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| Sunday, 11 May 2003 |
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Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Please forward your letters to [email protected] in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
During the past few years the railway passenger service has deteriorated much to the dissatisfaction of the regular train travellers. A few years back, during the Sinhala New Year period the railway provided a satisfactory service to the Southern commuters who came down in their thousands, to visit their kith and kin during this festive season, by providing "Special" train services to Galle and Matara and back from April 12-20. However, the department was unable to provide the same service this year due to reasons unknown to the general public. Only a few specials were provided on specific dates to the South, unlike during the former New Year periods. It was regrettable to note, that none of the long distance trains to Galle and Matara were strengthened with additional carriages as before. Some years back 'Uda Rata Menike' train from Badulla was run through up to Galle daily from about April 12, for the convenience of the upcountry commuters who came down South for the Sinhala New Year. Leaving aside the provision of New Year specials, the people who relied on the Railway to get to their work places on time, found out that the department failed even to run the normal scheduled "Specials" (Bo.53) from Galle to Maradana on the 16th. and the 18th, which is operated on Sundays and Public Holidays, with the coaches of 'Samudra Devi'. The Railway management let down its patrons badly this year. With the ceasefire and normalcy returning in the country people in the country availed of the opportunity to travel to and fro with their loved ones, unlike in the former years, when Bomb threats were looming in all parts of the country. We hear of derailments every now and then in different parts of the country. The Rambukkana train disaster Report is yet to see the light of day, although the Minister of Transport promised to reveal the observations of the Commission report to the public, after, it was handed over to him. The latest derailment being the Matara - Batticaloa train. Some time back the Permanent Way Technical Officers went on strike and the trains proceeded "slow" due to speed restrictions enforced by the Engineers, due to the non-maintenance of tracks, with want of sufficient materials to maintain the tracks in good condition. All this was because the Treasury did not provide funds required to get down the necessary materials and the non-availability of sufficient funds to pay the technical officers who manned the different sections of the track. 'An Ex-Railwayman.', Jaffna as I see it after 20 years Having been born in Malaysia and having spent the rest of my life in Jaffna. I joined the Government Clerical Service and served in 10 government departments including the Medical, General Treasury and Inland Revenue Departments. I decided to retire under the language concession and I migrated to Colombo. From 1983 up to the year 2003, I did not visit Jaffna except once in 1989. I was shocked at the state of affairs in Jaffna after two decades. Through the good offices of my only son who is a medical officer, I was able to go to different parts of Jaffna and see for myself the enormous amount of destruction of houses and places of worship in Jaffna. But I must concede that some of the prominent temples of Jaffna are improved marvellously especially the Nallur Kandasamy Kovil in close proximity to where I reside. Frankly I was a stranger in Jaffna. Most of my close and intimate friends have disappeared from the face of this earth such as V. Dharmalingam ex MP for Uduvil, V. Yogeswaran ex MP for Jaffna and many of my classmates. I stayed there from the 10th to the 15th of April and returned to my nest at Easwaran flats - sad and crestfallen. The purpose of my article is to apprise the public of the enormous damage to dwellings, institutions and valuable buildings by which many people have been rendered homeless. To brand the victims as terrorist to say the best is the travesty of the truth. One saving grace is that the market has expanded and things are comparatively cheap and above all pavement stalls displaying lovely items of clothing, readymade garments and groceries are a plenty. It grieves me considerably that after 20 long years I must find my hometown in shambles and ruins.It is crystal clear that a good portion of the destruction is by government forces. They speak of rehabilitation, foreign aid has come in plenty but strange to say there is no evidence of substantial rehabilitation and possibly have they gone into wrong hands? To those who prate about the peace process including the President and the Prime Minister and his cabinet, I appeal to them to go there and stay there for a month or two and assess the colossal barbaric action. Thampimuthu Poopalan. A facelift for National Zoological Gardens Gone are the days when a visit to the zoo was enjoyed by the whole family and also by groups of schoolchildren accompanied by their teachers. These visits were not only just an outing for the entire family but they were also of educational value to groups of schoolchildren some of them making their first visit from distant places. However, a visit to the zoo today is very different from a visit to it in the past. The admission fee for a local is Rs. 35 and for a foreigner it is Rs. 200 which is fair enough, but, what we see are some empty cages, overgrown shrubs and some other scenes. It may be the intention of the authorities to move the zoo elsewhere from its present location. If this is so, it is common courtesy to inform the visitors to the zoo, of such