25th January, 2004 Volume 10, Issue 28 |
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Focus Letters |
Ven.
Soma's death was politicised
The
very person who banned his sermons, was praising him to high heaven after
his demise. Isn't this hypocrisy of the first order? It
was still more amusing that the JVP, which was the first to throw bombs at
the Dalada Maligawa, and also murdered a number of Buddhist monks, were
shedding crocodile tears about the death. In certain areas they were
directly involved in bringing down Christmas decorations and pasting
inciting posters. Because
we have short memories, our politicos think the masses are fools. S.
Dodangoda JVP
fire breathers active and The
JVP fire breathers comprising the Somawansas, Weerawansas and even the
Gunawansas are shouting themselves hoarse calling upon the authorities to
punish government leaders over an orchestrated Task Force Commission report
about the Millennium City fiasco. By
the same token the intelligent folks in this country want the government to
take to task all the JVP MPs - the true beneficiaries of the JVP marauders
who brought about so much loss of life and limb and national resources by
their reign of terror through two insurrections in 1971 and 1987. The
JVP and their sampathisers in the SLFP who are now jubilant over the pact
for an alliance as a panacea for all their ills, will do well to anticipate
the public disgust they have generated through their muscle wielding
displays through public demonstrations. They might do well to realise that
these numerical shows could well be reversed when the people are made aware
of the JVP's viciousness, aspiring to fish only in troubled waters - they
are adept at finding fault with any people-friendly move introduced by any
government because they can coin slogans only inviting the attention of the
gullible. May
I also take this opportunity to decry the "speech" made by the
President through the Subharathrie dialogue last Sunday. It was a classic
example of misusing the media under her charge to let out blatant lies,
untruths and half truths to boost her image. She asserted that during her
period she had built up the economy on a sound footing, when the whole world
knows her cussed activities that made the country record the worst financial
setbacks. In
this exercise, CBK has forcefully proved her innermost intentions for
personal image building to mislead unsuspecting citizenry. If Subharathrie
provided opportunities for the public to pose questions during this one hour
broadcast, you can be sure she would have cause for much regret. CBK must
remember that she cannot fool all the people all the time! H.R.
William Sheer
hypocrisy in the name of religion! Congratulations
on your editorial of the Sunday paper of January 4 on the subject
"Ethics vs. Religion." There
is a small fraction of misguided fanatics bent on whipping up religious
hatred against adherents of minority religious groups who are keen to help
those in destitute circumstances. Some of these hate mongers belong to the
JVP and the Sihala Urumaya, and there are even dusseela monks among them. I
wish to ask them the following questions so that they can first cleanse
their own stables. 1.
What have they done to eliminate unethical discrimination practised by the
Siam Nikaya in refusing to admit those of low castes into it? Are foreigners
admitted to this Nikaya while sons of the soil are denied the privilege? 2.
What action was taken to do away with images of Hindu deities found in some
temples? I have heard both Ven. Prof. Dhammavihari and the late Ven. Soma
Thero advising the laity that according to Buddhism, there is no place for
deities from whom one could seek relief. What large numbers of them visit
Kataragama to seek favours from the deity installed there, offering pooja
and panduru, all Hindu practices? 3.
What have they done to fill the vacuum created after the expulsion of the
Christian nuns from the General Hospital? Is the answer to be found in the
formation of a Nurses' Trade Union under the active leadership of a monk
which has only selfishly looked after the interest of the nurses and not the
patients with numerous strikes? 4.
