Letters to the Editor

Time for a common approach
The ordinary people of every ethnic group are greatly confused and disturbed by the recent happenings in Sri Lanka. A war-weary nation sighed with relief when the peace negotiations began and there were hopes that a lasting peace was in sight.

Shortly after Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took office, when asked about his view of the future of the peace process he said, "I do not ask to see the distant scene. One step is enough for me”.

And so with infinite patience, the step-by-step negotiations began. Regrettably, the response from the LTTE has not been the confidence-building measures urged by both parties in the Memorandum of Understanding, but rather, in recent months particularly, the reverse.

Admirers of the Prime Minister's efforts have been dismayed over the fact that the government seems willing to consider some proposals which could eventually lead to a division of the country, politically and territorially. Perhaps, even at this stage the Prime Minister should "ask to see the distant scene ".

The ordinary people of the country have not forgotten that it was President Chandrika Kumaratunga who initiated the first serious peace talks some years ago. However, in spite of the many valid points in the long statement she has made in connection with the recent events, there is a general feeling among the people, including some of her supporters, that the move she made in the absence of the Prime Minister was contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.

It is now imperative for the wellbeing of the nation for a rapprochement between the President and the Prime Minister, as soon as possible, to restore the fabric of democracy and agree on a common approach to the peace process.

This is not a time for personal rancour or party politics. All eyes are on the two people who can bring unity and peace to the country.

Tilting building a risk to students
An international school in Colombo has constructed a four-storey building for the primary school on the bund of a canal.

This building is tilting towards the canal and may collapse at any moment.
This is because the management had allegedly made certain structural changes after the plan was approved by the CMC. The lives of hundreds of innocent children are at risk.

Appeals by parents have fallen on deaf ears. Will the CMC step in and prohibit the use of this building or will everyone wait till it collapses?

Stiff laws needed to end suffering
I was deeply moved and saddened after reading 'Hurt no more' in The Sunday Times of October 26. My sympathies are with the wives who are beaten by their men. Their suffering should be alleviated by the introduction of stiff legislation. In developed countries, men dare not raise a hand against their wives as any complaint is dealt with severely.

Sri Lanka should enact legislation to make wife-beating a non-bailable criminal offence. Separate units comprising police-women should be set up at police stations. Complaints of wife-beating should be investigated promptly by these units and the victims sent before a medical officer. If there is evidence of assault, the husband should be arrested and remanded. No bail should be granted until the case is heard and justice dispensed.

The work done by Women-in-Need (WIN) is commendable. At the same time, their activities should be complemented by lobbying for effective legislation to prevent this offence. Then only can this menace of wife-beating be eliminated from society.

Changing price of our daily bread
In the good old days, the price of a loaf of bread did not vary from shop to shop or from town to town, not even from district to district.

The price of bread remained the same everywhere and the weight too was consistent.
Recently, wanting to buy a loaf of bread from an old and well-known bakery on my way home from Kollupitiya, I was shocked to hear the price was Rs. 24. Of course, only one variety of bread, sliced and wrapped in polythene was available at the time.
On another day, I bought a loaf of bread from Bambalapitiya junction for Rs. 17.
The quality of the bread was so poor I could not use it the following day and had to throw it away.

Bread is an important food item and consumed mostly by the poor. Therefore, a strict control on price is important. Now that consumers can seek redress from the Consumer Affairs Authority, which has been set up under the Consumer Protection Act, I hope remedial measures will be taken.

Otara was not the fourth, there were many before
I read with interest in The Sunday Times Plus of November 9, about the creation of an orchid hybrid that has been named 'Dendrobium Otara'. It was good to learn that orchid hybridisation is alive and well in Sri Lanka.

Explaining that "this was the fourth orchid to be named after a prominent personality in Sri Lanka", the article states that the others were named after President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Ranil Wickremesinghe and Dhanapala Weerasekera.

However, I wish to point out that hybrid orchids have been named after several personalities in Sri Lanka/Ceylon. To the best of our recollection, they include Sam W. Soyza, Dr. Ernest Soyza, Gladys Soyza, D.S. Senanayake, J.R. Jayewardene, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, John Clubb and Tilly Wanigatunge.

