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Morning Spice by Ginger
‘Environment authority please help’Will somebody kindly inform Ginger whether there is an environment authority. Ginger believes he lives in what is commonly referred to as a highly residential area. Right now if he steps on to the main road he risks losing his sight due to a post operative condition. As he turns right there is a "fridge" repairing joint with a welding plant. The sparks and the gas come right on your face and no one bothers a hoot of what risks the passer-by takes. A few yards away motor cycle mechanics rev engines sending smoke right into your eyes.
There are little children living within yards of that place. Nobody seems the least bit concerned that the mites could be inhaling copious quantities of this continuing belch and damaging their lungs for life. Does the environment authority have an officer for different areas who is responsible for bringing such obvious in fringements of the law before the courts or relevant tribunals if any. Should not officers responsible for such tasks be penalized without any leniency for such negligence of graft grabbing. As it is there is little evidence of a functioning authority the complaints are not coming the way of the authority for obvious reasons. So it is upto those handling problems central to the environment to see that residential and commercial areas are free of industrial pollution.
Heart attacks
Science and the doctors did much in the US to reduced the incidence of heart attacks. That was till about 1987. The seventies and eighties saw a surge of medical activity aimed at reducing the mortality rate of those getting heart attacks.In facts, heart attacks themselves were getting less frequent due to the preventive measures taken by most Americans but from about a decade ago the rate has ceased dropping. In fact it appears to have increased among black American women. This could be because their incomes and living standards have improved and they eat richer food and take less exercise.
US polka king dies
He will long be remembered as America’s Polka King and his music would live in, though Frankie Yankovic died at the right old age of 83. His was a long and colourful history.Frank had travelled the entire length and breadth of America carrying his accordian and was for seven long decades the undisputed master of the polka.
He converted an old school bus and travelled around the States playing and singing his Slovenian style polka which the people just loved. Actually he pumped new life into the polka when he played the accordian and it was he who was responsible for modernizing and making it a chart topper.
The brochure handed out at the exhibition of paintings by Radju at Gallery Mount Castle has a dedication which reads "to the vanishing gentle people of Sri Lanka" ..... This I read on 13 July. The day after, your page carried the report of the unbelievably ghastly cruel act in Mutwal by four human beings on a young Indian woman, who with her Sri Lankan husband was on her honeymoon in Sri Lanka. The vanishing gentleness has undergone a metamorphosis resulting in demoniac behaviour.
My mind went wandering — seeking reasons for this demoniac behaviour and I thought may be tourism was to blame — western culture, western dress and western behaviour on Sri Lankan beaches — though every man growing up in this country could not have failed to see the contours of a female body bathing at a well! Or may be television programmes I thought, which I imagine (I do not watch them) can wake the beast in man and induct him into the ‘fine arts’ of theft and rape and murder.
Then my mind went to Kasyapa of old and his glaring crime (plastering his father onto a wall), for which crime neither tourism no TV was to blame.
I have wondered all over Sri Lanka all alone through wild terrain in Nuwara Eliya or through the wild terrain that bridges ‘Adisham’ and the main Haputale road, with fear in my heart (not of men but of the great loneliness) walked through Horton Plains with its tatters big and small, broken off from a wild life society trip and gone on my own by public transport from Polonnaruwa to Valachchenai and Pasekudah spent a few nights in a beach bungalow and returned home via Batticaloa and Kandy.
I have spent whole mornings in the sea at Hikkaduwa thanks to an aunt who let me enjoy what I liked and even left her back door open for me to get in after witnessing a devil-dancing ceremony that ran into the early hours of the mornings.
No sooner tourism began I noticed a change of outlook in the non spoilt children of one hill-towns.
"Money" and "Toffee" became their form of greeting and even the tea-plucking dames had assumed a difference, perhaps from being photographed.
Today I shiver for the little school girls in even Moratuwa returning home at mid-day when the streets are deserted. What could not happen to them, as happened to a lady teacher, whose gold necklace proved attractive.
The people who represent one country very often only represent their personal needs, or the needs of their party or the needs of their kith and kin. Why don’t governments care about the people. Why was Sri Lanka allowed to deteriorate? A Government past have foresight, not only hindsight. Our Governments have let a monster grow in Jaffna who decimates both Tamil and Sinhalese youth. Standards have broken down and what about religions and religious leaders? What impact do they make? Do they ever meet the culprits like the ones now arrested and talk to them? Mumbling prayers alone wont do.
