• Anandasangaree's speech against LTTE

• Why no private medical college in Sri Lanka?

• Unwelcome to its own people

• Destroying Buddhism through schoolbooks

• Prince Street

• Noise pollution by religious institutions

Anandasangaree's speech against LTTE

I read with great interest the speech delivered by V. Anandasangaree at the UNESCO Headquarters, which was published in the Daily News.

The brief but precise in facts, speech has put the LTTE stark naked before the international community. The courage of Anandasangaree must be dutifully commended for making such bold statements against the LTTE.

It is very clear that a negotiated settlement to the conflict of their own making is not on their agenda. Peace is not a concern of the LTTE because they cannot survive in a peaceful environment, judging by the crimes they have committed against humanity in the decades past.

They have come a long way on ill-gotten money and power, suppressing, terrorising and extorting people for their survival. Let's hope the LTTE will come to an end just like the fascist Nazi Party of Hitler that suffered retribution for its atrocious crimes against humanity.

H. W. WELIDENIYA - Aranayaka

Why no private medical college in Sri Lanka?

I don't understand why Sri Lanka does'nt have Private Medical Colleges.

These colleges are found anywhere round the world. I think it may be the fear that children from rich families will pay the money to enter these colleges and become doctors.

Today with the globlization its much easier to get this education from any part of the world, than specialize and work in Sri Lanka as consultants ever performing better than local doctors.

By not having private medical colleges we are depleting our foreign exchange. Large sums of money from Sri Lanka and expatriate Sri Lankans living in various parts of the world are sent to their children to get medical education in other countries.

Sri Lanka also can gain large amounts of foreign exchange by offering seats to international students which is the practice of most developed countries.

It is because of our narrow minded thinking that only rich students will get into medical colleges prevents us from doing so. Today doctors are from middle or poor class families and totally depend on their in laws to elevate their status.

Nobody likes to go to a doctor unless their health situation needs it, and this is taken advantage by the doctor to make them rich.

To be a rich doctor is not something that someone can be proud of because all the money he gets is from the suffering patients. Can anyone explain what is exactly wrong in allowing private medical colleges?

K. PERERA - via email

Unwelcome to its own people

I refer to Nimal Perera's comments regarding the above (DN Nov. 13). I accept the fact that he is entitled to his own opinion but I have to say, Mr. Perera has no idea of what he is talking about. He is missing the point here!

As one reader quite rightly pointed out, charging a fee to someone (however big or small) for retaining his or her own birthright is fundamentally flawed.

It is also a serious deprivation of one's basic human rights. I urge the Sri Lankan Government to abolish this ridiculous fee and make it an automatic right to all those who have a birthright to remain Sri Lankans, if they acquire a second citizenship or not.

This is not a question about money or about people who left Sri Lanka for personal gains. This is about one's fundamental right in a civilised society. Sri Lankan Government should formulate policies to drive the country forward, not backward to a fortified Taliban like regime.

Everyone works hard to achieve some personal gains in life, I am sure Mr. Perera does the same. Many people acquire foreign citizenship, when they can, in order to open themselves to wider opportunities.

That alone does not make one a traitor! So, what is wrong with that? The policies such as this can make Sri Lanka an unwelcome fortress to its own people.

GREGORY FERNANDO - via email

Destroying Buddhism through schoolbooks

For the last ten years or so I have been trying my level best to inform the Buddhist public through letters written in the media that those who are responsible for the schoolbooks on Buddhism either did not know the basics of Buddhism or were people who knew what they were doing and they wrote them with the pre-meditated intention of destroying Buddhism in this Buddhist land and hence our heritage and culture.

The JHU is not interested in this. That is my personal experience. Whom else could I contact? There is nobody else. Therefore about two months ago I published a book titled 'How schoolbooks destroyed Buddhism in Sri Lanka'.

