Association for civil servants
Ginger was talking about the old civil service the other day. To be more precise we were talking about the old civil servant and whether he could have survived in this working climate where he would be just an automation, following a host of instructions from some politician or other. They were often the most successful products of the university and contributed much towards the administration of the country. Some were as friendly and humble as ever and some got around with their noses in the air but they seldom could be accused of deliberately making an order that was unfair. After all it takes all types to make the world but their basic instincts were often right.
What Ginger was wondering was how many of those civil servants were around in the country and whether they have a club or association. That enables them to keep in touch with each other and exchange views on current situations. They could even put forward certain proposals that could come in really useful if the powers that be are really interested in the weal and welfare of the country. Of course there is no obligation to accept everything they propose but there could be quite some practical value in some of the ideas they get.
Americans prefer herbal remedies
While we in Sri Lanka are getting quite dependent on the prescribed drug more and more Americans are going for herbal remedies. The Americans who tend to get depressed don’t always go for prozal. Instead they take an extract of a flower known as the St. Johns wort. It is easy to obtain as you could get any health food shop or retail store and you don’t need a doctor’s prescription.When they feel they are coming in for an attack of flu they do not take a flu shot. Over seven million Americans prefer to take a capsule made out of echinacea, a purple coloured daisy found in certain parts of America. If Americans who feel they are losing their memories often refer to take an extract of ginkgo biloba, which is a leaf of a tree that you find both in America and the East.
British courts see thugs differently
The British courts of course see thugs quite differently from their French counterparts. What is legal in France may not be allowed in the UK. Now a classic case in point was the release of an ex-British intelligence officer. The point made by the officers lawyers was that the British request for extradition was due to political reasons and so not acceptable to the French courts.David Shaylor a member of the M15 was arrested in France for so called violations of the official secrets act. Shaylor after leaving the service had accused the British intelligence services of various lapses but no action was taken. However when he threatened to expose certain blunders including the one to kill Gaddafi they thought it time to arrest him.
Garbage disposal in the Kotahena area —
‘Who gives a damn for the people’Your worthy editorial on the above subject was food for thought for me to comment on the garbage disposal in a prominent area of the Capital city.
Despite the commendable effort of the Colombo Mayor, to find better ways of garbage disposal, this vital public need appears to be of little concern in the area around the Kotahena market.
I am a regular commuter of Bonjean Road — the road that leads from the Kotahena bus-stand to such important places as the St. Lucia’s Cathedral, a place of immense significance, St. Benedict’s College, Good Shepherd Convent, the Police Station, several important Buddhist temples and Hindu Kovils etc.
This road has been used not only by Presidents, Prime Ministers and Ministers but also by such eminent personalities as the Holy Father, Cardinals and Archbishops to get to St.Lucia’s Cathedral to attend solemn occasions.
It is being used almost every week by young couples on their happiest day to get to the Cathedral to tie the nuptial knot.
Just at the beginning of this road is the entrance to the meat stalls of the Kotahena (Super!) Market and the meat stall owners have found the old damaged garbage bin at the entrance, an easy and convenient receptacle to dump offal, excrete, feathers and combs of slaughtered chickens, left overs and other refuse.
This, I believe, happens several times a day and no sooner this offensive stuff is emptied into the garbage bin, hoardes of crows, stray cats and dogs pounce on it with much relish. Offal is seen being carried away, dangling, to be feasted on, on the closest perches available, quite often windows and roof tops of nearby houses or parked vehicles. Some stuff is dropped on helpless users of the road and much of what remains, is left behind to be picked up by another animal or rot away in some nook or corner.
At times the foul smelling left overs are emptied into polythene bags or gunnies and are left on the nearby pavement. Within seconds, the bags are ripped open by waiting crows and dogs, to be taken away and feasted on.
Quite often school children and church goers are compelled to cover their noses and run away to get away from the unbearable stench, which can be detected from the school yard itself.
The residents of the area must be commended for their tolerance or indifference to this sordid affair.
Why are the Municipal Council authorities (Is it the Chief Medical Officer?), utterly indifferent to this shameful state of affairs? Can the garbage bin or the pavement be used to dump offal and other offensive animal refuse?
