23rd May, 2004 Volume 10, Issue 45 |
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Letters |
Lies
and more lies by PA-JVP combo We
cannot understand the PA-JVP combo's denial of the abduction of two monks of
the JHU. There are two types of abductions - willing and unwilling.
Unwilling abductions are put into action to obtain a ransom without the
consent of the person abducted. Willing abductions are caused by offering a
bribe for a favour and to keep a person hidden till the crucial moment to
avoid contact with kith and kin and the public. Of
the nine monks of the JHU, two went missing just after election day. They
were not available in their normal abodes and were in hiding till the
opening day of parliament. This was done for them to avoid meeting the JHU
party members and the public. It
is very important to mention that I saw one of these two monks (I forget the
name) appear on Chandrika's TV channels on the eve of the elections and went
on to say that he had resigned and claimed that his signature had been
forged for the nomination papers. If his signature was forged, why did this
monk keep quiet till that day and why did he not go to the police or to the
CID as forging a signature is a criminal offence? The
same monk along with another appeared (arrival by PA sponsored vehicles) in
parliament and went on to vote with the alliance nominee. To counter balance
the two votes robbed from the JHU by the PA-JVP, only two, monks from the
JHU voted with the UNF - if they were actually supporting the UNF, all seven
would have voted with the UNF. So there is nothing wrong with the JHU's
action as they rectified an anomaly created by the abduction of two of their
parliamentarians, after offering bribes to them for their votes! The
second point is that the PA-JVP had been boasting that 2-4 UNF votes were
coming to them. That is the reason why they were fighting for a secret
ballot which has not been done in parliament for the election of the
speaker. It was a real secret ballot as no one saw the marking of the paper
as it was in the closed cubicle. So there was ample opportunity for UNF
members who were supposed to be supporting the government to vote for the
PA-JVP nominee in secrecy - but it never materialised. This shows that here
too the PA-JVP has been taken up the garden path by the UNF's so-called
renegades. Are
the PA-JVP brains full of muck to think that we are fools to listen to their
stories in news media and their TV channels, that they did not have any hand
in the abductions? Sarath
Fonseka Falsely
labelled as halal It
was reported beef is falsely labelled as "halal." All Muslims will
agree that it is simply not enough to slit the animal's throat in the halal
manner in order to consider the meat halal. As supported by the Quran and
the Hadith, the care and welfare of the animals before they are killed are
just as important as the way in which they are killed. "If
animals have been subjected to cruelties in their breeding, transport,
slaughter or in their general welfare, meat from them is considered impure
and unlawful to eat - haram. The flesh of animals killed by cruel methods
(Al Muthiah) is carrion (Al-Mujathamadh). Even if these animals have been
slaughtered in the strictest manner, if cruelties were inflicted on them
their flesh is still forbidden haram food. The late Imam B.A. Hafiz al-Masri
of the Shah Jehan Mosque in Working, United Kingdom wrote. Bukhari
and Muslim, conform to the Prophet's authentic hadith. But the cattle in Sri
Lanka are routinely kept waiting long periods before they are finally
killed. Some have their legs intentionally broken and slung around their
necks to prevent them from wandering. Throughout this suffering, they are
denied food and water. Much
of the slaughter in Sri Lanka is contrary to Islamic teachings. A hadith
states, "When you must kill a living being, do it in the proper way -
when you slaughter an animal, use the best method and sharpen your knife so
as to cause as little pain as possible." When he saw a man sharpening
his knife in the presence of the animal he was to kill, the Prophet said,
"Do you intend inflicting death on the animal twice - once by
sharpening the knife within its sight, and once by cutting its throat? But
most of the cattle are not afforded the 'luxury' of a sharp knife and a
quick, deadly cut to the jugular. Instead, in the smaller slaughterhouses,
they have their throats hacked at with dull, small blades. The animal's legs
are often cut off before the occurrence of death, and sometimes the animals
suffer the agony of being skinned alive. The
slaughter is not always more humane in the large export slaughterhouses.
