This is in reference to the criticism by a foreign expert attending
the AIDS conference. He criticised the President for leaving the AIDS
conference after his speech was delivered.
His criticism is ludicrous to say the least; it was petty and babyish
as well.
The President of Sri Lanka is the most threatened Head of State of
any democratic nation in the world perhaps alongside the President of
Afghanistan.
President Rajapaksa did the right thing. He did not want to
inconvenience the conference more than he had to.
He has to heed his security detail; too many strong leaders have been
assassinated by the Tiger terrorists because they did not listen to
their security officers.
If Dennis Altman from the safety of his foreign abode, could tell the
terrorists to practise Gandhian ahimsa and take him off their suicide
terrorist hit list and guarantee his safety perhaps the President could
have obliged him for a longer time period.
When the Commander in Chief of Sri Lanka attends public functions, he
not only exposes himself to unnecessary risks but he also inconveniences
the rest of the people attending these events; and exposes the public to
attack as well, because the Tigers don't give a damn about how many
civilians they kill.
Instead of rather queerly crying about the President leaving he
should have thanked him for not impeding the proceedings further.
He was acting like a typical Western expatriate because he felt
slighted that the President did stay to listen to him or other pundits
about a topic that has been given wide coverage for decades now. What
new things could he learn from a few prepared texts about this tragedy?
At least this President works to time, respects people's time, and
does not keep traffic blocked for hours, or people waiting for hours
even when security deems is such.
I am not a fan of any current Lankan politician, but this issue was
about national security; and protecting decisive strong leaders when the
Tigers have shown a history of eliminating strong elected leaders in the
past.
I suggest this foreign expert write to Prabakaran instead of fussing
in your columns without a clue about the terrorist threats.
Sadly, President Chandrika Kumaratunga had to suffer serious injuries
because her security detail couldn't protect her adequately when she was
at a public gathering for too long. She was always a brave lady and
perhaps did not listen to their advice and concerns either. The result
was a tragedy that could have been avoided.
President Premadasa was killed by the same terrorists because he too
was careless. Ranjan Wijeratne, a brilliant strategist was also killed
because he lowered his guard by using the same route to go to work
everyday.
MANO RATWATTE
The recent visit of Sir John Holmes and the impact it made reminds me
of a story of another Holmes.
It is about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson deciding to go camping.
"After sharing a good meal and a bottle of Petrie wine, they retire
to their tent for the night.
At about 3.00 a.m., Holmes nudges Watson and asks, "Watson, look up
into the sky and tell me what you see?"
Watson said: "I see millions of stars."
Holmes asks: "And, what does that tell you?"
Watson replies: "Astronomically, it tells me there are millions of
galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells
me that Saturn is in Leo.
Theologically, it tells me that God is great and we are small and
insignificant. Horologically, it tells me that it's about 3.00 a.m.
Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day
tomorrow. What does it tell you, Holmes?"
Holmes retorts: "Someone stole our tent."
The moral of this story is invaluable to us in Sri Lanka.
Arjuna Hulugalle
We have been constantly reminded in various media about the current
teledramas brought from India, and the veritable danger in it.
It's extremely vital that something be done about it, soon, and my
plea is that senior, talented and experienced artistes like Roger
Seneviratne, Jackson Anthony, Kamal Addaraarachchi, Mahendra Perera and
others, be given the initiative, preferably by the State to produce
meaningful teledramas in tune with our culture which every
right-thinking person knows is a necessity.
The violence that we see daily is largely due to watching these
horror teledramas by most of our public.
So, it's time we banned them altogether and eventually make this a
peaceful country for all of us to live in.
Anandi Kulatilleke,
Mt. Lavinia
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