• Who wants a pair of Spectacles?

• The greatest insult to humanity

• 'Stampless Post Offices'

Who wants a pair of Spectacles?

I do not think any political party in our history has become as farcical as the United National Party of the present.

Just look at its so-called attempt to win the Colombo Municipality which has been almost a party property from the time the Council came in to existence.

First the UNP botched ups its nominations by including in the list a person who was not entitled to be there. Due to this almost unbelievable error, for the first time in our post independence history, there are no UNP candidates standing for election to the Council of our capital city.

According to its own internal inquiry, this was no simple blunder but happened because an interested party was able to tippex one of the names in the list and add the name of the disqualified person to it.

The party detectives even identified the place where this violence was done to the all-important nomination form. The offenders are known. But the party did absolutely nothing about it.

Aggrieved by the decision of the Returning Officer, the UNP naturally went to their lawyers and ended up eventually in court. Anybody is entitled to seek legal relief and we do not fault them for that. The courts were reluctant to intervene immediately in this situation.

But the subsequent course of action followed by the UNP is mind-boggling. It now says that the set of candidates who have come forward under the symbol of a pair of spectacles are actually willing, if voted in, to resign individually in favour of various UNP candidates who were in the rejected list.

Even if this is legally possible by some complex argument, the sheer cynicism of the strategy is surely unworthy of a political party with the history of the United National Party.

Don't forget, this is the party of giants like D.S. Senanayake, Sir D.B. Jayatilleka, Sir John Kotalawela, Dudley Senanayake, U.B. Wanninayake, M.D. Banda and in recent times Gamini Jayasuriya.

These political leaders sure had their detractors and their share of human failings. But even their bitterest enemy had no doubts about their integrity.

If we follow the reasoning of Sirisena Cooray, the Mayoral candidate of the UNP, those who have come forward under the symbol of a pair of spectacles, are actually not serious about the election.

If they are elected, and Sirisena Cooray is working hard to see it happen, they will resign to make way for a number of persons who are not even in the contest to take control of the Colombo Municipality. Mr. Cooray does not enlighten us as to why a list of persons legitimately elected to our City Council would in this manner throw away the office they are elected to.

We do not know whether any inducements have been given to them to commit this kind of disappearing act. But to the average person, not warped by years of existence in a moral sewer, this kind sleight of hand, especially in public life, is repugnant.

To ask the voter to vote for persons who for reasons best known to them will resign subsequently in favour of others is to ask him to participate in a very public fraud. To have even contemplated such a complicated and twisted path to what is an elected office says all about Mr. Cooray's concept of a public mandate.

Leave alone Sirisena Cooray's political ethics, what are his qualifications to hold the reigns of the largest and most dynamic city in our country? Even the most die-hard UNP'er will not deny that Mr. Cooray who is in his 70s is a man well past his prime.

He claims that he ran a good administration during his tenure as mayor from 1979-1989. The two decade time lapse between those times and now makes the claim of his previous experience meaningless.

It would be like accepting the boastful claims of past conquests of a village lothario as a guarantee of a romantic performance when he is 70 years old.

For those who remember those comparatively leisurely days, Colombo then too had all the problems we have now. There were lots of uncleared garbage piles, bad and rutty roads, regular flooding, power and water cuts were very much a part of our existence.

And by the way, the most harrowing event in the history of Colombo, July 1983, happened during Mr. Cooray's tenure. That month, a large number of Colombo citizens were killed, robbed and looted by uncontrollable mobs. Somehow we cannot envisage this happening, if someone like Vasudeva Nanayakkara was the number one citizen of Colombo.

In its hour of need Ranil Wickremesinghe its most unfortunate leader has decided to tour some foreign lands. It was reported that he has said at a gathering in the US that the Para military groups, which are alleged, to be working on the side of the army must be disbanded.

I do not wish to venture into this minefield. But it is rather confusing because his close lieutenant Milinda Moragoda only a few months ago declared that these Para military groups were a peace dividend. Why pray, disband a dividend?

All in all, we see no reason to vote (by way of a trick) for an old man who represents the kind of attitude, which takes the voter for a fool.

Spectacles are only good for those who are blind!

C. S.

The greatest insult to humanity

What was done by this LTTE terrorist pregnant woman suicide bomber, the 21 years Kuganesarasa, on April 25, on the soil of our motherland is one of the most extreme criminal acts known to humankind.

It should be considered as one of the most repulsive violations of human ethics and motherhood. It will go down in human history as a most heartless, cold-blooded, immoral and vicious crimes committed to an unborn child by a mother.

