This relates to an incident which happened to me on October 3 (Poya day) near the Dematagoda crossover bridge.

I was on my way to Narahenpita in my car and was waiting at the Dematagoda traffic lights till it turned green. A traffic policeman knocked on my window and when I rolled down the shutter, he asked me to open the door as he wanted a lift. I obliged to his request and gave him a lift.

But after crossing the bridge he asked me to stop the car and instead of getting down, he accused me of talking on my mobile phone while driving and wanted to write a ticket. I protested to this as this was an utter lie. To this, he stated that there are other police witnesses to this "crime" and that I should own up. I showed the call records of my phone which proved that the last incoming or outgoing call which was made from the phone was taken about one hour before the policeman accused me.

With this evidence, he suddenly changed his accusation to "Not stopping the vehicle for a police stop signal" or in Sinhala (Police Ana Nothaka Riya Dawanaya Kirima).

I was very much shocked at this new grave threat as no such thing had happened. To this, he replied coolly that I will have to accept either one of the accusations — talking on the mobile while driving or not stopping for a police signal — or else he would write a ticket for both and may be for more offences too and send me to prison as he had ‘three’ police witnesses to prove his point and I had none to back my innocence.

Considering the recent spate of crimes committed by some members of the police force against the public, I had to bow down to his threat and pay a hefty sum of money in order to save myself. He could have easily accused me of transporting drugs while he was inside my car as he had the opportunity to toss anything on to the back and accuse me of being a drug dealer as he had his so called witnesses to back his claim.

The attempts made by me to write down his badge number also failed due to the fact that he was cunning and had pinned his badge under the white shoulder/chest belt to conceal it.

I would like to seek advice from senior members of the police force on how to deal with a situation like this without endangering one’s life. I would also like to find out whether a person who drives a vehicle is required by the law to give ‘lifts’ to policemen? If it is required by law, what type of protection is given to the motorist to protect himself against this type of police aggression?

Forcible deduction from war heroes

It was reported in the press that Rs. 1800 had been deducted from each soldier’s pay packet for a commemorative coin, t-shirt and a cap, to celebrate "60 years of the Sri Lanka Army."

It was not long ago that this government forcibly deducted Rs. 50 from each pensioner to build a holiday home in the cold Nuwara Eliya.  When pensioners protested, pension authorities swiftly took away the deducted funds to the ‘Ranaviru Fund,’ that too without consent.

Now it has become a habit of the government to deduct monies from government servants without approval for various activities.

The ordinary soldier does not want his hard earned money pilfered in this manner.  If it is a commemoration, they should give the coin free of cost.  The words "Ape Ranaviru" are being abused every few minutes by the ruling party politicians on TV, prize distributions, handing over of appointment letters, bana preachings, dansals and on election platforms etc. for political gain, so much so, the two words have become a mantra for the ruling party.  But when it comes to gifting a coin to these men, there is no case of "Ape Ranaviruvo" — the cost was deducted forcibly. 

Another important point is that the Central Bank says there are two coins minted which will be put up for sale soon.  A good quality silver coin is to be sold at Rs. 3000, while a cheaper one with copper mixed has been minted for sale to army men.   Here too ranaviruvos have been shamelessly hoodwinked and treated as third class citizens — low quality coins for them, and good and costly ones for the public.

What is the use of an army T-shirt and a cap with emblems to off duty army men?  Can they wear it?  All the ministers, top-brass of the three forces and their henchmen are still having their full security battalions although Pirapaharan is dead.  

Roads are still closed making the public waste fuel and money.  So why sell a t-shirt and a cap to the army men at this juncture, which are unsafe attire to wear in public? Are they supposed to wear them while sleeping?  The Top-brass and ministers are having their full security contingents and vehicles which costs money to the tax payer, but for war heroes it is ‘pay for what we give you by force.’

Britain providing refuge to drug dealer

The public was able to read in the print media recently how Minister Mervyn Silva had himself allegedly escorted a dangerous underworld drug dealer — ‘Kudu Nihal’ — not just through the common passenger lounge but through the VIP lounge unchallenged and into a waiting plane that flew him to his safe haven in Britain.

The law enforcement authorities had issued an ultimatum to all drug dealers, underworld thugs and contract killers to surrender with their weapons and subject themselves to the law of the land or face serious consequences. It was after this ultimatum that the pubic came to know of how Mervyn Silva had helped underworld drug dealer Nihal to make a safe journey to Britain where this drug dealer is said to own two mansions and two fast food outlets.

It is absurd for an underworld drug dealer who is wanted by the law enforcement authorities in Sri Lanka to be accommodated in this manner on British soil.

If the British Government was unaware of the manipulations that have taken place for heroin dealer Nihal to own two mansions and two fast food outlets and to seek refuge in Britain recently, it is time the British Government ordered an investigation into the credentials of this man.

Kotelawala’s 1/6th pledge to court

For quite some time there has been silence from the poor depositors of F & G Property Developers.

We read of court hearings, bail being granted to some, others being re-remanded and the latest being the undertaking given by that fraudster Kotelawala. He has agreed to release 1/6th of his assets and the other directors of F & G like Mervyn Jayasinghe 1/3rd of their assets. Secille Kotelawala and Yasmin are free, perhaps living in exile, a life of luxury and comfort, without a pang of conscience in respect of the poor depositors’ plight.

Why should Kotelawala release only 1/6th of his assets and keep the plundered 5/6ths? The other way around would be a fairer equation. Nine months have elapsed since the great revelation of a monumental fraud being perpetrated on the depositors, particularly those with a million or two, depending on the interest for their livelihood.

