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Morning Spice by
Ginger Ginger read some where that some fifty odd thousand low cost housing units would be put up to re-setting shanty dwellers. Why so late in the day? The exercise is being undertaken during the fag-end of the governments tenure of office. Really slum clearance should have been a priority of high order when the government came into power. But for some inexplicable reason it was thrust out of focus. Many slums yet remain breeding germs and crime in the process. The longer you allow them to remain the harder you would find to dislodge these slum dwellers who inhabit them. Few of them are as mindful of their health and hygiene as they should be and little realise what damage they are doing their personal health as well as that of their families. The squalor is something unbelievable. The bigger tragedy is that crime is far more sophisticated than it was and like every other form of activity has its own specialised functions. Some are plain and simple burglars, others are middle men, others have the right links to pull them out of trouble and finally there are the tough guys. They will not want the system to break up as a result of re-allocation. Better late than never though and we hope the state would get as snappy as it could to re-settle these shanty dwellers. Folic acid was once thought of as being only good for pregnant women. Now scientists feel it can be playing a very useful role in relieving many serious conditions. If you do not take enough folate you may be developing too much homocystein which could contribute to coronary complications because it damages the lining of blood vessels. Folic acid Women in lime light They rocketed themselves to stardom ever since and Lourds Guz Matters Kabrina Legarda and Minerva Ambrosio appeared on TV and newspapers almost every day after they started appearing for this girl. People thronged their popular haunts to just to have a glimpse at their favourite lawyers and wish them luck! Phantom garment factories - a reply Reference the letter in The Island under the heading 'Phantom garment factories' by a former Manufacturer cum exporter from Batticaloa, I must very clearly and seriously state that every word in his letter is true. But it will be water on a ducks back. The Ministry is fully aware that there are ghosts and phantoms operating phantom factories. This is not only in Batticaloa but in Vavuniya, Puttalam, Keerankalli, Anuradhapura, Tambuegama, Tirippane, Mahiyangana and many more places. Some are politically powerful, some politically useful, some financially powerful and some financially useful. When a letter like the one in the paper of the 8th instant appears you will never get a denial or any statement from the Textile Quota Board or the Ministry of Industrial Development, under whose cover comes the Textile and Garment business. Selling of quotas is better business than selling DFCC share, no insult to DFCC what I am trying to emphasis is that quotas are hot and in demand. This does not apply to all quotas but from time to time they vary. The Ministry will do nothing, you can bet on it. They will overlook this just like they have overlooked the forgeries. Who are the master operators in the forgery business? During the Dharmista days there were 27 or so companies that forged documents ended up on sweet smelling flowers and one man is a prominent political figure today. He should be a state guest at Welikada doing R.II, but there are political parties in this country that take any trash and there are votes who return people from any garbage heap. A few months ago there was a case of shipping dolls dresses to qualify to having exported a certain Category and the exporter was exonerated. This was followed by a forger whose partner is connected to a big shot in the Opposition and by the umbilical cord too. No action taken. The modus operandi is just to talk till the ship carrying the relative items reaches the destination and the goods are cleared and thus no evidence will remain. The johnnies in the Ministry along with the outsiders in the Textile Quota Board are not trained detectives, they scratch each other's back. The Ministry also will not hand it to the CID and ask them to call in the Interpol, who will put paid to this type of wrongdoing. Next bunch of questionable characters are Associations, The Buyers Association will not care as long as they get goods. The others associations, like the 200 Factories Assoc: Textiles Exporters Associ and the Small and Medium consortium who call themselves a Chamber will not do anything. They are questionable Organisation who elect their Office Bearers without a quorum in most cases. Will President Kumaratunga look into the allegations
made above for the Govt. and the Opposition are equally
guilty of this dirty and shameless mess. Counteracting crimes against women and the death penalty Crimes against women highlighted recently in the media are a part of the chronic malady, which has afflicted the Sri Lankan community. This ailment has been aggravated by several causes such as the ongoing protracted civil war, upsurge of robberies and crimes, escalation of the cost of food, medicine, housing, cooking fuel, water service, electricity, telecommunications and transport and the bribery and corruption rampant in both the public and private sectors. Successive governments and oppositions have woefully failed to alleviate the hardship caused to the hoi polloi: they have in effect repudiated the trust reposed in them by the people. One of the measures to counteract the deplorable state of affairs is to launch a concerted effort on the part of the public, police and the mass media. Considerable number of females have