In that book I have shown the part played by university professors as well and made enemies for myself. The more they are angry the better I feel because I know that I have touched a sensitive nerve in their system and they will never dare to challenge me in an open written forum.

I will not speak to them because they will use the only defense they have and that is to drown me and not permit me to speak. Besides I am not interested in arguing with them.

Today the knowledge of the Buddha Dhamma in Sri Lanka is at near zero level and yet those at the top end of the ladder in professional attainments sincerely believe that they are fully knowledgeable. One such lady even told me "Who are you to tell me that Buddhism is not well taught at school? I study these books and teach my daughter?".

In the 'Island' of 15/11/06 on page 2 there is a news item to say that Grade Six and Ten schoolbooks on Buddhism have been recalled because of grave errors.

The National Institute of Education has said that the books referred to were revised several times by several advisory committees prior to publishing.

So that is the caliber of all the advisory committees that do not even know how to write a schoolbook. If they cannot do that what on earth are they capable of doing?

I ask the readers "In what subject taught at school in any country on the surface of this earth could such a thing ever happen?" Does it not go to show conclusively the validity of what I have been saying for ten years? It is not just these two books. It is the whole set of books.

If there is any person in this country who is a Buddhist and who is also concerned about attempts being made to destroy Buddhism through schoolbooks either deliberately or through utter ignorance and incompetence please take it up from here because the Jathika Hela Urumaya is simply not interested.

L. JAYASOORIYA - via email

Prince Street

A beautiful name - Prince Street, one of the busiest streets in the heart of Pettah where most of the business is done in wholesale, but this is the dirtiest streets in the whole of Pettah.

There are many huge buildings on either side of the road also there is a very important and famous ancient building the Dutch museum, where many foreigners arrive oftenly but this road is always very filthy with heaps and heaps of dirt, rubbish, rotten fruits etc. On rainy days it is worse, one cannot walk on the road.

I am a daily user of this road for the last 25 years. Still it is the same or I can say it is worse than then.

It would be appreciated if the authorities concerned come and see for themselves the state of this street, and take the necessary steps to do the needful.

ROSSANA SARAM - Kandana

Noise pollution by religious institutions

Narme Wickremasinghe, has brought to light the infamous noise emanating from various religious institutions , including temples and churches... or Hindu Kovils, or observing bajans in certain places.

What he or she must understand is, that all those pomp and pagentry, customs, conventional or unconventional had infiltrated into our country, since the foreign invasion to Sri Lanka in the 16th century, customs for good or for bad are being adhered to by us now. Just as a routine, way of our lives.

But what of the noise, superseding the statutory, decibel standard of volume, emanating from those huge Tuition Houses, which are in simple vocabulary, called Tuition Kadayas, which are coming-up like mushrooms, overnight, attracting students school-going/ private, who are wishfully daydreaming, that they would achieve their targets, by visiting these Kadayas, who run the most lucrative business of the island.

Why, the aim of every parent is to see that his/ her child would get the gist of the best education and so motivates the child to live up to the Jonesses. What a drain and expense on the poor parents' purses?

So here the Master of Bsc. Bcom, or Management. the narrator or the lecturer, screaming at the top of their voices, surpassing the permissible volume standards, similar to speeches made by politicians, standing on the podium simply to give the assurance to the student, that better luck next time.

Poor parents; but what of the public living in such environments. Even on a Poya day, the recording of those public speeches prevail... what about Sundays.

Are the children brought up to follow the precepts of the Church or the Temple? Even if complaints are made they fall on deaf ears of the Central Environment Authorities.

As Mr. Wickremesinghe pinpoints, noise in any form is irritable, be it the tooting of horns on the highway or the noise at religious festivals. The CEA should find out ways and means of curtailing and streamlining such pollution at their parameters.

The public may voice their grievance to the CEA, but the lethargic authorities, may themselves by now be ad nauseam both physically and mentally, to this irritating nuisance of being reported repeatedly by the people living in such environments.

B. ABEYWICKRAMA - via email