While cattle at these slaughterhouses are sometimes provided with some shade
and water, the most flagrant is the savage beating of cattle who are
reluctant to move from the holding pen to the killing floor. These cattle
are viciously beaten all the way to the killing floor. Such beatings
contrast sharply with Islamic teachings. In addition, cattle are killed
side-by-side in full view of one another, in violation of Muslim admonitions
to shield the animal from the notion of impending death or danger to the
animal. The
constitution of Sri Lanka prohibits the slaughter of cows and calves, and
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act mandates kind treatment. Beating,
kicking, overdriving and torturing an animal is prohibited by Sri Lankan
law. The transport of more than six cattle per lorry or carrying animals in
any vehicle in a manner or position that causes unnecessary pain or
suffering is also prohibited. Failing to provide animals with sufficient
food, water or shelter is illegal as is the sale or possession of any
animal, without reasonable cause, who is suffering pain by reason of
mutilation, starvation, thirst, overcrowding or other ill-treatment. It
is for this very reason that meat can in no way be considered halal. Islamic
teachings are clear in that it is not enough to simply point cattle heads
towards Mecca and cut their throats. The entire process of animal handling,
from auction to transport, to slaughter houses must be kind and humane. Sheena
Samsudeen CBK's
firebreathing police drama An
article that had been carried under the above caption on March 14 2004 at
page 12 in The Sunday Leader newspaper which had been written by one Mr.
Suranimala has drawn the attention of the IGP on a request made by SSP
Lalith Lekamge, a copy of which
is attached herewith. A
conference was held based on the incident which took place in Walapane area
where the police was assauled and a police vehicle was damaged by a mob.
There were no journalists who attended this conference. At
this conference the name of SSP Mr. Lalith Lekamge was mentioned as in
charge of a police station. But, the IGP said that he is a senior officer
and suggested that an ASP may be sent to supervise Ragala. This dialogue had
been distorted completely in the news report which read as follows.
"Send SSP Lekamge," she told the IGP. To this, the IGP smiled and
retorted, "Madam, he is a crazy fellow". Responding to the
quotation, the IGP says that he had never made such a remark about SSP
Lalith Lekamge. In
this article, 18 names of police officers had been quoted as political
transfers. The IGP had perused the violent areas during the last election
and deeided to post police officers to meet the exigencies in order to
maintain law and order by assisting the local police. It
is the practice that was prevailing from the very inception of the police
force that policemen are posted such exigencies on temporary basis. Rienzie
Perera, Police Headquaters Throwing
mud - UPFA Goebelesian tactic The
UPFA seems to think that the speaker's post is their privilege because they
got 45% of the votes. But parliament is also composed of the balance 55% as
well. So the 55% prevailed. So why complain by using the state media? The
JHU said they would be neutral and if the UPFA prevailed by unfair means to
get two dissident JHU members, the other two JHU members only corrected
their party's stand of neutralizing their own contribution either way. Now
to throw mud at them is very low. That is the usual UPFA Goebelesian tactic. They
do not talk of their first low tactic of abducting the two JHU dissidents
but complain of the second action of the JHU to correct the dirty trick of
the UPFA. Congratulations to the JHU for the bold action of redeeming the
dirty tricks on it. Do
not let the UPFA get away by false propaganda which they are good at. D.U.N.
Bala
Distorting
history to suit Tamil homeland myth? Of
the several historical rebellions fought by the Kandyan Sinhalese to
liberate their motherland from the clutches of the British Raj, the 1848
Matale rebellion led by Dingi Raala of Kurunegala, Wanawasala David alias
Gongalegoda Bandu, Dennis Appu and Franciscu Fernando alias Puran Appu,was
the last rebellion of its kind. Through
privations and unconscionable taxation, including a "breast tax"
on women, the most dehumanizing of them all - the grave indignities that
these brave men and women were subjected to which obviously propelled the
rebellion and as a last-ditch battle to drive away the intruder. But,
sad to say, certain self- seeking individuals seem to be at tug-of-war
between two leaders of their choice - Franciscu Fernando and Wanawasala
David who are 'enthroned' and 'dethroned' from time to time by brazenly
distorting and suppressing historial facts to suit each individual's claims
and tastes, as did the Malayalam tobacco cultivators of Jaffna in distorting
Sri Lankan history, to establish their mythical Tamil homeland. Heroes, we
should remember, are to be honoured but not assiduously advertised as items
of cheap merchandise for personal reasons or gain. Be
that as it may, in the creation and rewriting of history of liberation
struggles, these simple but brave men (women and children included) have
fought fearlessly and sacrificed their very precious lives for a noble cause
and each one of them, without any distinction of class, caste ot religion,
should be remembered with the utmost gratitude and deepest respect. Let us,
therefore, honour and praise these fallen heroes for the part they played as
brave sons of Sri Lanka in the Kandyan liberation struggles. Wijeya
Siriwardene 'Drag
racing' now on Elvitigala Mawatha After
having terrorised the users of Green Path, the local 'drag race' club has
now turned their attention to Elvitigala Mawatha - super highway;