A friend (who wishes to remain anonymous) has given me the parentages to the best of his recollection of the following hybrids created here: Vanda Betty Wright (V. Burgessi x teres); Vanda D.S. Senanayake (V. Cooperii x coerulea); Vanda Cobber Kane (V. spathulata x Agnes Joaquim); Vanda Matarn (V. foetida x teres); Aranda Giffard Foote (Arachnis Hookeriana x V. Agnes Joaquim); Vanda Gladys Soyza (V. Hookeriana x tessellata); Vanda John Clubb (V. Cooperii x tessellata var. rufescens); Vanda Isle of Lanka (V. spathulata x Hookeriana); Vanda Pride of Lanka (V. Burgessi x Agnes Joaquim); and Dendrobium Anita (D. Louisae x phalaenopsis schroederianum).

While he did not have the parentage of Vanda Ceylon Sunset, he noted that John Clubb, Giffard Foote and Betty Wright were members of the planting community.
It is also interesting to note that our indigenous Vanda tessellata (commonly known as the 'Anuradhapura orchid') has a variety known as 'Vanda tessellata kotiya'. The sub-specific name 'kotiya' refers to the pattern of markings on the flowers and was given long before the emergence of the LTTE!

Good words of advice, but also some groundless cautions
We must all be grateful to Dr. G. Usvattearatchi for his detailed critique of the 222- page complete Grade 6 English medium maths book. His labour of love is the more welcome in that initially he was opposed to the idea of English medium education, so I trust this indicates a change of heart.

Regrettably he spends much of his time criticizing me and my team, even though the book (of 222 pages) he refers to seems to be the version published by the Education Publications Dept of the Ministry in April this year. The English Association did produce material for maths in tranches, but the diskettes of these discrete sections were handed over to the ministry in November 2002. At the time the English Association of Sri Lanka indicated to the ministry that there were some infelicities and errors, arising from the haste with which the material had to be prepared, given the time constraints caused by various delays at the ministry.

The ministry spokesman in fact, in explaining to principals at a meeting at President's House why the Grade 6 materials were sent out only in April rather than in January, even though we had supplied the diskettes well in time, noted that errors had had to be corrected. It is clearly a great pity that Dr. Usvatte-aratchi was not consulted at the time, and I hope the ministry uses his services in the future. I personally do not think the infelicities and errors he points out are particularly serious ones, but the ministry may well feel otherwise and take his gibes about their publication to heart.

The paucity of diagrams was for the same reason, and the ministry was asked to introduce those that had to be omitted, but unfortunately this was not done, despite the long delay.

While I hope the ministry accepts his criticisms in the spirit in which they were made, I should however caution them with regard to his use of English. I do not think he ever errs, but there is a quaint purism about his grammar that may not be suited to modern times.

'There was 30 litres of fuel' is perfectly acceptable usage, though someone drilled in subject verb agreement formulas would insist on a plural verb. Even more dangerously, while someone like Dr. Usvattearatchi who appreciates Latin forms could well believe data requires a plural verb, in English it is generally used with a singular verb, as in 'Data was collected...' rather than 'Data were collected.' Finally, while he extols the virtues of the original text, I should note that this is not a view shared at the NIE.

As he may be aware, there is a plan to revise textbooks, and a Primary Maths project that is generally agreed to have been extremely successful produced new Primary texts in the past few years. Officials of this project were of the view that the Grade 6 book was not compatible with the foundation they had laid, and indeed the former Director General of the NIE explained that unfortunately the reforms at that level had not proceeded on schedule.

However, for the coming year, the NIE and the ministry have I believe commissioned a new textbook (the plan was for several under the multiple books options), and this (or these) should be made available to students from 2004. I assume the ministry has ensured that an English version of the book(s) will be available to those opting for the English medium.

With regard to the Grade 7 books the ministry assured Principals that it had prepared its own translations for next year, so I presume the material the English Association produced in tranches will not be required. This is doubtless why the ministry has failed to pay its debts so that in fact the last tranche, of Maths and Science materials, cannot be printed or sent to schools. In this regard Dr. Usvattearatchi's cautions are groundless.

I am sorry, however, that I will not have the benefit of his stringent critiques of my English in the coming year too. Someone who has been, as he tells us, to Cambridge and who understands about Latin roots must be cherished in these dark times.

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