• Postal votes for private sector employees

• Tamilnet's own article proves Sencholai is a Terrorist training camp

• Snatch thieves on the increase

• Pension receipts

• Victory in defeat

Postal votes for private sector employees

A record number of voters are applying for postal voting in Sri Lanka, but this is only possible for Government employees. Isn't it a violation of basic rights of the private sector employees? Postal voting would allow voters who are prevented from attending polling booths for various reasons.

As Private Sector Tax payers' money is spent on elections, they also have a right to request for postal voting.

During the period of elections employers are losing money for closing their work places for the employees to vote. Employees also have to spend money during this period for travelling etc.

The economical loss to the private sector is enormous during elections. Productivity loss in every sector during elections has implications to the country's economy. To reduce the economical loss, it is better to implement postal voting rights to the private sector employees; where they want to carry on their work without external disturbances.

The Government should encourage the increase of postal voting as it will raise the voter turnout and eliminate unnecessary expenditure. Postal voting is practised in UK, Switzerland and in many EU countries.

in those countries, it had changed the nature of the electoral campaigns and reduced the election related costs by as much as 15 per cent and increased voting by about 20 per cent. So why not try this in Sri Lanka with the private sector?

ANTON EDEMA
Wattala

Tamilnet's own article proves Sencholai is a Terrorist training camp

The Tiger terrorists and their sympathisers worldwide have been attempting to give credence and drum up further support internationally to their usual string of propaganda lies over the SLAF attack on Sencholai terrorist training camp.

An interview given to the terrorist mouthpiece Tamilnet, on August 23 by a survivor of the Sencholai bombings, belies all of the canards disgorged on the international media by the Tiger terrorists.

There is a detailed interview given to Tamilnet by Juliet, a survivor of the attack. This interview by Juliet tells all, and also nails the coffin of several terrorist canards. It further proves that the camp was none other than a combat training location.

The confused versions blurted out in the immediate aftermath of the attack giving the purpose of the camp, has now been elevated to be a First Aid and Disaster Management Skills Residential Camp.

A closer study of this interview shows that many of the terms and phrases or the translated equivalents used in the interview would not be used by schoolgirls anywhere else in the world.

Quoting from the interview, Juliet talks of a 'battle theatre elsewhere' or the equivalent in Tamil, in order to explain where the SLAF jets were headings to. To have a 'battle theatre elsewhere', there has to be some sort of battle theatre on the spot, or Juliet herself was in an environment or in a preparedness for a 'battle theatre'.

Juliet further says' As the bombs fell, the girls ran in all directions, and took cover lying on the ground face down............'. This is indeed surprising. Average schoolchildren or even adults would be scattering like mice and possibly hide in the surrounding bush.

They would be too scared to come out for many more hours from their hiding. They would otherwise attempt to hide under tables and chairs with no understanding of taking safe cover.

That is what happens universally, but almost never take a posture "lying on the ground face down..............' as Juliet says. No wonder the earlier version of the First Aid lessons, now got to be elevated to First Aid and Disaster Management.

These particular terms are used by none other than a trained combatant in the battlefield. In this interview, Juliet has proven that she has qualified well, to her trainers.

All of the vocabulary used at the interview are ones adopted from her training for the battlefield, 'lying on the ground face down..............', whoever has come across children taking that posture in the many publicised international sieges when children or even adults have been under similar threats.

Did it happen in Lebanon, did it happen in Beslan in Russia, did it happen in Port Arthur in Tasmania, did it happen in US or elsewhere, where young schoolchildren took battle trained postures to their heart, in a sudden disaster situation? No, never.

Fortunately Juliet has had Disaster Management training and a practice lesson as well, on the spot. But these can happen in remote Sri Lanka. It can happen to schoolgirls carted from various Government schools in towns, several dozen kilometres away purported to be trained in First Aid, over a period of 10 days in a residential camp in the thick jungles of the terrorist stronghold of Mullativu.

