Letters to the Editor

A united South; only answer to peace and stability
It is generally accepted that unless the two major political parties (SLFP and UNP) agree to work together, Sri Lanka's major problem, the ethnic conflict cannot be resolved. The majority of Sri Lankans realize this truth, except perhaps the JVP which benefits most from the bitter political confrontation between the two major parties.

If the UNP and SLFP work together, they would have a comfortable majority in parliament, at least 147 (65+82). They could change the Constitution, abolish the executive presidency, introduce a federal system within the Sri Lankan state, prevent separation and bring about peace, political stability and economic prosperity to the whole country. It's only the JVP and JHU that would oppose such devolution of power. That would mean a mere 49 against 176. The two major parties along with the Tamil and Muslims parties together would have more than a two-thirds majority. Such a parliament could work wonders and save the country even at this last moment, pulling it back from the brink of disaster.

The Sinhalajathika Sangamaya and certain scholars maintain that the federal structure is only a cover used to achieve Eelam, and that sooner or later Tamil Eelam will declare war on the Sinhala nation. We, the "peaceniks" as they refer to all those who advocate an end to the war, do not subscribe to this view. Today, even the people living within LTTE controlled areas enjoy a fairly peaceful life. It would be difficult to push them into waging another war. Moreover, once power is devolved what would they want to fight for? To take over the South? Very unlikely. Once the South unites under one banner, forgetting party differences, even Prabhakaran would choose discretion as the better part of valour. Not all his suicide killers, he would know, could take on the might of a united south.

But a mighty united south belongs only to the realm of fantasy. To make it real, the leadership of the SLFP and UNP must change. As long as the President and Ranil Wickremesinghe remain as party leaders, the two parties will never unite. When Mr. Wickremesinghe became the Prime Minister in 2001, the country expected the President and Prime Minister to work together towards peace - and share the Nobel Prize between them, like Nelson Mandela and De Klerk. But those dreams were not to materialize.

Both parties and their supporters must bring about changes in their leadership, so that they could work together in the interest of the country. While the President and the UPFA work intently towards destroying the UNP, the LTTE may very well destroy the country.

Forgotten monks’ struggle to safeguard the Sasana
They seem forsaken - certainly by the government. They eke out an existence, with hardly one meal a day, consisting of rice and scraped coconut, if they are lucky. They are surrounded by those too impoverished to satisfy their own hunger.

These are the Buddhist monks in Pottuvil, Akkaraipattu, etc. under the jurisdiction of the government - which apparently does not take responsibility for them.

The villagers too live in abject poverty, with perhaps only one drinking water well for the whole village, no proper roads, no schools, no medicine, no medical facilities at all, no transport - in fact, no amenities.

In these remote areas, it is mostly one monk to one temple, and this monk, who is often young, is genuine Buddha-puthra stuff, otherwise he would have run away a long time ago, without looking back! The lone monk in the Eravur temple was found dead under suspicious circumstances.

True, Sri Lankans have long since stopped expecting anything good from the governments they foolishly keep electing, but how about the Mahanayakes, who have been appointed to foster the Buddha Sasana?

Surely, it is their responsibility to find out the plight of their brethren in remote parts?
If no funds are available elsewhere, is it too much to ask the Diyawadana Nilame and the Asgiriya and Malwatte Chapters to curtail the Maligawa performances (after all, the Sotapanna, reaching the first stage of sanctity, eradicates belief in rites and rituals) and donate what is thus saved to ameliorate the pathetic condition of these monks?

Should not the President, Prime Minister, Buddha Sasana Minister and MPs on both sides survey the outer regions of the island where both monks and lay people are undergoing such hardship?

Politicians are certainly under oath to protect the country and its inhabitants and their avowed task is to distribute equally whatever resources are available. What else are governments for?

Dare we ask Buddhists to support these monks, struggling to look after their derelict temples in order to protect the Sasana?

High price for low quality?
The English media recently spotlighted a questionable multi-million-rupee deal, which is being made by the Health Ministry to buy medical equipment for provincial hospitals from a Finnish firm.

According to the report, the equipment is being purchased or about to be purchased at exorbitant prices, despite the fact that surgeons and doctors have rejected the equipment as unsuitable. An anaesthetic machine with a ventilator usually sold at the retail price of Rs. 2 million is being sold by the Finnish company to the Ministry for Rs. 7.5 million which amounts to 275 percent increase when compared with the rates of other suppliers. The prices of other items of equipment ordered are also very high, according to the report.

As the country is facing an economic crisis at the moment it is imperative that stringent steps should be taken to avoid wasteful expenditure.

"Rata Perata" on the graves of pensioners
It has been estimated that there are 400,000 government pensioners in Sri Lanka. The majority of them are aged between 70 to 90 and in the evening of their lives. With their dependents, the number is estimated at a minimum of 1.2 Million people of the country living in dire straits. These pensioners of the old guard, served the State diligently and earned their pensions as reward for their service.

These senior pensioners had their education in the English medium and had to pay school fees and University fees for their education unlike the present day state officials who had the privilege of free education and Mahapola scholarships. The pre-1994 pensioners were compelled to pay income taxes unlike the present day CAS officers. They are also provided free transport and free fuel at the expense of tax payers. The retired senior pensioners had to purchase vehicles on state loans, which were deducted from their monthly salaries making life difficult for them.