Has the maintenance of the rule of law (rate of crime as an indicator) in
the country improved after the constitutional change giving Buddhism a
special place? About
50 years ago, Dr. Ambedkar of India, a minister of the government was
converted to Buddhism from Hinduism due to Hinduism's partiality to those
born to high castes. But the Hindu practices seem to have penetrated deeper
into the hearts and minds of some of the Sinhala Buddhists, more as a
cultural legacy which they are unable to exercise. Let not these chauvinists
divide the country further and create chaos among religious groups. Similar
forces prevented S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike from solving the Tamil problem. Leo
Fernando Probe
vital to clear doubts Since
the many thousands at the funeral of Soma Thera had demanded a commission of
inquiry into his death, this demand should be met soon. If
the government is not prepared, then the President should appoint a
commission. I would suggest that the now famous 'safe house' commissioner be
appointed to inquire. Srinath
Nanayakkara Cheers
for your courage I
have been a reader of The Sunday Leader for quite some time and like your
courageous editorials. What
I liked in your editorials is your criticism of the 'Banda Blight' which
ruined the island's political and social fabric for worse. In your
well-written editorial "The Bookie's Headaches," you state in
passing that Banda's murder conspirator "...Buddharikkitha too, should
have walked free, rather than swing from the gallows?" Isn't it Talduwa
Somarama Thero, the assassin, who was hanged? And if my memory serves me
right, Buddharakkitha Thero died in prison (circa 1966-67) without facing
the hangman's noose. I
have authored and published in English (Prostitutes In Medical Literature -
An Annotated Bibliography, 1991; An Einstein Dictionary, 1996). Now, I'm
collecting material for my forthcoming book entitled 'Farting Jesters In
Fabled Lanka,' and your courageous editorials will provide interesting
'meat' for my work. Among the journalists working in Colombo, you have a
spine and you stand tall. Cheers for your courage. Sachi
Sri Kantha The
yeast syndrome The
world as it is being daily deceived by mouthwatering words of politicians;
it is likewise kept deceived by multinational medical research centres and
fundraisers to keep maximising dollar earnings. For
almost 20 years the world is kept in suspense that AIDS is a 20th century
disease, which has yet no cure. But
the questions people have not yet asked is: 1)
Whether or not whoredom in ancient times and now is it not the same? 2)
And if it is the same, is not the diseases connected the same? 3)
Then what is this new come AIDS? 4)
Is AIDS a measure of additional AID to multinationals? The
answers are found in the book published by Trowbridge and Walker, Stanford
Connecticut on March 5, 1986, titled The Yeast Syndrome. In this publication
it is brought to the attention of the reader that "Candida albicans,"
an opportunistic organism which is a yeast infection is the local
contributor in AIDS patients' deaths. Therefore
if a virus becomes a fungi element at any level of complication then the
treatment should be based on an anti-fungal. Then AIDS becomes a chronic
yeast infection which was common in all times called Polysystemic Chronic
Candidiasis (PSCC). And it is well-known that patients respond well to anti
- Candida treatment; and within that period there is recovery of the immune
defence system functions. "The
Balm of Gilead" (i.e. Melissa Officinalis), mentioned in the Bible was
such an anti-fungal (herbal therapeutic). The elimination of 'Candida
albicans' was the systematic solution, which was there long years ago.
Therefore, it is my belief that with this correct identification of AIDS,
that this epidemic could be erased for good and also with it the long lasted
lie of an incurable disease. Dr.
Nishan Wijesinha Another police howler We
have been treated to frequent gems of absurd and ludicrous utterances from
IGPs and the minister in charge about police operations, but the new IGP
recently came out with one that takes the cake. It
concerns the incidents at Soma Thera's cremation. Members of the public
manhandled some youths who were distributing pamphlets. The police took them
into custody. The mob then stormed the police to get these youths out. Tear
gas was used to disperse them. The
IGP when asked about the situation pontificated that 'I have ordered the
strong use of force etc., etc.,' What
really happened was that uniformed policemen were removed from the area. Is
this a 'strong use of force'? A.A.
