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Morning Spice by
Ginger Our 'A' side nearly made it to the Commonwealth Games final of the Commonwealth Games. A miss they say is as good as a mile but one feels that if our boys were a little more composed and not put themselves under pressure they might have made it. But all in all they gave a really good account of themselves. In the process we made two worthwhile discoveries - Avishka Gunawardena seems to be a batsman of great promise and young Warnapura also seems to be full of talent. Anyway one is almost sure that cricket has come to stay here. What of our other forms of sport? Apart from Susanthika we have no other athletes of world class though we have quite a few who shine at regional level. I suppose every now and then we will bring out a snooker player who may grab an odd foreign title or two. Those are about the only forms of sport that hold up any real hopes of success other than perhaps shooting. Our standard of rugger and netball are so poor that we must look at the wisdom of sending our local teams to get so badly mauled. It is a sheer waste of money and all the experience they get is not likely to lift the quality of their game. It is better to get the services of some real classy foreign coach and improve the standard here before we think of participating in major international events. Prevention is better Now there is hope for those who have entered hospital due to severe chest pains and unstable angina. A new drug called agrastat not only helps the former to cut the risk of death by almost 50% but also helps to reduce the chance of a heart attack also by as much. The new drug prevents clots forming unlike existing ones that can only dissolve them. Civil code The law says that direct relatives have to help each other in times of financial need. Though both parents and daughter have little love for each other her parents live on less than 9000 dollars per year so she will have to pay them 700 dollars per month for the next three years till her mother gets her state pension. Politicians and traffic lights On of September 4th, 1998 between 8.05 - 8.10 a.m. I was at the Dharmapala Mawatha/Sir James Peiris Mawatha junction awaiting the traffic light to change from Red to Green. The traffic was heavy at this time and there was a continuous flow of vehicles along Dharmapala Mawatha. Suddenly the tooting of a motor cycle horn was heard and from the Flower Road end a motor cycle ridden by a uniformed person carrying another uniformed person on the pillion who was waiving frantically rode right across the Red light cutting into the path of traffic moving on the Dharmapala Mawatha. This was followed by a jeep carrying armed personnel and two vehicles with tinted glasses (who was travelling in them nobody knew) and was followed by another jeep carrying armed personnel. I don't think there was anybody inside who needed medical attention to be in such a hurry but would presume it was a politician. The question is, are politicians not bound by the road rules applicable to other citizens? What would have happened if a vehicle rightfully going along Dharmapala Mawatha collided with one of these vehicles? 0I well remember when Mr. Dudley Senanayake was the Prime Minister, he used to travel in a Triumph Herald driving it himself and obeying traffic ligh.Sometime ago it was reported in the Reader's Digest that the King of Spain rode a motor cycle and on the way gave a lift to a person who wanted transport. I suppose the only difference is that they were not scared of the public or ashamed to show their faces but the present politicians in Sri Lanka are. R. de Silva The suggestion of the Leader of the Opposition to have unconditional talks with the LTTE has been opposed by the government. However, I read in the press earlier that the President had indicated that she was prepared to talk to the LTTE. It appears that the word 'unconditional' is standing in the way of holding talks with the LTTE to end the war situation resulting in the continuance of death and destruction. 'Unconditional' in my understanding means 'not subject to conditions'. One of the main pre-conditions normally enforced is the ceasing of hostilities during talks. What went wrong in the past was that the armed forces were made to return to the barracks during talks giving the LTTE the opportunity to consolidate itself and even penetrate government controlled areas as happened in the Eastern Province. That should not happen again. The talks could be held whilst the operations are in full swing. There is an indication that the LTTE may consider dropping the Eelam or separate state stance as could be deciphered from the recent utterances of their spokesman. So why not talk to the LTTE without preconditions but under the existing conditions? There is no harm to talking to anyone to resolve the crisis. Of course, the end should justify the means. Upali S. Jayasekera Lot of water has flown under the bridge after the arrest of a Supreme Court Judge by the C.I.D. Lawyers are carrying placards at Hulftsdorp and protesting. Some of these placards urge the Attorney General to resign. Editorials are written on the subject. 'Lawyers Orga-nisation makes strong protest'. 'Arrest of a Judge a despicable act' says 'Jayaraj' 'Kandy Bar condemns arrest of Judge'. 'UNP wants Chief Justice to probe illegal arrest of Judge'. 'We must preserve the Independence of the Judiciary'. 