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Morning Spice by
Ginger Another brutal rape and murder spells out the sad message that law and order are teetering on the point of keeling over totally. There have been many reasons trotted out for the state of things that menaces Citizen Perera and his right to protection from crime but lets get back to basics and come down to earth. The issue goes back to crime and punishment. How lenient are we with our criminals. Can we afford to be too generous and liberal about the more hemous types of crimes committed these days. Reform and rehabilitation are the key words and the fashion of the day. Do the sentences that our murderers and rapist get seem adequate in terms of the crimes committed also the remissions granted allow an unrepentant murderer to get out of jail far too early. The technique appears to be to behave while in jail and then come out as early as possible. The Arabs just know how to get about it. The second cause is corruption and political meddling. Many factors go to make up this lamentable tragedy. America saw it happening first and we are catching up pretty fast. The reign of the thug must end if any progress is to be made or it will not only our society that will pay the price but our economy as well. Blood banks and war According to a research done in Finland those who have reached middle age can reduce the risk of their getting a heart attack by as much as 85 percent if they donate blood regularly. Often people have too much iron in their systems and this could harm the arterial cells in it. When you drain out blood the quantum of iron is also reduced. Lucky diver The diver believed a treasure ship had sunk off the Equadorian coast. He kept on searching for it for three long years and did not give up hope. His patience was rewarded when he discovered that Spanish galleon that sunk in 1654. It contained gold and silver worth about four billion dollars. The gold will be shared by the Equdorean govt and an investment company that financed the project. ''Introduction of tougher anti-rape and sexual offences laws in October 1995 had failed to reduce cases of rape, incest, grave sexual abuse, use of children in obscene publications, unnatural offences and other related acts, both police and Justice Ministry officials said yesterday.'' But some police officers appear to hold an entirely different view of the matter as evident from the story captioned 'Reimpose death penalty' in The Island recently. It tells us that 'criminal activities especially sex-related ones have reached alarming proportions. Nothing short of death penalty can arrest this disturbing trend, senior DIG H. M. G. B. Kotakadeniya (Crimes and Criminal Intelligence) told 'The Island' in an interview.'' We have thus on the one hand a defeatist lamentation that tougher laws were of no consequence while on the other, the self-same police demand tougher laws! This conspicuous contradiction signifies their muddled thinking and misguided approach to the whole matter. To my mind, these two news stories in juxtaposition deserve to be sent to the National Archives to be preserved for our future generation to see. This inconsistency in thinking on the part of police and the Justice Ministry indicates, in my view, their inability to diagnose the malady. This apologetic dirge also shows that they have admittedly failed in their mission. The police have been monumentaly ineffective. There are many reasons for it. One is that they have other jobs of greater importance to do than policing such as giving security to VIPs, taking their children to school, saluting them and opening the doors of their cars, do marketing for the boss, etc, as a retired Senior Superintendant of Police recently told me. But the root cause which they all seem unable to grasp lies deeper. As your editorial on the same day noted: ''It is commonsense that laws in the statute book will not prevent the mentally demented sadists and sex maniacs and the like from committing such crimes''. Today, we have all around us sexual stimulants unlawful. pornography, sex-arousing drugs, blue films, video parlours, brothel houses, sophisticated and otherwise as well as lawful television commercials, bill boards with semi nude female figures and a whole host of other voluptuous excitants freely available in plenty. We have, too, state sponsored lotteries and thousand and one other means that promote greed for lucre in us. Once the libido is thus aroused it is no wonder it seeks outlets for the pent up desires. So, sex-related crimes are the natural outcome. Therefore, as long as we do not understand the real cause and steps taken to deal with it in the correct manner, a high rate of incidence of crime as in the so-called advanced countries will remain inevitable. Dharmapala Senaratne Killinochchi Debacle. Hang the Generals! This is not the first time it happened. The terrorists attacking army camps having battalions of soldiers and heavy army equipment. First they over ran Pooneryn. The new government promoted the then officer in charge who was found guilty for the lapses that lead to the attack at the camp to the top position in the forces! That was the accountability of the PA government to the people! This was first taste of what was in store for the masses of the so called PA transparency! This was repeated at Mullative. No body was held responsible for that disaster again. Every thing was hushed up with censorship. Public Administration Minister announced in the parliament that government was not disclosing the numbers of he soldiers killed as there was no official confirmation. It will only panic and discourage the soldiers he declared. They were regarded as missing in action. This was mere escapism from reality a tactic adopted by this government merely to postpone issues. However government never ever reviewed either the war strategies nor looked into the reasons for thousands of desertions. Even constructive criticism and accountability were shouted down as unpatriotic political propaganda which should not be uttered in order not