Bartholomeusz VANIK
will pay back every cent due to customers It
is with much regret that we read the letter by Ruwan Jayasinghe in your
issue of January 11. In
the first instance it is not a secret that VANIK is going through a very
difficult time. It is basically, because there was a run on our investments
a few a years ago and the result boomeranged and affected all areas of our
business. However,
throughout the last few years, VANIK had been making every endeavour to pay
back the monies due to investors. VANIK continues its efforts to turnaround
the company inspite of all obstacles. The
public will be surprised to learn that for the period year 2000 - 2003, our
total cash inflows had been Rs. 5,104 million of which Rs. 4,509 million had
been used to pay back the investors. We admit that there have been delays in
payments and that was due to the reason that the monies receivable from our
borrowers have been delayed. With
regard to the complaint made in the letter under reference, we would like to
point out that it was the debenture holders who at a meeting held on April
25, 2003 who insisted that the cheques be written in advance and deposited
with the trustees to the debenture issue who were required to release the
cheques on the dates decided at the meeting; VANIK did not have any control
over the release of the cheques. We were therefore compelled to write to the
debenture holders requesting them to defer the depositing of the cheques for
15 days; all cheques whether deposited immediately or after 15 days were
duly honoured and not a single cheque was returned on account of
non-availability of funds. Hence the writer's contention has no valid
grounds. It
is important for the public to understand that we are not giving up or
running away from the problem but continue in our commitment to pay back
every single cent due to all our individual and corporate clients albeit
under trying conditions and under utmost pressure from all parties. I
also take this opportunity to thank all institutions, clients, well-wishers
and our employees for their continuous support in our endeavours. D.
Justin M. Meegoda Cheque
bounced: so dodging won't do Apropos
letter by Ruwan Jayasinghe in your issue of January 11. Although the third
instalment of interest on Vanik debentures for the year 2002, was
re-scheduled for payment on December 31, upto the time of writing this
letter, no such payment has been received by me and no letter of explanation
regarding the delay in non-payment. I
wish to highlight the thoroughly unprofessional and above all, don't care,
attitude of the management of Vanik Inc. vis-…-vis its debenture holders.
I had some debentures that matured on July 4, 2003 and when I called over on
the scheduled date of redemption, it was only then that they informed me of
their inability to pay me back. Since
then, it has been an endless case of sending letters, e-mails, telephone
calls plus numerous visits to their office - all of which have met with no
response whatsoever. All this effort to get my money back with no interest
being paid! They
once gave me a post-dated cheque which bounced when presented on the due
date. The
directors or management of Vanic Inc. have not responded even once to my
numerous letters, telephone calls and have perfected the art of dodging
customers who call over at their office. A.J.
Pereira
Reggie's
passing away has deeply touched all our lives more than we imagined. We all
knew that one day it would happen, but when it actually did, we were stunned
into numbness. Personally for me the loss has been so great and since I was
exposed to him from a distance, it makes me shudder to think how it must
have affected others. Reggie
lived a very long and full life. Every moment was to be savoured to the
fullest. One day I asked him: "Reggie, tell me your secret for living
such a long life." As we all know, all of us have our own quirks; some
say they never drank; others never smoked; others never ate meat etc. Reggie
said: "Sorab, I never let anything bother me; I never worry about what
is not in my power to change." This is so true especially in our
business. We spend endless hours worrying about our clients, our colleagues,
our bosses, and our friends. Reggie
stood up for what was right. In the advertising business it is so easy to
run our own people down to ingratiate ourselves to the client. If a client
complains we instantly come back to the agency and transfer the blame to our
people, because we are frightened to death that our client will fire us.
Reggie was not afraid to tell a client that they were being unfair to his
people and that required a lot of courage because he directly stood to lose
as he owned the agency. In
this business some people like your style, some may not. However popular you
might be, there will always be at least a few people who will not like you.
I have never ever met even one person who did not like Reggie; not one. That
requires tremendous qualities. Reggie had style; Reggie was likeable; Reggie
was approachable - people came to him stressed with their problems - they
went away relieved with insightful solutions. Reggie had a human touch. Reggie
served his community. At Reggie's farewell there were as many people from
social service groups as there were advertising and marketing people. As
I end this, I reflect how could all these wonderful qualities be embodied in
one person, and it is now that I realise that Reggie was no ordinary mortal. Reggie
was a concept. Reggie was an idea in our hearts and minds Amen,
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