Morning Spice by Ginger
What happens to cattle rescuedVery often people rescue cattle being taken for slaughter by paying for them. What happens after that. Do they take them to some place where they are fed and looked after. Ginger has seen them loafing dangerously close to the meat stall and taking a grave risk in the process. The temptation to quietly shove one of those animals into a vehicle and drive them to an abattoir could be a little hard to resist. Now that is as far as the slaughter of cattle goes.
Many of our nationals have a tendency to bring home pets and rear them and care for them when they are young but generally lose their enthusiasm to look after them after some time — that is after the novelty of having a pet wears off. One thing every one who owns a pet must remember is that it needs constant looking after and checking for the simple reason. That our dumb chums cannot communicate to us as well as they would like. So the owner must constantly look out for distress signals. What Ginger was trying to say was that it is as cruel not to give proper animal attention as taking it to a slaughter house.
Englishman's breakfast
The Englishman was right all along. He believed in starting the day with a hefty breakfast. The old breakfast started with fruit went on to cereal bacon and eggs or scrambled eggs or kippers and finally toast and marmalade. Some load! Anyway American scientists have found that at least the young ones should not go without breakfast though they may not advocate the same diet as what Britisher ate.They came to this conclusion because they made a study of over hundred children from low income groups. They were given free breakfast for a period of four months. They were then tested on how they fared on their school records, teachers gradings and standard tests. At the end of the study it was discovered that those who took part in the breakfast programme improved in maths and also school attendance considerably.
Soba delicious Japanese dish
If you like to taste ethnic food when you are out on a trip outside Sri Lanka don't forget to sample Soba when you are in Japan. It is a part of their staple diet and it is a delicious dish. The great thing about eating further east is that the base is often as tasty as the supplements that go with it.Now Soba for instance tastes so rich because it is really buck wheat noodle made with buck wheat flour, eggs and yam starch. You could take in a hot soup or even cold with a soya sauce covered dip finely chopped green onions and a number of spices are used to give it its special flavour and aroma.
North Western Provincial Council Election Violence
The President has scoffed at the fears expressed by the U.N.P. and J.V.P. about the violence and lawlessness in the run-up to the N.W.P.C. election. She seems to relish reminding the U.N.P. there have been no murders and that the incidents are in no way comparable to the election violence which prevailed under U.N.P. rule. May be so. But it is beside the point. What is relevant is that with this type of violence, the voters will fear intimidation and may not visit the polling booths to cast their votes. It is the right of the people to go about the voting peacefully without intimidation by anybody. This is the issue. People are not concerned with the ''holier than thou'' attitude expressed by the President. They have a fundamental right to cast their votes in a peaceful environment and it is the duty of the Head of State to ensure this right to them.
It must be stated that the President as the Head of the State, should not be engaged in the election campaign at all. The President of U.S.A. is debarred by law from heading his political party or engaging in election campaigning, whilst he is the President. This is because he is the Head of State as well as the Head of the Government unlike in the case of an Executive Prime Minister in a Parliamentary system of government. Our constitution framers unfortunately missed out this essential feature of a Presidential form of government. The Executive President when he or she gets involved in an election campaign, places herself in a conflict of interest situation. As the leader of a contesting party he or she has to campaign to win. But as the Head of State she has taken a solemn pledge to uphold the constitution, preserve the fundamental rights of the citizens, maintain the rule of law and ensure a free and fair election.
The allegation is that the Police in the N.W.P. are not enforcing the rule of law except on a selective partisan basis, favouring the ruling party of which the President is the Head, a position that ought not to be, in democratic practice. The duty of the Head of State and of the Police Force, is to the people, not to the ruling party, even if she is the head of the party. The President has been informed by the Deputy Minister of Fisheries how one of her MPS from Anamaduwa is violating the general criminal law and not only the election laws and that too before the very eyes of the Police. This is according to the Deputy Minister who appeared on T.V. to discuss the violence. The public are waiting and watching to see what action she as the Head of the State will take to check the illegal and criminal activities of this MP at least. They are hoping she would uphold the solemn pledge to maintain the rule of law and the constitution.