To date, it’s all talk and no tangible action. They should all be doing hard labour in prison until the government takes control, appoints a responsible and educated team of accountants and administrators to inventorise all company and personal assets, dispose of them and convert them to cash and pay up the depositors, down up, so that they could feel safe by placing their monies with either the NSB or government owned banks, even though the interest may be less.

Another factor that baffles me is why crooks like Rohan Perera, Sakvithi Ranasinghe, Secille Kotelawala, Yasmin Kuthubdeen and others have not been arrested and brought to Sri Lanka. Why cannot INTERPOL assistance be sought?

Comfortable quarters were built in prison for the likes of the Ratwattes and Sumathipalas. Is Kotelawala enjoying a holiday in prison? If he is in hard labour, will he reveal all his assets and take tangible decisions to resolve this grave fraud?

I do place all trust in God, the government and the judiciary to help us, the poor suffering people.

Unemployed graduates

A few days ago the Deputy Minister of Finance appearing on TV said that the government will take action to provide job opportunities to all unemployed graduates in the government sector. According to him this will be done in January next year

Doubts arise in the minds of parents of unemployed graduates regarding the sudden statement of the Minister since there is no proper plan to be implemented by the government to address this issue.

There are more than 30, 000 unemployed graduates in the country according to the latest statistics issued by the Department of Census and Statistics. It is difficult to understand how the government could solve this problem within a short period especially at a time the government is facing a financial crisis due to the crashing of the country’s economy.

However if the government can solve the country’s unemployment problem within such a short time giving a reasonable salary to the graduates it should be presented to the public giving full details of vacancies in government departments and the amount of funds it has allocated for this project. Meanwhile, a World Bank report says the government departments have excess staff and therefore action should be taken to reduce the employees in government institutions if World Bank is to grant financial assistance to the country.

In such a situation how could people believe the Minister’s statement? On the other hand demonstrations are held in every nook and corner of the country against unjust recruitment to government institutions. This is mainly due to the non-availability of the Independent Public Service Commission.

I feel that a national plan for education is needed for the country which should be followed for at least for 10 years to address this issue. In addition, appointing members to the Independent Public Service Commission is vital because the recent appointments that were made by provincial councils seem to have been done not on merit but on political influence.

Louis Conrad Duncan Abeyeratne was a legend in his lifetime in the field of science education in Sri Lanka. He was also a man of many parts — a devoted family man, a person who kept in touch with a wide circle of family and friends, and one who could evoke plenty of laughter with a rich repertoire of stories for all occasions. As we commemorate his sad passing away six months ago, it is fitting to recount some highlights of his life and times.

"Duncan Master" as he was known, became synonymous with sure-fire results in mathematics and physics at the University Entrance and GCE A/L examinations for students under his tutelage, and was one of the most outstanding teachers of our times. He had the knack of imparting knowledge like a laser beam into students’ minds, knew how best to coach them for examinations, and inspired them for further studies. Most of his students excelled in their work, leading them to high positions in their respective walks of life.

Duncan began his teaching career at St. Anthony’s College, Wattala on May 8, 1957 and served for over 25 years. He held the position of Sectional Head of Science (GCE A/L), and was the Vice Principal at the time of leaving. Duncan served as the GCE A/L Chief Examiner in physics and mathematics for some time. For a short period he was also the Principal of Christ the King College, Tudella. In 1985 he was appointed Deputy Director of Education in the Ministry of Education, to be in charge of the School Supervision Unit.

As a man of science, Duncan kept in constant touch with recent developments in science, helped in part, through books of mutual interest I used to bring during our annual visits to Sri Lanka. These were essentially non-technical books such, as A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, The Elegant Universe and The Fabric Of The Cosmos by Brian Greene, Einstein: His Life And The Universe by Walter Isaacson, Beyond Einstein by Michio Kaku, and Fermat’s Enigma by Simon Singh.

He enjoyed reading these books from cover to cover, providing a basis for our long discussions on topics such as superstring theory in the quest to unify Einstein’s general relativity with quantum mechanics through an eleven-dimensional theory of the universe.

As a family man, Duncan was indeed a role model. I vividly recall the first time I met Duncan, some months after his marriage to Rosemary Moldrich-Diaz on January 15, 1962. I had just begun dating my wife Sheila, who is Rosemary’s sister.

Although Duncan and I had attended the University of Ceylon, Colombo Campus, we never met there as he had graduated in 1957, when I had just entered the University. He was the only candidate that year to obtain second-class honours with mathematics, physics, and chemistry.

Over the years, we had a lot to talk about, as I had graduated with a special degree in mathematics in 1961 from the same university, and had started teaching the University Entrance classes at St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya.

Since my marriage to Sheila in 1964, both our families were in close contact. Our daughters Deepthi and Shyami were in the same age group as their children — Roger, Densy, Denise, and Daphne. The girls attended the same school, St. Bridget’s Convent in Colombo 7.

Duncan guided the children through a good education and hard work, which paid rich dividends. They were also influenced by Rosemary who epitomised hard work in her career of 38 years at the Commercial Bank. As a deeply religious Roman Catholic, he prayed with his family every day, and believed that "a family that prays together stays together." He and his family were frequent visitors to St. Jude’s Church in Indigolla.

Duncan was also a well-rounded man. This was evident from his early interest in a scouting career, earning the rare honour of being a King’s Scout, and probably one of the last to receive such an award, as King George VI passed away shortly thereafter.

He had the exceptional privilege of being invited to Queen’s House by Lord Soulbury, the Governor General at that time to pay respects to His Majesty King George VI. Cricket was also a passion of his and he played for the first-eleven team at St. Anthony’s College, Wattala.

We will always remember Duncan as a genial man, being very jovial at family gatherings, having a great human touch, and one who has contributed much to Sri Lanka in the field of science education. Such were the life and times of my brother-in-law Duncan. He is sadly missed by his family and friends.