'Is the C.I.D. running the country', and to cap it all 'C.I.D. Director Bandula Wickrem-asinghe has been transferred to Police Headquarters'. These are some of the headlines in the print media. There is one little thing that all these mortals have forgotten. Has anyone taken the trouble to ascertain whether the Court which originally granted bail to the High Court Judge intimated such grant of bail to the C.I.D. or the Local Police who filed the original 'B' report to Court. There lies the answer to this problem. If the Court has not done that intimation it is the fault of that Court and not anybody else. A suspect informing the Police or the C.I.D. that he was bailed out by Court will not suffice. B. Senewiratna Advertising and the tobacco industry Most western countries including the European Union do not recognize tobacco advertising as a right. If the industry is of the view that advertising bans do not produce drops in consumption, then there is no cause for them to worry about. Further their claim that advertising is only for inviting smokers of competitive brands to switch to another brand cannot be accepted as in Sri Lanka there is only one tobacco company. We agree with the industry that rising of prices leads to drop in consumption. However, without an additional cost of production, the industry will gain a percentage of the increased price with no effort on their part so that their income along with the government income increases, in spite of a gradual decrease in consumption. Thus they are no losers, but are gainers at price increases. Therefore the price should go on increasing until the percentage of consumption drops to a level lower than the income gained at price hikes. The government should discontinue the practice of granting a percentage of the income gained at price hikes to the industry and absorb the entire price hike to itself. This will gradually bring down their revenue to be below the consumption level. Although the industry states that no estimate of mortality or disease, directly attributable to tobacco is available WHO being the most recognized medical organization in the world states that, * Every year, tobacco kills over three million people in the world and 70% of these deaths occur in the developing countries. * Children are starting to smoke at young age, sometimes before they are 10 yrs of age. They are at greater risk of contracting one of the 25 disease -s that are caused directly or indirectly by tobacco. * Secondly smoking (passive smoking) can retard the emotional and mental development of young children. Tobacco is critically harmful to human beings and also to the whole environment in such circumstances it is extremely funny that the tobacco industry is talking about their business rights! Manjari Peiris Travails of Pilgrims in Chennai Recently I was a helpless witness to a number of unwarranted incidents that took place in Chennai Airport when I was leaving India after a brief visit to the South. Chennai Airport, not usually a busy Airport was any way crowded outside much more than inside. There was a big scramble to get into Departure Terminal. Hundreds of people blocking the only entrance through which a few air ticket holders were checked and sent into the building. Four booking-in counters for Air Lanka were in operation, each having more than 50 passengers. A short queue at one counter catered for transit passengers. I was at the end of the longest queue which had a group of Sri Lankan pilgrims mainly consisting of women of all ages, a few men and a couple of Buddhist priests, who were running up and down the queue helping and chatting with the pilgrims. We were told that this was the group queue meant for pilgrims. It was a painful waiting and the next queue was short but full of trolleys and I decided to join it. To my amazement I saw there one man handling two trolleys with heavily loaded bales of cotton. When he was pushing one leaving the other behind another passenger gets into the gap between two carts. I was one of them and realized it only when I was in that position from which I did not move until I went to the counter. The officer at the weighing counter was efficient and courteous but he had to cope with saree dealers and authorized smugglers like the one who had two trolleys full of clothes and what not. It was irritating for me to watch the hustling of women in Kurthas and high heals running up and down the queue asking for accommodating their excess baggage in the tickets of passengers who had lighter weight than the specified quota. Empty carts were blocking the queues and were independently moving on uneven floors. One such cart I pushed into couple with another, struck a priest who stared at me quite in pain. I nearly got assaulted by him. The next barrier was the Immigration check-point where the officer was courteous and very much interested in minute details. I was wondering whether he was preventing Indian nationals illegally running away from India to Sri Lanka to join the LTTE. Our hand luggage was sent through the screening apparatus whilst body check was done in two separate entrances for men and women, men openly, women behind a curtain. This was the place where innocent pilgrims' money was grabbed by those searching staff. I do not know whether they were from State Police or Customs. I believe they were from the Police. At the collection point of the hand luggage, the robust looking officer with a handle bar moustache had the audacity to ask me for fifty. I asked him what for. He fell silent and