While the Central Bank is in the process of identi-fying and listing the assets of Lalith Kotelawala which are to be sold to repay Golden Key depositors, the managing agent of Asian Finance appointed by the Central Bank, is refusing to release matured deposits and interest to law abiding citizens who have invested their hard earned monies in a financial institution which is registered with and regulated by the Central Bank.

The sad truth is that while Golden Key depositors who invested in a fraudulent financial institution and received staggering rates of interest on which they did not pay withholding tax, will soon walk away with their deposits and interest, depositors in Asian Finance are compelled to wait for up to three years to receive their matured deposits, though this too has not been officially confirmed. Whether this company will last another three years, given its present performance and the manner in which it treats its depositors, is anybody’s guess.

Should not the Central Bank take steps to utilise part of the proceeds of the sale of Lalith Kotelawala’s assets to settle depositors in other companies in the Ceylinco Group who have been swindled by Kotelawala and his cronies? It was reported in a weekend newspaper that Kotelawala had expressed regret that Golden Key depositors are going through agony. He had also stated that he did not want any more people to die because Golden Key depositors continued to be deprived of their capital and interest. Why was his concern limited only to Golden Key depositors when depositors in his registered finance companies are also being deprived of their deposits and interest?

It is hard to believe that people who deposited their millions in Golden Key did not know that what they were doing was illegal. Judging by the list that was published in The Sunday Leader in March, most of the depositors appeared to be people of means. While there may have been many depositors who were attracted by the high interest rates because they were dependent on interest income to survive, people like the family of the former minister of finance, who introduced the Withholding Tax on interest income cannot be excused for investing in a fraudulent company. Such people should be charged for tax evasion.

It is time for Asian Finance depositors to wake up and take some positive action to recover unpaid deposits and interest instead of believing the fairy tales being spun by Asian Finance and its Managing Agent.

Exploiting divisions for personal gain

No one is born into this world carrying any racial, religious, political, caste or class identity but accumulates these one by one due to outside influence. These are all conceptual creations of the mind purely for personal benefit and Sri Lanka has an abundance of these divisions.

By changing one’s name and the political party he supports merely for convenience, one can achieve a different status in society. Notices pertaining to change of names appear daily in many national newspapers. These are also found in abundance in a popular astrological newspaper — may be for astrological reasons.

It is needless to elaborate more on this issue as everyone knows that more than the differences set out above it is the name that catapults one into a higher social status or even politics.

In Sri Lanka, to say that one is a Sinhala Buddhist gives much recognition over those of other communities and religions and this comes in as a handy tool for shrewd politicians during times of election.

Exploitation of racial and religious differences in this country has brought nothing but death and destruction to its citizens. Victory in the war that the government is crowing about has brought only death and devastation to the sons of this soil irrespective of whether they are Tamils or Sinhalese.

But the undeniable truth is that the Tamil youth took up arms purely because of the attitude of politicians in denying the innocent aspirations of the Tamils. It is this that prompted the youth to take up arms to free themselves from the tyranny of the majority.

Sri Lanka proudly claims a recorded history of 2500 years and boasts of a civilisation based on the teachings of the Enlightened One. But the country and its citizens have miserably failed in putting into practice the noble teachings enunciated by this Universal Teacher. And the worst thing is that even those who claim to preach the teachings of this Noble One have resorted to placating themselves with worldly riches utterly disregarding his teachings.

Whether Mahinda Chinthana alone will liberate the people who need guidance of a much higher nature to achieve the ideal goal of living as useful citizens without harming anyone, only time will tell.

Drawbacks in the Sri Lankan health sector

I appreciate the investigation into the health sector published in your issue of The Sunday Leader of August 9, and feel extremely grateful for the pains you have taken to make a detailed survey of the issues in existence. As your contribution for a better health sector is commendable I feel it appropriate to convey my experience with the health sector for the benefit of readers.

The District Hospital in Trincomalee has the status of a General Hospital. It has ample accommodation, medicines, nursing staff and specialised doctors.

One day I was admitted to the Trincomalee Hospital late at night in a state of unconsciousness. The doctor in charge of the Intensive Care Unit could not admit me to the I. C. ward because all beds were full and he directed me to Ward No.5. There also the beds were occupied; so I was allowed to remain in the ‘Emergency Bed’ till the following morning. I was given a saline transfusion, but the dripping from the saline bottle was extremely slow and stopped after half-an-hour.

