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| Monday, 19 April 2004 |
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Letters | |
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The elections are over; And with it all the babble and cackle, the ever-present promises wrapped in colourful verbiage, and the verbal abuse including the very popular accusatory remark among all the contenders for power, blaming everything that went wrong in the past, on the opposing sides. Now, as we are at the very gates of entry into another era of new governance, it is an appropriate time to reflect on the past and the present. One may wonder whether it would be any different to the ones we have already passed through. Have we again made our customary blunder of playing ourselves into the hands of a few with selfish motives at heart, hiding under the cloak of a resounding promise of a new governance, sincere and truly patriotic in its actions and a lawful, prospering and corrupt-free society, in near future? Or did we have a choice? What has been wrong so far with many at the top is perhaps not very difficult for us to see, now thinking in retrospect; but why have they become so and still more bewildering is the question, how have they managed to take almost all of us for a big ride all along for such a long time. And their political wisdom and insight have only resulted in presenting us now with a society, where things are not definitely rosy, as they should have been by now, as promised to you and me in the past by them. Instead, things do now seem as bleak and hopeless as they can ever be. Will the same drama be repeated this time again and will the same status quo continue to go on, until it is time for another election? Or will we be able to see the rays of hope for a prosperous future, casting away the gloom of present socio-economic mayhem? The future will soon tell us. Those who hold the reins of power now need a very unselfish, pragmatic approach and a crystal-clear vision in prioritising, with no strings attached, their future plans for saving the nation from going into the abyss of corruption, poverty and war. The very familiar and the repugnant approach, adopted by the majority of all our past politicians at the very beginning of new governments, of trying to first fulfil the frequently and justifiably frowned upon by the public, promises made to a handful in return for alliances shown and support rendered in many a diverse form during the pre-election campaigning will, if repeated again, be the first tell-tale sign that, we are back to square one, once more. They should also consider giving immediate attention to the present state of moral conduct of our society. The current philosophy of "Looking for that fast buck", all the time, by virtually everyone, with no regard for human values, should be put to an end. And the most simple and the effective way to achieve this is to take the lead and show by the deeds. Let us sincerely hope that the people, in whose hands now lies the daunting task of rebuilding the nation out of corruption, poverty and ethnic strife, would strive in earnest, with unremitting determination and dedication to bring it on to the path of prosperity. LAKSIRI WARNAKULA, via Email The news item captioned "Ancient Jewish man's remains gives clues to crucifixion" (DN April 6) caught my eye and interest as it has been referred to earlier naturally in more detail and analytically by Hans-Ruedi Weber who was the Director of Biblical studies at the World Council of Churches. Previously he was a professor at the graduate school of ecumenical studies, Geneva. His book 'The Cross' was first published in Germany in 1975. The extensive Jewish burial ground dating from the period of the Second Temple was discovered during the work executed on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Housing in June 1968. Then at the request of the Department of Museums and Antiquities several of the burial chambers were opened and examined. While some of the facts are alluded to, in the newspaper article, there is supplementary information in his book which will interest readers. The name found scratched into the Ossuary in which the body was found was Jehohanan (Aramic for John) son of Hagquol. This patronymic is not easily explicable but could be a bowdlerization of 'Ezekial' or even a rendering of a foreign name. Anatomical examination of 35 skeletons found in the burial chambers opened, showed that five people had evidently died of violence and three children had starved to death. Considering the conditions in Judea at the time, this was not surprising. It is interesting, almost thrilling to know that Jehohanan was a contemporary of Jesus. In addition to the facts mentioned in the article, he had never done any heavy labour and since his remains were buried in an ossuary rather than a common bone grave, he probably belonged to a wealthy family. The asymmetrical formation of his head 'plagiocephaly and cleft palate' indicate that Jehohanan is the first few weeks of his mother's pregnancy and shortly thereafter in life had been threatened by traumatic events. The nail that fastened his feet to a cross at the heels were five or six inches long. Chemical examination of the bent tip of the nail showed that the cross had been of Olive wood. Examination of the bone of the left fore-arm between the radius and cubitus showed traces of a nail. The shin of the left leg had been broken probably by the blow of a club and presumably as a consequence of that, both the bones of the right lower thigh had broken on the hard edge of the cross. According to ancient accounts, in order to shorten the agonies of crucifixion the victims' lower thighs were shattered. This was because the crucified died of gradual asphyxiation; with increasing exhaustion they were unable to keep upright even where the cross had a peg or 'sedile' and breathing would become more and more difficult. In Jehohanan's case it appears that when he was taken from the cross his feet had to be amputated by a hatchet blow probably because the bent point of the nail had got stuck in a knot in the wood. End of story. But for Christians it is not so in the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. "For the Jews demand signs and the Greek seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified" wrote the great Christian Evangelist St. Paul. Cicero declared in the Roman Forum in the year 63 BC that even the mere idea of crucifixion ought to be banned - so abhorrent was it to civilised man. But its horrendous glory in the case of Jesus Christ presents the paradox between Christian Faith and Human civilisation. What seemed to be the end to Christ's story, became the victor of God's cause. "The crisis of man's aspirations to civilisation became at the same time the centre of all human civilisation." P. S. DULEEPKUMAR, Colombo 5 Illegal movement of armed fighters One of the questions that every politically conscious Sri Lankan is asking is what the Marine Police, Navy, Army and the Monitoring Unit were doing while the LTTE in the North were carrying out an armed aggression in the