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| Sunday, 4 May 2003 |
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Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Jaffna Town Hall and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike The proposal to move the Army from two hotels in Jaffna to the site where once the Jaffna Town Hall stood would have left S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, aghast at even the thought. To those of his time, S. W. R. D, was known and reputed as the Father of Local Government in the country. It appears that the fact that the Jaffna Town Hall had been totally destroyed in war by the Army was taken to mean, so simplistically, that the land was available for a Military Camp! It was only a few years ago on the occasion of my semi-official visit to Jaffna, to deliver the Convocation Address at the Jaffna University, that I happened to see - totally aghast - the place where once was this great exquisite building, which indeed anteceded by long years the later, vandalised, Public Library Building. I had been, by 1946, in Jaffna as the first Assistant Commissioner for Local Government for the entire Northern Region, under a brilliant conception of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, for strengthening across the country the foundations and structures of Local Government in all their tiers. On that occasion of my visit for the Convocation Address, I just could not believe my eyes, and even though that perhaps I was looking at the wrong place after all these years. When I realised, I turned left and found that one of the most desired resthouses in the island, under a resthouse keeper whose meals with their delicious Jaffna dishes, were de rigueur for all topmost visiting VIP officials and others from Colombo, had also disappeared out of recognition. S.W.R.D. visited as scheduled in a triumphal and memorable programme, of eloquence, commitment and above all the clearest expositions on Local Government in the emerging political mosaic of the country, and in particular, of what was shortly to be the Municipal Council of Jaffna. He praised the magnificent building, and wished its enduring presence as a Jewel in the Crown of Local Government. On the occasion referred to earlier, of my own most recent Convocation Address at Jaffna, on informal suggestion of the Presidential Secretariat of that time, a personal report had been invited by me on 'the hearts and minds' programme, which the Government had just begun in Jaffna and on its progress and effects, politically, socially and economically. In the course of that very candid report, which the President was later to tell me she read in minute detail, I had expressed my sheer horror at such total flattening of what once stood as the majestic Town Hall building, calling the entire site nothing short of a 'Moonscape'! Her father would have been foremost, even before any Tamil leaders, to
deplore and to moan this, and to have initiated as topmost priority, its
complete restoration and - to come to the latest development - to have
scorned any suggestion that something like a Military Camp could ever be
set up at this sanctified and nationally central location. Think twice before you drink fizzy drinks, the popular colas, or any other soft drinks because you gulp down carbon dioxide. 'The average ph of soft drinks e.g. cola drinks is ph 3,4. This acidity is strong enough to dissolve teeth and bones. Soft drinks do not have any nutritional value in terms of vitamins and minerals. They have higher sugar content, higher acidity and more additives such as preservative and colouring. Colas put stress on the digestive system. There had been a competition in the Delhi University - who drink the most cola drinks? The winner drank 8 bottles and died on the spot because too much carbon dioxide in the blood and not enough oxygen. From there on the principal banned all soft drinks from the university canteen. There are certain facts linked with Cola drinks. To clean a toilet pour a can of cola into the toilet bowl. After one hour flush clean. The citric acid in cola removes stains from vitreous china. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers - rub the bumper with a crumpled up piece of Reynolds Wraps Aluminium foil dipped in Cola drinks. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals - pour a can of Cola drink over the terminal to bubble away the corrosion. To loosen a rusted bolt - apply a cloth soaked in cola drink to the rusted bolt for several minutes. To bake a moist ham - empty a can of cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminium foil and bake. To remove grease from cloth - empty a can of cola into a bowl of greasy cloth, add deterrent and run through a regular cycle. Cola will loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from the windshield. The distributors of cola have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years. According to statistics of Harward School published it has adverse effects on calcium metabolism and bone mass. The long-term implications especially to our children could just be imagined by the above account. Another important factor these fizzy drink bottles do indicate are the expiry dates. They are all fermented for months or even years. Cannot the quality standard authorities and Health authorities look into these dangers especially to our younger generation before it is too late. The Government should bring this up in the world forums. In the USA and several other countries colas are banned. These multi-national companies are very liberal in distributing free fridges and deep freezers and coolers. By various means they hook our young ones by various attractive advertisements and billboards. Wrong values, status symbol, fashion smartness and robust of youth are some of the misleading notions put across these advertisements. The promotional campaigns are so effective and misleadingly effective that in every family at least one member is caught in these traps. As a nation we should boycott all fizzy drinks and Principals of
schools should ban soft drinks from their canteens for they encourage
