|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 27 June 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Letters |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
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.
Sex and nudity in local teledramas, films We welcome the decision taken by the Ministry of Culture and the National Film Corporation to ban sex films, imported and local. I wish to register my emphatic protest against the display of sex and nude scenes in the teledramas and films churned out in our country. They are a far-cry from the good old days when we as children sat with our parents to watch such beautiful films like 'Village in the Jungle' 'Gajaman Nona' 'Rekawa' 'Sath Samudra' 'Ganga Addara' etc. depicting scenes of national and historical value. In these films due respect was paid to female actresses, unlike today when they are scantily clad and many suggestive postures are shown, kissing, fondling and entwining of limbs with their male counterparts the order of the day. Even the buriya or navel, which is essentially a private part of a woman's anatomy is exposed to view in many a lurid scene. The woman's legs and upper part of the body are fully exposed in order to titillate the sexual desires in a man. A well-known actor admitted that sex and nudity, crime and violence are the main ingredients of a film or teledrama to draw the crowd. So, the 'Adults only' tag outside every cinema hall is an added inducement to attract our boys and girls to flock in large numbers to view these debasing films. Apart from the sexy scenes, these films and teledramas show how banks are plundered, chloroform spray is used to kidnap and rape young school girls and houses are robbed with T-56 guns with three-wheeler accomplices. You may have read the recent tragic tale of a young boy aged 18 from Embilipitiya who raped his school going cousin of 14 living in the same garden for the fun of it and to experience what is shown in the films as he told the police when arrested. It might be pertinent to mention that only two male actors, Channa Perera and Ranjan Ramanayake, out of a large number of so-called film stars, are gentlemen par excellence who do not indulge in lewd sexy scenes of kissing and fondling, despite their handsome good looks, and thereby maintain a shining example of decent conduct in their respective roles. Amelia Dias Bandaranaike, In spite of the fact that pensioners have appealed and sent many articles to the media, the Director of Pensions has not made constructive arrangements to have the arrears paid to the aged pensioners but harass the old and the feeble and gives trifle excuses to make this payment. We give a suggestion that a ruling be made to pay each pensioner an additional sum of Rs. 3000 with immediate effect until this exercise is finalized and if an over payment has been made this could be deducted from the future pension payments. All documentation pertaining to pension payments are already in each pensioner's file as they are receiving their monthly pensions as at date. The lethargic officers should be shaken up and have the job expedited within the next one month.There are over 400,000 pensioners and with their families increase this figure. If they are to wait until the Director of Pensions makes his decision to pay the pensioners, the results will be seen at the next election. Over to the Minister concerned to do the needful. Pensioner R. Perera, Where is the international Community? The last few weeks have seen the devastation of residential area in Gaza as Israeli occupying forces have demolished hundreds of homes, cut water and electricity lines and left over 2,000 Palestinian refugees homeless. In a chilling development Israeli forces have demolished houses in which the residents were not been given any warning and destruction work carried out while they were still inside. Scores of Palestinians have been killed during last few weeks including of those who took part in a peaceful demonstration on 19 May 2004. The killing was indiscriminate, the victims included old men and women and innocent children. All these in the pretext of a non-existent tunnel alleged to have been used by the Palestinians for smuggling arms. Easily, this could be compared to Saddam's WMD which is yet to be found or will never be found! The atrocities in Gaza even moved, a usually hard hearted Likud minister. The incident was related to an old woman, an inhabitant of the Rafha refugee camp whose house was demolished by the Israeli army, and was immortalized by the camera while rummaging through the ruins of her home in a desperate search for her medicines. Two days later, journalists found her at the same place still looking for her medicines under the debris. It is then, the Israeli minister of justice Yosef (Tommy) Lapid remarked 'This old woman reminds me of my grandmother.' His grandmother perished in the Holocaust and this remark kicked up a storm among the Likud party hard line politicians including their hawkish prime minister Ariel Sharon. Despite the unquestionable illegality of all these atrocities, the international community has taken no action to bring Israeli violations to a halt. How long such inaction could continue? Super powers abdicating their responsibility to ensure the respect of international human rights and humanitarian law, as well as the laws of humanity and the dictates of the public conscience, for which Palestinians are daily paying the price. A just and durable solution to the conflict cannot be found if the international community turns a blind eye to Israel's ongoing brutality on the Palestinian nation. S. H. Moulana, On June 9 at 12.15 pm I telephoned 133 and booked for a phonogram. After two reminders and a call to a superior my message was taken at 2.15 pm. I requested the officer to send the telegram to reach the destination, Panadura that day itself as urgent or any form that the officers may deem suitable as my message was for my friend to meet me on Thursday the 10. I expected the message to be delivered as I was not informed on the negative. My friend did not meet me as he had not received the telegram on Wednesday and he had gone somewhere else on Thursday. So I waited the whole day and was disappointed. Later I found that the telegram had been delivered on Thursday as urgent for no useful purpose. If the Sri Lanka Telecom informed me I could have gone to Panadura or send someone to deliver the message. Up to now I have not received an official apology from the SLT but I have to pay the price for an urgent telegram and few telephone calls. This is modernisation of Sri Lanka Telecom at its very best. For the information of dear readers please. M.N. De Zoysa, Religious discrimination at its worst I am a Burgher, a practising Catholic, married to a Muslim. We have a daughter, 4 years old. I was educated at a prominent Catholic Girls' School in Colombo 4 and maintain active membership in the Old Girls' Association. On 24th April 2004, the date announced for issue of application forms for admission to