withdrew to his cubicle. After this eventful journey through barriers, we were in the waiting lounge almost an hour before the take off. The pilgrims, mostly innocent villagers from remote areas of Sri Lanka were trickling into the lounge one by one. Some crying and complaining that they were harassed. Some complaining that their extra dollars were robbed by officers at the check point. They were complaining to the priest in charge of the group. Whenever such complaints were made the priest took the harassed pilgrim back to the officer and forcibly recovered the money they lost. It was obvious from the smiling faces of the innocent victims that they got their money back from these sharks. The Indian officers who were guilty were not allowing the pilgrims to make a big row. They were scared of their superiors that if the pilgrims complained to higher authorities, they would even have lost their jobs. A warning for organizers of tours and pilgrimages who make a profit and get a free ride all over India. Please look after the innocent pilgrims. Majority of them are illiterate. They do not know Tamil, Hindi or English. Some are feeble and old. They are being pushed from pillar to post to go through Customs and Immigration. Protect them from the sharks. That is what they pay you for. I am sure the Airport authorities in Chennai will make a note to improve treatment to Sri Lankans visiting India, a country to which we have much respect. After all we also came from there over two thousand five hundred years ago, didn't we? An Admirer of India Reply to C. M. S. J. Madduma
Bandara C. M. S. J. Madduma Bandara's article 'Standardisation Debate Revisited' (The Island 31.08.1998) can only be regarded as a futile literary Kaamakazee bayonet charge that was intended to defend the patently indefensible. It also contains several historical distortions which should not be allowed to go unchallenged. The notorious 'Standardisation' of university admissions that was initiated by the United Front Government in 1972 was part and parcel of the 'politics of envy' programme that the populist left wing nationalist and their (off and on) allies, the Marxist used to Ride to power and then cling on. First it was the envy of the English-speaking elite and the Burghers and Jaffna Tamils ('Sinhala Only in 24 hours from Point Pedro to Dondra Head!'). Then came envy of the Christians (the schools takeover). After that came the whipping up of envy and hatred of the Tamils ('Tamil examiners favouring Tamils during A Level Exam markings') which resulted in the standardisation which (in a more milder form) is still with us. The writer suffers from the delusion that since the Sinhalese are 74% of the population they are automatically entitled to 74% of the university admissions and state jobs etc. The fact that they did not do so before Sinhala Only, and Standardisation is taken by Mr. Madduma Bandara and 'his alias indicative of British colonial favouritism', 'massive Tamil conspiracy' and other paranoid theories that simply do not stand up to impartial scrutiny. The fact of the matter is that the excellent missionary English language schools that those dedicated American missionaries set up (with funds from America) gave the Jaffna Tamils of all socio-economic and religious groups a headstart over their Sinhalese brethren. The American 'educationist chose the Jaffna Peninsula because they considered it virgin territory without much competition from the Anglican or Catholic church schools. It is absurd to view this 19th century 'Development as a diabolical Anglo-American long-term conspiracy to keep the Sinhalese down' (something that is still started by ultra chauvinist forces in this country). The fact of the matter is that the British had declared war on America as recently as 1814 (they captured Washington and burned down the White House) and regarded the rebellious Yankis with a great deal of suspicion. The British colonial government was quite happy that the Americans were busy in remote Jaffna. The limited land in Jaffna along with the lack of modern industry channelled Tamil youth into English education, higher studies and government jobs in Ceylon, Burma, Singapore and Malaysia. They did prosper as a result but this can hardly be regarded as an anti-Sinhalese plot. Sadly during the late 19th century forces of intolerance began to raise their ugly head under the smokescreen of religious and patriotic revival. Slogans and words about 'sons of the soil' 'debased races', 'alien faiths' 'exploitative minorities' began to putrefy the once tolerant air of this beautiful land. No doubt commercial and political envy and rivalry played an important role in all of this. However, the damage was done and the Tamil political leaders of the day like the incomparable Ramanathan brothers began to warn their community about the terrible dangers they could face after the British granted independence. Sadly their worst fears were realised. Mr. Madduma Bandara attempts to justify the policy of forcing Tamil students to obtain higher marks for admission by comparing it to some former aspects of the US college system. During the 1970's some state colleges in the USA started to implement the policy of 'Positive Discrimination' in order to boost the number of black Americans entering college. It had been argued by left wing educationist that because of slavery and discrimination the Black American community needed a 'break' when it came to college admissions, state jobs and