13th December 1998

• Moves to legalise 'Halal'
• Terrorism is the word
• Great injustice to pensioners
• Competency needs no horn
• There should be a fine on polythene bag throwaways
• Grama Niladaris should go with Police

Moves to legalise 'Halal'

It is now known that the Minister for Buddha Sasana, Cultural and Religious Affairs is drafting a Bill with regard to the Halal method of slaughter of animals.

There is considerable speculation with regard to the contents and purpose of this Bill, as the Ministry is not keeping the public informed about it. This veil of secrecy is only helping to create fears and stir emotions about the issue of cruelty to animals slaughtered for food. With the heightened concern among increasing sections about this issue, it is best that this be made the subject of the widest possible discussion, before any legislation is introduced. Such disclosure is also in keeping with the policy of transparency that this government pledged to the people.

Is this secrecy because the government plans to smuggle this Bill to Parliament and have it passed denying people the democratic right of discussion of an issue that is of importance to a large majority of people in this country?

Both the Halal and non-Halal ways of slaughtering animals, as they are carried out in this country today, are totally inhumane and barbaric, with unspeakable cruelties inflicted on animals prior to and during slaughter.

These methods cannot be condoned by any civilized community of whatever faith.

Therefore, if legislation is passed to legalize or endorse the present "Halal" system of slaughter, as it is practiced here, it would be an outrageous legalizing of cruelty to animals.

If new legislation is to be passed with regard to slaughter it should be done with a view to strengthening existing laws for the prevention of cruelty to animals.

For instance it is high time the government made compulsory the stunning of animals prior to slaughter, as is done in many other countries.

Indeed it is time enlightened persons of standing in the Islamic community took the lead on insisting that animals should be stunned and spared of pain and fear before ritualistic slaughter is performed. Today there are methods of stunning animals that are considered acceptable as "Halal" slaughtered by Islamic communities.

Sagarica Rajakarunanayake
Sathya Mithra

Terrorism is the word

I have no grouse, indeed no comment, about the names given by terrorist and guerilla groups all over the world to their particular organisations. In this context, some of the appellations that come readily to mind are Abu Nidal, Bader Mienhoff, Red Brigade, IRA, ETA from Spain, Kurdish Rebels, PKK, and in Sri Lanka the LTTE Tiger movement.

It is perhaps prophetic that the LTTE has chosen the Tiger as its symbol, because this noble, majestic animal is now considered a dying species by the World Wild Life Authority and also by several nature conservationists all over the world. We have in fact been told that the LTTE is all but vanquished (this is of course fanciful thinking), but as mentioned earlier, the Tiger itself is a dying animal.

What irks me most however, is the fact that responsible politicians and media experts refer to this vicious group of terrorists not only as Tigers, but as Sea Tigers and Tiger Cubs. They are not only elevating the status of these unhung criminals, but in the process besmirching the name of an animal which has been immortalised in Blake's famous poem, and by several writers, including Shakespeare, through the ages.

I think it is high time that everyone - not only in our beautiful country, but those who abhor terrorism, refer to these criminals in the most undiluted manner in which one of our previous Presidents did, labeling them as 'Terrorists' - not pure and simple, but complex and dangerous.

B.J.Karunatileka
Nawala

Great injustice to pensioners

The abject plight to which the pensioners in this country have been reduced has aggravated in recent years due to the gross neglect of the government. Phenomenal salary hikes have been granted to those in service from 1988 onwards without any commensurate increase to pensions. Besides in 1990 according to Treasury Circular 4/90 public servants were given the option to retire on a pension of 90% of last drawn salary. Finally in 1997 they got a salary increase of 100% in two annual stages but pensions were increased by only 10% on the same basis. Public servants were given such salary increases purely because of the mounting cost of living. Why this invidious distinction to pensioners only. Doesn't the cost of living affect them?

In fact, more than the latter, what with grown up children and grandchildren. Yet those who retired before 1988 are drawing just pittances, as salaries then were very low and pensions were calculated on lesser percentages too.

As from 1997 teachers of all categories but more particularly the so-called trained teachers were given phenomenal salary increases. Just to point out an extreme injustice accruing to pensioners. A vernacular trained teacher who was recruited with a lowly G.C.E.(O.L.) academic attainment and mostly with mere passes in subjects like art, music, religion, needlework etc., without the more worthy English, maths, science etc., and not suitable for any other respectable job, but trained to teach in two years (a very dubious attainment) has from the beginning of 1997 suddenly found his/her monthly salary increased from Rs. 3,000/- to Rs. 9,000/- if having a service of 20 years, the same salary a Graduate teacher with 15 years' service gets.

