The Sunday Times Mirror Magazine

	Letters to the Editor 19th September 1999

	Contents Silence in the face of wrong Money to waste but no money to save lives! When a Judge judges a judge Have a heart and spare the child Many customers are pleased with our service Why oh why did I vote for them? Give me the same rights as my batchmates Ven. Soma's utterings are a disgrace to Buddhism They gave their best, now they get the worst
	Silence in the face of wrong This is with reference to H.L.de Silva's erudite article in The Sunday Times (August 29). I am an elderly citizen (56 + ), watching the passing scene with dismay and wondering what is in store not only for my three children (21,18 and 17 years) but also all the children of this country. It is with a sense of shame that I watch the charade in which the President as well as the Opposition Leader are engaged in. How is it that they seem to assume that all the people are at the low mental and intellectual level to which they have allowed themselves to sink. The chain of events that seems to have started through the alleged moral turpitude of the current Attorney General; the apparent 'behind the scenes' attempts to uplift the incumbent to the position of Chief Justice; the desperate levels to which some of the judges appear to have allowed themselves to be lowered by alleged charges of rape of litigants, hooliganism and thuggery etc, etc, leave us wondering whether a time shall dawn soon (specially when the Inspector General of Police declares that he cannot have a policeman behind every bush) when we shall all try to take the law into our own hands and repeat a scenario which existed in the so-called Wild West in the 50s. That was the time, when everyone wore guns at their hip and took instant action to mete out justice as they saw fit. It is encouraging that we yet have persons of the calibre of H.L.de Silva who have the courage to speak out their minds. A large number of persons are well aware of the current goings-on in political circles and are not amused. If the President or the Opposition Leader sell out principles and morality for power, appoint weak persons to positions of authority with intentions to abuse such positions for their own ends and continue in this madness, I guess even people like us may vote for a radical form of government the next time round. This would be inspite of the fact that even the so-called radicals would in time be overcome by power and get corrupted. It is disturbing that society at all levels appears to weaken with regard to its sense of right and wrong and takes all this in silence. It is beyond question as to who is responsible for this situation. Lucien M.C. Perera Moratuwa Money to waste but no money to save lives! We were appalled and perturbed over the recent revelation in the media about children dying of thalassaemia in the Kurunegala district. We understand that there are more than 300 thalassaemic patients registered at the General Hospital there. This rare disease is apparently caused by an iron overload. Each of these children requires a minimum of 30 vials of the 'Desferal' injection a month to maintain the haemoglobin above 10. Since the middle of this year, the hospital has not received this life- ensuring medicine. It had received less than the minimum requirements up to May, according to the media. This is a sorry state of affairs. The government, the health authorities and the Wayamba Provincial Council seem to be playing with the lives of innocent children. The government spends nearly half a million rupees a month in maintaining each of the deputy ministries. Doesn't it have a few lakhs to provide this life-saving medicine in adequate quantities on a regular basis to the Kurunegala Hospital? Some Good Samaritans of the Bank of Ceylon, Head Office upon hearing of the children's plight donated Desferal injections to the hospital recently, which helped ease the situation. We call upon the authorities to provide these injections in adequate quantities. Otherwise, the authorities would be responsible for each thalassaemic death for want of medication. Ranjit C. Dissanayake Eksath Sinhala Maha Sabha, Battaramulla When a Judge judges a judge This refers to the 'majority opinion,' of Supreme Court Judges on the procedure that should be followed regarding the Ravaya Editor's complaint. (The Sunday Times of 5.9.99). One is constrained to pose the following question: "When a judge judges a judge Should the judge judging the judge, judge the judge as a judge should judge a judge or as judges judge judges?" C.S.A. Fernando Moratuwa Have a heart and spare the child Recently, during a popular children's cartoon programme on Sirasa TV at 5.30 p.m. the Lion beer advertisement was shown. The advertisement was seen at the bottom of the screen. Along with their usual slogan, "Is there a Lion in you?" They were also displaying the scores of one of the cricket matches, which was being played at that time. Enough is enough; first they start advertising on paper, then on billboards, and then on TV. There was a big hue and cry about all this and like everything else it subsided and advertising continued. But now they have crossed the line by advertising beer during a children's programme. This country is already suffering from the problems caused by alcoholism among adults and recently even among teenagers. Now they are targeting the children - the future of Sri Lanka. Ironically, the advertisement was shown on the channel which not so long ago said it did not support the advertising of cigarette and alcohol brands on TV. It's time to reverse the slogan, "Is there a Lion in you?" to "Is there a heart in you?" Do you want to destroy the future of Sri Lanka? It's time we adults stood up to this menace and the government took stern action. Deeds not words please. M. Zackster Colombo 15 Many customers are pleased with our service This is in response to the letter published in The Sunday Times (August 22) about "Encarta's" visit to the British High Commission's Visa Office. I am slightly disappointed that the author did not write to us in the first instance and give us an opportunity to respond before going straight to the press. I am sorry however, that the writer's experience was less than satisfactory. My staff are regularly reminded of the need to treat all our customers in the same courteous and helpful manner. I believe they do and regular checks are carried out by the Head of the Visa Section and by me to ensure that this is the case. I must add that, whilst I do not doubt his/ her word, the experience does not reflect that of the majority of our customers who seem to be pleased with the service we offer. We received some 14,600 visa applications last year, of which over 13,000 were issued. We believe that we offer a good service in that a visa can be obtained in one day with the minimum of fuss. For those who are unhappy, we have a complaints procedure, which is advertised in our waiting room, and a log of all complaints received is kept: we have received only six about our service this year. Conversely, many people write to us expressing their appreciation of the way we carry out our work and we have received 12 such letters over the same period. If the writer wishes to get in touch with us, we would be happy to respond to the specific points raised in his / her letter. Miss Linda Duffield British High Commissioner.
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