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to the Editor |
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A case against conscription It is reported
that Minister Milinda Moragoda is proposing that the government
introduce conscription, irrespective of whether there is war or
peace. The possible use of legislation, introduced during the initial
stages of the 18-year civil war, for this purpose during peace time,
is a matter of grave concern. Some reasons why this is undesirable
are given below.
UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child -- Sri Lanka is a signatory to the UN
Convention on the Rights of Children, Article 18 of which states
that parties shall use their best efforts to ensure recognition
of the principle that "both parents have common responsibilities
for the upbringing and development of the child. The best interests
of the child will be their basic concern". Sri Lanka continues
to violate the rights of the parents in the upbringing and development
of the child by restricting their right to choose the medium of
instruction. The Constitution has been drafted with clauses which
restrict the right of the parents to decide on the medium of instruction
for their children. More than 125,000 people educated in the Sinhala
and Tamil medium leave the country every year to work as domestic
servants under modern conditions of slavery, as a result of their
inability to secure better jobs without fluency in English. The conscription of dependent children is another contravention of the right of the parents to choose a career path best suited for their children. The only justification for a restriction of this human right is an external threat to the security of a country. Inhuman ragging
-- The murder of a youth who tried to minimise inhuman ragging in
the Sri Jayewardenepura University is fresh in our minds. In the
Akbar Hall of the Peradeniya University, the warden and his assistants
were held hostage by engineering students who considered it their
right to subject freshers to such torture. The death of an engineering
student subjected to torture does not appear to have made a dent
in their warped minds. It was reported
that a large number of army officers who received promotions were
ragged severely, resulting in a number of them being admitted to
hospital with injuries. How many parents want their children to
be subjected to this type of torture? May I suggest
to Minister Moragoda that as a first step he carries out a survey
among the UNP Members of Parliament with sons below 18 years, whether
they wish to send them to be conscripted. The answers to the questionnaire
are needed from both parents, as both are responsible for the upbringing
of their children. It is highly unlikely that the Minister's colleagues
and their spouses will want any interference by the government in
the upbringing of their children. Economic consequences
-- A study of the investors in the stock market will show that a
small number control over 80 percent of local investment. They are
welcomed with open arms by most countries. A survey among
a sample of these high net-worth individuals will reveal that most
of them with sons under 18 will emigrate for the sake of their children,
rather than allow them to be tortured in conscription camps. This
will result in a flight of capital and control of the economy by
non-citizens. Double standards
-- The non-contributory pension rights of those who join the Public
Service in the future were removed in the last budget. The pension
rights of new MPs and their kith and kin who serve as their private
secretaries and co-ordinating secretaries were not removed, as it
would be considered political suicide. This is just one example
of the double standards which prevail between the politicians and
the people. The people do not believe that sons of politicians will be conscripted just as much as their sons were sheltered from joining the armed forces during the long civil war. If our politicians
continue to act in this manner, another youth insurrection is inevitable. CB misled Pramuka depositors The other day
I was passing by Pramuka Bank when I saw a large number of Pramuka
depositors, who had lost their life's savings, raising cries to
the government not to turn a blind eye to their predicament. With no monthly
interest being paid as a result of the Central Bank action to close
the bank, most of them had no means of livelihood. I heard that
14 depositors had suffered strokes. Here was a
very negative signal being sent out about the government. The depositors
and their families would make up a significant vote bank. The depositors
argue that the supervisory role of the Central Bank should have
ensured timely intervention more than three years ago to keep the
bank on course. "Should we pay for its lapses?" they ask.
On the other
hand, why did the Central Bank list Pramuka in the newspapers six
months prior to its closure as one among the better banks, thus,
creating investor confidence and misleading the public? Upto the time
of the Central Bank intervention, Pramuka was fully operational
and had not dishonoured a single transaction. If there had been
irregularities, the Central Bank should have intervened to regulate
the bank's activities and not to close it without consideration
of the depositors' plight. Now the state
should intervene and direct suitable action without delay. Let the Bank
of Ceylon, People's Bank and National Savings Bank invest and takeover
the deposit base of Pramuka providing redress to depositors. If this is
not done, not only would the government be letting down thousands
of families, but also breaking the savings habit of the people. J.T. Manohar Coconut crisis linked to real estate business There has been
much comment about the high price of coconuts, the shortages and
a proposal to import them. There has also been discussion that the
shortages of coconuts in the domestic market due to the high cost
of fertilizer and unfavourable weather conditions. I am surprised that little comment has been made on the rampant fragmentation in recent years of coconut lands to produce 'get-rich-quick' housing schemes. There seems to be hardly any sense of socially responsible behaviour in this respect. We are a territorially
small country with a large population and cannot afford to use up
our agricultural lands for single unit houses with gardens. What
is happening now is just the beginning of the repercussions we will
increasingly experience on our agricultural productivity. May I suggest
that those who want the luxury of single unit houses with gardens
in rural surroundings be required to pay a tax for the privilege?
An even higher tax should be levied on property developers who propose
to convert agricultural land into low-cost (but still very profitable)
housing. It is said that we are heading for rural slums rather than
the urban variety and there may well be some truth in that. It is time
for some quick decisions as our planners have already had plenty
of experience with these matters and time is running out (as we
have seen as regards coconuts). The forgotten tower The 40-metre
TV transmission tower set up on Padagalakanda in Bulathsinhala in
the Kalutara district has been lying desolate for five years. Construction
work began in 1997 after a feasibility study on the coverage of
TV signals. However, even after five years, no transmission equipment
has been fixed or work resumed. Slip of presidential tongue The President
is reported to have accused the Prime Minister of pistol wielding
and also of threatening her and her party members with death, not
once but thrice. The accusation,
instead of being rolled out before SLFP supporters at a political
meeting, should have been brought to the notice of the police promptly. However, the
President later denied having made such an accusation, though the
denial was disproved by the relaying of her speech. It may have
been a slip of the tongue, buoyed by the immunity she enjoys. This again
points to another unsatisfactory constitutional provision, which
needs to be removed immediately. Keep the English narration For the past
six months, Channel Eye has been telecasting Discovery programmes
in the morning and at noon only in Tamil. This leaves most of us
who don't understand Tamil in the dark about the wonderful world
highlighted by Discovery. These programmes
carry a lot of information about various fields such as astronomy,
geology, paranormal, science discoveries, aviation, just to name
a few. The Sri Lanka
Rupavahini Corporation should increase the air time given to Discovery
programmes. The quality
of these programmes is unmatched by any that are made locally and
young and old alike can learn much from them. My suggestion to SLRC
is to put Tamil subtitles without removing the original English
narration. Fair deal for pensioners I wish to add
a few more facts to pensioner J. P. Wickremasinghe's letter (The
Sunday Times of January 5). Pensioners
have only a few more years to live. So it is not a recurrent expenditure
for the government. Secondly, the
Treasury has fixed pensions in an unusual method. Some have had
their pensions fixed at 65% of the last salary drawn, others at
percentages ranging from 70% to even 90%. Various commissions
have recommended a uniform percentage to treat all pensioners fairly.
Is it too much to ask of a government for a fair deal in the twilight
of one's life, after long and faithful service? |
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