What are our psychiatrists and psychologists doing? Can’t they help to stem the tide or at least give a theoretical understanding of it?
If, your editorials have suggested there is a pattern in three-wheeler abductions, it would not be difficult to bring the culprits before the law. There must surely be other three-wheeler drivers with awareness. Nothing of course blots out the ugliness of this crime, even if the criminals swing in the marketplace.
Chitra Jayasuriya,
Moratuwa
It pleased me very much to read in the newspapers of the efforts of Mithra Wettimuny to establish in our Motherland a partyless political system within a democratic framework .
Indeed, I myself have long, felt that the party system has been a bane and a stumbling block to the progress of Sri Lanka in every sphere. All too often the crying needs of the economy are in danger of being subverted to serve narrow ends of party supporters whose purses have been opened at election time.
The focus appears to be to win over the hustings by introducing popular measures at the expense of strict financial as well as administrative discipline by veering away from adopting sound principles which are destined to be brought under attack by parties in the opposition with an eye to win votes especially of the working class majority.
A large dose of so-called democracy is bad (for) business; it can degenerate into ochlocracy- or rabble rule.
What we need to govern the country is a body of knowledgeable, committed, honest, efficient, patriotic, in short, meritorious men & women (even(?) from the successful entrepreneurial classes i.e. a guided ‘meritocracy’ clearly committed to forms of profit-sharing and the non-exploitation of labour-such individuals who, and this is important, are not in need of other people’s money to take up the reins.
(I can hear the cynic cry out-but where can you find such individuals? I say we can locate enough of them in our land without having to go about with a lighted lamp in the blaze of the noon day sun!)
The establishment of such a system could be initiated by the present parties forming an all party union-as a possible means to this end of ushering in a brave new world-where none are for a party and all are for the State- like those ancient Roman brothers going forward hand in hand to fight the common enemies of poverty and deprivation-no matter to what tribe they belonged.
Xenelphon
‘War and Peace in Tamil Separatism’ – a reply
Kamalika Peiris in her article "War and Peace in Tamil Separatism" (Island 31.10.98) states that "The sense of isolation and division that Macan Markar emphasises is due to a faulty language policy which has not insisted on a single unifying language Sinhala."
The isolation referred to here is the language barrier between the largely Sinhalese speaking Sri Lankan armed forces and the Tamil civilians in the north.
In other words Ms. Peiris finds fault with all the post independence governments for not "force feeding" the Tamils with Sinhalese!
She does not make it very clear whether insisting on a "single unifying language, Sinhala" means Tamils having to learn Sinhalese as a second language, or having to study in the Sinhalese language!
Either way the result of such a hegemonic language policy being imposed by government fiat on the entire Sri Lankan Tamil community (18%) would not have been "unifying" but disastrously, the very opposite.
Even if the less extreme ‘second language’ option had been adopted, the resources (trained Sinhalese cum Tamil speaking teachers, text books, etc.) would not have been available for many many years.
Besides which the Tamil youth of the north-east would have vehemently resisted a measure that had never been attempted in this island’s long history.
The nationalism of the Sinhalese is primarily centered around the Buddhist faith.
The nationalism of the Tamils on the other hand is based around a religious worship of ‘Tamil Thai’ (Mother Tamil).
The armed forces of Sri Lanka in 1956 would have been too small to impose such a harsh policy in the northeast.
Even today’s vastly increased security forces would not be able to manage it.
Anyway the violence and certain deaths and injuries which would have been the ‘harvest’ may most likely have caused a hostile fall out in South India and triggered off an armed Indian intervention decades before the ‘Bum boat diplomacy’, ‘Parripu bombing’ and IPKF’s of the late 1980’s.
The west would have been alienated by such language intolerance resulting in aid and trade drying up.
Isolated diplomatically we may very probably have become a ‘Cyprus’ before Cyprus itself!
Thank god that saner counsel prevailed even during the 1956 ‘Sinhala Only’ hysteria.
