Letters to the Editor
View(s):Raising bogey of diaspora to cover their misdeeds
Recently at a meeting Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that it was the diaspora that had connived with local forces to oust the Rajapaksas. This is an insult to the Aragalaya and the thousands of ordinary people, women and children who participated voluntarily in the protests to redeem the country from a corrupt and inefficient regime. All these people behaved in an exemplary manner to achieve their aim, until the thugs sent by Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked them mercilessly.
Therefore uttering such a statement is preposterous, though not surprising coming from the Minister. With egg on the face, now his only option is to pull the racist card. People have now realised that corrupt politicians have resorted to racism in the past to capture power and loot the country. Therefore he should realise that making such noises is not going to redeem him from his misdeeds.
Enough that corrupt politicians have ruined, bankrupted, and degraded the country in the international arena for 75 years. Now it’s time for a new beginning for the people of this beleaguered country, while the corrupt are sent behind bars where they rightfully belong.
N.V. Jen Via email
De-listing organisations, persons: Authorities should have eyes wide open
I wish to refer to the Sri Lanka Government’s decision to de-list some of the banned designated persons, groups and entities which were proscribed under paragraph 4 (2) of the United Nations Regulations no 1 of 2012.
The main reason for the proscription was their direct assistance and funding of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) aka Tamil Tigers.
The recent decision to de-list is said to be after a detailed study of 577 individuals and 18 organisations which were blacklisted in 2021 for financing terrorism.
The people who underwent extreme difficulties and the kith and kin of those killed by the LTTE and especially of the soldiers and those who are still suffering from the injuries sustained in the war expect a more detailed explanation from the Government and the defence establishment whether any written reliable undertaking had been received from the de-listed entities that they will disassociate with the armed struggle against the Sri Lankan people, Sri Lanka and the Government of Sri Lanka in future and accept the defeat of the LTTE at Nandaikadal as the final settlement of their separatist armed struggle.
One common feature of the separatist movement launched by some Tamil political parties and the Tamil Tigers had been their use of ‘little now more later’ strategy in negotiating with the Sri Lankan Government.
They launched their agitation against the enthronement of Sinhala language in the country and that received the attention of the policy makers with the Tamil language too receiving due recognition. Then some Tamil parties initiated their claims for a federal form of government and then to exclusive Tamil areas in the north and the east which progressively developed into the ‘Eelam’ concept. The armed struggle launched in the ’80s evolved into a full scale war which ended in the defeat of the Eelamists in 2009. But, during the period of war too there were peace talks sponsored by foreign nations. One would notice even during the negotiations the tactic of ‘little now more later’ was applied by the Tigers. Even the present President, Ranil Wickremesinghe was led astray by them during the negotiations.
The Government and the country need an inflow of foreign exchange and some of the ‘de-listed entities’ apparently have given an undertaking as Sri Lankan expatriates to arrange remittance of foreign funding. But such an exercise should not be allowed to open a Pandora’s Box for the country and the nation to receive continuous demands such as tampering with the Constitution, delegation of powers to the provinces, demand for traditional homelands and weakening of national security in keeping with the well known ‘little now and more later’ strategy.
We request the President, the Prime Minister and the Government to have their eyes wide open.
Ranjith Soysa Via email
With schools back to normal route No. 155 bus must be restored
Now that schools are back to normal with physical classes being conducted on all five days of the week, this is to request the Transport Ministry to restore the route No. 155 bus which runs from Mattakkuliya to Ratmalana / Soysapura.
This bus is urgently required, especially by the schoolchildren. Otherwise, breaking the journey will make the cost of travel (bus fare) increase – and also will require more time to be expended on the journey. Even the staff of schools mentioned here and those employed in corporate firms, Government institutions, etc. on this route are also very badly inconvenienced.
Hope the above request will be acceded to because it will be a great help for students studying in St. Benedict’s College, Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena, Fathima Muslim Girls School, Bandaranaike Mawatha, Colombo 12, Zahira College and Ananda College, Maradana, Buddhist Ladies College, Town Hall, Royal College, Thurstan College, Ladies’ College all in Colombo 7, St. Peter’s College and Muslim Ladies College, Bambalapitiya, S. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia, Hindu College, Deaf and Blind School Ratmalana etc, to name some of the prominent schools that this route serves.
Mohamed Zahran Colombo
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