intentions by putting up notices saying 'sorry, we are in the process of moving to a new location, please bear with us'. The number of animals exhibited now has dropped considerably, but this has been compensated for by the presence of a number of couples that can be seen at certain corners and isolated spots in the gardens causing much embarrassment to parents and other elders accompanying children, and to teachers accompanying groups of schoolchildren. The zoo is not the place for couples, for any form of indulgence that would cause embarrassment to other visitors. Sometimes, the same couples make frequent visits to the zoo knowing very well that they are tolerated by the authorities. If the authorities only care, they can put up notices at certain spots in the gardens saying 'unruly/drunken behaviour, or any other type of behaviour that will cause, or tend to cause embarrassment to visitors, will not be allowed in the gardens'. The same can be printed in all three languages on the retainable portion of the admission ticket. It is the duty of the authorities to rid the gardens of these scenes and make it presentable to the genuine visitor. We hope that the intended amendments to the 'zoo act' will include clauses relevant to this above mentioned aspect too. Joe Muttucumaru, How do we live with terrorism? It is like living with heart problems after you have had a heart attack. You know, in time it will probably kill you, but if you become too excited about it, it will kill you quicker. When India and Pakistan tested their atomic bombs, (each one about 40 times as strong as the one dropped on Hiroshima), there were three major earthquakes within two weeks. There was one in Turkey, one in Greece, and one in the Philippines. They only tested 10 bombs. If they tested a 100, they probably would have destroyed our earth. So there is a limit on how much force we can use to try to control each other. Also, within ten years, most industrialized nations will have atomic bombs; so really the only thing that can keep us alive is the ethical structure we have within our international community. One of the most effective methods Israel used to control terrorism, was destruction of the terrorist's home, but this was quite primitive. If we had international law, we could bring the terrorist's family to court and fine them for the damages caused by the terrorist's act. The terrorist's extended family includes all his cousins, all his friends, his school, his organizations, his place of worship, his newspapers, his radio stations, his TV stations, his country, and all those who support him. Robert W. Carlson. Reading the letter of Fatima Thair of Colombo 15, on the above subject I am more shocked than surprised, how one claiming to be a devout Muslim is not aware of some of the basics of Islam. In every ritual prayer one of the opening supplications a Muslim repeats is: "Verily my prayer my sacrifice my life and death are for my Rabb (Lord) of the words." But this does not mean he sacrifices his life but a Muslim should be, prepared to sacrifice his life if the necessity arises. It is in this spirit that it is said in the Qur'an: "Their flesh and blood reaches not Allah but it is their righteousness." It should be clearly understood this Qur'anic Ayah does not in anyway absolve one from the need to physically slaughter an animal. It should be known that in Islamic worship the most important pre-requisite is Niyyah (Intention). The next requirement is Ikhlaas (Sincerity). It is only then that the act of worship is acceptable to Allah. Further, whatever act of worship are to be acceptable should be in accordance with the practices of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam). Fatima Thair says she does her own sacrifice by pricking her finger. Even if it did hurt her a bit it cannot be considered as a sacrifice to Allah, as it is not prescribed by the Islamic Shariah. Ismaee Marikar, President, Stoned to death for adultery ? It has been brought to our attention that the Nigerian Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for Amina Lawal, who was condemned for the crime of adultery. She is to be buried up to her neck and stoned to death. Her death has been postponed for one month so that she can continue to nurse her baby. Amina's case is being handled by the Spanish branch of Amnesty International, which is attempting to put together enough signatures to make the Nigerian government rescind the death sentence. (A similar campaign saved another Nigerian woman, Safiya, condemned in similar circumstances). The petition has so far (as of April 7th) amassed over 4,100,000 signatures. It will only take you a few seconds to sign Amnesty's online petition. Go to the web page http://www.amnistiaporsafiya.org/ enter your first name in the space marked 'nombre', and country from the drop down box - choose Reino Unido (UK), Rstados Unidos (USA), or whichever is appropriate. Then click on 'Seguir' and go to the second page. There you have the option of entering your email address if you wish to receive follow-up information. In any case, be sure to click on 'aceptar' to have your name added to the petition list. Please sign the petition now, then forward this message to everyone in your address book. Shenali "What sort of Future Leader?" - a response This is in response to a letter written by Desmond Cruz of Ratmalana to the editor of the 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 and 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 April 9, 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 attend 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 & 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 acknowledge 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] |
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