been the victims of plunder, torment, abduction, rape and murder caused by heartless young and elder men. Scamps operating on roads, by-paths and lonely spots especially at dusk and night have been prowling to prey on women and young girls when they travel between their work places and residences. Many of the miscreants are unemployed or under-employed school dropouts addicted to liquor, tobacco, drugs and gambling. These culprits form part of our social scenario and should be tackled jointly or severally by the government, the opposition, the clergy of all denominations, the NGOs and other social workers. According to media reports the authorities are short of about ten thousand police personnel to deal with the current crime wave. This shortage is very probably due to the fact that a considerable part of the elite of the police service has been concentrated on affording round- the-clock security to Ministers, M.Ps, other V.I.Ps, their families and their abodes, and also due to the fact that a large number of the police has been diverted to the East and North war zones. As there is hardly any prospect of increasing in the near future the required police staff to cope with the extent of crime, it will be advisable at this juncture, as a practical measure of managing with the existing staff, to resort to some fairly ample, but effective action set out hereinafter in areas where there are concentrations of women factory and/or office employees. The police are requested to announce by loudspeakers at or near gates of the factories and offices to the effect that female employees will be welcomed at police stations to make complaints (confidentially or otherwise) of harassment or threat or likely harassment within or outside work places. This is an ideal area for trade unions to participate. One or two policemen can do the announcing in a few evenings: they can use the police motor bicycles or even pedal cycles for the purpose to economise expenditure. At the stations arrangements should be made to record the complaints as far as possible by policewomen. It is also advisable that policewomen should be in attendance on the complainant till they leave the police station. Suitable announcements accordingly should also be made on loudspeakers. Perhaps some pamphlets may be issued to the public in this regard. This course of action will not only alleviate the fears of all females involved in the entire country and be regarded as sign of goodwill of the government and the police but will also be a deterrent to the trouble-makers. It is necessary that a woman D.I.G. should be appointed to direct and oversee all matters relating to women vis-a-vis the police service. There may be talented and dedicated women in the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, one of whom may be hand-picked to serve as a D.I.G. She should be given a definite assignment with a reasonable time frame. It has indeed been a continuing slur on men that females have been subjected to torture and even death in various places, including some homes. Instances are not rare of husbands and wives enduring agonies in silence. The role of the women should be held in the highest esteem by men. In point of fact, the woman, as mother, has been suffering from time immemorial acute hardships in gestation, labour pains and caring day and night in the rearing of children to make them useful citizens. Mother's milk is unique and sine qua non for the healthy infant. Many a mother has had to contend with a shoe-string family budget. Her plight has often worsened with a selfish and self-centred husband addicted to alcohol, tobacco, gambling and even other evils, and frittering away the meagre family income. Harmony between men and women can be secured if all persons in society are cognisant of the fact that in the order of nature the life of the man is mutually complementary to that of the woman, both of whom are, in effect, passengers on this spaceship called the earth and that they should not be exploiting each other in any manner whatsoever. For that purpose either party should be prepared to sacrifice for the sake of the other and the family institution in the event of the rapport between them tends to get strained. In the process either party should exercise the necessary restraint to avert or defuse a situation before it deteriorates. Ultimately each one should play one's part and depart for good from the face of this earth. The death penalty imposed by judicial process should be duly carried out. No mercy should be extended to murderers as that will nullify the protection of millions of law-abiding persons in all parts of the Island. The majority of men who have been at the helm of power for quite a long time have not been able to afford the necessary protection particularly to women. In the circumstances involved it is imperative that women should give the lead by staging almost at regular intervals agitative street demonstrations in all electorates highlighting the causes indicated at the beginning of this writing to bring home to the government and opposition members of the immediate necessity for them to come to terms among themselves by abandoning all manner of confrontational attitudes and all forms of narrow sectarian interests. Sacrifice now or perish in the not-too-distant future. May it please the President and Minister of Women's Affairs to address their minds without delay to the suggestions made above in all humility. May they give the necessary initiative and drive to bring the much needed relief to the nation. D. Kuruneru, Business magnates and tiger talks By Citizen D. 