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Letters to the Editor
26th September 1999 |
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Hustling and jostling and other ugly sights at BIAAs expatriates we were back in Sri Lanka after six years, for three weeks on holiday and to attend the wedding of a relative. There were vast changes between then and now. A whole kaleidoscope of events that occurred cannot be described because of space limitations. Therefore I shall confine myself to what I saw and experienced at the premier airport, the Bandaranaike International Airport. A sad quirk of circumstances resulted in one of two suitcases being misplaced on the flight from Melbourne to Colombo due to a change of carriers. The next day we were told on the phone to collect our baggage, which we gladly did after undergoing all security checks. At the baggage services room, we were asked to identify and collect the item amidst a heap of bags and baggage. For ease of identification, a pompom was attached to the handle, but after search this was not spotted. After some delay, we were led into a locked room with wooden shelves lining the walls. There were bags and cobwebs. The floor was strewn with scraps of cardboard packages. It was disgusting to see this mess. Should any person, especially a foreigner see this revolting sight, all preconceived ideas of Sri Lanka being paradise isle would vanish. Who is responsible for this sad state of affairs? The authorities, whoever they are. On the way out, we had to catch a plane leaving at 2.45 am. As advised we were at the airport three hours before scheduled departure time and had to go through Customs and security checks. Then it was time to convert Sri Lankan currency to foreign exchange. There were quite a few planes departing at about this time, and as expected, many passengers had gathered at the solitary counter manned by one teller, to change their currency. There was pandemonium with a lot of hustling and jostling and tempers rising. A queue was non-existent. Can't anything be done about this? Attention is being drawn to the shortcomings in a spirit of constructive criticism. There are also some well-deserved bouquets. Former Mayor Karu Jayasuriya's efforts to uplift pavement hawkers and clear the streets of garbage are some of them. Dr N.C.T. Brito Questions that need answersMany parents have queries about the National Immunization programme and I hope the authorities will enlighten them. Sri Lanka launched the "National Polio Eradication Campaign" in 1996 by giving two extra doses of the polio vaccine each year. The extra dose is given to children below five, irrespective of whether they have been immunized earlier. Parents are advised to bring children below five for polio immunization on a specified day, even if they were immunized on the previous day. The British National Formulary, the Sri Lanka Hospital Formulary and most of the standard paediatric text books recommend that there should be at least a three-week interval between administration of live virus vaccines such as polio, measles and rubella. The questions which arise are:
Dr. Ranjith Dissanayaka
What more has to be bestowed?I was surprised when Professor G.L. Peiris said, "The language problem should be solved by granting due place to the Tamil Language". Delivering the keynote address on the language issue he said, "The prevailing language problem should be solved by granting due place to the Tamil Language too." What is perplexing is that this most ludicrous and misleading statement has come from none other than the Minister of Constitutional Affairs himself, a person of extraordinary talent. I am sure he is aware that in 1956, the Constitution made Sinhala the Official Language. In 1972, it was thus affirmed, but provision was made for the use of Tamil in accordance with the Tamil Language (Special Provisions Act). In 1978 the J.R. Jayewardene government by Article 19 of the Constitution provided for the National Languages of Sri Lanka to be Sinhala and Tamil. This means inter alia Article 20 - A member of Parliament or local authority would be entitled to perform his duties and discharge his functions in Parliament or local authority in either of the National Languages. Article 21 - A person would be entitled to be educated through the medium of either of the National Languages right from the primary stage to the university. Article 23 requires that all legislation be enacted and published in both the National Languages. Article 24 - In courts, lawyers could conduct cases in either language, with provisions for translations etc. The Tamil Language is enshrined in the Constitution as a National Language and effective remedies are provided against the violation of any language rights. Pray tell us professor, what else do you desire to bestow on the Tamils regarding language? Furthermore, as far back as 1974, Professor S. Vithiananthan, Head of the Department of Tamil, University of Peradeniya, when he delivered his Presidential address at the Fourth International Conference of Tamil Studies held in Jaffna said: "Although people whose language is Tamil are spread throughout the world. Sri Lanka is the only country where Tamil has been made a medium of instruction even at the university level". Where else in the world do you get Tamil letters and markings on currency notes, coins, revenue stamps, all official documents and forms of state etc? Tamils are only a 14% minority in the country. We hope Professor Peiris has been misquoted in the press. If not, he will continue to remain an enigma to us simple folk. K. Wijeyesinghe
Honest public officers needed to fight wrongsI retired prematurely from the Public Service (in 1992) as I could no longer tolerate the dishonesty of certain officers. Just after the formation of the present government I suggested that honest officers be rewarded, but my letter was not even acknowledged. If genuine complainants are rewarded and protected by the government most of the dishonest activities in public service will come to light. Irwin de Silva |
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