The rule of law necessarily demands non-violence. Is the Police in N.W.P. too weak to get the better of the opposing forces, of opposing interests, of opposing parties? As Pericles of Ancient Greece said ''even if only a few of us are capable of devising a policy or putting it into practice, all of us are capable of judging it''. So the people can judge the actions of the President, and the Police. It is the people's judgement that is sought to be subverted by violence. In the 1930s in Germany black shirted Nazis stormed the meetings of the recognised democratic political parties. Red shirted Bolsheviks and Communists did likewise in the former Soviet Union and some East European countries. Our very own JVP threatened to kill the first few voters who cast their votes in 1988 and made good their threat too. We can prevent such events only if we maintain the rule of law. The essence of democracy is not the principle of majority decision making, but rather the preserving of the rule of law. Democracy is a means of avoiding tyranny of which we had a foretaste during the Premadasa regime. Do we permit a repetition or resist the degeneration of a popularly elected government into tyranny. In a democracy all power whoever exercises it, should be controlled. We regulate businessmen, lawyers, doctors, accountants etc but we don't regulate politicians. We have no code of conduct for them. There are no limits to what they can say or promise or do. This is the fundamental weakness in our democracy. The culture of impunity with which politicians violate the law must be changed. We try petty criminals and send them to jail. Politicians who intimidate commit criminal trespass, arson, conspire to murder, get away scot free. What kind of democracy do we have. One hopes we are not seeing the resurgence of ''beeshanaya'' on which slogan the President originally got elected.
R. M. B. Senanayake
Taking over of estate land and its harmful fall out on wokers
The following are excerpts of a letter .......
has sent to President Chandrika Bandaranaike KumaratungaWe wish to respectfully refer to our earlier letter to You dated 15th October 1998 on the above which we were informed, had been referred to the Secretary of Public Administration, Home Affairs end Plantation Industries for necessary action.
In this regard what we would like to bring to Your notice is that despite the passage of well over 2 1/2 months since the Presidential Secretariat wrote to the relevant Ministry, nothing has happened to change the plight of the workers affected by this estate land take over. It has been our overall experience that when we write letters to Your Excellency and they are subsequently referred to the Ministries concerned, nothing concrete and positive takes place with the buck being passed from one hand to the other and so on. On our part we have written to the Department of Labour as well but all what we have received in turn is a stony silence.
As we had mentioned earlier, most of the resident and village workers have lost their employment prematurely. They are destined to remain jobless with other job opportunities hard to come by. They cannot obtain their EPF and ETF refunds as they have yet to reach the retiring age. They are being reduced to virtual starvation with each passing day, and their children are compelled to stay put at home unable to travel to school due to the unavailability of bus fare.
You will be at one with us that it is the bounden duty of a committed Democratic regime to care for and look after its citizens. They cannot be left to simply melt away because they have a right to live. What we wish to underline is that a reasonable and vibrant compensation package should he made available to these displaced workers including a small block of land to put up a humble dwelling. These workers who have given the best part of their lives in the service of these estates richly deserve an ameliorative compensation package.
We wish to stress that the number of employees affected mentioned here is only the tip of the ice-berg because the numbers will be approximately five-fold larger when accounting for the family members of those employees.
Finally, Your personal intervention is hereby solicited to bring redress to the thousands of hapless workers afflicted by the take over of estate land coming under Elpitiya Plantations.
General Secretary
Lanka Jathika estate
Workers' Union
The Third Millennium begins in year 2000 – an explanation
Dr. Arthur C. Clarke in his report in the Island of 15 January insists that the Third Millennium begins with year 2001 and not year 2000. His contention is that the Western Calender begins with year 0001. The Western Calender (A.D.) begins where B.C. ends. This occured at the point of transition between B.C. and A.D. The decision to fix the point of reference on the time scale, with the Birth of Christ, was taken many centuries after the event.
The events around the Birth of Christ were recorded not in B.C. or A.D. (which did not exist at that time) but according to the Hebrew Calender that prevailed at that time. The sequence of years around the point of reference has necessarily to be 1 B.C., 0 B.C. or A.D., 1 A.D. In the event the year 0 A.D. has not been named or recorded, that year simply overlaps with the previous year ( 1 B.C.) and a discontinuity is created in the measurement of time.
