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A crime and drug-free country soon

I came to know SSP Pujith Jayasundera when I served as President of the Medico-Legal Society of Sri Lanka in 2002/2003, he was the Director Narcotics Bureau at that time. Because of his honesty, integrity and excellent work he performed, the Society requested him to speak on narcotics abuse and control as a plenary speaker at the annual sessions of the Society.

I was interested in Forensic Medicine and Criminology, as my last state appointment was Assistant Judicial Medical Officer of Colombo in 1971 during the JVP insurrection.

In 2005, he was appointed DIG Colombo and in 2010 was appointed Senior DIG.

Whenever I conducted free health camps in under-privileged and remote areas in Sri Lanka, he provided police security.

When I conducted the 530th free health camp at Weerasingham Hall, Jaffna. Pujith was the senior DIG in charge of the North. He came down with the Army SF Commander and assisted to conduct a successful camp.

I was impressed with the personal relationship he had with the public of Jaffna. For the 550th health camp in Puthukudirippu, Jaffna, he requested SSP Kilinochchi Palitha Siriwardena to facilitate the camp.

I am pleased the Constitutional Council took into consideration honesty and integrity and not only seniority, at this crucial time when incidents of crime and drug-related offences are on the rise.

I am certain that IGP Pujith Jayasundera will transform our motherland to a safer crime and drug-free country.

Dr.Lakshman Weerasena

Past president, Medico-Legal society of Sri Lanka and Independent Medical Practitioners Association of Sri Lanka.

GSP Plus as early as possible

We were delighted to hear the lifting of the ban on Sri Lanka’s fisheries exports to the European Union(EU) which was imposed since January 2015 that curtailed the annual income of nearly US$100 million.

The EU Ambassador in Colombo David Daly told to a weekend newspaper that Sri Lanka and the EU had developed an excellent partnership through the past months in combating the illegal fishing trade worldwide. He was satisfied with Sri Lanka’s excellent and growing progress of improving a national fisheries governance system which was of paramount importance to the fishing industry.

We Sri Lankans should be happy and proud that these achievements in the fisheries sector were envisioned with the farsighted political leadership of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

As a patriotic citizen, I thank the EU’s magnanimous gesture of lifting the ban imposed on fisheries exports and urge it to offer the GSP plus facility for the apparel industry at its earliest and assist to overcome the economic crisis faced by Sri Lanka.

Z.A.M.Shukoor Aranayaka

One country, one nation

President Maithripala Sirisena should be thanked for his assurance of one country and one nation, in spite of a recent demand for a federal system in the North and the East. He said he would take all measures to guarantee human rights to the Tamil-speaking people -Tamils and Muslims in the North and the East.

The present regime, he said will make all efforts in its progressive line of action to redress the grievances of Tamils and Muslims in linguistic rights with special emphasis on the use of the Tamil language as a medium of official and administrative dealings with the Tamil-speaking people. The government will provide equal facilities for education. The government granted equal status by permitting the singing of the national anthem in Tamil during the Independence Day celebrations in Colombo.

If equal treatment is given by the government in all affairs of the Tamil-speaking people, the demand for separate federal rule will be withdrawn by Tamil politicians who seem to harbour suspicions about the step-motherly treatment given to them.

The President is the guarantor of equality in all administrative dealings with the Tamils and Muslims. To reinforce his assurance, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe too has guaranteed equal rights to all Tamil-speaking people.

May the President and Prime Minister do their best to appease the Tamils to agree to the unitary system to preserve one Sri Lankan nation.

M.Y.M.Meeadh Kandy

Lost luggage

I read a letter in the Sunday Observer (April 10) by a reader about the loss of luggage at the airport.

We cannot blame anyone for the loss of Zam Zam water brought from Mecca because at the Jeddah airport, they issue passengers with boxes for the Zam Zam water, of 6 1/2 x 14”. If there are 50 passenger in a group, there will be 50 boxes of the same colour and size on the conveyor belt at the airport.

Many passengers find it difficult to identify their luggage. Some may just pick up one, assuming that it’s theirs, but which actually belongs to another passenger. That’s how it gets ‘lost’.

To overcome this situation, tour operators should inform passengers to clearly mark their boxes, so that they could identify them easily and avoid confusion.

Nazeel Zuhair Mt. Lavinia