The LTTE, whom are you trying to bluff? Is it the hoodwinked Tamil diaspora worldwide to send more money for terrorism, US Congressmen Danny K. Davis and his cohorts who were given an LTTE junket to Kilinochchi and presently under investigation, or John Murphy, Virginia judge and their Australian cohorts, or the various goons holed up in the NGOs, Embassy and Press Offices in Colombo?

Juliet's interview doesn't end there. There is more. Juliet then says 'In between air strikes, the girls changed their cover locations by running to other positions to take better cover'.

So, these young school girls who had been there to study First Aid were agile and bold enough to move around like battle hardened veterans, with the shelling still happening. She also moved between the bombing runs to 'new positions move and to take better cover'. This is very courageous indeed for school children who had come just for First Aid lessons.

In fact, Juliet had been bolder than that. She had also trying to rescue others when the bombs were actually falling. She says, 'It was on one such attempt that I got injured in my hand, although slightly, when a stray shrapnel hit my hand'.

She indeed has been trained well for the battlefield. So when the others took the brunt of the bombing, she was courageous enough to move about in rescue missions and only got a stray shrapnel wound - very fortunate indeed.

What is indeed surprising is why did Juliet have to travel nearly 100 km from her Paranthan School for first aid lessons to the terrorist riddled jungles of Sri Lanka in Kilinochchi. Such a story would be valid in the economically provided Western world or if it happened to her richer cousins in Colombo where school children may be taken away for a residential school. In Sri Lanka schoolgirls are mostly taken out on day tours usually for athletic meets.

There are several key questions to raise at this point. If the Sri Lanka Air Force wants to bomb its own schoolchildren, why not target the well exposed Paranthan, Mullativu and Kilinochchi Schools. The Sencholai Camp is an abandoned premises well hidden in the jungles in the thick of the terrorist area.

With bluff and more bluff, the pain can only increase.

Suranimala
Australia
via email

Snatch thieves on the increase

It has become a regular feature for the snatch thieves to snatch gold necklaces of the women specially young ladies who go for work and for classes along the lonely roads in the Kotahena area.

Recently a girl who was walking along Ginthupitiya Road lost her gold chain which was snatched by a thief travelling in a three-wheeler. Not only on Ginthupitiya Road, this kind of activities have occurred in Hinniappuhamy Mawatha, Galpotha Road, Maha Vidyalaya Mawatha and other by-roads within Kotahena.

I trust none of the victims have made a complaint at any police station. Had there been complaints, the law enforcing authorities could investigate and track the culprits.

V. C.
Colombo

Pension receipts

With the discontinuance of despatch of pension receipts to pensioners, certain practical problems have surfaced. Though the monthly receivable pension may remain the same deductions from each pensioner on account of various funds, ie. Trust Fund, PSMPA, GOBA, Edu. Co-op etc. may vary from month to month.

Pensioners in most instances burrow from these funds and keep a close check on monthly abatements from their pensions to ensure no over recoveries are made in excess of loans are payable.

Arbitrary deductions beyond due amounts by lending institutions are not uncommon.

These unadvised deductions, tend pensioners to make inquiries from paying-authorities which involves travelling and making inquiries which take valuable time off, overburdened Div. Sey. staff and pensioner concerned.

If the cost of postage and computer stationery were the compelling reasons for discontinuance of despatch of pension receipts, it is suggested that a nominal sum of Rs. 10 be charged towards the costs involved and ensure that the practice of issuing monthly pension receipts are continued.

W. SAMARANAYAKA
Maharagama

Victory in defeat

President George W. Bush claims that Americans are now safer in America but what the Americans want is the Americans to be safer in any part of the world like any other countryman.

The US Government is hated by almost everyone.

The illegal invasion of Iraq has resulted in a big boost in the recruitment of terrorists while causing a considerable decline in Americans joining the US army.

The torture and unlawful prisons have created an image that US have no value and have no respect for Geneva conventions.

We do not expect that there will be any change in President Bush's current policy for the rest of his period in office.

In the meantime he keeps claiming victory in all his adventures despite defeat.

S. H. Moulana
Riyadh