But the vernacular trained teacher in service draws a salary of Rs. 9,000/- after a mere 20 years' service. To put it in another way, even while a Director of Education or a Superintendent of Police who retired before 1988 is drawing a meagre pension of around Rs. 4,000/- these vernacular teachers can draw pensions of over Rs. 9,000/-. The above examples highlight the blatant injustice suffered by pensioners who retired before 1988.

No government worthy of its name can allow this absurd situation to continue. The only way to bring some sanity here is to calculate pensions w.e.f. 1993 commensurate with increased salary scales as is done in progressive countries. The Wanasingha Commission recommended this principle a few years back but it fell on the deaf ears of an apathetic government. The new pensions as calculated from 1993 should be doubled as from 1998, inasmuch as salaries were increased by 100% from that year.

We hope that the present government will at least now grant the redress pensioners and their unions have long pleaded through the print media. Pensioners all to a man and woman are thoroughly disgusted at the apathy shown them and are kicking their heels, awaiting the hustings to register their feelings.

B.S.G. Peiris
Kadawatha

Competency needs no horn

I wish to refer to Nimal Wimalasuriya's article titled ''Do not ever be a horn-dependent driver,'' featured in ''Auto Focus'' of your issue of 29.11.98. It is indeed an article that should catch the eye of every local motorist, especially at a time when the country is plagued with sound pollution, besides other environmental pollution. Among the worst offenders in this respect are bus drivers, who have fitted air-horns to their buses to threaten those in front to keep out of their way - and that they do from a considerable distance too. Presumably, air-horns and double-tone horns are prohibited on motor vehicles. These loud horns would seem to be quite a recent thing, because I remember the little Morris Minor which I used to use had a horn which had a very soft tone.

When I think of it, it strikes me that all modern cars are air-conditioned and the loud horns are meant to ''pierce'' the sound through the glass-shutters of such a vehicle. That should however, not be the case. The horn is hardly necessary for a competent driver except to alert a reckless road-user in an emergency.

Unfortunately, the traffic police, who are overwhelmed with more serious problems seem to have no time to book abusers of the horn these days even in areas considered to be silent zones, such as near hospitals and schools, but in a process of disciplining motorists, the correct use of the horn should also be taught and enforced.

C.S.A. Fernando

Moratuwa.

There should be a fine on polythene bag throwaways

During the Budget debate in Parliament J.C. Alawathuwala (UNP) said polythene bags should be banned. Minister N. Ekanayaka informed the House that action has already been taken to ban the use of polythene in decorations etc., and the banning of polythene bags is under consideration.

Preventing the use of polythene in decorations is O.K., but please don't stop the manufacture of polythene bags, as they are the bags of the poor man, who instead of throwing them away, uses them again and again to bring his daily needs from the bazaar to his home. It is the rich man, who throws away his polythene bags when the contents are emptied to a vessel at home.

Recently, I was in Sydney, Australia and was surprised when I saw every nook and corner there clean and tidy, spic and span. All that is the result of inflicting heavy fines on those who spread the litter instead of putting it in the dust bins provided by the Local Authority.

GP
Mt. Lavinia

Grama Niladaris should go with Police

Very often we read in the press that imposters posing as Police and Army Officers walk into houses of unsuspecting persons and introduce themselves as from the Services. They say they have come to search the houses on receipt of complaints against some members of the household.

In most cases they come in Police or Army uniforms armed with Service firearms. In many of the cases reported, it has been found out that some of the culprits are Army or Police deserters who are in possession of service firearms. All these days these robberies took place after dark. But now it appears that these thieves have started robbing houses in broad daylight as seen from the newspapers.

It's normal amongst law abiding citizens to allow Police Officers or Army Officers to make a search of their houses. It is common knowledge that the local residents of a Police area do not personally know the Police Officers in their area.

To avoid robbers taking advantage of unsuspecting law abiding citizens, I wish to suggest that the authorities concerned should take up this matter at the highest levels. They must make a ruling that when the local Police Officers have to make a search of a particular household in their area in the course of their investigations for the detection of crime, they should visit that house along with the Grama Niladari of that area. The Grama Niladari of a particular locality is personally known to each chief occupant/household member of that area.

If this scheme is to be implemented the general public can be informed about this through the print and electronic media not to allow any Service Personnel to search their houses without the Grama Niladari of their area.

Lionel L. Leanage,
Ambalangoda

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