to discourage the forces we were told. So the people of this country suffer in silence. Their patience has now reached breaking point. Country and people are being fooled and betrayed by rulers. It happened again at Killinochchi. No body is found guilty or held responsible. This is much worse than the few guns and vehicles given by Premadasa who ruined us through his autocratic decisions. The damage caused was immense. Parliament passed another supplementary bill over 10 billion rupees for military purposes. Should not we have guarded such a priceless store of equipment with all our might? It is the generals who must take responsibility for such negligence. We accept that there is win and defeat in war. But this is not defeat. This is mere negligence. Public has a right to know why the Generals are not court martialed for their negligence. Generals who failed once, twice and thrice should now go. A. V. N. Fernando The presence of vendors exhibiting their wares for sale close to the cultural triangle sites is nothing new or strange. The former authorities of the cultural triangle had regulated the matter by constructing and alloting stalls to vendors at a respectable distance from the main enclosures where monuments are situated. This arrangement was working satisfactorily without any major snag except for some ambulant vendors trying to sell their articles with insistance,'' much to the obstruction and annoyance of the visitors. Once the police were called into the area to stop these vendors from trailing behind the visitors and thus causing them unnecessary annoyance. As time went on the police relaxed their surveillance of the places probably due to political interference till finally they vanished from sight. Today what the visitor to the places can see is that these sites have been ''vandalized'' to an appalling extent. The vendors have now invaded even the main enclosures where monuments are situated, so much so, that a foreign visitor on approaching the quadrangle in Polonnaruwa (entering by way of the Siva Devale) asked me the difficult question: ''what are we going to see here? Picture post-cards, Buddha statues or the country's ancient cultural heritage?'' The present arrangement is to say the least more an eyesore than anything else and most certainly detracts from the sanctified aura of such sites. As has been already pointed out by some authorities the present arrangement is unquestionably counter-productive where tourism is concerned and least helpful to the vendors. The most important need for the visitor to an archaelogical site is the possibility of unhampered freedom of movement in and around the site and undisturbed peace for the quiet contemplation and appreciation of the cultural heritage of the country of their visit. Therefore it is the bounden duty of the government to guarantee this freedom for the visitor who pays a big sum of money as entrance fees. I would therefore like to make a very earnest appeal to our good politicians of the areas concerned that they weigh the pros and cons of this particular situation on a fresh basis in consultation with the responsible authorities and ensure that only genuine visitors are permitted within these enclosures. It is a well-known fact that tourism being a visible expression of human freedom (freedom of movement) has an extremely sensitive side to it since it involves people who have their particular and peculiar ways about them. May wiser counsel prevail. Reggie Perera Buddhist attitude to the legalising of abortion ''The Island'' of 25th September 1998 has headline ''Proposal to legalise abortion''. The reasons given are that many illegal abortions are committed in this country. References have been made to the fact that abortion has been legalised in India, and Bangladesh and Nepal is also in the process of doing so. From the Buddhist perspective a sentient being is the association of the three factors, namely male's sperm, female's ovum and the arrival of the consciousness (Gandabba). Under these circumstances it could be considered that a living being has formed in the mother's womb. Therefore destruction of this process would constitute violation of the 1st precept, i.e. destruction of a living being (panatipata). In consideration of this, abortion could be considered as intentionally breaking the 1st precept which the Buddha said ''Bhikkhus intention I say is Kamma''. Therefore abortion is an intentional unwholesome act with unwholesome karmic consequences (vipaka). Under social conditions prevailing here and other countries it may be argued that the legalising abortion is not only acceptable but also desirable. For example, the law permits of legal abortion under certain strict and specific conditions, such as pregnancy of a victim of rape or incest. But from Buddhist point of view this would be unacceptable because it would mean taking of a life. In the 1st Precept there is no ambiguity in the application of this precept, because volition or Cetana would be imprinted in the sub-conscious mind to be followed inevitably with its unwholesome results. This view of legalising abortion may be in a sense comparable to the legal aspect of capital punishment in the past and in the present where for whatever reason or reasons, capital punishment was abolished, could it be this change in the law was that we are in a Buddhist environment? Sometimes when the crime rate and nature is particularly high and gruesome one hears of talk for the reintroduction of capital punishment. As further example, one might quote medical students and biology students who as part of there training do harm and ultimately kill living beings like frogs, rabbits, rats etc. Well, under these circumstances is there intention in the mind of the students to destroy a life? strictly, according to the precept, there is intention. So inevitably the kammic consequences will follow. This first precept is accepted in different forms in other religions too. Therefore, according to the Buddhist perspective, legalising abortion would not be acceptable. Concerned professional UGC dampens