Today Sinhalese, Tamil and the international link language English are enshrined in our Constitution. This tri-lingual triad is the right, fair and progressive system for our country.
In the meantime let us reflect on the grim irony that over 40 years after ‘Sinhala Only’ the government is spending millions teaching Tamil to Sinhalese children!
‘Trilingual Citizen’
Colombo.
I am still stuck in Colombo unable to see my loved ones. To me, staying in Colombo and reading newspapers about the situation in the north has become so hilarious that I think even Prabhakaran must be laughing his sides out to death at what is happening. Reading the article in ‘The Island’ of November 17, 1998, mysterious aircraft seen—LTTE plane suspected, it says that the Navy had opened fire blindly and had missed their target. What weapons did they use to bring down the light that they had seen? Weren’t they informed by the so called intelligence to look into the sky as there are celestial fireworks popularly known as the fireworks of heaven lighting our skies. I am sure they would have shot at them.
There was an article in the papers that a Secretary of the Defence had sent a helicopter to bring down an army general’s brother. Now this is the limit. While we are trying to go to Jaffna, a helicopter is sent to Kandy just to bring down a person. Had that person to go for a wedding or had he to meet his loved ones. I am sure that the people in Kandy would have been taken unawares as to see a helicopter hovering above their heads, they would have called your newspaper that they had spotted a LTTE helicopter.
My article in ‘The Island’ last week once again proves that our intelligence is very weak or they just want to create an impression among our citizens that it is very dangerous to fly or making us think that the blood thirsty LTTE is unbeatable. When articles of this nature are written it brings down the morale of our forces and also makes our gallant soldiers think twice of going to Jaffna.
Reading between the lines it looks like someone is very worried about aircraft and wants the passengers to travel by ship. There is an ulterior motive behind this because when passengers are ferried by ship one is not sure what is happening in the high seas because one will wonder how a ship is going to be thoroughly checked and will be very easy to smuggle a tank into Jaffna.
Now did the intelligence find out to whom the lincences have been issued to operate ships from Colombo, Trincomalee to Jaffna. So is this intelligence? So like me, there are many many thousands waiting to go to Jaffna and I will never go by ship and I think flying for me is safer and the cost is immaterial.
As for me, life is very precious because before I die I want to see my wife and children. Good Lord help me to read tomorrow’s papers as to what will be in the skies or even help me in my dreams to see my loved ones.
K. Ramanathan,
Colombo 13
I hasten to console Mr. C. S. Anthon of Mt.Lavinia on reading his letter appearing in your publication of date (Nov. 16,98) wherein he laments or accuses the Catholic Church of not elevating to the status of sainthood any of its faithful in Africa, South Asia and South East Asia—meaning the coloured.
Why speak of that distant Sainthood? Has there been any coloured Popes? There is a redeeming feature in the present Pope — Pope John Paul II. (I quote from the Island of 26.9.98 under the caption ‘’Vatican apologise for Sins of 2000 Years’’)—’’The Vatican has prepared a document in advance of the Millennium asking for pardon for its ‘Sins’ over 2000 years, including outrages perpetrated in God’s name during the Crusades. The 35 page paper is said to analyse ‘acts of violence and repressions’ prohibited by the Church’s teachings but committed by its institutions. This writing is intended as a basic of a request for pardon which the Pope will pronounce at a solemn Mass in Rome on March 8 next year.’’
It is hoped that with this confession of Pope John Paul II, seeking pardon for all atocities, omissions, commissions and errors, committed by the Vatican, during the last 2000 years, will include the lapse or the racist attitude Mr. C. S. Anthon makes mention of, and the next Millennium will see a saint or a pope emerging from this part of the globe, with God’s blessing and directions at future conclaves.
I hope Mr. C. S. Anthon will find solace and consolation in reading this letter and live in hope.
G. A. D. Sirimal
Boralesgamuwa
With much fanfare Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd., introduced extended hours at their collection counters. First they removed Sunday, then 7 p.m. was shortened to 6 p.m. Now they have made it 5 p.m. and shortened the hours on Saturdays.
They may be having some reasons to do this, but why cannot they inform the public through media?
Telecom makes a big noise about their Teleshops. Go to one of these and ask for Telephone Directories. They seem to have forgotten the basics although they have started selling ISDN phones. And they do not use their own Hunting Facility for the phones at these Teleshops.
