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Tuesday, 3 November 2009

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Man’s inhumanity to man

Last week we heard of yet another tragic death at the hands of the police. We are referring to the murder of young man in the shallow waters at the Bambalapitiya beach allegedly by police personnel. It was no simple accident but a ghastly scene witnessed by many in broad daylight.

What makes it more unfortunate is that the victim was a deranged person. In other words, he was a mental patient, a person who deserves sympathy. The manner in which he was done to death by beating with clubs is revolting to say the least.

This adds to the list of incidents that mar the good name of the Police. It is necessary to produce the suspects in court and institute legal proceedings against them. It is necessary to erase the general perception among the masses that the authorities are slack and indifferent in prosecuting errant officers.

This unfortunate incident was preceded by the death in custody of two youth in police custody in Angulana, Moratuwa and the alleged attack by police personnel on a student of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology at Malabe.

It is necessary to bring to book the killers of the innocent man at Bambalapitiya. However, that alone would not be enough. It is necessary to ensure that such violations of the law and such killings are not repeated.

The Police have no right to torture suspects. Their role is to apprehend the suspects and produce them in court. It is the latter that punishes the accused after a fair trial. Police have no right to punish people.

This may not be the first instance of the Police treating mentally deranged persons in such a cruel manner. The Police are only expected to hand over such persons to a mental hospital where they could be treated and cured.

No doubt the Police would have been influenced by the widespread cruelty in society at large towards mental patients. Even families abandon those who become mentally sick. Most of them could be cured if properly treated.

There is widespread ignorance on mental diseases and how to get them cured. In most instances they are not even recognized until they get worse and the patient turns violent. Hence, there is the need for a public awareness campaign on how to recognize and treat mental patients. Actually the authorities have to devote more attention to the mentally sick.

With the increase in the pace of work and the burdens of finding a decent means of living wider and wider sections of society would become liable to be afflicted with mental disorders. Unfortunately Sri Lanka has a big dearth of physicians who could treat such patients.

The Health Ministry has to evolve a scheme to produce sufficient qualified psychiatrists to treat the sick. Since it is not a lucrative sphere for private practice few would voluntarily opt to specialize in such a field. Hence, the need for material and other incentives to induce more young doctors to specialize in psychiatry and related subjects.


Planetary effects on a Poya Day

The Lagna forecast of a Sinhala daily yesterday showed how the planets affect man on a Poya Day. Some of the forecasts seemed interesting.

Here are some of them:

A day with mixed results.

Time will be spent outside home.

A day engaged in gardening.

A long journey will take place.

Time will be spent in solitude.

Evening will be spent leisurely.

A backlog of work would be cleared.

Time will be spent on meritorious deeds.

You would be attending to house repairs.

The day will be busy.

How much of knowledge in astrology should one need for such forecasting is anyone’s guess. Perhaps, another moot point for debate among astrologers.

Challenges in building a Sri Lankan brand

We face a number of important challenges in the present era. Having overcome the threat of terrorism and achieving military mastery over a ruthless organization which has blighted our national life for nearly three decades, we have a unique opportunity to forge a new Sri Lanka in which all citizens’ human dignity is fully safeguarded, where all are treated equally and share a common cohesive identity.

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English: as enemy and friend

Thilak was from Madadombe, Galgamuwa. When he entered the university all he knew of English was its alphabet. Half way through our first year, I moved into a ‘chummery’ in Gunnepana, about one and a half miles from Dumbara Campus, Polgolla. There were 12 boys sharing three rooms and six beds. Thilak was one of them. Thilak and I had a pact. We would speak in English on the way to campus and on the way back, he would sing. He picked up his English and I learnt a lot of songs.

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Holding the country to ransom

The recent strikes have manifested the helplessness of the public. With the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and affiliated unions threatening of more strikes to cripple the essential services, it is indeed timely to consider the moral obligations of unions towards society and also the need to regulate the conduct of the unions particularly to prevent disruption of the essential services. Should Trade unions be permitted to continue unabated with their threats of disruption of essential services? The patience the public have so far displayed is running thin.

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