'Once again, the message the TULF and the UNP (and NGO agents) are drawing from the recent outrage (killing of the last Jaffna Mayor and several army top brass and civilians by the LTTE) is to urge the government to talk to the LTTE without conditions. From the TULF standpoint, it is even more ridiculous. They know the LTTE. Is it a measure of their political wisdom that they had to come to this conclusion after sending Sarojini (Yogeswaran) and Sivapalan to jaffna (as Mayors)? It is irresponsible because they know that talking to the LTTE can be no more than a short-lived distraction condemning the country to more tragedy.' The report continues:- The above words of wisdom are not those of the Sinhala Commission or the so-called 'Sinhala hard-liners' (a favourite term of some correspondents). The UTHR (J) consist of extreme pro-Tamil Jaffna University dons who have their ears to the ground and know what they are talking about when it comes to the LTTE. The Business magnates who have formed themselves into a committee, wants to work out a 'peace' deal with the Tigers. They seem to have already forgotten the bomb blasts in Colombo in the heart of their very own business district. One therefore cannot expect them to even remotely remember the bomb blast at the Sri Dalada Maligawa or the terrible massacres of innocents in those remote villages in the north and east by the LTTE. Memories are certainly short for such Colombo 7 elitist men when lounging in the luxury of their well carpeted and air-conditioned offices and pent-houses in Colombo. The UTHR (J) warns such complacency in the above quoted paras 'Whoever touches the LTTE would be used, sucked dry and destroyed.' Two members of this Business group (Mr. Armine Wirasingha and Mr. Patrick Amarasinghe) were interviewed on the TNL-TV programme, 'Inside Story' on Wednesday, 28.10.98. They seem to place little significance on the protests of the vast majority of Sinahala people and the Maha Sangha. They forget that 74% of this country are Sinhalese. They also seem to forget that probably 90% of the business community consist of small entrepreneurs, tradesmen and farmers out in the small towns and villages through-out the island and that they should also voice the feelings of this vast majority. Credit should go to Mr. Kumar Ponnambalam who was also on the TNL-TV panel discussion, who felt that all Sinhala and Buddhist groups should come to a consensus on any discussion or 'peace deal'. He, of all people, seems to understand the significance of Sinhala and Buddhist factors in this equation, something which the business magnates naively ignore. The 'Inside Story' TNL-TV programme revealed another interesting point, which however appeared to be lost on the business magnates. Kumar Ponnambalam (who, as we all know, is almost an unofficial spokesman for the LTTE) emphatically stated that any talks with the Tigers will have to be based on the initial acceptance by all parties, of the Thimpu principles (i.e., Tamil nation, homeland, self-determination and right to secession within their homeland). Whether the business magnates know what the Thimpu principles are is a moot point. Whether they have had the inclination to analyse and to understand the Tamil separatist issue and its history before proceeding to seek solutions, is another moot point. It is strange that businessmen who know the importance of getting to the root of problems before designing solutions, chose to ignore the procedure in this instance. The Organization for the Prevention of Terrorism has already called on the business community to support the armed forces to defeat the LTTE. The UTHR (J) speaks of the futility of talks with the LTTE. The message to the business community therefore, is very clear. To bring about peace (real peace), it is imperative that the LTTE is crushed forthwith and the quicker this is done, the earlier peace will dawn. As the UTHR (J) has stated, pussyfooting with the Tigers is futile. And as Kumar Ponnambalam says, trying to talk to them without accepting the Thimpu principles, is also futile. If the business magnates want to parley with the Tigers, that is their own funeral. They must however realize that they have no mandate from the people to barter away the rights of the Sinhalese or to agree to 'federal solutions'. Maybe all they should do is to get a tip or two as to how they can run their businesses, because the Tigers appear to be better at international business than all our Trade Chambers put together. As to solving the separatist-terrorist issue, best to leave it to the forces. Ramza Hameed in his letter dated 30th October 1998 to The Island seems to have got it all mixed up. I would like to enlighten him that Laws of the land and Religion should not be mixed up. What the peace loving people of this country are yearning for, is definitely not the above Law but death sentence to murderers, for example in the highly disciplined societies like Singapore or even the United States the death penalty is carried out for murder either with lethal injection or electric chair. The writer further goes on to say, that instead of adopting the Laws of Islam, piecemeal, the entirety of Islam should be embraced; in effect he is inviting all and sundry to be adherents of Islam just like that. The need of the hour is not a change of religion, but drastic change of the laws to suit the crime committed. In this context it is pertinent to point out that the executive power enjoyed by the Head of State to release culprits proven guilty by a court of law should be removed from the statute book. No religion in its basic tenets preach any harmful action to the human kind. 