE violates the agreement. The so-called peace groups, including NGOs, do not utter a word regarding these violations.

In the last one and half years, we have been anxiously waiting to see at least one good move by the LTTE towards permanent peace. Time and again they have proved to be killers and terrorists. They have not deviated from their original path to divide the country through terrorism.

Enough is enough. Terrorism cannot be eradicated by preaching the word of God or having peace talks. Terrorists have to be suppressed militarily prior to being summoned for peace talks. Otherwise they will show the gun from one hand and hold the government to ransom with the other. This is what has happened since the ceasefire agreement.

It is accepted internationally that terrorism should be crushed by force. Afghanistan and Iraq are the latest examples. The government should act like patriotic heroes and not cowards who kneel before America and wag its tail before the Tigers. The people of this country selected this government to act appropriately. The government is bound to protect its people. It has no right to bow down to terrorism.

Let us open our minds to the differently abled
The whole world will remember the smiling faces and waving hands of the Iranian conjoined twins who opted for surgery to live separate lives. In conservative Iran, these brave sisters had passed out as lawyers.

No doubt tired of being gaped at, as an insensitive world gapes at physical disability, the twins risked death to conform to other people's ideas of what a woman should look like. The recent play in Sri Lanka, "The Mirror Making Factory" highlighted how society insists on conformity.

What is physical disability compared to the ugly thoughts and actions each of us is capable of? Does not a bad temper even lead to murder? Can physical beauty mask jealousy or arrogance?

Besides, if one is handicapped in one way there is growth in another area. Wasn't Beethoven, the composer of music, deaf? At Ranaviru Sevana, the halfway house for Sri Lankan soldiers disabled in the war, amputees are discovering hitherto unknown talents.

Let us stop thinking of physical disability and open our minds to the wonders of every human being who is physically, mentally and emotionally different.

A life for a life: Let people decide
Much has been written for and against the re-imposition of capital punishment and I feel that there is hardly anything to be added except my humble view as a senior citizen.

Heartless criminals commit rape and murder not giving two hoots for the law of the land. They know they will get away with life imprisonment, and perhaps be freed after early parole.

Interior Minister John Amaratunga is prepared to go for a referendum and that I think is the democratic way of arriving at a decision.Then the majority decision will prevail. The gruesome killings and heinous crimes are alarming and call for immediate preventive measures. My heart aches when I think of the murder of the Hamer family of Dehiwala. I recall reading an impassioned plea by a widow from Warakapola to save her two daughters from would-be rapists.

The immediate imposition of capital punishment is the only way out. A life for a life should be the criterion although it may sound archaic. Human rights activists who oppose capital punishment should also think about the victims of crime?

Out of uniform
Other than those in the armed forces and the police, public servants, though some are provided with uniforms, seldom wear them when they are on duty. At a railway station, it is difficult to differentiate between the station master, policeman and karyala karya sahayaka. This is because they do not wear their uniforms. The government should take stern action against such public servants.

Irresponsible article
With reference to the article, 'The masterplan' by Kamalika Pieris (The Sunday Times, June 29), the very first sentence, which is factually wrong, sets the tone -- it is racist and biased. The contents, a distortion of facts, have already been well researched and published by eminent scholars like Prof. K.M. de Silva.

Is it necessary to publish such articles in your esteemed newspaper? It is both irresponsible and mischievous. Getting back to the first sentence, is it correct to say that the "Sri Lankan Tamil" arrived in the island in the 19th and 20th centuries? Does Ms. Pieris know even the basics of Sri Lankan history? According to historical records, there was a separate Tamil kingdom from early times in this country, captured by the Portuguese in the 17th century. These are the indigenous Tamils who are citizens by descent like the Sinhalese.

On the other hand, in the 19th century, the British brought in Tamils from South India to work on their tea plantations. They are, by and large, citizens by registration. Living mainly in the hill country, these late arrivals are not interested in Eelam. I am not going to elaborate on all the other inaccuracies, falsehoods and confused statements in the rest of the article.

Relief to NE mothers
Indian human rights activist Ritikara Khunah focused on the crippling and retarding effects of the Indian dowry system in the TV programme 'Young Outlook' on Young Asia TV on June 22.

Mothers seated beside their daughters revealed heartrending stories of suffering, grief, pain and bitterness. Both groups locked in social distress are unable to escape from the demands the dowry makes on them.

The insights offered on screen by Ritikara, Adele Balasingham provides in a well-researched book on the harrowing and monotonous rhythm of life of collecting money for a dowry a mother faces if a girl is born to her.

Adele notes that migration or the refugee exodus has been a good thing. It has had an enormous impact on the dowry system. The employment of Tamils in foreign countries and the flow of foreign currency have created a reliable income. "The so-called postal order economy" has come into existence.

With the spotlight focusing on the northeast, about 1,700 families are being allocated land to start afresh, along with Rs. 25,000 for building a comfortable home. The MOM (Memory Of Mother) Foundation hopes to help these families to construct the kitchen with a fuel-conserving clay hearth. It is also hoping to set out a simple coconut or talipot frond covered area for youth to foregather for relaxation instead of at street corners and video parlours.

The wheel of Dhamma
Come! Esala full moon
With Esala flowers in full bloom
Renewing the memory of the first rolling,
Of the wheel of dhamma ever rolling,
The first sermon of our Master
The Enlightened One, Lord Buddha
To His first five disciples, Kondanna
Baddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, Assaji
Resounded most musically
In celestial and terrestrial worlds,
Humans, gods, Brahmas
All in a unanimous voice
From their pious hearts
Transmitted rhythmical air waves
Of "Sadu Sadu Sadu.."
The final fruit of Nibbana
Can only be attained
By following the Middle Path
Was the Great Master's doctrine
Included in 'Dhamma Chakka Pavaththana Sutta',
This great advice is most suitable for today
When humans are in a rat race
For extreme glamour and luxuries
And not for morals and virtues.
Let us follow our Great Master!
Let us follow the Middle Path!

DLB and abuse of power
J. R. Jayewardene designed the present Constitution when his party was in power. He became President while his party controlled Parliament. The question arises as to whether the same Constitution is valid in the present context, with the President and the government coming from two parties.

There is no provision in the constitution to stipulate how presidential powers should be exercised under such circumstances. If the President is able to nullify the actions and impinge on the powers of the government elected by the people, then governance is an exercise in futility. Besides, it also amounts to disrespect for the people's mandate.

Therefore, the President's decision to take the Development Lotteries Board under her purview can be interpreted as an abuse of power and attempt to form her own government, by bringing the present government to contempt and ridicule.

Old hat! Nonsense
This is with reference to 'Civility not chivalry' in The Sunday Times of June 29 by Nedra Wickremasinghe. The cap is part of the dress of a uniformed officer, be he a soldier, policeman or postman. He is required to wear the cap whenever he is in uniform even when conducting affairs in a court of law.

I remember a case pertaining to a postman some 45 years ago. A principal of a school made a complaint against the area's postman for wearing his hat when walking into his office to deliver the letters. We informed the principal that the hat was part of the postman's uniform and he was expected to wear it at any place whenever he was in uniform. The good principal accepted the explanation graciously.

Regarding the army officer wearing his cap, I am sure, he knew what he was doing. Hence, it is not right to cast aspersions on him.

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