May be that the Japanese systems do not work for us.
Deshapriya Rajapaksha,
Colombo 6.
Down to earth
Conserving biological diversity in our natural forests
by Derrick SchokmanThe world’s natural forests are fast disappearing. In Russia and Siberia, the Amazon, west and central Africa, Indonesia, Alaska and Western Canada, logging and deforestation continue as if there were no ecological future.
Even in our small island (Sri Lanka) forest destruction has gone on apace. In the 50 years of independence the closed canopy forest cover has been reduced from 45% of the total land area to around 20%.
While the average rate of deforestation has been 40,000 hectares annually, the annual rate of reforestation has only been around 2000 hectares.
Not only is this a dismally low rate of reforestation, but these man-made forests or forest plantations are in no way able to replace the lost natural ecosystems.
To those who maintain that Sri Lanka has a strong tradition of conservation, one of the most extensive in Asia with 14% of the total land area in the form of protected national parks and nature reserves, we have to say that these areas can hardly be considered representative of local biological diversity, because over 90% of them are in the dry zone, while 90% of endemic forest plants and 70% of endemic fauna are found in the lowland forests of the wet zone and the montane region. And it is from this biodiversity that can come a wealth of food and medicines essential to human health, and the genetic variability that plant breeders will be looking for.
Which asks the question: can further loss of biological diversity be checked in these wet zone forests? To design on optimal system of conservation, more information is required on the current status and distribution of biodiversity in our natural forests.
A national conservation review was accordingly set in motion in 1991 by the Iucn (World Conservation Union) and the Sri Lanka Forest Department, backed by the FAO, to collect more information on the biodiversity and hydrologys of all the natural forests.
In 1993 an accelerated conservation review was initiated to select forest areas within the lowland wet zone and montane regions that would be totally protected for flora and fauna where no timber felling would be permitted now or in the future.
At the same time a moratorium was declared on logging in wet zone lowland forests until the totally protected areas could be demarcated.
The IUCN together with the forest department has now determined 13 forest areas within the lowland wet zone for total protection of biodiversity, aggregating 24,000 hectares or half the total extent of wet zone lowland forests.
To this area has been added the primeval Sinharaja rain forest (11,187 ha) and the Knuckles ridge (25,539 ha) which is representative of sub-mountain and montane forests.
In preparing the plans for the management of these 15 totally protected biodiversity forest areas, the IUCN and the forest department have taken into consideration people living in the peripheral areas who are dependent on wood, fuelwood and non-wood forest products for their livelihood.
The people in these ex-situ buffer areas will be allowed the controlled harvest of wood and non-wood products so long as it does not have an adverse effect on biodiversity and is done within sustainable limits. Additionally the buffer zone will be used for the propagation of tree species facing extinction.
This is the position at present. Fifteen forests have been selected for total biodiversity conservation. The plans for their management have also been effected.
Now comes the more difficult part the implementation of a national biodiversity conservation action plan in order that Sri Lanka may respond to its obligations as a signatory of the convention on biological diversity declared at the Rio summit in 1992.
It is going to be a complex and challenging task, requiring the co-ordinated and dedicated efforts of different government insitutions, non-governmental organisations and the people themselves living in the environs of these forests.
The forestry master plan makes it a point to state that "while government has the resources to monitor.
Ombudsman
An open letter to all university graduates who remain unemployedPlease permit me to bring to the notice of all unemployed university graduates who are undergoing various forms of hardships due to their helpless position as dependants on their relatives at an avenue which they can take up with Ministry of Public Administration in respect of a lapse/negligence of a bureaucrat officialdom in this ministry which is as follows.
Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka — 30/10/98 part I sec, II A. Page 1147.
In the above Gazette calling applications for ‘’open competitive examination for recruitment to the Sri Lanka Administrative Service — 1998 the age limit required for candidates under clause 6 (c) has been described as have attained the age 22 years and not attained the age of 30 years on 30.11.98.
According to a cabinet decision for all appointments (permanent and pensionable) the age limit is 45 years and not 35. In the above instance the ignorance and stupidity of the bureaucrat concerned is depriving thousands of unemployed graduates, who are over 30 years of age.
An affected
graduate
