Letters to the Editor

Two ministers have opened up a channel for dialogue with the public through e-mail. When Minister Milinda Moragoda won the last parliamentary elections, I sent him a congratulatory message on December 8, 2001 along with the suggestion that as an MP of the area he should take immediate action to widen Polhengoda Road, which leads to the new superhighway, connecting Kanatte with High Level Road. On this narrow, two-kilometre stretch of road, pedestrians have to step into the drain when two vehicles cross.

I was surprised when my e-mail was replied immediately and thought, here was a minister concerned about people's welfare. I sent him another message on December 9, 2001 and back came the same reply. An automated reply. Does he think we are fools to be deceived by such gimmickry?

Minister Tyronne Fernando was the other who opened an e-mail channel, after Minister Moragoda. I sent him a congratulatory message on June 26, last year and placed before him the many problems Sri Lankans face in trying to obtain visas to visit foreign countries, especially developed countries. Sad to say, there has been no reply from him. Perhaps, he is busy canvassing support in foreign capitals for his candidature for the top job in the UN. What is the point in opening a dialogue with the public through e-mail if they do not even bother to send a reply? .

Whatever human rights organizations, sociologists, religious dignitaries and others say, I strongly believe that capital punishment should be introduced as soon as possible.

Those opposing capital punishment will say it is uncivilized for man to take another man's life.

On the contrary, I would say that it is the most civilized thing to do considering the structure and situation of today's violent society.

To encourage and allow people to murder at will and make society a more violent place would be more of an uncivilized act. Before speaking on capital punishment, one should study in-depth the rights of humans to live without fear.

Civilized societies have invented laws for people to abide by. The sole purpose of laws with punishments laid down for violations is to deter man from doing wrong.

This is a very effective system. Remove these laws from the statute books and see what happens. We have accepted the fact that when a punishment is severe the crime rate drops.

That's why we amend our laws from time to time in keeping with the times. That is why capital punishment should be introduced to bring down the rate of grave crimes.

Those opposing capital punishment have never seen the suffering, anguish and trauma of a raped girl and her family members. They have not seen the brutality of contract killers. They have not seen the suffering wrought on families by drug dealers.

Are we uncivilized if we take one life to save 10? Are we uncivilized to destroy one man before he destroys a whole society?

An attempt by 10 treasure hunters (two in robes) to loot the Tissawa Raja Maha Viharaya was thwarted by the timely intervention of the police, according to newspaper reports.

This is just another instance of vandals going on the rampage and destroying valuable archaeological sites. I know this historic Tissawa Raja Maha Viharaya in Katupotha in the Kurunegala district and also its Chief Priest, Rev. M. Siddhatta Thero.

The Chief Priest or anyone else for that matter would be helpless in a situation where vandals come under cover of darkness to destroy archaeological sites and rob priceless items. These institutions cannot look after themselves.

Can't the Department of Archaeology help such institutions with a plan to safeguard at least what is left? It is the bounden duty of the state to look after historic sites and preserve them for posterity.

Recent newspaper reports state that the Z-score scheme and Common General Test will remain. This is significant because I remember reading many articles in the past few years, where these two schemes were opposed by opposition politicians.

The Z-score scheme was opposed so vehemently in 2002 that it resulted in the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee.

This committee has now delivered the verdict that the Z-score and the Common General Paper should be continued. Previously, the education reforms and with them the Common General Paper were vociferously opposed in 1999 and 2000.

I remember seeing pictures of opposition MPs clad in red loincloth, parading around Lipton's Circus carrying placards against the reforms. It was the same story with regard to the English medium.

Fortunately, for the children of the country, the then government and the education authorities did not succumb to these pressures.

They stood firm and went ahead with the proposals. What if they had heeded the protests? Children attending government schools would have been robbed of these good initiatives and sensible policies.

It is also heartening to note that the present government has accepted the reforms as being worthy.

(The Sunday Times of February 16) that monkeys have become a nuisance in many places.

In the area where I live, a real estate company destroyed the natural habitat of the monkeys around Bolgoda Lake to develop the land. Now monkeys have invaded residential areas.

They run on our roofs and damage the tiles. The damage is detected only when the roof leaks during the rains.

Those days monkeys could be scared away by hanging a python skin on a tree. But today python skins are forbidden items.

President George W. Bush seems all out to start a war with Iraq with the motive of destroying the weapons of mass destruction which Saddam Hussein is supposed to be hiding and "liberating" the Iraqis from oppression.

Bush is reportedly planning an 18-month occupation of Iraq to stabilize the country after the conflict, should one take place.

In an effort to create maximum pressure on Iraq's military leadership, the United States says that those who help weapons inspectors to identify weapons of mass destruction will receive advantageous treatment from incoming US forces. In the meantime, the Defence Secretary has informed the House of Commons of the mobilization of British forces. All this while Saddam Hussein is accusing the UN inspectors of exceeding their mandate and carrying out "pure intelligence work" in Iraq.

Although the British government has stressed that war is not an inevitable outcome of the present deliberations despite the full-scale build-up of troops and equipment in the Gulf, the truth is that the chances of avoiding a war look slimmer and slimmer as the days go by.

In December, Bush took steps to order the vaccination of about 500,000 military personnel and about 450,000 health-care workers against small pox. If the intelligence information gathered by the US and UK is correct, there are many other chemical and biological agents that may be used by Saddam Hussein if there is a war. While the military will have the best available protection, what will happen to the Iraqi people suffering so-called "collateral damage"?

The Iraqis have gone through incredible hardship for more than a decade with widespread malnutrition, lack of safe water, a poor healthcare system and upto 16 million people relying on a system of food aid.

Saddam Hussein has already used chemical agents on Iraq's Kurdish population. A war fought inside Iraq involving such weapons will mean unimaginable horror, mortality and morbidity for these innocent people. In December, the US appealed to donor countries to provide upto US $ 37 million to prepare for a humanitarian calamity. It is very likely that with the threat of chemical, biological and nuclear or radiological weapons, no international NGO is likely to remain in Iraq if and when war starts there.

In a joint report recently released by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the NGO called Merlin, NGOs are urged to take a hard look at possible options in providing humanitarian assistance in the event of a war with weapons of mass destruction. It is the duty of the UN to protect the most vulnerable, the most innocent and the most neglected bystanders in this dangerous conflict, the innocent people of Iraq.

The Legal Aid Foundation, under the aegis of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka held the first anniversary celebrations of the legal aid project for elders recently.

The increasing population of elders was the topic of the day with the focus being on what could be done to integrate them into society.

The importance of healthcare, nutrition and welfare was also discussed. Among other topics were Elders' Law and the rights of the elderly.

I, myself an elderly person, appreciate the activities of the foundation.
Stanley Geevaratne
Dehiwela

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