Cannot the Municipality provide the meat stall owners with offensive garbage within the market building, itself?
It is high time the Colombo Municipality or the Central Environmental Authority looked into this matter and take appropriate action (without passing the baby) to prevent this blatant environment pollution.
Clement de Soyza.
Animal slaughter
Ms Prema Ranawaka Dhas takes objection to my letter. She doesn’t agree that the state should not interfere with the ritual slaughter of animals called ‘Halal’. She refers to human sacrifices to the Goddess Kali and the practice of ‘sati’ where the widow immolates herself on the funeral pyre of her late husband. But these relate to human rights not animal rights. Although they are part of the Hindu religious tradition they are a violation of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights which was acceded to by modern India. It was the British who banned these practices, on the basis of their own moral code which has now been accepted universally. Not even the BJP has sought to retreat to these old traditional practices. So there is no interference with Hindu religious practices since the Hindus themselves have accepted such banning.
Ms Prema Ranawaka talks of the religious intolerance of the Muslims in the Middle East. But do we want of follow their example of intolerance. Are the local Muslims responsible for the actions of their compatriots. I am not a scholar of Islam and cannot cite authority for ritual slaughter from the Koran. But enough letters from Muslims have been published. It is certainly part of the Muslim religious tradition. Buddhist tradition treats the Bo tree as sacred and Buddhists do not like anybody cutting down a Bo tree even if it obstructs a roadway.
The banning of ‘halal’ killing might ease the conscience of Buddhists, although to be consistent they would have to accept the fact that killing animals in any other manner would be an equal violation of their conscience if animals have a right to life. So would the causing of any kind of suffering to animals in the form of fear, pain or other forms of discomfort.
Ms Dhas seems to think that ‘halal’ killing is through some sadistic instinct. There is clearly a distinction between the person who inflicts pain in order to achieve a certain purpose and the one who inflicts it for its own sake and in order to enjoy the suffering of the victim, which is what sadism is. I do not think those who indulge in ritual slaughter are enjoying the suffering of the victims. Witch burning in medieval Europe was due to the fear of the common people about the spells cast by witches and their supposedly potent curses.
Ms Dhas says that halal killing is a form of provocation of the 75% Buddhist population since Lord Buddha teaches the sanctity of all life. But why is this Buddhist society not provoked by the child rapists, the murderers, the women who kill their infants, the contract killers etc. What about the cruel forms of punishment practised by our Kings and Queens. Was civil society outraged then or now.
Tolerance implies that we should not be so provoked. We should not ban a religious practice merely because a majority, not necessarily well informed, disapproves of it. If we do not accept such a principle, the law will cease to be an instrument for resolving human conflict and become instead a means of provoking it.
It is wrong for people to assume that everything might be alright if certain things are done differently. It is naive to think that violence against human beings will disappear if the killing of animals is stopped. Moral interventionism in favour of animal rights must be consistent by banning not only ritual slaughter but all other suffering caused and not only to cattle but to all animals. It would otherwise appear to be targeted only against the Muslims.
R. M. B. Senanayake
He rides his favourite hobby horse — Sangha bashing
Mr. Amarasiri Weeraratne is once again at his favourite pastime - Sangha bashing In the Island of 13th Jan. 1999 he has, this time targeted Ven. Gangodawila Soma.
When the Buddhists or the Sinhalese stand up to defend themselves it is called Racism or militancy. This is a way to silence them. Atrocities and aggression committed by other religious groups are hushed up. Yet others make appeals for crimes committed in the name of god and religion and get away scot free.
One can deduce that in other Asian countries this same process would have taken place by aggressive religious groups over a ‘tolerant’ one. Today we sadly see the result of only traces of Buddhism in Asian countries such as Indonesia and Pakistan. It is practically wiped out in the land of its birth.