specifically between Kanatte roundabout and the RMV police garage. Unlike
Green Path, this road is in a very densely populated area, with the
Elvitigala and Manning Town flats served by it. Thus, the road is very busy
at all times of the day and night. Containers, buses and people from the
flats are on this road during these drag races, even on a Saturday at 12.30
am. Though
these raceers may be good drivers, the other road users may not be that good
as to avoid an accident caused by such high speed driving. It is definitely
a matter of time, if this state of affairs is allowed to continue, before a
major fatal accident occurs on this stretch of road. Even if no one is
killed, the road furniture that the developer has gone to such a great deal
of trouble to put up on this stretch of 'model' highway, will be damaged and
no one will be responsible for the damage. While
I thank the Borella police for responding so promptly to my recent
complaint, something permanent such as speed traps or speed humps must be
installed on this stretch of road, immediately. Over
to you Mr. Road Authority/Policeman. De
Silva Energy
saving bulbs harmful I
had a minor problem with regard to reading the letters over the TV
especially small characters and had to consult an eye specialist. First
question asked by the specialist was what kind of bulb I was using to view
the TV. When told I used energy saving bulbs, his response was: "There
lies the problem" and strongly advised me against use of these bulbs or
fluorescent tubes as he said the rays emanating from them were harmful to
the eyes. He
also said today, children, even very small ones were brought for eye
treatment and the reason lay there - the use of these harmful bulbs. Energy
saving bulbs began to be used a few years back, strongly advocated by the
Electricity Board. The board even issued energy saving bulbs on credit and
we were allowed the option of deducting the cost in instalments from the
electricity bills. Before
doing all this, they increased the electricity charges and this was only a
ruse intended to deceive users. Children
must not be allowed to read or view the TV under these harmful bulbs. It is
best to use an ordinary bulb of about 60w or oven 100w depending on the
largeness of the room. V.K.B.
Ramanayake
It
is three months since our dearly beloved sister Miriam de Silva went to her
eternal reward, after a short and courageous battle with cancer. Being
the eldest in our family, she was truly a shining example of virtue, well
mannered, kind, charitable, loving, caring and a dutiful sister to us. She
was highly principled and never compromised on her values and never wavered
from the straight and narrow path she walked. She led an exemplary Christian
life, practising her faith as best as she could and being a role model to us
and to the people whose lives she touched, till her demise. In short, her
faith in God was unshakeable. She was generous in praising our successes and
shared our disappointments with sympathy, love, comfort and understanding.
She was slow to anger and quick to forgive and never harboured revenge in
her heart. She was a patient teacher who imparted to us the value of
practising sound Christian principles by setting an example herself as the
eldest. She was always at hand to help us whenever we needed her assistance
from our early childhood and up to the end of her life whether it was in our
school work or in dealing with whatever problems we faced in our day-to-day
existence. She was blessed with a great sense of humour and never failed to
keep us in high spirits at family gatherings be it a birthday, anniversary,
wedding, Christmas, Easter or any other special occasion. Miriam
possessed a very pleasing personality which won her many lifelong friends.
This was evidenced from the avalanches of get well cards, prayers, letters
and good wishes that poured in for her recovery sent by her friends from all
around the world. She confided to us that she was deeply touched and
completely overwhelmed by this spontaneous gesture of goodwill and affection
from her friends and family. Her
first reaction when she was diagnosed with cancer was summed up by her
saying "I thank God for having chosen me and I surrender myself totally
to his holy will." She took this news in a calm and dignified manner
and was determined to live life to the fullest for the remainder of her
days, instead of brooding and living in fear. In fact it was she who
comforted us when the news broke out instead of our comforting her. She told
us that she was ready to face God at any time and showed remarkable courage
and fortitude during her illness at the final stages of her life. Although
she suffered a great deal of pain, she never complained but only tried to
reassure those around her that she had just slight pain, when we knew that
it was taking a turn for the worse. She would say well there are highs and
lows in life which we have to face on life's journey. Miriam
had a great deal of sympathy for the poor and downtrodden and was always
ever willing to help those in need and many are the beneficiaries of her
kindness and charity. She
was also a dutiful wife, a very devoted mother and a doting grandmother. There
was no part in our lives that she did not touch with her own special love
and care for us all. We will always miss her carefree laughter, good humour
and all the characteristics that made her the greatest and most lovable
sister on earth. We
know that she is at rest with our Heavenly Father in heaven and look forward
to meeting her on the Resurrection morn, when there will be no more
sorrowing, no more weeping and no more pain. May
her loving and gentle soul rest in peace. Johnny,
Ivor and Jeniffer Schucroft, Sonia and
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