'Panathi patha' in Buddhism 'Thou shall not kill' in Christianity are all in concert with the concept of loving kindness. Buddhism goes much further, extending this to all life form (Animals). The laws of the land should be adapted & adjusted according to the prevailing situation. We see very often in the newspapers that our innocent, poor and helpless housemaids who have toiled for years in the Middle East under harsh working conditions return home in coffins after being sexually assaulted and murdered by the master. Recently I saw at the Airport, where two Sinhalese housemaids who returned with new born babies, after having been raped by the master and his sons. One of the drivers of a bus at the airport opted to adopt one baby while the other woman cried and wept in vain unable to go to her family with a bastard. This is the plight of innocent housemaids working in certain countries. Leaving the religion aside all of us peace loving citizens of Sri Lanka should appeal to the President and other authorities concerned to introduce immediately the death penalty for murder. Buddhadasa Jayatunga, Reader S. L. David has expressed his views on my comments regarding the burning of the Jaffna Public Library, (Island 6.11.98 P. 9). Some clarification is necessary. I have no idea who burned the Jaffna Public Library. V. P. Vittachi does. I included his observations, with the reference alongside. Vittachi says: 'that very night a large number of police personnel brought to Jaffna for the elections from other parts of the country mutinied and ran amok. The Jaffna Library which contained thousands of priceless books was burned. Also burned were the house of the MP for Jaffna, Yogeswaran, the MP's vehicles, the TULF and many shops in the bazaar. The police running riot and burning the Jaffna library and so much else was perceived the world over as Sinhala racism. Actually it was police lawlessness. 'I have created
this paragraph out of sentences appearing on pages 90 and
119 of V. P. Vittachi's book 'Sri Lanka what went wrong:
J. R. Jayewardene's free and righteous society' published
by Navrang, New Delhi, 1995. My comments were based on
this. Sinhala officials even when they have to come on vital official matters to Batticaloa are hesitant to do so and even when one can understand their reluctance for reasons of personal security, we have to laud a team that recently came to Batticaloa from Colombo for constructive purposes undaunted. I refer to a team from the I.T.D The Intermediate Technology Development team, headed by Miss Visakha Hedalage, its Policy Director and Jayantha Gunaratne, Chemical Engineer, who visiting Batticaloa stayed a few days holding seminars on subjects such as bio gas, rural transport and aspects of cashew processing which were very informative, educative and relevant to this region. The seminars were co-ordinated by Nidhaharan, Asst. Suptd. of the Cashew Corporation at the St. John's Church Institute at Urani and at Selvanayagam Hall, Koddaimunai. The team also went to Eravur, a Muslim village, where they met a large number of the 294 cashew processing families and at first hand the primitive oil bath method of cadju processing. The team also met Sedo Lanka organisation at Kattankudi and had discussions on the technology of mat weaving there. The patron at the international level of the I.T.D. is Prince Charles. The use of cycle trailers in rural transport was discussed. Fearing the security situation many officials hesitate to come here. Recently at a major function a high official of an important dept billed to come here did not turn up. However the courage of this team led by a lady in visiting Batticaloa for development work is indeed laudable. Prince Casinader, Reading the front page headlines of the Island the November 10th 1998 Colombo, Jaffna air traffic ban to continue, the article itself shows the weakness of the intelligence. The article quotes that Tigers are planning to hijack a passenger plane, belonging to a private company. Now it is very well understood that Ratmalana and Palaly the airports are controlled by the airforce personnel, where less than 50 passengers board the plane. So cannot these 50 passengers be thoroughly checked and searched. The article also says that Tigers have constructed two air strips in the Wanni area. To build an air strip for landing an aircraft, a land strip more than 6000 ft are needed. Now cannot these air strips be seen by the airforce with their aircraft and the place be bombed. Is this air strip so small that the airforce finds it difficult to locate and bomb? The civilians like me find that the only mode of transport now available to Jaffna is by air, but according to aviation law, locally or internationally no military organisation can carry civilians. When we went and asked for information from the domestic airline, they were clueless as to what was happening. I have come all the way from Canada and am thoroughly sick of what is happening because I waited long time to see my loved ones and even missed my father's funeral which took place last week. K.Ramanathan, Ombudsman Road widening work on the above road has commenced recently which we appreciate very much but we must point out a fairly serious lapse on the part of the authorities viz. The scant attention paid to the convenience of the vast mass of road users like office workers, school children, vehicular traffic etc., of this busy road. On one side of the road, pits about the size 10 X 5 X 2 have been dug, which when filled with rain water are veritable death traps while the other side is full of mounds of earth, rubble, branches of felled trees, garbage, debris from broken buildings etc. Therefore, both vehicular traffic and pedestrians are compelled to use, at much risk to life and limb, the tarred portion of the road which at some places is water logged and pot-holed. When vehicles pass by, pedestrians have to run helter-skelter to avoid muddy