nursery grade, I stood for several hours in a queue to obtain a form. I was astonished when the Sister issuing the forms refused to give me a form, saying she had been instructed to refuse Muslim applications. This is religious discrimination at its very worst. It is a denial of my daughter's fundamental rights, as well as a contravention of the United Nations Convention on Children's Rights. I feel it is grossly unfair and immoral to penalize my child on religious grounds. The refusal of admission to school on religious grounds is an evil practise which should be done away immediately as it can further antagonize the Muslim minority in the country. An Angry Old Girl, Recently there were many reports of an employee of a new private bank being involved in a massive fraud. Different reports put the loss at figures ranging from Rs. 4.0 m to Rs. 60.0 m, an indicator that even the bank concerned has still not really ascertained the extent of the loss. Despite all this, the bank concerned has still not come out openly to assure the depositors that all deposits are safe and not to panic. With the actual bank still unknown, there is said to be a drain of money from the many recently set-up private banks as all the smaller banks are under suspicion, even more so as a few of them are actually owned and run by casino owners and businessmen of doubtful repute. This one act of a misguided employee is threatening the entire financial sector as the failure of one bank very often, leads to the failure of many others, a rule known in international banking circles as Herstatt Rule. Just as the Sri Lankan public were forgetting the Pramuka Bank fiasco and gaining some degree of confidence in the new banks, this incident has rudely shaken them reminding that all banks are not equally safe. This is of course an eye opener to many depositors who are driven by high rates and gifts offered when deciding on a bank, ignoring important criteria such as - how long in existence, quality and reputation of the directors and management, availability of unencumbered capital for emergencies and amounts of bad debts. It is true, there was a time when public could safely assume that all banks are equally well run and supervised. But sadly no longer so. Having made the mistake of permitting the wrong parties to open banks, at least let the Central Bank carry out their role as supervisors in a diligent, intelligent and unbiased manner. Dr. L. S. Randeniya, Recently the Speaker of Parliament, W. J. M. Lokubandara addressing a workshop on 'Positive Attitude and Constructive Skills Development' organised by the UNDP for parliamentary employees laid positive emphasis on the necessity to eschew party politics by them in their workplaces. Such a change must be rigidly adhered to as allegiance to party politics will often go against one's conscious to perform one's duties wit zeal, efficiency and courage. In the present day, it has been the bane in our country that most, if not all, toe a political party line indeed, word and thoughts! Some even jump the political band waggon with future self interest and assumed pride, while still others resort to sycophancy to gain favours from political bigwigs! A public servant must turn life into a rational art to keep clear of accusations. In the course of his speech the Speaker was outspoken of the honourable members in the House. Said he: "It is mind, body and word which build character. When some one has wrong thoughts he speak wrong words, which lead to physical violence. This is happening in Parliament at present". Permit me to mention my own experience in this regard. I once occupied the public gallery on what was considered an important issue (more so, for me) for debate that day. The debate started on time and progressed like a train passing through salubrious uphill countryside, in the tempo "to you my Kandy maid two silk parasols, instead of one!" Indeed, I was so engrossed with the contributions of the members, that lulled me to such a sense of security and inner contention. Then, awhile later came an uproar, a din and a disturbance. Some seats were empty, the honourable members in a huddle. The train had jumped the rails - the crash! Heard over the commotion the Speaker (more seen and less heard of) shout "Order! Order! He rapped the table. The repeated words was a voice in the wilderness - it was ad verbum and verbera! To be out of the place was my first concern: they were privileged, I was not. The House, now stood adjourned. Could that have been wrong thoughts and, wrong words to back up? I cannot but help observe that some politicians are of opinion to be polite is an outward sign of the tacit disclosure that one is unsuccessful!! Stanley Geevaratne, Appreciation : Dr. Kesera Karunatillake Dr. Kesera Karunatillake was born in Aranayake, Kegalle, in December 1927. He had his early education in Colombo at Nalanda and the Royal Colleges. After obtaining a preliminary certificate in French from the University of Ceylon, he studied law and practised as an Attorney-at-Law (Proctor of the Supreme Court of Ceylon) from 1956-1959. In France, he specialized in International Law and obtained a doctorate in law with honours from the Sorbonne University in 1966. He was awarded The Hague Academy of International Law in 1969. After working as a consultant to UNICEF in 1966-67, he joined the Secretariat of Interpol in 1967 as a legal attache and was appointed Deputy Chief of Division. He made important contributions to many international conferences and congresses in different parts of the world. In 1995, he participated at a United Nations congress in Cairo on Criminal Justice issues. His topics were International law on Air Law, telecommunications, crime and treatment of offenders, protection of cultural heritage and United Nations human rights. His noteworthy publications are: "The United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF" (in French) 1967, "The Role of the United Nations Agencies in the promotion of the ideals of peace and international understanding among youth" 1967, "Some aspects of the role of the Interpol in the prevention and suppression of the traffic in women and children." 1985, "Theft of cultural property and the illicit traffic in art" 1988. He was the author of a book in French on the history, legal status and activities of UNICEF. Many of his articles are in international legal and social science periodicals. An impressive speaker, and had lectured to magistrates, lawyers, police officers and law students on international criminal law including extradition and judicial assistance, and on legal aspects of international organization. His interests were literature, Egyptology, travel, and the Japanese language. His latest novel, "Crest of a Wave: A Voyage Through Life" is a story of a Sri Lankan child, who learns from many cultures and places, and finds his destiny in the world. Through his writings, teachings, and conferences, he had made a difference in this world. Rukmal Karunatillake, |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