One has to be totally inhuman to be able to deliberately subject one's innocent unborn child to such a cruel act, a violent and ruthless death.

It is one of the greatest violations of human moral ethics. Suicide bombing is one of the most cruel terrorist tactics and using a truly pregnant woman makes it even worse, inhuman and a barbaric act.

This is the 243rd suicide bomb attack initiated by the terrorists headed by the internationally wanted murderer Prabakaran.

This vicious savage promotes these gruesome killings while hiding in the Vanni forests of our motherland. In the civilized world, everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of a person.

This terrorist woman has nullified that belief that the womb is the most secure of all places for a person to grow. She took away the inalienable right of this innocent child.

This is how the LTTE terrorists treat human life, freedom, justice and peace in the world. This is one of many examples of the sheer disregard and contempt for human rights by these ruthless terrorists? Shouldn't this type of barbarous acts outrage the conscience of mankind?

The global community through this Universal Charter of Human Rights of the United Nations should condemn this brutality of LTTE terrorists who have no respect for dignity and worth of the human person.

What 'peace talks' with such inhuman uncivilized elements. Those perpetuating these atrocities should be eliminated for peace, human freedom and dignity of life to prevail.

DAYA HEWAPATHIRANE

via email

'Stampless Post Offices'

I wish to correct certain inaccuracies in the letter written by Stanley Weerasinghe. (DN May 6)

There is no doubt that service standards in the Post have fallen. The reasons are many and I endorse what has been said by Mr. W. in that respect.

For over 15 years, the threat of privatisation of the Post, under the dictates of the World Bank, was hanging fire. To lay the foundation for that, the services were allowed to run down, vacancies were not filled and promotions were not granted.

The political appointments added to the woes. That service standards should come down under such circumstances and functioning on an uncertain future, is not surprising.

Both the PA and the UNF Governments were for Corporatisation/Privatisation of the Post. It is after the present President took office that the threat of privatisation has receded.

Mr. W's contention that the Corporatisation Bill was presented in Parliament by the UNF Government is not correct. The Corporatisation proposals were drawn up in 1996, funded by the World Bank, under the PA Government led by President Kumaratunga.

As a forerunner to the Corporatisation Bill, H. M. S. Kotakadeniya, the then Postmaster General, issued an official communique dated October 28, 1997 announcing the Corporatisation of the Post.

A FR case filed resulted in the SC ruling that certain sections of the Bill was against the Constitution and needed amendment or that the Bill should otherwise be passed by a 2/3 majority in Parliament.

That ruling and worker opposition resulted in the privatisation move being negated. The World Bank, thereafter, withdrew its funds and consultants. Nevertheless, the Post continued to be neglected with funds necessary for development work not being provided.

It is not fair to say that the then Postmaster General H. M. S. Kotakadeniya and the then Deputy Postmaster General (Postal Operations), K. A. S. Senadheera the present Postmaster General, spearheaded the campaign to privatise the Post.

There were other DPMGs who preached the benefits of privatisation. They had to implement Government Policy as public servants.

They did just that. Of course, there may have been some who would have gone an extra mile with the idea of securing lucrative posts after privatisation.

After the increase in postage the Rs. 2 stamp went out of demand. The stamp duty was re-imposed, invariably, without notice to the Post. Even then, the stamp duty is levied mostly in cash.

It is also not correct to say that two Agency Post Offices were opened and operate under the direct control of the Postal Headquarters. Every Agency Post Office has to function under the operational control of a Post Office (Controlling Postmaster) and under the administrative control of a Divisional Superintendent of Post Offices.

I request Mr. W to reveal the names of the two Agency Post Offices referred to or write to the Secretary, Ministry of Posts, so that action could be taken against those concerned and even have the two Agency Post Offices closed down.

It is difficult to believe that a certain 'Deshamanya' was earmarked for taking over the Postal Services. The Bill to Corporatist the Post presented in 1999 did not have provision for such a catastrophe.

Whatever it may be, all is not well in the Post. I agree that there is inefficiency, indiscipline and corruption.

Corrective measures need to be adapted. Square pegs in round holes have to be removed. Promotions especially in the administrative grades, only on the basis of seniority should be minimised, if not done away with.

Complaints appearing in the national dailies are not even being read. No follow-up action is taken. There is no machinery for that, despite the fact that I brought this necessity to the notice of those concerned.

In the past the practice was there, but that has been done away with. Public exposure and complaints will perhaps help arrest the situation.

Upali S. Jayasekera - Colombo 4