I was shocked and saddened to read the story about the property dispute between Subashini Ranasinghe and DIG Nimal Lewke which was published in The Sunday Leader of September 27.

Subashini Ranasinghe, widow of Colonel Priyantha Ranasinghe is an exceptional woman. She was just 24 years old when Priyantha sacrificed his life for our motherland, leaving his young wife and two infants. Priyantha was an officer and a gentleman and was loved by all who knew him.

Subi (as we call her) was crying for days and months on the loss of her husband; but realised that she had a greater responsibility of bringing up the two kids than continue to mourn the death of her husband. She became both their mom and dad and continuing her studies further achieved the present position at HSBC. Hats off to Subi for her courage and hard work!

Her present and future are her kids who cannot even remember their father, yet love him immensely. Subi never went behind anyone to get things done; but helped everyone as she possibly could.

She has now started building a house by obtaining a bank loan without depending on anyone. Yet she has to go through hell due to the anti social behaviour of Senior Police Officer, DIG Nimal Lewke.

I have a few questions for DIG Nimal Lewke.

1) Why didn’t he build his house providing ventilation through his own land?

2) Why does he expect ventilation through another person’s property?

3) If he had thoughts of getting ventilation through another person’s land, why didn’t he purchase that land before?

4) Has he got his house plan approved by the Pradeshiya Sabha, or the UDA?

5) He seems to be worried about his wife. But why doesn’t he understand the plight of a widow who doesn’t have even a husband to worry about her?

6) I would like to know what he meant when he said ‘a third class widow’ when she was the wife of a Colonel and an esteemed officer of the HSBC? Would he like his wife being referred to in such terms?

7) Anyone can see that Subashini Ranasinghe’s construction is not even touching Lewke’s building. Then how can he claim that his parapet walls have cracked due to Ranasinghe’s construction when there is a gap between his house and her house under construction?

I hope DIG Nimal Lewke will have answers for all my questions.

Subi, I wonder why life is treating you this way. As Buddhists we know that the truth will win someday even if people try to use their powers to change it.

Karma is intentional action (i.e.) a deed done deliberately. According to natural law every action produces a certain reaction. So if one does wholesome deeds such as helping people in need, one will experience happiness.

On the other hand, if one does unwholesome actions such as hurting other beings, one will experience suffering. This is the law of nature. I would say that ultimately, ‘what goes round comes round.’

Matters for the President to ponder on

I reproduce below two paragraphs, one each from two of Sri Lankan English newspapers viz. Daily Mirror of September 4 and The Sunday Leader of September 6, which to me at least appeared as most relevant for the President to give serious thought for immediate implementation in the overall interest and welfare of our motherland Sri Lanka.

"In this critical crossroad of Sri Lankan history it is for President Rajapakse to decide his place in history. Does he want to be known as the Sri Lankan version of Abraham Lincoln (and Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore – my addition to this paragraph) who rendered justice to all citizens irrespective of their ethnicity and help build a unified multi-ethnic Sri Lanka? Or would he be satisfied with being the President who perpetuated the ethnic division and fractured the country for a long time to come?" — (Daily Mirror of September 4)

"Since the Rajapakse regime now has the opportunity of healing wounds between the two communities and creating a unified nation — which it claims to be its objective — it should have the confidence to proclaim an amnesty to all those who could be accused of violation of terrorist laws that did not seriously endanger the security of the state and stop the Tiger hunt, save for the most dangerous of the species." —(The Sunday Leader of September 6)

May I also suggest to the President that he directs the authorities concerned to remove all road blocks and traffic deviations in the city with immediate effect but yet continuing to maintain sentry points while allowing traffic and pedestrians to use these earlier blocked roads thus eliminating the great inconvenience caused to the public and tourists who visit the island.

President Rajapakse being a pragmatic politician with an ear to the ground and a practising Buddhist will, I am confident, implement the above proposals/suggestions, which in my view would go a long way in transforming Sri Lanka once again into a resplendent isle in the Indian Ocean.

Diplomatic hara-kiri

So for a second time the British High Commission has refused visas to Palitha Kohona, our Permanent Representative to the UN and MP Arjuna Ranatunga. Visas ultimately will be granted no doubt; but the insult of a back handed slap to the powers that be, and thereby to the whole nation cannot be overlooked.

