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| Sunday, 23 May 2004 |
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Letters |  |
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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.
To all aspiring Provincial Council candidates I am a young adult living in the area that you are hoping to govern. As a resident of Colombo I got to know you through your master poster campaign. When I saw the posters pasted on every other wall in Colombo I was faced with the dilemma as to why someone who wishes to legislate laws is breaking election laws before he is even elected. (not that you have any right to break them even after you do get elected.) I just wanted you to know that as a candidate who wishes to govern our country, you should be a role model that people can look up to. As someone who is voting for the first time, I like to believe that I have still not given up on the system, so I would like to appeal to you and say that there are better ways to carry out your promotional campaign other than putting up posters of yourself all over Colombo. If you get elected it will be your responsibility to take off the posters of yourself off the walls of Colombo. So stop polluting the walls of Colombo; you will have one less task to do it if you get elected. It saddens me to tell you that the whole purpose of your campaign is lost because even YOUNG thinking individuals like me are not going to support you or anyone else who breaks the law. A concerned young citizen, Colombo and suburbs need not only a Piped Piper! It is not strange that Colombo and its suburbs need Piped Pipers, and the strengthening of its dead and defunct Municipal Officers, with educated and disciplined ones. We citizens are cheated everyday, not only by the Governments in power, but also by Traders, vendors and particularly the butchers. Starting with the Piped Piper story at the Dehiwala and Wellawatte markets, I have had regularly shocking sights of large rats creeping in between vegetable racks and gunnies. These rats appear to be so well for fed that they move slowly due to over weight. The vendors don't seem to care, quite naturally, as the Local Authorities and their representatives don't care either. Whom can we hold responsible for this ghastly situation? An epidemic can break out at any time, and then we go looking for foreign assistance. Next, the consumable items have gone up in price, supposedly in keeping with market realities. However, this is not reflected at the time of purchase, as the scales in and around the Colombo markets have been tampered, even with the seal of the Authorities. Is there someone accountable? To whom can we complain without revealing our identities? I say without revealing, since I have had the nasty experience of Municipal inspectors siding with the butcher, for fear or favour I do not know. In fact two butchers, who know me, as a regular complainant, announce that they have given me the correct weight, for I turn the scale towards me, pretending to have a say. Why are we not able to include as a pre condition that an electronic scale is a part of the licensing procedure. This should be added to the terms and conditions. We talk all the time of our yester year achievements, focusing on our 2500 year history. And have forgotten that not so long ago, The Colombo Municipality distributed as a routine to any householder free of charge rat traps. They also came the following day to collect same. This should be made compulsory to all public stall holders. The Municipal inspectors used to assert their authority, in checking scales and the general environment, not only in the commercial establishments, but also the streets and residences. Have these laws and by laws, given way to new administrative and operational systems which only the politicians seem to know. This country needs a thorough overhauling of all its systems, and the enforcement of every law, not by changing administrators according to the political colour, but by holding every Government servant accountable to the last letter of his appointment, and permitting the private sector to do likewise without political interference. Walter Fernando, There were numerous reasons for the humiliating defeat of the last government. Inept leadership, alienation from the common masses, a blatant partiality towards the Western-oriented affluent urban elite and allegations of corruption of an unprecedented nature appear to stand out. Indiscipline and the arrogant behaviour of some ministers and even their siblings were also salient contributory factors. Of all the above factors, it can be reasonably argued that it was corruption that clamped the lid on the UNF coffin. The alleged corrupt activities of the UNF govt. were put across to the public effectively and convincingly by state television by two well designed and meticulously timed exercises: 1. Highlighting a number of prominent Freedom Alliance heavy-weights handing over dossiers of alleged corrupt activities of UNF Ministers to the office of the Bribery Commission, and 2. Educating the public of all the ramifications of the Tax Amnesty Act that benefited a few 'cronies' of the UNF, depriving the state coffers of a mind boggling Rs. 200 Billion. This task was very capably accomplished by a public spirited, civic-minded citizen by the name of Nihal Sri Amarasekera. It is my sincere belief that these two exposures by Rupavahini compelled even long-standing and hard core supporters of the UNP to turn away from their grand old party that boasted of leaders such as Dudley Senanayake and Premadasa and register their protest by voting for the JVP or the JHU or not voting at all. Now, this has indeed cast a tremendous responsibility on the new regime. Firstly, it must bring to justice all the ministers/officials against whom complaints/allegations were made. Secondly, it must inform the nation publicly as to who benefited from the tax amnesty and take immediate steps to repeal this repugnant piece of legislation and recover at least part of the Rs. 200B. If according to the Finance Minister the Graduate Employment Scheme is to be funded with Rs. 1 1/2b unutilized money, Rs. 200b will be more than enough to fulfil all the pre-election promises! Even the JHU is bound to support such a move. And thirdly, perhaps most importantly, the present regime must remain free of corruption and extravagance. These responsibilities can be fulfilled; and must be fulfilled if the Freedom Alliance is to retain and enhance its credibility. In this regard I suggest: 1. Re-activate the Bribery Commission by filling the vacancy and giving it all the required resources to complete investigations. Creating ad hoc commissions and committees will only result in wasteful expenditure sans results. 