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| Sunday, 30 January 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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D.S. Senanayake : Father of the Nation
Don Stephen Senanayake was born on October 20, 1884 in Botale, Meerigama. His father was Spator Senanayake and mother, Kehelelle Catherine Elizabeth Perera Gunasekera. D.S. Senanayake was the youngest in the family, with one elder sister and three brothers. F.R. Senanayake, another well-known person in Sri Lanka's political sphere, was his elder brother. An old boy of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, he enjoyed sports more than academic activities. D.S. Senanayake entered public life by identifying himself with the Temperance Movement, following in the footsteps of his brother F.R. Senanayake and others. The Temperance Movement was looked upon with suspicion by the British, for two reasons. It aroused the people to a sense of responsibility, and to free themselves from foreign rule. It also deprived the government of a large portion of revenue which came from the sale of toddy, which was increasing in leaps and bounds. So, when riots broke out and spread rapidly from the Central Province to the Western and the Southern provinces, the British thought it was a plot to throw them out. Martial Law was declared and the leaders of the Temperance Movement were taken into custody, though there was no evidence against them. Elections for the first government of Independent Ceylon were held in 1947. After the declaration of independence in 1948, D.S. Senanayake took office as the country's first Prime Minister.Prior to Ceylon's independence, he brought together leaders of various communities and interests, to form the United National Party (UNP). After Senanayake died in an accident in 1952, his son Dudley Senanayake succeeded him.D.S. Senanayake was a builder of tanks, a promoter of national literature and a great statesman with a charismatic personality. He is remembered to this day as a great son of Mother Lanka. ########### Diana, the people's princess
She was someone with a natural nobility, who was classless and who proved in the last years of her life that she didn't need a royal title to continue to generate her particular brand of magic. Diana Frances Spencer was born in 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk, England. Her father, Edward Spencer, was heir to an earldom, and her mother was the daughter of the fourth Baron Fermoy. Diana was educated at Riddlesworth Hall, a preparatory school in Norfolk, and later at the West Heath School in Kent. From 1979 until 1981, she worked as a kindergarten teacher at the Young England School in Pimlico, London. On February 24, 1981, her engagement to Prince Charles, son of Queen Elizabeth II and heir to the British throne, was announced. They were married in Saint Paul's Cathedral in an internationally televised ceremony on July 29, 1981; hundreds of millions of people watched the ceremony on TV. The couple had two sons: Prince William Arthur Philip Louis (born on June 21, 1982) and Prince Henry Charles Albert David (born on September 15, 1984). However, in December 1992, a separation of the royal marriage was announced. By that time, Diana had adopted charity work as her royal duty. In 1993, she briefly withdrew from public activities in an effort to avoid the negative publicity focused on her separation from Prince Charles. After their divorce in 1996, it was agreed that Diana would be known as Diana, Princess of Wales, and would no longer be permitted to use the title 'Her Royal Highness'. The couple had joint custody of their children. Diana actively supported many charities related to homeless and deprived children, drug abuse, breast cancer, and victims of Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In 1987, Diana sat with a man dying of AIDS and held his hand, a gesture credited with promoting acceptance and compassion for people with the disease. She was the Vice President of the British Red Cross and served as a member of the International Red Cross Advisory Board. In 1997, she visited Angola and Bosnia and Herzegovina in support of a Red Cross campaign to ban land mines. On August 31, 1997, Diana was killed in an automobile accident in Paris, France. After a two-year investigation into the causes of the crash, French judges ruled that it had been caused solely by the intoxication of the driver, Henri Paul. The decision cleared nine photographers (who had been chasing the vehicle at the time of the crash) of any wrongdoings. Diana's death sparked much public debate about the role of the British monarchy. Many observers favourably contrasted Diana's common touch - her personal gestures toward ordinary people - with the more formal approach of other members of the royal family. Following her death, a memorial fund was established to continue to fund the charities with which Diana was most involved. Her death resulted in massive outpourings of grief, as never seen before throughout the world, among people who had never seen her in real life. Tens of millions of people all over the world took part in her funeral service via television and radio. The flowers left in her memory outside the Royal Palaces as well as British embassies throughout the world, was ample proof of the love people all over the world had for the princess. |
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| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
The first Prime Minister of Independent Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it was
then known, was D.S. Senanayake. He was also known as the Father of the
Nation.
Princess Diana of Britain was widely known for her compassion, her
style and beauty. All over the world, she was known as a symbol of
selfless humanity. Princess Diana was a standard bearer for the rights of
the truly downtrodden, a very British girl who transcended nationality.
