Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto enjoys being a woman. “Look at me,” she told pressmen, “where would I be if I had been a man. As a woman I am in the limelight, even today.”
“This is the era of the woman. When I ask girl students what they want to be their prompt answer is to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan. So don’t be surprised if there are more than dozen contenders for the PMs post,” she said smiling.
Ms. Bhutto was here to attend the felicitation events to mark the 20th anniversary of Anura Bandaranaike in politics.
The Bhutto-Bandaranaike families are no strangers to each other. She recalled: “We have had our share of grief and happiness.
We have been friends for a long time.” She recounted her first visit in 1975 with her father when Ms. Bandaranaike was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. “I’ve met Anura on many occasions. We met in Karachi when both of us were leaders of the opposition in our respective Parliaments,” she said.
Touching on events in Pakistan, she said though nine months have passed since the new government was inaugurated her husband was languishing in jail though no corruption charges were proved against him or her.
The role of Pakistani women was upgraded by her government, she said. For the first time a Woman’s Development Bank was established in Pakistan, and this had brought about enormous changes in the social standing of women in Pakistan - some have even started small scale industries, she claimed.
It was the People’s Party government that opened up police stations entirely in charge of women. “We did this because women would not like to go before Policemen and complain about rape, sexual harassment etc. Unfortunately, this was during the tail end of my government’s tenure,” she said.
On the question of terrorists, she said, “I cannot draw parallels with those in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. When I was in power I never bargained with terrorists, who had used all sorts of sophisticated weapons to kill innocent people.
I told my party, “If the government has to go let it go but I will not lift a finger to release those in jail,” Benazir said.
“The present government had released them and is now having problems in suppressing them,” she added, “and the people have realised that what I did was right.”
Defying criticisms and political snags, Prathiba Pranama, the ceremony to felicitate Anura Bandaranaike on the completion of his 20 years in politics, was as colourful as he would have expected it to be amidst applauds of an aprreciating crowd at the BMICH on Friday.
Being the son of two prime ministers and brother of the incumbent president, Mr. Bandaranaike’s political career is indeed illustrious and it was well celebrated with a fitting ceremony.
Among those who had gathered to witness the gala event organised by Mr. Bandaranaike’s apolitical friends, were his mother Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike who was the world’s first woman premier and Pakistan’s opposition leader Benazir Bhutto who was the Islamic world’s first woman prime minster.
One of the highlights of the event was the address of Ms. Bhutto.
She called for closer cooperation among developing countries and urged their leaders not to bow down to the pressure from western powers which tried to overwhelm them or undermine their economic freedom.
Drawing a parallel between the Bhuttos and the Bandaranaike’s, Ms. Bhutto said that Mr. Bandaranaike had come out courageously, by completing an uniterrupted twenty year term in parliament.
“I met him five years ago in Karachi, and have found him to be an honest defender of free and fair polls,” she said adding that the prestigious British Magazine ‘Economist’ has rated Mr. Bandaranaike as the best parliament debater.
Bradman Weerakoon, perhaps the only other person in the crowd who knew him from his childhood, in his opening speech, recalled how he taught cricket to little Anura.
“I was required by the late Mr. Bandaranaike to teach Anura the rudiments of cricket, and also to teach a bowler how to bowl half volleys and full tosses so that Anura could hammer every delivery he faces,” Mr. Bradman said in a lighter vein.
President’s Counsel Faiz Mustapha, a close friend of the Bandaranaike’s, described Mr. Bandaranaike as a gutty and enchanting parliament debater.
He related an event in parliament when Ranasinghe Premadasa was the Prime Minister.
“It was hilarious but a tired Anura after fighting the odds in parliament was resting his head on his palms. Mr.Premadasa obviously worried over the lone battle, that Anura gave, had the pertinency to ask, if he was worn out. Promptly came the reply from Anura: “No I was wondering in which part of your body lies your brains’.
“He was not only born with a silver spoon in his mouth but also a silver tongue,” said Mr. Mustapha describing Anura’s excellent parliament debates.
Professor G. Amirthanayagam, a former diplomat, who now lives in Maryland, U.S.A., in his speech, said that Mr. Bandaranaike was no politician by chance and that he was genetically crafted for this job, as both his parents were Prime Ministers.
A pooja scheduled to be held at the historic Nawag-amuwa devale yesterday by the residents of Battaramulla, whose plots of land have been acquired for the construction of the new Presidential residence, was postponed as they did not wish to miss the Pepsi Asia Cup finals between India and Sri Lanka
Lawyer Kumar Ponnambalam who appears regularly for suspects arrested under the PTA or emergency regulations says the Justice Minister’s proposals for one court to hear all such cases is a retrograde step that will not be in the best interests of justice.
At present the six High Courts of Colombo hear such cases but due to prolonged delays Minister G.L. Peiris has proposed that one special High Court should hear these cases. But Mr. Ponnambalam says the delays are not so much in the courts but on the part of the Attorney General’s Dept. and the police who often fail to produce witnesses.
“If one judge is going to try all these cases, he could well get into a mind-set and into a groove in assessing the cases which may be to the detriment of the accused” Mr. Ponnambalam says.
He has called for the setting up of more High Courts including new courts outside Colombo to try these cases saying suspects from different parts of the island could then be kept in these places and it would be easier, quicker and cheaper for their family members to visit them whilst in custody.
Air Lanka is losing millions because its cargo clearing unit at the BIA is lying unused while two private firms are being paid heavily to handle that task, a union official said.
The union has written to Aviation Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake and the Air Lanka Chairman urging that immediate steps be taken to bring the national carrier’s cargo section into operation.
Continue to the News/Comment page 2 - * NJC expresses shock at Norway’s devolution package gift, * Protest march against dumping garbage , * 12 year agony for airport victims , * Mary was a living story for unity , * The drinking surprise , * CMC votes for garbage dumping in suburb
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