selling of poison to our young ones. Ultimate appeal is to the Govt. to
ban all soft drinks in our beloved Sri Lanka. Drink more tea, tambili,
kurumba and kola kenda for better health. Crimes in the country are going on unabated. People are being murdered, women are being raped and worse still small children are being sexually abused on the spur of the moment or in pre-meditated acts. Some among us who seem to be more concerned about these happenings than the others are prescribing a remedy and insisting that it be taken. That is: to bring back the death penalty. But will the death penalty bring the desired result? I do not think so. We will only be adding one more crime of state murder to the crimes that are already in existence. Two wrongs do not make a right. The remedy for the reduction or eradication of crimes is to take action to prevent the crimes taking place and not to commit another crime by killing the person who had committed a crime. Is it the blood thirsty spirit in man that is making us to call for death penalty?Criminals and those who plan out crimes, seem to be having some sort of self-confidence and not fear of the death penalty, as they are certain that if they have the money, power and influence at the right places they can get away with any crimes.Authorities can be bought over, incriminating evidences destroyed, witnesses can be turned to their side by threats or gifts, and even the victims can be made to retract their complaints by threats or persuasion. It is not unknown that criminals of influential groups or position enjoying all comforts in the jail, including wine and women! Why won't crime march? Will the death penalty prevent it? We are only giving the government, that should put an end to this state of affairs, an excuse and escape by insisting that death penalty be brought back. They will gladly do it. Because, they can say thereafter that they had done the utmost to do away with crimes but the crimes are going on and what can they do?To prevent crimes from the country we cannot go about like the kattadiyas treating a person suffering from a mental disease by chanting mantrams, sacrificing animals and beating the patient mercilessly almost to death and achieving nothing but making the disease worse! We must go to the root of the cause, the source of the fire as it were. Moral, spiritual and cultural values which we had abandoned over a long period of time have to be restored and not the death penalty. Those who agitate for the hangman's noose should pause and think what
they would say and do if one of their dear ones for some reason or other
were to be hanged for some crime or other. "What sort of future leader?" - a response This is in response to a letter written by Desmond Cruz of Ratmalana to the editor of Sunday Observer published on April 6. I was not aware of any incident mentioned by the writer. The selection criteria to attend the Future World Leader Summit in Washington DC has been freely available on our website www.futureworldleader.org and had been published many times in all English newspapers including yours. For the benefit of the readers the criteria for selection to attend the Future World Leaders Summit in Washington DC USA, is that, a student must be within the age group 16-19 years at the time of the summit, have an excellent command of the English Language, and must come, within the first 25% of the class or have an above B average in academic studies. In addition he or she should have shown leadership ability in civic and sports organizations in school or community and must be ready to learn the finer skills of leadership in a democratic society. All delegates who apply to be considered to attend the Future World Leaders Summit must be recommended by their respective school head by signing the application form to attend the summit. It is the responsibility of the school head and parents to inform us of any disciplinary action taken against any delegate. Any responsible citizen who identifies himself or herself with an authentic name, address & telephone number can also make a complaint to me direct, with regard to any delegate prior to departure as we release all the names and the names of their respective schools to all English Newspapers in Sri Lanka at least 3 months prior to their departure. Any complaint will be first referred to the Head of the School to inquire into. Up to the date of 9th April 2003, I have not received any such complaint from any school head nor a parent nor from any citizen of Sri Lanka, nor a former delegate nor a present delegate with regard to any of the 2003 March delegates or any of our past delegates. All the 15 delegates who attended the 2003 March summit maintained a very high level of self discipline and application to receive high praise from all the 20 instructors. There is no doubt of the credibility of the organizers of the event, nor the local representative. We have had no complaints of the 100 delegates who have attended this summit since year 2000. As at today there are over 34 Sri Lankan teenagers who attended this summit and are now studying in American, British and Australian Universities on scholarships and financial grants. They have all excelled in their academic and civic activities. I give below my contact details for any civic conscious responsible citizen of the world to contact me with regard to any inquiry of the Future World Leaders Summit or make any complaint of a delegate. All responses will be acknowledged within 72 hours. Ananda Rajapakse, Hony. South Asia Representative, Presidential Classroom Inc., USA. Office No. 140, Stanley Thilekeratne Mawatha, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka. Email - [email protected] / Tel 0777-379359. Welcome English medium education The 'Sinhala Only' Bill passed in Parliament nearly 50 years ago, and the switch over to Swabasha as the medium of instruction in schools with little importance given to English has pushed this country back many years. This has deprived many generations of school leavers opportunities to widen their knowledge in the disciplines they wish to pursue and at the same time cutting off a vital