When I observed the non operation of the saline bottle I called the nurses there to make it operative. Unfortunately the nurse could not understand Tamil and she neglected to respond to my call. At the dawn of the day I called an attendant who was known to me and told him my plight. He tried to help me. But the blood got clogged with 70% of the saline still in the bottle. That day being a Poya day, the visiting physician did not turn up. I spoke to the House Officer and got myself discharged from the hospital.

There aren’t an adequate number of nurses who could speak Tamil at the hospital. The Diabetic Clinic is so crowded that the doctors dispensed with the examination of blood pressure. Medicines such as Clopid and Atorlip-20 have been unavailable at this hospital for the last several months. I suppose this is the situation in other hospitals too.

The plight of the two baby elephants

The abduction of the two innocent little jumbos has rocked not only Sri Lanka but the whole world. It has rocked not only Buddhists and animal lovers but all right thinking people who have denounced this despicable act by stone hearted, so called people of the high ranks.

This can be seen by the many letters to the editor that appeared in the print as well as the news items deploring this barbaric act in the electronic media. No wonder this heartbreaking act of separating the two baby elephants from their mothers had sent shock waves all over the world.

The President who intervenes in every problem has rightly done so in this grave situation too. He has ordered the two little jumbos, be returned immediately to Pinnawela Orphanage where they should be drinking their mother’s milk, roaming around freely with their mothers and the rest of the herd, enjoying their lives without being tied up, depriving them of their mothers’ milk which has no substitute.

Is it not feint hearted and traitorous on the part of the custodian of the most sacred Tooth Relic of the Dalada Maligawa? Isn’t he ashamed of himself to hold that prestigious position after becoming so unpopular over this abduction of the baby elephants?

I don’t think he feels ashamed of himself for what he has done. Otherwise he would not have appeared on TV to make a stupid statement finding fault with the animal rights’ activists for not assisting even by providing a Panadol tablet to the elephants at Pinnawela.

It was facetious to watch Minister Gamini Lokuge appearing on TV and boasting that the baby elephants would not be returned to their mothers.

What a bold statement to make after the Executive President gave the order to release the baby elephants to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage! Is he above the President too? Furthermore Minister Lokuge has said that if the necessity arises, the mothers will be brought to Kandy to join the baby elephants. What an idiotic suggestion. Why is he and also the Diyawadana Nilame behaving in a dictatorial manner? Animal lovers and animal rights’ activists have filed action in court against the decision not to return the baby elephants.

The irony of this incident is that it took place just before the international breast feeding week. I don’t think much is left to say about this barbaric act because so much has been said and written about this topic by fair minded people locally and internationally.

It is very pathetic that all these seem to fall on the deaf years of those concerned with this unfortunate incident. It’s like playing the violin to the deaf elephants. I am a Buddhist as well as an animal lover and I fervently hope that these two hapless baby elephants will be released to where they should be, enjoying themselves with their mothers and the rest of the herd.

I am surprised that the priests of Hela Urumaya who are vociferous, are keeping mum. They seem to be saying, "Yes Sir," to everything that the government says or does. We can’t blame them too because they have to safeguard their positions. It is very sad that now not many people talk about this and very soon it will be a thing of the past.

Dr. Arnold Klein, the late Michael Jackson’s physician said that: "Anyone who makes someone an addict or gives a person a potentially dangerous drug is a criminal."

Addiction to prescription drugs and consequent poisoning is an issue that needs priority attention.

The Dangerous Drugs Act defines poisons, opium and prescription drugs as Part II poisons. The Cosmetics Devices and Drugs Act terms them as schedule II B drugs, since they are poisons.

Paracetomol poisoning tops the list of the incidence of pharmaceutical poisoning. State hospital poison centres, often have no stocks of the antidote Nacetylcysteine injection. The price of a vial of one gramme injection is Rs. 650 and a 400 mg vial is Rs. 300 in pharmacies. A paracetomol poisoned patient needs 10 to 20 injections to save his liver and his life.

The report of the incidence of pharmaceutical poisoning includes antibiotics, psychiatric drugs, asthma drugs, diabetic drugs, anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, sedatives, hypnotics, tranquilisers, antidepressants, antihistamines, contraceptives, multiple drugs, and anticholinergics as potentially dangerous.

The teachers in the Eastern Province were disgruntled with the way interviews were conducted for their promotions at the provincial level. On an appeal made by them the Central Ministry of Education came forward to give them another chance. However when the letter asking them to present themselves for another interview reached them they were disappointed to find that it was in Sinhala.

One wonders whether the Ministry of Education has misinterpreted the President’s assertion that there will no longer be any minorities in the country or is it that the Ministry responsible for educating the nation has made a flawless interpretation of the President’s optimism.