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I understand that according to the labelling requirements of the Food
Act and Consumer Protection Act in Sri Lanka it is sufficient to declare
the 'generic' name of an ingredient in a food item instead of the
specific name.
Practising vegetarians, the world over, including Buddhists and
Hindus in Sri Lanka would not knowingly consume any product that
contains 'gelatine' and/or 'animal' rennet (in contrast to vegetarian or
microbial rennet) as found in most brands of cheese available in Sri
Lanka.
I would like to also highlight the fact it is unfortunate that many
vegetarians are not aware of the fact that gelatine and rennet are
slaughter house by-products, viz. Gelatin being obtained from animal
bones, connective tissue and tendons of animals that are slaughtered
while the rennet used in the manufacture of cheese unless it is
specified as of plant/microbial origin, is obtained from the stomach of
killed calves.
In developed countries such as the United Kingdom (UK) Australia,
United States of America (USA), Singapore etc. all the popular
consumable 'dairy' and other products detail/list all the ingredients
used in those products, with particular reference to gelatine and
rennet.
I therefore appeal that our authority of the Food Act and Consumer
Protection Act insists that every ingredient used in the products
manufactured in Sri Lanka, with particular reference to dairy products
such as curd, yoghurt, cheese and ice cream is listed for otherwise
bonafide/practising vegetarians would be consuming gelatine and or
animal rennet for no fault or sin of theirs.
M SIVASURIYA
Colombo 8
Recently my dish antenna gave a problem. I looked up my mobile and
found a number under TV and called them and told them that the dish
antenna they fixed is giving me a problem. They came promptly and fixed
it, and charged a very nominal fee, and, while leaving they said, " This
was not fixed by us but you have been our customer for long so we came
to fix it." I was absolutely pleased with them and ever since then if
anyone asks me for a TV/ antenna maintenance people I would recommend
them. Needless to say they are thriving.
On the other hand I bought my pantry cupboards from a PhD 'Dr.' who
ran a shop and he insisted that I pay the full Rs 100, 000 before even
the basses came home to fix it.
I duly paid since it was a beautiful set but the next day one bottom
panel fell off and one whole cupboard came off. Repeated calls did not
bring any response from the good 'doctor' and by and by the phone was
never picked up when I made calls from my phone but soon picked up when
I called from another phone!
Of course many who come home admire my pantry cupboards but all I can
say is " Do not even go to get a toothpick done from him!" Recently when
I drove past this shop and saw it closed, minus the nameboard with half
made pantry cupboards, I certainly was not surprised.
Many a businesses fail because people fail to recognize the fact that
the success of a business rests quite heavily on after sales services.
Dr Mareena Thaha Reffai
Dehiwela
Banks in Sri Lanka have introduced various schemes to collect
deposits from customers. Marketing experts have invented many brand
names for such deposits. Obviously the brand name has some appeal on the
prospective depositor.
Out of all the banks, only HDFC Bank, a relatively new entrant has
introduced a savings account scheme (Arumpu) for small Tamil speaking
children. This brand name carries the meaning 'bud' i.e. for growing
children. The HDFC Bank stands out among other Sri Lankan banks for
having thought about the Tamil children and their parents and introduced
a brand with a name that fill their hearts.
A B C
Colombo 6
I read with interest the publication titled 'Britain apologises to
child migrants' (DN February 26, 2010). The brief details with
photograph of a victim now apparently in his seventies were a shocking
revelation not only of human rights violations but child protection
rights of 150,000 destitute child migrants aged 3-14 years forcibly
separated from their loved ones and sent into exile to Canada to
Australia (Commonwealth members) based on a government policy which was
carried out up to 1960 from 1920 - a 40 years period.
All children ended up in foster homes, State-run orphanages and
religious institutions (Christian managed) and were sexually and
physically abused. The children were told their parents were dead and
the parents were given little information where their offsprings were
going. Shockingly Britain continued with this program even after The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Child Protection Bill rights
were adopted by the United Nations Organisations of which Britain is a
staunch member.
To draw a comparison one could see the double standards of these
legalised human rights activists to the humanitarian exercise by the Sri
Lanka Government of the 300,000 Internally Displaced Persons during and
after the defeat of the ethnic war. The activists came in their hordes -
UN representatives, alien government officials, unheard of INGOs,
nonentities et al to add fuel to fire in their mission with false
accusations, allegations, spreading false propaganda, misreporting, etc.
'Do as we say not as we do' was their motto all because Sri Lanka
refused to comply with their commands.
Ironically one of the main issues of these activists was the
re-uniting of lost and loved ones and settling them in their original
homes forthwith knowing fully well that almost 1/3 of the country was
ravaged by a 30 year war and heavily mined. Here I would like to quote
from the text of the speech by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez
Parrilla at the High Level Segment of the Thirteenth Session of Human
Rights Council, Geneva on March 3 (DN 06.03.10)........ Those who take
upon themselves the role of watchdogs of human rights and attempt to
question others, are precisely the ones who are directly responsible for
the most serious, systematic and flagrant violations of human
rights......" Between Sri Lanka and Britain on this issue any one will
know who is guilty.
It is on record that Britain sent ex-convicts into exile to Australia
during this period and the plight of the above children could well be
imagined.
An apology is not going to settle this issue. It is time that these
unfortunate victims exposed to the world the tragic pain they went
through and wonder whether the likes of Miliband and Navinathen Pillai
will take the cue to help them in the name of Human Rights. The issue is
not as old as the Armenian/Ottoman Turk issue which perhaps you may be
closely monitoring.
Melville Perera
Kohuwala
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