22nd March 1998

• That dull boom at high noon
• And back to the grassroots of yore
• Wijepala on Wijeyapala
• Are they harassing consumers?
• Who's reaping the rewards?
• This simply is not true
• The Billion worth query
• Honesty so rare must be appreciated
• That disgusting jubilee litter

That dull boom at high noon

Echoing suddenly across the concrete
Jungle of the City-a dull boom!!
Desecrating the quietness of the day
minutes past the hour at- high noon!
Cutting across the buildings so aplomb,
like a scythe cuts across grass - a bomb?

I part the thick drapes on my window
there in my office - many storeys high
I spy, a plume of smoke rising
pointing an accusing finger at the sky
Billowing into a full blown mushroom grey
Oh yes! A bomb to my dismay.

People running helter - skelter leaving
behind the injured dead and dying
there amidst the blood, sweat and dust.
Bodies maimed, dismembered lying
askew in awry positions various.
Soon to satisfy the morbid curious,

A schoolgirl once white, immaculate
nipped in the flower of her prime,
lying as if in slumber. But her clothes
steeped in blood - incarnadine!
Oh! for this sin - where lies the blame?
-that makes all nature blush in shame

Is there a curse upon this Isle.
Or what ghoulish perfidy this,
that can transform our paradise,
disturb our peace - destroy our bliss!
Could God above be so unkind
to make us grope just like the blind?

Our Father from on High He says
"My child the answer's simple
The wisdom that the World knows not
you'll find it in the Bible
I've sent my Son, for nought but he
can save you from your destiny

With whips His body scourged - torn apart
Though limp nailed to a Tree,
with flesh that hung like purple rags
And crowned with thorns, on Calvary!
My glory is what you often see
In suffering Humanity.

Brigadier George D Fernando

And back to the grassroots of yore

I trudge to school daily
With a heavy satchel on my back
Full of things more unwanted than wanted
Which make my back ache and make me bend in two
Like the hunchback of Notre Dame
Of French fame, unable to find a job even as a charge hand
My brother joins the rat race
To enter what once was the University
And now the House of ill-fame
Taken over by hooligans and criminals
With no care for fellow human beings
And sheer disregard for life and limb
He enters its once august portals
Determined to conquer the world
And devours with relish moth-eaten notes and tutes
Of ancient vintage unfit for the new millennium
Libraries and books are not for him
They had better be burnt and destroyed
He leaves that place with a 'degree" in hand
With nothing in his head but sheer conceit and emptiness
And starts looking for a job that is hard to come by
Except that of Politician with self-assumed authority
To rouse the rabble to murder, mayhem and arson
To destroy things of beauty, rape the innocent and rape
the virgin jungle
And pollute the beauty and serenity of town and
village with impunity
And make money! enough for generations yet unborn
This education is not for him or for me or for my country
It had better be left to the fools before it destroys self
To hell with education
And back to the grassroots of yore.

G. Atapattu

Gampaha

Wijepala on Wijeyapala

Responding to the interview The Sunday Times had with UNP MP and former Minister Wijeyapala Mendis (March 15, 1998) former Chief Govt. Valuer S.N. Wijepala said the article might create a wrong impression among the readers and noted certain allegations made in the article raises questions regarding his professional integrity.

In a letter to The Sunday Times, Mr. Wijepala also says:

"Wijeyapala Mendis has thought it fit to cast a serious aspersion on my professional integrity by suggesting that I was motivated by getting a personal benefit by way of an extension in service from the Government in placing my valuation before the Special Presidential Commission (SPC).

"In this attempt to prove his innocence Mr. Mendis has distorted some relevant facts regarding the valuation placed by me before the SPC. It is not correct to say that the original valuation was made by the then Chief Valuer. This valuation has been made by the Compensation and Valuation Division of the Land Reform Commission. It has been approved by the then Chief Valuer, B.L. Ariyatillake in his capacity as a member of the LRC, and not as the Chief Valuer.

"The Valuation Department had nothing to do with the original valuation. In fact there were no records at all pertaining to the valuation in the Department. Not even a shadow file was available in the Department to indicate that such a valuation had been made by the Chief Valuer as a member of the LRC. In my valuation which was made in response to a directive of the SPC, I considered all the facts and aspects relevant to the valuation. It was a professional and independent valuation made by me as the Chief Valuer.

"Mr. Mendis seems to share the view held by some politicians that extension of service of public officers are crumbs falling from tables of Ministers. It is my view that an extension of service is a legitimate and well earned right of an officer who has served over 20 to 30 years in the public service. He need not sing songs of praise for the politicians, nor does he need to dance to their tunes in order to get what his legitimately due to him. Certainly, I would have stood on my own two feet of qualification and experience if I needed an extension, and I need not, and would not, have leaned on crutches of prostitution of my profession as suggested by Mr. Mendis.

"It is regrettable indeed for Mr. Mendis to have come to this view about my integrity as he himself would have had the occasion to see how I stood by my valuations at the regular meetings of the Economic Affairs Sub Committee of the Cabinet held at Temple Trees. And it is also surprising that this accusation is made by Mr. Mendis only now. I was exposed to days of cross-examination by his learned counsel at the sittings of the SPC, and this allegation was not suggested to me then, nor was it placed before the SPC as far as I know.

"It is very unfortunate that public officers in Sri Lanka get caught in the political crossfire, a situation which has seriously undermined the public service and has retarded the progress of our country. If a right and lawful decision of a public officer hurts the opposition politician, the officer becomes 'a stooge of the party in power.' Similarly if a correct and fair decision of an officer fails to be compatible with an ill-conceived or illegal objective of a politician in the Government, the officer is labelled 'a saboteur in league with the opposition.' Sooner we get out of this undesirable syndrome, the better it is for the public service, the Government and indeed for the country as a whole."

More Letters to the Editor * Are they harassing consumers? * Who's reaping the rewards? * This simply is not true * The Billion worth query * Honesty so rare must be appreciated * That disgusting jubilee litter

Return to the Plus Contents