However, in Mr. W’s enthusiasm to criticise the Ven. monk, he has mistakenly identified Gods Kataragama, Vishnu, Kali, Pattini, and Aiyanayaka as Tamil gods. These gods certainly do not only belong to the Tamils. There is ample evidence to believe that Hinduism existed in many other countries such as Indonesia and Thailand and still exists in other countries outside India. In Java there still exists statues of Vishnu-Prambhanan of the 9th century, Ganesha on a rat and Kartikeya on a peacock. Moreover, there are other Tamils who do not accept these gods as theirs, especially the ones the Christian missionaries have lured with gifts of education and employment. The New Year which falls on the 13th April is the Sinhala and Hindu New Year and not the Tamil new year as Mr. W says.
Astrology originated in the Mesopotamian Harappan civilizations. And Hinduism is not a Dravidian religion but a North Indian religion. "Hinduism without caste is a little like Christianity without god", says Walter Kaufman, Prof. of Philosophy at Princeton University.
Hinduism is an Aryan religion that came with the Rig Veda to India. When they migrated to this land they would naturally have brought their practices and continued their life alongside the beliefs that already existed. It has always had the power of coexisting with other religions. It was only after Western religions influenced the Tamils that they turned aggressive and took on an anti-other-religions attitude. Mr. W displays his ignorance, when he calls the Sinhalese semi Tamils — culturally, linguistically and socially. He gives no reasoning or proof for this surmise.
According to him Ven. Soma’s attempted social reforms are an exercise in futility and will be a cry across a desert. Does he mean to underestimate the intelligence of the Buddhist? Or does he say that the present status quo should continue in mixed up confusion of the pristine Dhamma preached by the Buddha. An attempt is made by a disciple of the Buddha to rectify the mixed up practices of Buddhists, collected along the way.
Mr. W should be reminded of the 15th century work -Budugunalankaraya by another such Buddhaputra, Weedagama Maitriya Thero who wrote in protest and to enlighten the god worshippers of that era. In verse he relates a story of a bull taken for sacrifice to the gods which, was stolen by a gang of thieves. Thus he questions the ability of the gods to protect and help the people who pray to him for succour, if he could not guard the very sacrifice being brought for him.
The Maha Sanga have always been the self proclaimed protectors of the Buddha Sasana, facing not only the pen aimed at them, but swords and guns of the enemy. It is very clear to the observant that lately the attacks against the Buddhists are varied. The Ministry of Buddha Sasana does anything but protect the sasana and the leaders are wooing the minority religious groups and bent on keeping them happy. They are given free rein in the country. Yet, these same representatives of the people who owe their present position to the majority, take steps to ban and suppress the monks who dare to stand up for the rights of the Buddhists.
Theja Weeraratne.
Both major parties responsible for current bloody ethnic conflict — AGOTIC
The two main political parties mainly Sinhala in composition the People’s Alliance (PA) main constituent SLFP and the United National Party (U.N.P.) have been responsible for the current destructive bloody situation in Sri Lanka. It is they who held the reins of power since Independence. Instead of building unity and understanding between the Sinhalese and the Tamils both these parties still continue to portray themselves as guardians of the Sinhalese in order to attract voters and win elections.
The Sinhalese continue to be brain washed that this is a Sinhala Buddhist country and the Tamils are mere percentage of the population. Both these parties have failed to educate the Sinhala people that the Tamils are a distinct Nationality who had been living particularly in the North and East for centuries and they are entitled to the same rights enjoyed by the Sinhala people.
The Government’s main priority for the past three years had been to take the International Community for a ride stating that all the Tamils are behind the Government and the Tigers are a bunch of terrorists with no support from the Tamils in any part of Sri Lanka. The present PA Government’s political strategy up to date has been attempts to isolate the LTTE and its supporters in the International arena for its "War for Peace" and "One People One Nation" slogans.
Ground situation:
01. Adequate food and medicine to over 350,000 people living in Vanni are being denied by the Government. The Government had refused to accept the figure of 350,000 given by the Government Agent and insist that there is a little over 100,000 people and had at the time or writing raised it to 190,000.
02. Jaffna — People not being allowed to settle in their own villages - 400,000 people involved, cultivation not possible under army occupation. Doors and Roof Sheets of houses removed by army for bunkers. Over 80 per cent of the houses in Jaffna are either destroyed or partly damaged.
03. Over 600 persons are reported missing in Jaffna. They are buried at Chemmani according to a soldier found guilty of raping and murdering Krishanthi Kumarasamy and murdering her mother, brother and friend.
