Tuesday, 12 October 2004  
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Turning the searchlight inwards

This was a heartening piece of news which one saw on the television and read in a Sunday Sinhala paper. The topic was that the PA Government is turning the focus on members, deputy ministers and ministers who are going astray.

One paper reported that two deputy ministers have been found wanting and their own party colleagues have requested the President to look into the matter.

This will undoubtedly please the reading and watching public who would like to see corruption free politics and checks and balances within their own team. The ruling party should not only investigate corruption in opposition members but have the same enthusiasm to bring their very own to book.

There is a surfeit of allegations against former ministers and parliamentarians some under the jurisdiction of the law and others awaiting charges. All Governments in the past have gone out of their way to probe the misdeeds of their political opponents, while covering up their misdeeds and closing up files.

Hence it is a matter of good governance that transparency and accountability hold sway and the example set by these members of Parliament in the SLFP be commended, encouraged and emulated as time goes on.

ARAVINDA GAUTAMADASA, Nawala

The elephant's demise

I have just returned from a very good holiday in Sri Lanka having met with hospitable people whom I know from England. I can recommend your island to everyone, especially as the people make up for any shortcomings that you all have to endure.

However, I am saddened by the article that I have read Sept. 2 about the plight of the elephant who died on eating rubbish in Yala National Park. I had so much wanted to visit this area, and am relieved that I did not have enough time to do so.

I saw from your photo that the area is sorely needing a clean up, and as a Nation who seem to pride themselves on their identity with the elephant, I am really disappointed to see the circumstances in which this animal died.

At the same time, I feel it is appropriate to mention that although there are armies of people clearing up the streets wherever I visited, if one walked off the main road, there was yet another refuse pile which was never collected.

With such diligent workers working on the main areas, is it not possible to extend their robust approach to clear these unsightly and infested piles away from the people who live close to them and are likely to be the most vulnerable members of your society?

It seems such a shame that my memories of your beautiful island are spoilt by this one matter, but I feel sure that Sri Lankans would feel safer if this was a priority for the local Government to solve.

AVRIL JONES, via-email

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There is the slightly revolting one of the foetus attached to the umbilical cord - mercifully, the other end is not shown! But this view of life's sanctity is shattered by the next picture of a tyre attached to a tree, etc. to put across the connecting power of the telephone.

Then we are told how the lucky cows in New Zealand or wherever, graze on greener pasture, drink fresher water and produce milk more nutritious than ours. And here we were thinking that our own island was more lush than any land of theirs! But what really gets you is that colourful picture of the grossly overgrown chicken, revolving on the spit and the intonation, 'succulent, juicy', etc. If we can only forget how that chunk of flesh got there! Was it a she-chicken or a he-chicken?

As soon as hatched, he is separated for flesh and she for egg-laying, non-stop. Both are crammed, squeezed into cages so crowded they cannot move (their natural tendency to flutter wings is a lost hope).

They keep sitting, unable to stand, with limbs benumbed and twisted, while the periodic shots of hormone to quicken growth monstrously and accelerate egg-laying warp their physical functions and biological processes.

The high incidence of cancer in humans, they say, is due to eating such flesh. Artificial light is kept shining on them to keep them constantly awake to encourage forced feeding and egg-laying.

Every egg is snatched away, as soon as dropped, so the mother hen's maternal instinct of brooding over her egg is shattered. The continuing anguish and frustration makes them attack each other, when their beaks are cut.

Australian activists speak of several of them poisoned by their own excreta, or caked and drowning in it.

As soon as the egg-laying diminishes, she, just like he, is plunged into boiling water alive, which makes defeathering easier. After which, with a little dressing, they are both ready for your plate or your TV show.

There is an outcry worldwide to stop such cruel methods of animal husbandry.

PREMA RANAWAKA-DAS, Moratuwa

Standardised keyboards

Your article on Sep. 24 under the heading 'Standardised Sinhala, Tamil and trilingual Computer Keyboards' misleads the general public. Sri Lanka Standard Institute (SLSI) has not approved any keyboard but made a draft for the public comment for a Sinhala Character Code for Information Interchange (SLS 1134).

The last date for posting the public comments was May 26, 2004. I have made my concerns in writing to this institute. Several Sinhala newspapers a single television channel carried the incompleteness of the Sinhala character encodings specified in the draft. The Sinhala Character encoding (SLS1134) eliminates the usage of certain Sinhala characters. The characters like 'Repaya', 'Badhi Akuru' and 'Yansaya' are missing in this encoding list. The simple Sinhala words like 'Chandrikawa' or 'Rajapaksha' will not be able image in the original Sinhala character form using the SLS 1134 encoding.

The article specify that 'typing documents in Sinhala Easier' if one needs to use a computer as a typewriter it is far better and cheaper to buy a Sinhala typewriter. Information Communication Technology (ICT) is not just typing documents but it is a technology that will take Sri Lanka to the future. All Sri Lankans will have to use a computer in their mother tongue. (Sinhala or Tamil) Unfortunately we cannot use both languages in the computer. This is simply because lacking of a correct character allocation table listing all Sinhala and Tamil complete characters. Development of such matrix should be the prime objective of the administration.

DONALD GAMINITILLAKE, Colombo 6

Cops, cops and cops

In the recent past the police officers especially in the Colombo area have been very successful in solving some gruesome murders as well as many other crimes including vehicle thefts and over powering of underworld characters. Congratulations to them and let's hope they would be rewarded with promotions and other incentives which are often bestowed only upon corrupt political stooges within the force.

On the other hand there are Police officers who appear to be either hand in glove or wilfully shielding criminals either for personal or political gain or through fear of victimisation by higher officers who have connection with people who are sadistic and live with crime.

For example the undersigned was robbed of a refrigerated truck in Katugastota sometime back. The necessary information was provided to the Police but though many years have gone by nothing has been done about the robbery. Of course the Talangama Police apprehended the suspect with all the documents of the vehicle lost, but strangely enough the suspect is supposed to have escaped from the Police custody in kandy whilst in transit to recover the stolen property. That was it and thereafter nothing has happened.

He is seen in public as normal citizen. It is strange that the suspect of this nature is allowed to roam about in public by the police. Is the public safe with this suspect being around? In another incident a motorcycle, two complete engines and many valuable spares were robbed at gunpoint from the premises of the undersigned nearly three years ago.

Valuable information was provided to the Wattegama Police who visited the suspects' palatial house in Watapuluwa and found similar items without documents. However an affluent high society lady in the house managed to hush up everything. Is this justice and how efficient are these Police Officers investigating into these matters. Is the public safe with these affluent suspects being at large.

In another incident a wealthy trader in Nuwara Eliya transacted business with the undersigned and issued Hatton National Bank cheques in settlement which were returned with Account closed stamped on them by the bank. As any normal citizen would do the Police was informed and to date no action has been taken other than the complainant receiving death threats on the phone. Why is it that the Police are turning a blind eye? Is the public safe with a trickster being at large?

S. J. WANIGASEKARA, Colombo 5

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