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| Friday, 16 January 2004 |
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Letters | |
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Please forward your letters to editor@dailynews.lk in plain text format within the e-mail message, since as a policy we do not open any attachments.
Time for "Reverse Cohabitation" The present political crisis affords an opportunity for a new approach to secure the continuation of the peace process which is now imperilled. Given the scenario of a very dismal outlook, what is heartening is that many sections of our society are urging the two leaders to settle their differences and take the peace process forward. The voice calling for the resumption of war are hardly heard. At least in this we have a ray of hope. As of now the President is politically in a strong position while the Prime Minister faces a setback. In examining major critical issues affecting the country, the unfortunate tendency is to turn to recent and ancient history and engage in fault finding. This is not helpful and often leads to futile arguments. Therefore further analyses of the causes of the present crisis are of no value. Creative thinking without political partisanship is what we need to be engaged in. Because of the strong position the President now commands, she has a new opportunity to take the peace process forward. She has the support of several political and other stakeholders that would enable her to steer the peace process with a boarder consensus. In fact there is a widely held perception that a major weakness in the Prime Minister's peace process was the absence of broader participation. The President enjoys the confidence of a significant section of the Muslim community, the implicit support of the JVP, many sections of the Sangha and important sections of the armed services as well. Also importantly, the Prime Minister himself has offered to give her full support if she were to take charge of the peace process. It is reasonable to expect that the international community will also welcome this option and urge the LTTE to resume negotiations under the President's leadership and with the full support of the Prime Minister. Whether the subsisting MoU between the Government and the LTTE needs to be reviewed or not is a matter for discussion between the parties at the appropriate stage. If this opportunity is seen and grasped, the country can avoid a wasteful election that would create further political instability and economic decline and exacerbate the alarming trends in crime and violence. This opportunity will also be a test of the leadership qualities of the President and the Prime Minister in a crisis which can be seen as unprecedented even in the context of what we have witnessed so far in the thorny journey of cohabitation. Tennyson Rodrigo, Udawalawe transit home for elephants During my recent visit to the Udawalawe Transit Home for orphaned elephants on December 28, 2003 I observed that the viewing gallery had been completed and there were large crowds to witness the baby elephants being given their last milk feed at 6 p.m. Whilst majority of the costs incurred appears to be funded by born Free of UK and other agencies, there's a notice requesting donations to purchase milk powder to feed these elephants. Inquiries revealed that Thirty KG of milk powder is required per day. This means, approximately Rupees Ten Thousand Five Hundred is required per day to provide the milk feed. I made a financial contribution during my visit in March 2002, however I feel that the public should pay a nominal entrance fee, as what is paid to enter the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage. Hundreds of visitors flock to the transit home to witness the feeding of the elephants, a nominal fee of Rs. 10 per adult and Rs. 5 per children between 3 years and twelve years could be charged as an entrance fee. Foreign tourists could be charged Rs. 25 per person. The funds collected could be utilized for the feeding of the elephants, and funding received from other agencies could be utilized to complete the Museum, improve the hospital facilities and infrastructure. NIMAL ARYARATNE, A hollow brief for police raiders of Athurugiriya U.S. Jayasekera's (USJ) advocacy and the logic applied in defence of ASP Udugampola of Athurigiriya fame, is most astounding, if not amusing. Responding to a letter by M. Abeyratne published in a newspaper of December 20 calling for the arrest of Udugampola immediately USJ insults Mr. Abeyratne of being 'ignorant of the legal validity of the Presidential Commission Reports' or 'as a believer of Kangaroo courts' (Island 20.12.03). To USJ the raid on the safe house is a 'very unfortunate one' carried out by someone in his 'anxiety to prove his efficiency and allegiance to the government in power'. It is true that those found guilty by the Presidential Commission have to be prosecuted in a court of law, where the findings of the Commission could be tested and the guilty punished. To prosecute suspected criminals it is necessary sometimes to arrest the suspects as Udugamapola himself did by rushing to arrest the national heroes of Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols (LRRPs), on the strength of a tale related to