2. Nihal Sri Amarasekera must carry out his self-undertaken mission to its logical conclusion. For a start let him reveal to the nation the names of all the 'cronies' who benefited from the tax amnesty; and of course fervently campaign for the repeal of this obnoxious legislation. With the Supreme Court opinion that this legislation was unconstitutional it will indeed be plain sailing for Amarasekera. 3. As for a corruption free regime the highest responsibility rests fairly and squarely with the JVP. It cannot let its growing support base down. The latter expects their representatives in Parliament to be the watch dogs of the government. These are men and women who can effortlessly veer away from extravagance and oppulance that has hitherto been the hated lifestyle of parliamentarians. Politics apart from a sociological perspective, the JVP is the best equipped socio-political entity that can rid this country of this curse of corruption. However, it is apt to remind ourselves that, 'Power Corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely'. It is my wish that Weerawanse, Vijitha Herath, Handunnetti and others the bright new stars of democracy emerging out of Sri Lanka's polluted, mirky horizon will shine on and prove Lord Action wrong. Edward Gunawardena, 1977 Communal Violence - Compensation? Government spokesman Media Minister Reginald Cooray, at the first Cabinet briefing is reported to have stated that a Commission will be appointed for the purpose of paying compensation to the victims of the 1981 to 1984 riots as a measure of Truth and Reconciliation to express grief and compassion, Very welcome indeed. In this context It would be pertinent to draw attention to the 1977 Communal violence. One of the first Presidential Commissions of Inquiry appointed was in respect of the riots that look place between 13th August 1977 and 15th September 1977 (The Sansoni Commission)-published as Sessional Paper No Vll-1980. This Commission had continuous day to day sittings, on three different periods in Kandy, two in Colombo and one each in Jaffna, Anuradhapura and Trincomalee. The total number of sitting were 298 days commencing February 1978 and ending in December 1979. The report is an exhaustive one covering 277 pages, which includes evidence given by victims, leaders of political parties, communal and religious groups. 952 victims and witnesses gave evidence. 275 affected persons, who could not give evidence filed affidavits on the directions of the Commission. The communal disturbances of 1977 were one of the worst, If not the worst. There was no TV coverage then, therefore the whole world does not know about that but only about 1983. The observations of the Commission would support what is stated above:- (quote-Page 262) Whatever may be the rule in this Island under normal conditions, the incidents which occurred during the specified period were of such an extreme nature and so widespread that an exception should be made as regards the payment of compensation to all those persons who were adversely affected.....I recommend that all persons who suffered damages arising out of the incidents which occurred during the period 13th August 1977 to 15th September 1977, be paid full compensation to the extent of such damages. In fact, following the recommendation of the Commission, the then government appointed a Committee to assess the compensation to be paid. But this Committee did not sit. A Sunday English paper carried a half page report under the heading `Investigation the mystery of the committee that never sat. This was in March 18,1990. There was also a full page feature article in another Sunday paper on August 18, 1998 under the heading `The 1977 Communal Disturbances 21 Years after'. In the process of Truth and Reconciliation to express grief and compassion, the non payment of compensation to the 1977 victims leaves a serious blot and a grave omission. It is open to the government to establish Its sincerity and commitment. 1977 must take precedence over 1981 to 1984. S. Thambyrajah, I have read with utter disgust the proposal and approval of the so-called "Fast Track" facility for Business Class Passengers arriving at the BIA. I wonder if whoever approved this scheme, had any notion of the discrimination that is perpetrated to the rest of the passengers by this move. In most airports of developed or developing countries, separate immigration counters facilitate locals returning to their countries while others or "aliens" are subject to separate counters. "Express" counters are also available but these are not the exclusively for "Business Class" passengers but those that the airline facilitate to frequent flyers etc. be it Business or Economy Class. Therefore, this ill-conceived idea is a violation of the Sri Lankan Economy Class Passengers' rights and is certainly discriminatory of such a passenger and should be either done away with immediately or the facility made available only to locals travelling on any class. Nowhere in the world does a country violate the rights of its citizens so much as Sri Lanka does. R. de. Silva, |
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