Enthroning valour

It is certainly bound to be a huge drain on the State coffers, but the decision taken by Deputy Finance Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama to offer relief to the next of kin of soldiers who lay down their lives for the Motherland is indeed commendable.

According to a front page story in a national Daily yesterday, the Widows and Orphans Act is to be amended entitling the next of kin of the Security Forces who sacrificed their lives on the battle field to the full salary and other emoluments of the victims until the age of 55 and to the full pension thereafter.

True, over a million public servants will benefit by the scheme but the move is mainly aimed at the Armed Forces and Police numbering over 400,000.

No amount of rewards can compensate for the sacrifices by our Security Forces who are waging a battle in the noble endeavour of protecting the territorial integrity of the country. This therefore is but a small price to pay for their valour.

It should also be noted that until recently our soldiers were completely cut off from public focus where the sacrifices of these valiant soldiers gained no currency among the majority of the populace particularly the urban elite.

Most of our people went about their merry way enjoying the bounties of city life and wallowing in the luxury of ostentatious living completely oblivious of the ordeal endured by our fighting men.

There were plenty of distractions to blot out the reality in the theatre of war where a segment of our brethren were shedding their blood for the Motherland, such as cricket matches, carnivals not to mention the latest Super Star culture to mesmerise the young.

It is to the enteral credit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that this trend has now been reversed and the soldier brought into the lime light, unravelling the hardship and sacrifice he has to undergo in countering a ruthless enemy in hostile terrain. The public today as never before has been exposed to the harsh reality of the war.

Thanks to this move today the soldier has been placed on a pedestal where he his being depicted in his heroic cast in the press on television and the ubiquitous banners, hoardings and cut outs that dot the country’s landscape and even committed to song.

This adulation alone will not suffice and we should strive to materially reward the efforts of these valiant men and their kith and kin. The 5,000 unit housing scheme for members of the Security Forces now being constructed in Anuradhapura is one move to recognise the sacrifice of our fighting men. There should be more such projects to help our soldiers, a great majority of whom come from poor families in the rural outback, to raise their morale further to forge ahead determinedly to finish off the remaining vestiges of terrorism from our midst.

True, President Rajapaksa like no other leader before had given pride of place to our soldiers appreciating their sacrifices. He has thus rewarded them with high remuneration and other wherewithal that had egged on their spirit to give of their best towards their motherland. The public too today empathise with our heroic men as never before as seen from the sporadic celebrations in the wake of military victories.

But they should also show their appreciation in a more tangible form by contributing to the various welfare schemes being established for cause of the Security Forces.

Now that the end of the three decades old war is nearing its end these valiant men deserve all the fruits of their labour and sacrifice.

NIC reigns supreme

The affable Plantation Industries Minister D.M. Jayaratne according to press reports was almost deprived of his vote the other day when he went to his local polling station in Kandy to cast his ballot at the Central Provincial Council elections.

His offence; producing his Parliament Identity Card to the presiding officer, which was not in the stipulated list of ID documents prescribed by the Elections Commissioner.

Luckily for him he had his National ID and was able to cast his vote. Had he not he would have been the second high ranking Lankan politician on record to have been denied of his voting right at the point of voting.

The other of course was the one time SLFP presidential candidate Hector Kobbekaduwa. This though was not for want of an ID document. That of course is a story by itself which has been told and retold over the years. Suffice it to say this marked the beginning of election malpractice, the intimidation of polling agents, storming of polling booths, the whole malaise that affect elections in Sri Lanka to this day.

To get back to the Jayaratne episode how come the Elections Commissioner overlook this most vital identity document which is a pass to the supreme legislature that even votes funds for the Elections Commission not to mention the salary of the Commissioner himself.

This indeed is a big faux pass that we are sure will be remedied by the Elections Commissioner without delay.

Looking at the funny side of it a wag is bound to say it was a come uppence against local politicians who are known to call the shots inside polling booths where they strut about like peacocks to have their way.

Thankfully there were no ruffled feathers this time around.