04. Generation of fishermen known for their outstanding skills are being denied their vocation by not being allowed to go out fishing.
05. School going children in many army occupied areas and in Vanni are denied education due to destruction of school buildings, displacement of teachers and occupation of schools by security forces. Denial of kerosine in the absence of electricity deprives children of facilities to study.
06. Disruption of education facilities to Tamil children had been done systematically by successive governments. Area/media wise standardisation was put into force in the seventies to deprive a large number Tamil children of university education. Now disruption has come down to even lower levels (kindergarten). This situation, taken along with the burning of the Jaffna Library, considered one of the best in Asia, points clearly to an attempt at genocide.
07. Human shield:
The Security forces are using the ordinary people civilians as human shield both in the North and East.
(a) Ordering men to sleep in the Army Camp leaving their wives and children unprotected in their homes.
(b) People who want to move out to places away from camps are prevented from doing so. There are instances when identity cards are taken away to ensure that people do not vacate.
(c) People who move out to what they feel as safe places away from the camps are harassed and beaten back to their normal places of residence.
(d) Transport of security personnel in vehicles used by civilians - buses, lorries, ships and planes.
(e) Transport of military hardware in vessels transporting controlled food items and other essentials.
(f) Especially in the East people are forced against their will to work in and around army camps without remuneration.
08. Women:
(a) The most vulnerable section of the Tamil community has been women of all ages. Molestation, harassment, rapes mostly go unreported due to their cultural environment. Social stigma in Tamil society in this respect is such a woman can never find a husband if she had ever been molested.
(b) Strip searches, torture are rampant and women who are subjected had become mentally deranged.
(c) Families are separated in the camps. Over 10,000 people are held in Vavuniya alone against their wish. Such camps exist in other areas as well.
(d) Even sanitary towel is a banned item to the North & East.
(e) Introduction of drugs, pornography and illicit liquor in the North & East is being done in a sinister systematic way to break down the culture and will of the people of the North and East to protect their rights. This ruins especially the young people of the North and East. Moreover this affects the women population very adversely.
09. Socio-economic Development in the North & East:
(a) The funds allocated for re-construction and development is only a drop in the ocean.
(b) Even the paltry sum allocated is not utilised for any tangible development. This is one of the reasons why the former Governor Gamini Fonseka resigned citing that several letters written to the President on this matter fell on deaf ears.
(c) In his place a serving senior military officer Major General Asoka Jayawardena has been appointed as Governor of the North and East. This completes fully the military occupation of the North & East and any pretention of civil administration has been laid to rest.
10. Forced ejection:
Implanting Sinhala people by forcing or chasing away Tamil residents especially in borders villages like Singanagar.
11. The social cost:
The social cost of this terrible war has been incalculable. Nearly 200,000 Tamils have fled the country and sought refugee status in various parts of the world - mainly Western European and Scandinavian countries, Canada and India.
"War now, Peace later" slogan is being encouraged by various sections of the Government making a mockery of all the talk of a negotiated settlement.
Human development of thousands of Tamils has been completely curtailed with inadequate education facilities and employment opportunities.
12. Environmental destruction in Tamil areas:
Government forces have cut down a large number of palmyrah trees in Jaffna to construct bunkers to set up forward defences, watch towers etc. The Government has plans to clear the forest on either side of the roads from Vavuniya to the North — a distance of over 90 miles. This would certainly turn the Tamil areas into a barren land devastating the rain fall pattern in the North Eastern Provinces.
N. Vijayasingam,
President.
Reincarnation of the late President Premadasa?
Stories of rebirth have been quite common in Sri Lanka, and in the latest episode, a two year old child from the backwoods of Hanguranketa is reported to be prattling that he is the reincarnation of the late President Premadasa. Only time and the scientific tests being conducted on this toddler will tell whether the child’s claim is true.