If the present day Divisional Secretaries work efficiently, the living conditions of the poor and people's problems would be resolved satisfactorily. The Divisional Secretaries of Galle, Gampaha, Katana and Maharagama were able to pay pension arrears for a large number in terms of the Director of Pensions circular issued in February 2004. Although five months have elapsed the Dehiwela and Ratmalana Divisional Secretaries had been able to compute only about 100 files and have not paid a single pensioner. There are about 12,000 pensioners in these two divisions and they are planning a protest march from the post offices to the Secretaries offices on the next pension day.

At the current rate of progress it will take three to five years to pay the arrears, by which time many of the pensioners would be in their graves. Is this government going to take the country forward, 'Rata Perata' on the graves of the senior pensioners?

You cannot judge conversion
According to all the accepted dictionaries the word "conversion", with reference to religions means "the act or the instance of converting or the process of being converted, especially, in belief or religion and the word "convert" means "cause a person to change belief, opinion, party, etc." The word "religion" means "the belief in a supernatural, controlling power, especially in a personal God or Gods, entitled to obedience and worship" and also "a particular system of faith and worship". The word "faith" means "firm belief, especially, without logical proof”.

Thus, for the conversion of any person from one religion to another, what is essential is that he has to be made to change his belief from one supernatural power to another. Now, the most important question is how can one be sure that a person has actually changed his belief?

Suppose a Christian stops going to church but goes to the Buddhist temple on Poya days dressed in white and has a shrine room in his house, does that make him a Buddhist? Does a Buddhist coming to church every Sunday and taking part in the service and having statues of Saints in his house, make him a Christian? How can anyone say that all those going to mosques are Muslims and all those going to kovils are Hindus? So, the problem is how do we ascertain that there has been a conversion.

What is important to remember is, in every religion, faith plays a key role. Faith cannot be seen by anyone. Only the individual knows what he believes in. One can show the whole world by his words and actions that he is a Buddhist, Christian, Hindu or Muslim but only he and no one else can know what his religion is and what he believes in.

Conversions cannot be judged by the change in the attendance in Buddhist temples, churches, kovils and mosques. It is not easy to change one's faith. Conversions have no meaning as there is no way of knowing for certain that a person has changed his belief. A true Christian will always be a true Christian. A true Buddhist will always be a true Buddhist. So will be the true Hindus and the true Muslims. People may change their way of life, change what they do and even change what they say but that is no proof of a conversion until there is a proof that he has changed his belief. That proof is impossible.

In conclusion I would like to add that I am disappointed that no one has approached me to convert me - of course for valuable consideration. Because I am prepared to go to any church, temple, kovil or mosque and do whatever I am expected to do, provided I am looked after. No one, I mean no one - not even my family - will know what religion I am following.

Beware of fraudulent immigration consultants
Recently, I read an article in a Sri Lankan newspaper concerning immigration consultants. Although I agree with the substance, I did note that the article speaks only of immigration consultants but makes no mention of immigration lawyers, and the differences between the two.

It should be made clear to people interested in migrating to Canada that the title 'immigration consultant' is not synonymous with 'Canadian immigration lawyer'. Immigration lawyers complete a rigorous period of three years of law school, one year of apprenticeship, followed by nine months of examinations, before they become licensed to practise law in Canada. Immigration consultants undergo a different training procedure.

Unlike immigration consultants, immigration lawyers are not governed by the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants. Immigration lawyers are members of and answer to their own governing bodies in Canada. In Ontario, immigration lawyers like all lawyers in the province, are governed by the Law Society of Upper Canada, the largest and oldest of all Canadian Law Societies.

The Law Society of Upper Canada maintains high standards of integrity and professionalism within the legal profession as a whole by, among other things, routinely offering continuing legal education courses to practising lawyers to ensure that they are up-to-date with the most recent legal trends and information, and by monitoring the conduct of practising lawyers, and administering disciplinary measures if and when necessary.

Most importantly, immigration lawyers differ from immigration consultants in that they are legally trained and licensed barristers and solicitors. As such, an immigration lawyer can appear before any national review or appellate court in Canada including the Federal Court of Canada and the Supreme Court of Canada. In contrast, immigration consultants cannot appear in these courts on behalf of their clients and thus their ability to challenge decisions of Canada Immigration that are unfavourable to the client is limited, since all such challenges are made directly to the Federal Court of Canada at first instance.

Any person can verify the membership and good standing of a lawyer with the appropriate law society.

As with any other profession, trade, or service, there are scrupulous practitioners who take a serious interest in their clients' matters, and unscrupulous people who are interested only in making quick money.
The following tips should help people to ascertain whether their proposed immigration representative is right for them:

Anyone who is looking for a person to represent them in relation to their Canadian Immigration application should do his/her homework before opening the wallet.

Collapsible concrete slabs to fight mosquitoes
The ruling 40-50 years ago decreeing the non-construction of any building within a 10-feet distance from a public road was good foresight indeed by the town and country planners and the building authorities.

We Sri Lankans now would be living in salubrious and healthier surroundings, if the Health Department had also joined in at that time and insisted on collapsible concrete slabs (3 feet by the actual breadth of the drain) on the perimeter wall and gate approach culvert drains which can be seen on most by-ways and roadways off Galle Road. The present slabs some more than 10 to 15 feet long seem permanent fixtures and are hotbeds for various creatures and mosquitoes.

The present owners are not to blame. The collapsibles mentioned earlier with all their manoeuvrability will require extra support by way of upkeep even from the house-holders themselves. Let us hope our children and the generation to come will thank us for the laws and action taken now.

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