link with the rest of the world. We are happy that the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Education, and Cultural Affairs has taken note of the ill-effects of the Bill brought down through generations and has taken a bold and positive step forward in taking remedial measures by way of implementing a programme of teaching certain subjects only in the English medium, in the schools which have opted for it. In 2002 some schools began teaching Environmental Science, Mathematics, Health and Physical Education in the English medium in Grade 6. In 2003 more schools joined and are teaching Science and Social Studies as well in Grade 7. It is hoped that in 2004, it will be introduced to Grade 8 and thereafter continued till the completion of the child's secondary education. Parents and guardians of schoolgoers will no doubt welcome this proposal and its implementation, and give every encouragement to the Ministry to continue this programme uninterrupted facing the obstacles that may come their way. It is hoped that principals of schools had already conducted feasibility studies before they opted to join the programme. Though a teacher may know the subject matter, a certain degree of proficiency in English is important for the smooth working of this program. It is necessary that the teachers absorbed for this program be given an intensive course in certain areas of grammar related to the subjects taught. There should be examinations conducted to ascertain the teachers' achievement level in proficiency. There can be two or more achievement levels and once a teacher has attained one of these levels he/she can be assigned to teach in an appropriate grade. Courses in the different disciplines available in the Colleges of Education can be conducted entirely in the English medium as well. Parents and guardians have the right to know how well this programme is
implemented. In order to get a feedback, the Ministry through its regional
offices should make arrangements to hold discussions with the parents and
guardians of the children who have entered this stream. This would enable
certain drawbacks in some aspects of the program. My attention has been drawn to a poem by one M. I. Mohamed Ansar of Ikra International School, Colombo in the Sunday Observer Magazine of December 1, 'The Holy Qur'an - A Unique Creation.' According to the basic Islamic concept and belief (Aqeedha) this is a clear case of heresy. The Qur'an is the speech of Allah, which came by way of revelation through the Arch angel Gabriel to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam). It is not created since the Qur'an is from Allah and that which is from Allah is not created. The renowned Islamic scholar Imaam Malik said: "The Qur'an is the speech of Allah. It is not created." (Reported by: Imaam Lalakaa'ee in his Sharah Ussoli Ithikaadi Ahlis Sunnah, no: 414). Further, the Imaam of the Sunnah, Ahmed bin Hanbal was asked about one who says that the Qur'an is created and he replied: "He is a disbeliever" (no. 419). That the Qur'an was created was the belief of one of the deviant sects who are referred to as the Mu'thazilah. This deviant sect goes out of the fold of Islaam. Whoever had the wrong belief that the Qur'an was created should
sincerely repent and seek Allah's forgiveness to be saved. It has been brought to our notice through the press that the Sri Maha Bodhi in India has been infected by a virus disease and this information has been given to Education and Cultural Affairs Minister Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku. I believe it is the duty of the government to protect the Sri Maha
Bodhi and I suggest to appoint a committee headed by the Director,
Horticultural Research and Development Institute (HORDI) of the Department
of Agriculture, a Virologist, Pathologist, two Senior University academics
in Pathology/Entomology to examine the Sri Maha Bodhi and submit its
recommendations to the government to safeguard this Bodhi a sacred tree
for millions of Buddhists. I saw Thani Thatuwen Piyabanna (Flying with one wing) weeks ago and then watched with agony the propaganda campaigned launched by laymen who have little or no knowledge of film an art. This film is one of the best Sinhala films to be produced in the past few years. The emotions experienced by the film and the haunting memory after seeing it bear ample testimony that it is a high class film (irrespective of awards it may win). With great respect to Prasanna Withanage, I may say 'Thani Thatuwen Piyabanna' belongs to a much more higher class than Purahanda Kaluwara, yet the tributes paid to Purahanda Kaluwara quite baffled me and now the brickbats thrown at this film amazes me. The only conclusion I can arrive at is that Sri Lanka does not possess knowledgeable film critics any more (except very few eg Prof. S. Gamlath's article in Silumina of of April 8 is such a review). One reason for such fierce criticism may be that there seems to be an anti Handagama lobby. The trauma faced by women in society is superbly reflected in the film. The music is subtle, cinematography is above average, direction is superb and the cast gives a scintillating acting performance, all results in a very good movie. I am sure this film will sweep the board of awards (unless some politics creeps in to the selection) and in lighter vein I must say Anoma Jinadari can qualify for the role of best actress as well as for best actor. Dogs bark but please march on Mr. Asoka Handagama. The 'Kotmale Reservoir' which was built under the Mahaweli Multipurpose River Diversion Scheme by the Jayewardene Government, was renamed after the late Gamini Dissanayake, on April 11. We, as senior citizens of the country are aware how then UNP Government took the bold decision to complete the gigantic Mahaweli Project which was scheduled to be completed in 30 years, in a space of seven years time, under the dynamic leadership and able stewardship of Minister Gamini Dissanayake. I hope Minister of Mass Communication will take early action to issue a
commemorative stamp as a tribute to honour the late Minister of Mahaweli
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