The Western Calender (A.D) begins with year prior to the year 0001 A.D. (which also belongs to A.D.) and not the year 0001 A.D.. If, however, 1 has been substituted for 0 at the beginning of the count, then an error has been introduced, an error which gets buried in the sands of time, because by convention, the second decade begins with the first appearence of one zero (10); the second century begins with the first appearence of two zeros (100) and the second millennium begins with the first appearence of three zeros (1000). The third Millennium begins with year 2000. To those who find it difficult to understand this as the event took place around 2000 years ago, I will use an example we come across every day.
We refer to morning as ante meridiem (or a.m.) and evening as post meridiem (or p.m.). The point of reference is noon. Before noon is a.m.. After noon is p.m. In the 24 hour period, we proceed an hour after 12 noon to 13 and finally to 24. If we bring our point of reference to the event, viz. noon, the mornings would be in negative hours and the afternoon, in positive hours.
The point of reference, noon, is hour 0. Any attempt to begin counting noon as hour 1 leads to a discontinuity, and the period 0 to 1 would overlap with the hour before noon. The Third Millennium in Sri Lanka will dawn at 06 p.m. on 31 December 1999 Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT)
G. B. Aelred Fernando
Ceylon Government University
Scholar, 1958
Muslim women and the film ‘Fire’
Recently, I read a news item in the Tamil papers stating that Sahria Organisation has issued a statement prohibiting Muslim women from seeing the film "Fire". It is not proposed to enter into a debate whether the film is unislamic or not, but I question the right of these organisations to give orders to men and women. This is an alarming trend that these organisations have the audacity to deliver such orders in a democratic country like Sri Lanka. We have a state with powers to legislate and should we tolerate these extra legal organisations assuming power.
In the recent past, there were number of instances when similar Muslim organisations had issued orders using thug powers and other pressures: Some incidents that were published in the papers were.
Antennas in a town in the East were pulled down.
A mosque in the Central province prohibited the use of TVs at certain times.
Shops were ordered to be closed in an Eastern town as a mark of protest.
To me this reminds me of the JVP, when we were ordered not to drink Coke and forced women undergraduates to give up wearing western dresses. Muslims in Sri Lanka will not see this as a threat now but they would realise the dangers if we let it grow.
In certain countries these movements are responsible for murders in the name of Islam. There may be soon a day when threats are frivolously pronounced against men who have bank accounts in a non Islamic Bank or on those who do not attend the Jumma prayers.
These organisations are a threat to national sovereignty and the fundamental freedom of the individual. Like these many organisations can spring up at different place and give illegal and sometimes contradictory orders. State should strongly take note of these activities. They may ignore as it does not affect the majority and on the basis that this is a "Muslim, Muslim" affair without realising that these organisations pose a serious threat to society and established law and order. I question not the merits and demerits of the order but the right to give orders. In the future these extreme organisations will not be different from the underworld thug organisation.
M. D. Faruck
Colombo 10
The Minister for Science and Technology and General Secretary LSSP, has opined that the PA Government's 5th Budget had some "positive features" in it! It may make the ruling class happy but is certainly not the working class point of view. Drawn up chiefly in anticipation of foreign investment, the Budget's burdensome fiscal measures like the GST are bound to affect adversely the working class, the unemployed and pensioners among others, with their meagre stagnant income confronted with rising inflation and a galloping cost of living.
2. Pensioners who retired before 01-01-1988 were not given the Rs. 260/- CLA. When MPs and public servants were given salary increases of 30 percent from 01-01-92, pensioners were mollified with a flat rate of Rs. 300/- all round. Without any explanation, this Rs. 300/- too, was with held by the PA Government in 1994.
3. The P.A.'s election manifesto swayed the pensioners to support the PA led by Chandrika B. Kumaratunga. Now, ensconced in the Presidential chain, she has antagonized the pensioners with her haughty outburst that they are eating, drinking and living comfortably at Government expense! They have done yeoman service for the country but were doled out paltry pensions after retirement. Fortuitous circumstances made her the 4th Executive President enjoying absolute power, besides fame and fortune. It is unbecoming of her Excellency to scorn the elderly pensioners of whom her mother Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike is a very distinguished one.