enthusiasm of universities The University of Moratuwa has postponed the intended admission of the new batch of students this week as the University Grants Commission has failed to release the results on time. Time for the Grants Commission has been available from August 1997, a total of 14 months ! As an annoyed parent who has seen his child languish awaiting admission to the campus, I could not understand why the UGC took so long to process the admission list. On inquiry I am told that the Moratuwa University has been ready to admit students in early October and that next year they can admit students by July. However, the UGC appears to takes its own cool time in ensuring that bright young lives are wasted away in waiting. Why the Hon. Minister does not crack his whip and wake up the sleeping bureaucrats of the UGC I cannot understand. Does he want another revolution to ferment by frustrated youth who obviously see through Government disinterest in their welfare? The most disturbing revelation I received from inside sources this week was that the delay of releasing the lists was actually due to petty things such as overtime and inadequate officers and such flimsy excuses! Surely in the age where a powerful computer cost less than a months overtime, why cannot the Minister and the Permanent Secretary place priorities over petty bureaucratic excuses? Cannot the welfare of the countries promising youth be placed above the machinations of a handful of clerical grades who prolong the admission lists to ensure that they earn enough overtime to cover the entire year? Another disturbing revelation is that the computer programs available with the UGC actually prepare this lists within weeks of the marks being released- that is way back in January! The popular excuse for delays I understand is to accommodate recorrections. The percentage of those whose marks are altered due to recorrections, I understand is less than one percent. Why in that case, cannot the others be admitted with a provision for a one percent increase to each course once recorrections are done? The Minister who claims to admit 6,000 students to university should also calculate that 6,000 man years (or the equivalent of 200 lifetime contributions are lost to society). While, I lament over the delay in admission of my child by another few weeks, I understand that in many other faculties students have to wait many more months to enter! The delays by the UGC will only dampen the enthusiasm that some campuses have taken to reduce the delay which was over three years some time back. Surely the President and the Minister must take decisive steps to ensure that all universities admit students at most within six months from sitting the A/Ls. While the initiatives taken by the President and Minister for the new education reforms are welcome, I strongly suggest that they include urgent reform of the UGC as well? An Irrate Parent, Former UNP Secretary
General Gamini Wijesekera was a symbol of the new political culture that was emerging in the Sri Lankan political scene in his time. He represented the new elite that took to politics with a vision for the future well-being of Sri Lanka. The concept of ÔGentleman PoliticsÕ which turned out to be the talking point of the day was reintroduced to Sri Lankan politics by him. Gamini entered politics through the student movement of the United National Party, and he was an honest politician who contributed a lot for quality in politics. He was appointed Chairman of the Sri Lanka Transport Board at the age of 39 and he functioned as the Secretary of the Ministry of Transport as well. The institutions under his purview were ably managed by him without any political bias whatsoever. He was an administrator par excellence, loved by all sections including the Trade Union movement, and he turned out to be one of the most popular Chairmen of the day. This was because his concept of worker welfare and rights of the employees was very pragmatic and flexible. Doors of his residence were always open to anybody seeking redress for any ailment physical, social or political. He possessed a pleasant personality. His attractive words just flowed from the bottom of his pure heart. Nobody could be hurt by the manner he attended to his day-to-day activities. It was really a challenging task that he undertook in the prevailing circumstances when he, with our dear friend Rukman Senanayake, strived to bring about a rapport between the extremist sections of the youth and the patriotic leadership of the United National Party during the period of the turbulent political crisis that the country faced between 1986 and 1990. A physician by profession, Gamini was a very eminent personality in the medical field, and he had a lucrative practice due to his immense popularity. When he entered politics sacrificing his profession he was able to reach the zenith in that sphere as well. His capabilities were amply demonstrated when he was elected to the post of Secretary-General of the United National Party. It is possible to name Gamini as one of the politicians who had not desecrated the political scene, often described by many as the hell-hole of dirty politics. Gamini was one among the prominent leaders of the United National Party the nation lost through the bomb attack at Thotalanga on the 24th October, 1994. Terror politics, political morality and gentlemen politics are hot subjects of discussion and debate today. Various demands, protests and agitational campaigns in this regard are the order of the day. Yet amidst all these allegations and counter- allegations political killings and terror politics are rampant today as it happened during the time of Gamini and thereafter! Who is responsible for all this? Who is there to take a lead in stopping this nonsense? When and where would it be commenced, and by whom? These are some of the questions that haunt me when I reflect upon the assassination of beloved Gamini. May Gamini attain Nibbana! Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, MP |
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