government contracts. It was soon revealed that this was a system that promoted mediocrity and blatant injustice. After years of legal debate the US Supreme Court recently ruled that 'positive discrimination' was unconstitutional and unjust. This has doomed this American experiment in Sri Lankan style of Standardisation and ironically many Black American educationists have welcome its end. They say that 'Positive Discrimination' hurts the blacks in the long run because it tends to make them feel that they are inferior in IQ compared to their Asian and White country men. These brave Black Americans say the real answer is to spend more money and time in uplifting the inner city schools where blacks form the majority of students. They have also pointed out that Black Americans must follow the example set by Asian Americans and embrace the culture of hardwork and determination. I wish to point out to Mr. Madduma Bandara that Sri Lankan Tamil students have outperformed (on average) their White counterparts in countries like the USA, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Does he suggest that this too is due to some vast global Tamil conspiracy? MIS and CIA please take note. The real answer to the under performance by Sinhala-medium students lay in the development and uplifting of the rural schools. Of course, this would have taken a generation or two, but in a democratic state this is the only way. The only standardisation that is fair when it comes to university admissions is the old system when every student irrespecting of class, caste or creed had to sit for a standard exam and those who obtained the best results got in. The whole nation is the winner in this form of meritocracy. An independent panel of investigators should be on watch to prevent any form of cheating. Since the answer sheets can be checked and double-checked this is not difficult to setup. As for the writer's paean to the late Mr. Cyril Matthew all I Can say is that his 'hero' was a man who did a grave disservice to Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese people and the UNP government. His vitriolic comments about the entire Tamil community provided a huge and destructive arsenal of propaganda ammunition to the Tigers and their sympathisers which they did not fail to use. It also provided the JVP with a free smokescreen with which this charming organisation distanced itself from the 1983 holocaust. Mr. Madduma Bandara speaks of 'Tamil terrorist' appearing in 1958. I would like to ask him if he also thinks that there were 'Sinhalese terrorist' in Ceylon in 1915 or in Gal Oya in 1956. S. L. David, Rambling Notes by Nihal Corea Now another hazard adds itself to the many that menace the city of Colombo. It was reported in 'The Island' that 'only two of the net work of around one thousand fire hydrants in Colombo are functioning posing a great threat in case of an emergency'. In other words a minor squirt is all we could manage in the event of a raging fire. In a town which has quite a few pyromaniacs ready to spark off all types of flames rather than douse them the situation is certainly not likely to help many a citizen to sleep too well. That of course excludes those who sleep over their duties with an easy conscience. The average resident of the city however would be more than a little concerned over this revelation. Think of the number of people waiting to set fire to many places be it with matches, tongue or poisoned pen and realize how urgent it is to put our hydrants in order. Nobody could predict who will start a fire and where. All one knows is that different types of fire keep breaking out in many places for no apparent reason and putting one out is no mean feat. Actually it is difficult to find some one inclined to douse them. All this apart the city of Colombo will find it hard to maintain its position as a popular tourist destination. The tourist would shudder at the thought of being grilled in his own hotel. Bleak prospects lie ahead unless some bright spark can do something about malfunctioning hydrants. The trouble is that one of the most popular games contrary to the belief that cricket claims that berth is playing with fire. Ask any politician and he would tell you that life is pretty dull without playing with fire. He watches many a well conceived plan go up in smoke with such unconcealed satisfaction that suggests that the torch could rule the day over many issues. Nor are many work places without some one or other stoking the flames of discord within those places. No hydrant in fact could put out the fires of hate that are sparked off by such characters. They just know the fine art of building up a smoke screen to hide what they get out of such places. The city is definitely under threat if what the report says is correct. The R.A.F. had told the Island that they had been trained in their 'rappling method'. They would certainly be grappling with the rappling method if there are no hydrants to put out those fires. Now one hopes no one would be naive enough not to allow such situation to develop and what those concerned were doing while so many hydrants were out of action. The chances are that anyone pointing to the short comings of such places would be out of action themselves. He would certainly have been hauled over the coals and told not to play with fire. Those who are worried about the state of things anywhere normally have very brief working careers as would some indiscreet official of the fire department. |