splashes. If one walks along this road at a busy hour on a rainy day, one would realize the suffering of the pedestrians. Do the authorities think that the public must passively accept their dispensations without a hum? Or is it their inability to realise the difficulties of the other man? In other countries of course, road users are paid better attention which our authorities seem to disregard. It is hoped that the authorities would clear for the pedestrians one side of the road from Pita Kotte junction, at least, up to the Beddagana junction by levelling and rolling down that side and by cutting temporary ducts across and alongside the road at points where water flows on to the road from nearby buildings and by-roads until the other side is done up and vice versa. Pedestrian, With growing concern and dismay I have watched the prices of eye drugs soar. The table set below details the exact retail prices of the drugs in Sri Lanka and India as of 30/10/98. I have used the brand name rather than the generic name, since only brand named drugs are comparable when pricing is concerned
Since the government does not impose a custom duty or GST on all drugs, the possible explanations I believe would be: a. the drugs are sourced directly from the developed countries. b. the Sri Lankan- an rupee has devalued against the US $ and sterling pound I would be most grateful if the executives of the pharmaceutical trade which import and distribute these drugs would reply through this same column as to why there is such a wide disparity in pricing Deshabandu Dr. C. R. Seimon, Mrs. L. V. Gooneratne - model of eastern womanhood Many an article had been written in the past about the late Rhoda Gooneratne, wife of late illustrious Major L. V. Gooneratne, and mother of Ged and C.V. So when C.V. asked me to write something about his mother, since her death anniversary fell on 11th Nov. I was delighted. And that for two reasons: Firstly, because my late wife Noeline was one of her favourite nieces, the other being Monica, my wife's sister, much alive and kickinq. Secondly, because she represented an age, now fast dying out, from which young ladies of today may draw inspiration. For instance, she had no time for Women Libbers who were trying to equate themselves with the male of the species. She believed strongly - perhaps due to her Christian and Eastern cultural heritage - that the husband must be the head and wife the heart of the home. Both of which she achieved very admirably making everyone to co-operate wholeheartedly and not defy her - the secret of a happy home. And if she didn't do that job so well, her husband wouldn't have been able to indulge in politics. However she never used her influence to make unfair or unethical demands from others. Instead, she used it to succour the needy, especially the poverty-stricken fisherfolk that lined the coast, something she must have rubbed off from her husband the Major, well known for his concern for the poor. And needless to say, with the Major in command, he saw to it that his two sons played a straight bat. She was also convinced that bringing up children couldn't be left to ayahs and creches, but be the sole prerogative of the mother. And that much of the juvenile delinquency and youth unrest encountered today may be attributed to the lack of adequate time, love and closeness between mother and child. Her orbit was not merely her family and home. She was public spirited enough to join bodies like the Dehiwela Housewives Association and the Four Point Club of the Dehiwela Y.W.C.A., in order to perform some public service. And her participation was well recognised by them, as evidenced by their presence in such large numbers at the funeral, and from the letters of condolence received. How do I know all this? It's because Aunt Rhoda spent every Tuesday at our home, and all looked forward eagerly to her arrival, including our dog who stood by at the gate expectantly. (She was a great dog lover). And for my late wife a day of unalloyed Joy! For myself, I had plenty of time to study her personality and mental make-up, and listen to her unhampered views about men and matters. Opinions that came straight from the heart. That's why, when detractors of the Hon. C. V. Gooneratne, Minister for Industrial Development, try to pull him down to their own sordid levels, due to sheer envy or for political expediency, I tell them to lay off because he had been brought up in an environment that wouldn't brook dishonourable conduct. And as for her other son Ged, a distinguished lawyer, he too came under the same benign influences of hearth and home, making him bring enlightenment to an otherwise misunderstood profession. Now, one must not get the impression that aunt Rhoda was a sombre strait-laced martinet, a kill-joy. Very far from it. Though she belonged to that category of womanhood, where grace and honour took pride of place, she could, when the occasion demanded, be one of the crowd and join in the fun and frolic at parties and picnics. Once she was asked to mimic a political speaker which she performed admirably; but it was certainly not an imitation of the Major! Also her presence dissuaded anyone from veering off the beaten track. One cannot also fail to record that aunt Rhoda was a true guide, philosopher and friend to her two nieces after they lost their mother, Florence, her sister. Finally, my heart tells me that aunt and niece must be getting together very Tuesday in their Celestial Home, laughing and joking and having the time of their lives. How much I'd love to witness it! Scenes of old, I love to behold Maybe thru, the mind's eye. Tales they tell are told and retold And some may make you cry! |
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