East after sailing in the country's sea and crossing Government held areas in the East. The most plausible explanation is that the Monitoring Units has given overt or covert approval for the illegal action and that it has persuaded those responsible for security in the Eastern Province to turn a blind eye to the illegal operations.In such an event, the role of Norway and of the Monitoring Unites is totally unacceptable and their current roles and those in future negotiations must be urgently reviewed by the new Cabinet. Bernard Wijedoru, Mount Lavinia Kandy has always been cursed with the presence of beggars in the main streets. In British times there was a building at Deiyannawela, presumably put up by the Kandy Municipal Council where these beggars were rounded up by the police and incarcerated. This building was called the 'Hingana Kotuwa'. it is no longer there. It's now a co-operative store. Now with the increase in population and easy access to Kandy, besides the large number of tourists visiting the place, there is a large influx of people from the outskirts coming to Kandy for shopping, business or as pilgrims. There has been a corresponding increase in the number of beggars too, many feigning to be so, some of them hired by 'Mudalalis', carrying babes in arms or little children begging for some cash to maintain them; there are also the professional beggars also haunting the main streets in Kandy in filthy clothes, uncouth and unkempt, some, the proverbial ones with open ulcers never allowed to heal, a few of them earning much more than an average labourer. The problem is that they haunt the main streets like Dalada Veediya, Clock Tower, D. S. Senanayake Veediya, the George E de Silva Park, Kotugodella Veediya, Deva Veediya near the Fountain area. The worst is the arcade by Queen's Hotel, where some of them with little children in filth, women changing their clothes exposing their nudity, polluting the places, without any sense of shame within sight of pedestrians and tourists who are shocked and look aside in disgust. Kandy is a World Heritage City and it is a crying shame if the Municipal Council and the concerned government departments do not take serious notice of this and take some action. This goes for the deplorable State of the Kandy Lake too, about which letters have appeared in the press. TISSA AMARASEKERA, Kandy Why JHU should support UPFA Govt. A top university Professor in a press interview analyses 2001 UNF votes went to JHU in 2004 General Elections. A former powerful Minister realises through press thanks to JHU 2001 UNF votes did not go to UPFA, else UPFA would easily got over 113 Parliamentary seats. In a live TV talk show a female voter from Nugegoda over telephone regrets she preferred JHU to UPFA in 2004 elections. What do all these say? Mean? Votes going from UNF to UPFA were diverted to JHU for some reason or the other. So the scenario is very clear! UPFA deserved all these votes. However it's not too late. Now JHU could reasonably, justifiably and ethically support UPFA Govt. K. U. PUSHPAKUMARA, Pitakotte Local authorities in prevention of nuisances In the endeavour to prevent public nuisances within local authority areas, the elected members and the employees have a combined role. Most of the public nuisances occur on account of the indifference and neglect of the employees of local authorities to take cognisance of the law relating to the powers, functions and duties provided by the Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabha statutes. The members are elected for a period of four years at present nominated by political parties under the proportional system. Most of them seek nomination to the local authorities to follow their party policies and seldom interested in the welfare of the ratepayers and residents. Past events show that their ultimate aim is to 'climb' the political ladder either to seek election to Provincial Councils or the Central Parliament and evince little interest in the welfare of the local authorities. Most of the public nuisances are the result of permitting industrial sites and works permitting dangerous and offensive trades in unsuitable places, dumping of garbage on roads and streets, use of high sounding instruments, water pollution and use of smoke and gas emanating vehicles, obstructions in streets and roads. Creation of awareness in the minds of the people should be a primary function. In this connection, it is necessary to hold seminars, talks and workshops to enable people to participate. Venues for such dissemination in five star hotels or in places where common people cannot participate are not helpful. Dr. C. G. Weeramantry, an eminent jurist of international fame has stated the journal 'Threatened Peripheries' of the glaring discrepancies between fine legal pronouncements in the law books and the actual operation of those principles in society. The earliest enactment to prevent and abate nuisances was in 1862 when the British administrators enacted the Nuisance Ordinance No. 15 of 1862 in order to protect the health of the community from health hazards. The Police Ordinance, and the Municipal Councils Ordinance were enacted within the course of 3 years 1862-1865 for the purpose of orderly government which were of benefit to the inhabitants particularly of the immense interest of Sir James MacCarthy, Governor and the great administrator Governor, Sir Herculous Robinson. These Ordinances had a great impact on the inhabitants of the colony. The recent Acts, Central Environmental Authority Act No. 47 of 1980 and its amendment 57 of 1988 gave powers to the Central Government, some of which were delegated to the local authorities. The Criminal Procedure Code provides summary provisions for enforcing punishments in Magistrate Courts in case of violations. The medical officers and the Public Health Inspectors of Local Authorities have a vital role in the prevention and abatement of nuisances, who are empowered by law to exercise effective and remedial steps such as visiting schools, work places and public places to educate the children least every school term in order to educate and familiarise the impact of health hazards. It is relevant to mention that some years ago, Kandy Municipal Council had detailed an officer designated as Nuisance Detection Officer to look after the Municipal roads, public property, obstructions in streets, pavements, back lanes, waste of water in municipal water taps and similar public nuisances. Local authority is a public trust on which the people from time to time vest and response their trust in the elected members and the establishment which should be exercised without bias or prejudice in the public interest. In India public interest litigation has become statutory and there has been a tremendous interest in respect of public nuisances. In Sri Lanka, public interest litigation which affects local authorities and the State is gaining ground and in particular local authorities should address their mind to this aspect, and take effective measures to prevent public nuisances. CECIL JAYASINGHE, Kandy |
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