Regular readers of the popular and wide read daily newspapers would
have come across my untiring efforts (through the print media) to have
the pension receipt restored. At last I have met with spectacular
success.
I addressed a letter personally to the President on January 12, 2007,
on the subject of restoration of the pension receipt, the withdrawal of
which was inexplicable in logic and commonsense. I also made it a point
to attach some newspaper clippings authored by my self plus several
other scribblers.
They were copies to the ebullient and ever obliging Secretary to the
President, Lalith Weeratunga. Thank God. Lo and behold! Finally saner
counsel prevailed and I received a reply dated February 5, 2007 (which I
received on 14.02.2007).
My humble request has been granted which undoubtedly is a sagacious
act. His letter addressed to the Secretary, Ministry of Public
Administration and Home Affairs (Reference PA/5/2/1/2 and dated February
05, 2007) stated inter alia (with copies to the Director of Pensions and
me) “Therefore he has requested to restore the issue of monthly pension
receipt to the pensioners for them to verify their regular deductions.
Your kind attention is drawn to the matters pointed out by Nanda
Nanayakkara and make necessary arrangements to meet his request”. Being
capable of sifting right from wrong, the good samaritan has empathised
with his aged and decrepit compatriots in their deepest longings.
This is certainly not the only single occasion. I remember the
vivacious erudite scholar and personality Amaranath Paul of Athurugiriya
expressing his gratitude to the morally courageous gentleman.
Lalith Weerathunga also the then Secretary to the President or may be
the then Prime Minister. It prompted me to recourse to same manner of
presenting my grievance for redress.
Dear Sir, please count me also as one (among many) who is ever
grateful to you and offering this fragrant bouquet for the meritorious
deed. You have certainly solved a recurring perennial problem which
affected the aged and hapless compatriots who had to trek to the
Divisional Secretariat to find the details in regard to the payments and
deductions of pensions.
In the alternative, one had to often visit the offices of the G.O.B.A.
and the P.S.M.P.A. on pain of losing the donation after demise. You have
certainly given us deliverance for which act of kindness we pray for
your eternal well-being.
NANDA NANAYAKKARA - Panadura
The media has quoted the American Ambassador Mr. Blake as having told
the Daily News that the LTTE though surely is pursuing terrorist
activities, has the ultimate political objective to establish some sort
of framework where the rights of the Tamils can be respected. Therefore,
he believes that there cannot be a military solution.
Can Ambassador Blake make a list of the rights that are denied to the
Tamils by the Sinhalese? He cannot, because no rights have been denied.
If he were to produce such a list, then that will be very interesting to
read. It will be only on production of such a list in writing that a
meaningful discussion can take place.
In Sri Lanka, there are three classes of Tamils, namely the Tamils
who live among the Sinhalese and those that live under the terror of the
LTTE. There is yet another class of Tamils who are the descendants of
Indian Tamils that the British imported to Sri Lanka to work as
labourers in their tea plantations. The leaders of this latter class
have very cordial links with the LTTE terrorists.
Those in the first category have lived among the Sinhalese and
prospered because the Sinhalese have always patronized their businesses.
They have lived amicably for centuries and there is no ethnic problem
between them and the Sinhalese.
The tea estate labourers are denied their rights to a wage comparable
to other wage earners by their employers who are the owners of tea
estates but the Government has allocated a piece of land for each family
to cultivate their own crops and sell or do whatever with it.
The Government is providing them with schools, but there are not
enough of them the same as elsewhere in the rural areas of the country.
They have representatives in the Government and their leaders hold
Cabinet portfolios. There has never been any ethnic problem between
these Tamils and the Sinhalese.
We now come to the most important class of Tamils that the LTTE
claims are their sole representative. These human beings have not known
what freedom is for the last 20 odd years. Apart from all kinds of
harassment they had to undergo, they always lived in fear of their
children being abducted and forced to become a part of the LTTE cadre.
Ambassador Mr. Blake would have seen the faces of the liberated
Tamils in the East. If he wishes to see for himself, what is written on
those faces, I am sure that the President will permit him to enter those
cleared areas that are not designated as security zones.
The President has conquered the hearts of these people that not all
the fire power in the world can conquer. He will do the same with the
Tamils in the Northern Province.
With the elimination of the terrorists in both provinces, the LTTE
will withdraw to Tamil Nadu where they will be welcomed. The Tamils of
the North and the East they leave behind do not ask for the division of
the country to form Federal states as the first step to separation.
So when Mr. Blake says that the ultimate political objective of the
LTTE is to establish some sort of framework where the rights of the
Tamils can be respected those words have no meaning to us at all.
At a future General Election the TNA will be wiped out and our
President will win a substantial amount of seats in the areas that were
once called de-facto Eelam.
The Eastern Province has been cleared on the battlefield. Soon the
Northern Province will also be cleared the same way and all the Tamils
in the East and the North will be cleared proving that the only solution
is a military solution because there is no ethnic problem in this
country.
L. JAYASOORIYA - via email
Noise pollution is a menace not tolerated in the developed countries.
However, in Sri Lanka the public are exposed to the very loud noises
emitted by the bull-horns of buses. Presently all new vehicles are
fitted with mild but very clear, hearing-friendly horns. Even better is
the fact that most drivers now do not use or rarely use their vehicle
horns.
In the above scenario, why are bus drivers allowed to use their
bull-horns particularly inside heavily populated town limits causing
utter discomfort and irritation to all those in the vicinity.
The Traffic Police together with the Environmental Authority should
formulate laws on this subject and enforce these laws to halt this
harmful menace.
VIMAL PERERA - Colombo 4
I worked for a foreign mission in Sri Lanka and I have observed the
violation of human rights taking place in many South Asian, Far East,
Middle East and African missions in Sri Lanka.
Many foreign missions in Sri Lanka do not follow the labour laws in
their countries or the labour laws in Sri Lanka specially pertaining to
employment of local staff.
In most cases, they do not issue letters of appointment, employees
are recruited on a hire and fire basis, no leave facilities even in case
of sickness is granted, increments withheld for number of years or will
not be paid at all, filthy, slang, rude language used on local staff.
The Foreign Ministry doesn’t interfere in these missions; perhaps
they may not be aware of these happenings in these missions. In case of
grievances to whom should the employees turn to?
Will the Foreign Ministry direct all missions to adhere to Sri Lankan
labour laws or laws of their own countries and value human rights in Sri
Lanka?
It would be a blessing if the Foreign Ministry could detail an
officer to visit these foreign missions in order to investigate the real
ground situation in these missions, and consequently it would be
appreciated, if the Foreign Ministry could request for appointment
letters of local staff from all foreign missions and other details
pertaining to their service and the number of increments paid to them
during the period of service with the missions.
Ultimately, it is justifiable if the Foreign Ministry and Labour
Ministry could co-ordinate to set up a complaint unit to investigate the
grievance of the local staff employed in foreign missions.
UPATISSA GAMANAYAKE - Gampaha
I fail to understand the disparity of an Indian free to visit Sri
Lanka by getting the Lankan visa stamped at our airport and the ardous
and unpleasant task of standing in queues to obtain a visa to visit
India?
Why this disparity and what is the meaning of SAARC then?
M. ADHAM - via email
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