Then of course we have been lately witnessing on a private TV channel, people recounting their previous births under hypnosis by a hypnotherapist. One man claimed that he had served under a king or queen in England, several centuries ago, and that after his death, he was reborn once again in England, and had served as a Detective in the Police force until he was shot dead. He thereafter claimed that he was reborn again in Sri Lanka, and had served as an Army Chieftan under a king, until he was done to death by a jealous relative. In another hypnotic episode, a man broke down and claimed that in his previous birth in Kegalle or somewhere, he was the owner of three elephants, and that the three elephants were poisoned and killed by enemies, and that out of grief, he had committed suicide, and that he was reborn again in Sri Lanka, and that he was now leading a tormented life, and had therefore sought relief in hypnotherapy. Whether these claims are true or false, no one will know.
Hinduism, which is one of the oldest religions on earth, firmly believes in rebirth, and it is the belief that people are reborn over and over again, in various forms, according to their karma, until they attain the state of "Mukthi" Nirbana after having absolved themselves of their sins through purification and various meritorious deeds in a particular birth. This is the basic doctrine and tenet of Buddhism as well.
Manickkavasagar Swamigal, a great sage and poet, in paying homage to Lord Shiva in the epic Shivapuranam, sang thus of rebirth, and roughly translated, the stanza reads as follows:-
"Reborn over and over again I was, as a grass, as a weed, as a worm, as a tree, as various animals, as a snake, as a stone, as a human being, as a devil, as a demon, as an asura, as a sage, as a deva, and all other forms in this universe, Oh, my mighty Lord".
S.Nadarajah
Colombo 15
I read with interest an eye-opening article by reader Gunaseela Vithanage on the present plight of our beloved country. The last para repeated below carries the cake, so to say.
"The Eelamists are giving the Tamils blood and tears by driving them from their houses to refugee camps. They have been successful on one thing. That is retarding the progress of the Island by at least 25 years. Never in history have so few held so many to ransom." ("Island" 31.12.98)
Now that both Prime Minister Atal B. Vajpayee and Congress Leader Sonia Gandhi have given a red carpet welcome to our President Chandrika B. Kumaratunga on her recent visit to India, we expected her to ask for military assistance from India to stop the LTTE menace, which has been tormenting us for the last 15 years. Then we can forget about conscription as India has the fourth largest army in the world with unlimited resources.
To liberate Kuwait from Iraq, the U.S.A. got the assistance of 13 nations and even recently, to teach Iraq a lesson, for not allowing the inspection of her arsenal by U. N. Weapon Inspectors, America got military assistance from Great Britain. So, why should a small nation like ourselves think it infra diq. to get military assistance from mighty India and that too to destroy the common enemy. Moreover, under the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord (Gandhi-Jayewardena agreement) of 1987, which has not been abrogated, India is duty bound to annihilate the LTTE.
"It is never too late to mend." Therefore it is suggested that our President send a formal request to India even at this stage asking for military assistance to crush the LTTE, who have killed her Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi too. In the alternative we can request the U.N.O. to send a Peace Keeping Force as some military help — it can be even from the devil — in the absence of conscription is a "sine qua non" to put down the most ruthless terrorist group in the world.
GP
Mt. Lavinia.
The Women of Unit II, Mulleriyawa Mental Hospital
As a concerned female citizen of this country, aware of the dearth of necessary services for women, I have noted with alarm the articles that have appeared regarding the women of Unit II at Mulleriyawa Mental Hospital, I am referring more specifically to the column Cat’s Eye of November 4, 1998 in the Island. According to that article, and a few others that I have encountered the conditions in the hospital are bordering on the barbaric. Overcrowding, outdated treatment methods, sexual abuse of patients are only some of the issues that were highlighted. We are constantly regaled with statements regarding the caring nature of Sri Lankan society, women have the highest status in South Asia. In such a context, encountering evidence that such practices still exist here is troubling to say the least. What is most disturbing is that regardless of the publicity the issue has recently received, there is little that has been done. Cat’s Eye specifically called for a commission of inquiry into the conditions of Mulleriyawa. But as far as I am aware, such a commission has not even been conceived of by the Health Ministry. As a concerned citizen with the interest of the marginal in mind, I urge that speedy steps be taken to address this issue. The present government came to power on a platform that promoted social welfare. What issue could fall in line with such a policy that the issue of the women of Unit II?
F. F. H. Latif,
Balapokuna Rd.,
Nugegoda.