This government refused a visa to the Swedish Foreign Minister. A representative of the Canadian Government was turned away from the very airport given as an outright gift from that country. Pleasantries, manners and norms of diplomacy appear to have flown out of the window. Now the marching orders on UNICEF official James Elder as persona non grata will be the icing on the cake.

Never forget the old adage "Wheat eaters and meat eaters rule the world." Even in another millennium the great white and colored divide will remain. Barack Obama will never be the fusing factor; he is not the light at the end of the tunnel but a temporary spark on the world scene.

We — an insignificant sprat — a third world, underdeveloped nation tread on their toes, and will simply get crushed. Today, the whites may not be able to subjugate nations like China and India and a few other developed Asian nations, but little Sri Lanka will remain just another apple in the barrel for a long time more.

The LTTE may be a spent force in the island, but may not be internationally. They have their tentacles in every nook and corner of influential international lobbies and forums. The one billion odd dollars we begged from the IMF may be chicken feed, compared to what the LTTE has amassed over the years in hard currency.

A million or two in dollars to buy off any politician in the West or India will be peanuts for them. By huffing and puffing with paranoia, our leaders are just blindly walking into the trap the LTTE has very craftily laid. The theme should be subtlety and insidiousness.

Here the message is not to let a boy do a man’s job. Lakshman Kadirgamar carried an aura in his diplomatic handling which he did with finesse. He was an Oxford graduate, a learned man, and his death was a great loss to the nation. But today’s protocol in diplomacy has hit Point Nadir. It is truly a mind boggling situation.

The 100th birth anniversary of Siri Perera, an outstanding criminal lawyer, Buddhist scholar and leader, president of the Colombo YMBA and diplomat, falls on October 6 this year.

A son of an affluent timber merchant in the outskirts of Colombo, Siri Perera had his secondary education at Ananda College, Colombo and was in the first batch of students to be enrolled for Nalanda College when it was established in the 1920s.

At the age of 16, he passed the Cambridge Senior Examination with honours and distinctions in Sinhala and Pali while Latin was also one of his subjects. Later, entering University College, he passed the London Inter-Arts Examination when 18 years of age. Pursuing legal studies at Law College, he obtained a First Class in the Final Examination and was enrolled as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in March 1933.

Siri Perera established himself as a very competent criminal lawyer, commanding an extensive and lucrative practice in the criminal courts of the country. His forte was Criminal Law and as a cross-examiner he had few equals. His questions to the witnesses were precise and relevant and it is said that he rarely got an answer adverse to his case.

In the working years of his life, he had two main interests, the legal profession and Buddhist activities. While a student at Law College, he became a member of the Colombo YMBA in 1928 at the age of 19 — perhaps, the youngest member at that time. His association with the Colombo YMBA was long and meaningful. In 1931, at the age of 22, he was elected to the Board of Management of the Association and was later one of its vice presidents.

On the demise of the then President, Sir Cyril de Zoysa, he became its president in 1978 after 50 years in active service in the Association and held that prestigious position till 1983. A few years before his death, his large collection of Dhamma books was gifted to the Sir Baron Jayatilaka Memorial Library of the Association.

Having learned Buddhism in a Dhamma school, he strongly advocated the establishment of more Dhamma schools so that all Buddhist children would learn the Dhamma. Such schools were usually located in Buddhist temples. Fluent in both English and Sinhala with a knowledge of Pali, the language of Theravada Buddhism, he addressed many Buddhist audiences in Colombo and elsewhere.

He made a great effort to observe the Five Precepts and had a deep respect for the life of all living beings. A teetotaler and non-smoker, he was a strict vegetarian not consuming eggs or maldive fish and encouraged me to become a vegetarian.

On his demise, when court made reference to him, the then Chief Justice, G.P.S. de Silva, stated that he studied his briefs with meticulous care and espoused the cause of his client with an admirable devotion. It was a pleasure to listen to his address to the jury which was clear, concise and convincing, he added.

In the second half of the 1960s, to the surprise of his legal colleagues, he abandoned law altogether to devote all his energies to the Dhamma and social work. This was at a time when his legal career was at its peak and he had another decade or two to practice as a leading criminal lawyer in the country.

Siri Perera, after a brief illness, passed away at the age of 85 in 1995. May this noble son of Sri Lanka who made his mark as a criminal lawyer, Buddhist leader, scholar, diplomat and the president of the Colombo YMBA, while leading a life in accordance with the Dhamma, realise early the supreme bliss of nibbana.