4. Holding meetings, writing memoranda and even lobbying politicians have proved futile. To show their disgust and disapproval of the government ignoring their grievances, pensioners must actively and collectively refrain from supporting or voting for PA candidates at the forthcoming Provincial Council, Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. Thereby, 350,000 pensioners and their dependants could show the powers that be, that they are a force to be reckoned with. Their ranks would swell with the proposal implementation of the 50 year old age retirement scheme.
5. However, the PA government could rally the support of pensioners by paying them forthwith the following dues:-
1. (a). The Rs. 260/- and Rs. 300/- referred to above.
(b) The increased 30 percent mentioned in the B. C. Perera Report from 1996, and
2. (a) Computation of Pension on the last salary drawn at retirement as granted for ex-presidents.
(b). Grant a reasonable percentage of the periodic salary increases to public servants based on the respective Class or Grade the pensioners belonged to at retirement.
6. With the Defence Ministry taking over purchases of military equipment and the functioning of the J. O. Bureau, considerable savings would be effected in the Rs. 57 Billion Defence Vote. Only a mere fraction of such savings would suffice for defraying commitments to pensioners, promised in the election manifesto.
J. B. Sirimanne
Kadawata
Calendar and diaries by govt. agencies
Ceylon Petroleum Corp. (CPC) is said to have printed a calendar with a large photograph of Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte on horseback. Another corp, SPCSL if I remember right, has also printed one with a photograph of Muttiah Muralitharan on the first page. Many other corps, would no doubt have done this. In the past state banks used to print calendars but I am not sure whether the practice continues still.
Some of these corps may be making profits and can therefore afford to spend on calendars and diaries. But most of them are said to be running at a loss or can only break even. It is also said that officials responsible for placing orders for these items in these agencies get a big cut from the suppliers. The prices of petroleum products in the world market are said to have gone down but the CPC does not want to pass on the benefits to the customer for reasons known only to the authorities but spends thousands — or is it lakhs? — on printing calendars. This must be true of many other corps as well.
The most important question is who get these free gifts. Certainly not the consumer of the products of these corps or the customers of banks for to do that they will have to print lakhs and lakhs of these items. They are given to VIPs, who must be getting dozens of them from all agencies, employees and their friends and relations while the cost is met by consumers of these products and customers of banks.
In the recent past certain govt. ministries, too, used to print New Year (Jan. 1st) and wesak cards and whether the PA govt. has stopped this absurd practice is not known.
It is time that all govt. agencies decided to stop this waste of funds which they can ill — afford and pass on whatever benefits possible to consumers by way of reduced prices, lower interest rates on loans and better service.
Over to the ministers in charge of corps for necessary action — if they care to read the Opinion column.
S. Abeywickrama
Nugegoda
Ombudsman
Construction of wooden fences and planting of treesThe many shady trees and wooden fences on Fife Road Colombo 5 between Park Road junction upto the new road by the Wellawatte canal bank reservation have caused a bottle neck for all traffic using this alternate road to enter Havelock Road. The branches of two such trees have been lopped which has eased the tension to many users, but the problem proper remains unsolved. There are other trees and wooden fences within this section of Fife Road which causes obstructions to the free flow of traffic. These obstructions have to be removed early. There may be several such obstructions on other public roads which needs priority action by the authorities.
At a recent radio interview with the Minister of Transport, a motorist resident in Kandana informed the Minister that with 5 minutes rain the road gets flooded and is impassable for a few hours. The Hon Minister replied that some persons have constructed houses covering the drains and that action is being taken to construct new drains, but strangely no action appears to have been mentioned against all such offenders who have openly violate regulations and caused this mess. Is such action considered just or reasonable?
All encroachments on any public road or reservation must be investigated and early action taken against all such offenders, for otherwise, rules and regulations, etc. may well mean nothing to such offenders. Remedial measure and action is bound to ease the problem which is now a big liability to all concerned.
A Resident Motorist,
Colombo