him by some persons. The comparison therefore is simple - does not the mountain of evidence given in the Commission report by a retired judge of the Appeal Court more valid, carry greater weight and justification to arrest those who are accused in the words of the commission "of a total betrayal and absolute treachery to the nation". USJ's claim that the raid was carried out to prove the efficiency and allegiance to the government by Udugampola cannot hold any water in his hollow brief. Who held the Kangaroo Court? According to the media reports and the Commission Report itself Army safe house was raided after giving credence to a fairy tale, officers of LRRP (respected by a grateful nation as national heroes) were arrested illegally and improperly, taken to Kandy where they were humiliated in a most degrading manner and Udugampola refused to release them even after the Army Commander confirmed in writing the legality of the safe house and the innocence of the officers. To cap it all, Udugampola then filed action against the army commander in the district court of Kandy. USJ has conveniently forgotten the fact that the Athurugiriya drama was exposed to the TV and print media personnel after hastily summoning them to the police station at Slave Island. This Kangaroo Court action was withdrawn only on the order of the then Minister of Defence Marapana. USJ may recall that Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike was deprived of her civic rights on the strength of the findings of a Presidential Commission which were not tested in a Court of law. Even the first amendment to the Constitution was made to do it by a despotic ruler. USJ states that PC reports do not have legal validity since the "so called revelations may be partisan, biased or motivated by allegiances". Is he accusing the retired judge D. Jayawickrama of such failings? He also accuses the judge of not inquiring into the leaking of the names of army informants and that is the million dollar question the report should have tackled according to USJ. May I first advise USJ to read the Commission report without being partisan, biased or motivated by allegiances, to find the names of the traitors. USJ acting as a one man commission then speculates that the identity of the LRRP operatives could have been given to the LTTE by one or more of the safe house operatives! Creating dissentions among national heroes and insulting even the dead, are crimes of the highest order in any civilized society. As a direct result of the infamous raid, several army informants and police officers have been killed by the LTTE and others including their families are living in fear or have left the country. If USJ reads the newspapers he would have noted that the public demands justice be done and appropriate punishment meted out to those guilty of treachery to the nation. The one million dollar question is not who leaked the names of the national heroes, but whether the raid was carried out in fulfilment of a promise given to the LTTE by some politicians of the UNP, before the general election as alleged by opposition politicians. There is only one truth in USJ's letter, namely that there are "allegiance performing activities everywhere, every place and the police are no exception". I may add, that such persons are also found among some letter-writers to the press. D. SOYSA, No drugs to kidney transplant patients at SJGH A sudden stoppage of supply of anti-rejection drugs which are essential for survival of kidney transplant patients at Sri Jayawardenepura General Hospital (SJGH), has caused chaos and despair amongst patients and doctors alike. These anti-rejection drugs (Cyclosporin and Cellcept) have been supplied upto last month at a nominal charge of Rs. 200 per month. These same drugs are also supplied to kidney transplant patients at the National Hospital Colombo (NHC) and also at General Hospital Kandy (GHK) but these same drugs are free of charge and still continue to supply to date without discontinuation. These patients at SJGH have either had kidneys transplanted there itself or in India under the pre and post operative care of the Consultant nephrologist Dr. Chula Herath and his dedicated team of doctors, nurses and minor staff. Similarly, the patients at NHC and GHK have also been transplanted in those respective hospitals as well as in India as those patients at SJGH. But the irony and tragedy for the patients at SJGH are that they are without these vital drugs for survival while their counterparts at NHC and GHK continue to enjoy the free supply of drugs. Depending on the respective recommended dosages, the costs of these drugs purchased outside may be anything between Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 30,000 per patient per month. Why this discrimination to patients at SJGH? The kidneys transplanted to patients in India would have cost them anything around Rs. 600,000 to Rs. 1,000,000 depending on the respective cases and factors. Will all these expenses for the patients at SJGH be wasted without the supply of these life-saving drugs? The Chairman, Director and doctors at SJGH say that they are powerless and for the patients to take up their grievances with the ministry officials. ROHAN DE ZOYSA, |
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