Opinion
C-19: Implications and Complications

By I. P.C. MENDIS
Covid-19 understandably has doubtlessly put the world in a flat spin, and this isle of ours is no exception. Due to the new strain of the virus, all aspects, from precaution to treatment, are on trial and error basis. The effects of some recommended vaccines are being questioned. So far, there seems to be global acceptance of precautionary measures, such as wearing of masks, social distancing and congregation. It is regrettable, to say the least, that the Sri Lankan population, by and large, has still not realised the gravity of the problem, and seem to behave rather callously in adhering strictly to the guidelines, resulting in offenders being hauled up by the law enforcement authorities for prosecution in courts.
It is indeed well and good for them to strictly enforce the law in the circumstances of general laxity and the need to control the spread of the infection. However, such measures need to be taken after careful examination and study of their implications, and the effect they would have on other relevant policy decisions, already in place, so as to ensure that they do not work at cross-purposes. The decision to prosecute offenders as aforesaid, which entails fines and/or jail terms, is supposed to be based on some antiquated Ordinance, which doubtlessly has come to our rescue in the absence of recent legislation. However, having earned much experience in its working, with the first wave of the virus, the think – tanks behind it had ample time and opportunity to compile the inputs necessary to streamline it or frame new laws/regulations, as a matter of urgency. It is indeed a pity that it has not been done so far.The result is that we have to still hang on to an antiquated Ordinance, which in its implementation seems to be a contradiction in terms with certain other areas of governance. It is regrettable and in a sense a misfortune that some of these measures could be a source of embarrassment to respected high-ups, who are themselves learned in the law, to announce such decisions to the people.
Jail Terms: Obviously, the decision to give an offender a fine, jail term or both, lies with the courts. This is, in the context where there exists a serious debate over the overcrowding of prisons, the Presidential pardons being given by the thousands, as a measure of easing such congestion, the huge backlog of court cases lying unresolved, and the recent increase in the cadre of judicial officers to ensure their speedy disposal.
In addition, the pressure already borne by the Attorney-General’s department, the time and energy already expended by the police, the involvement of witnesses and other agencies — not to speak of the immense pressure on the purse of these minor offenders — and the government necessitating, inter alia, the involvement of the black-coated fraternity; who will generally not take kindly to any simplification, as evidenced by their past selfish conduct in opposing the SLFP measure to let the Public Trustee handle a given category of plaints, and the recent opposition to the proposal to appoint lawyers as Chief Inspectors of Police!
Suggested Relief Measures: It is a forgotten factor that in the days gone by, Cadets and Class II officers of the now defunct Civil Service, were gazetted as Police Magistrates to hear given categories of plaints. It would be extremely beneficial if the government gives serious thought immediately to gazette Divisional/Additional Divisional or other officers to handle such cases, with powers to impose a stipulated fine. We have the Conciliation Boards already charged with the responsibility of trying to settle disputes (without penal powers, however) and Traffic policemen imposing spot fines. So what can be the problem? Indictment can take place if the fine is not paid or the offender contests the plaint.
The only problem can be the selfish interests of a particular section, which has to be discounted in the larger interests of the people, who are already overburdened with monetary and other compelling issues! The proposal may be achievable with a simple amendment to existing legislation or under emergency regulation.
Over to you, Your Excellency, Mr. President!
Opinion
HW Cave saw Nanu Oya – Nuwara rail track as “exquisite”

Plans to resurrect the Nanu Oya – Nuwara Eliya rail track are welcome. The magnificent views from the train have been described by H W Cave in his book The Ceylon Government Railway (1910):
‘The pass by which Nuwara Eliya is reached is one of the most exquisite things in Ceylon. In traversing its length, the line makes a further ascent of one thousand feet in six miles. The curves and windings necessary to accomplish this are the most intricate on the whole railway and frequently have a radius of only eighty feet. On the right side of the deep mountain gorge we ascend amongst the tea bushes of the Edinburgh estate, and at length emerge upon a road, which the line shares with the cart traffic for about a mile. In the depths of the defile flows the Nanuoya river, foaming amongst huge boulders of rock that have descended from the sides of the mountains, and bordered by tree ferns, innumerable and brilliant trees of the primeval forest which clothe the face of the heights. In this land of no seasons their stages of growth are denoted by the varying tints of scarlet, gold, crimson, sallow green, and most strikingly of all, a rich claret colour, the chief glory of the Keena tree’.
However, as in colonial times, the railway should be available for both tourists and locals so that splendid vista can be enjoyed by all.
Dr R P Fernando
Epsom,
UK
Opinion
LG polls, what a waste of money!

If the people of this country were asked whether they want elections to the local government, majority of them would say no! How many years have elapsed since the local councils became defunct? And did not the country function without these councils that were labelled as ‘white elephants’?
If the present government’s wish is to do the will of the people, they should reconsider having local government elections. This way the government will not only save a considerable amount of money on holding elections, but also save even a greater amount by not having to maintain these local councils, which have become a bane on the country’s economy.
One would hope that the country will be able to get rid of these local councils and revert back to the days of having competent Government Agents and a team of dedicated government officials been tasked with the responsibility of attending to the needs of the people in those areas.
M. Joseph A. Nihal Perera
Opinion
What not to do

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
It is immaterial whether you like him or not but one thing is crystal clear; Donald Trump has shown, very clearly, who is the boss. Surely, presidents of two countries are equal; perhaps, that is the impression Volodymyr Zelensky had when he went to the White House to meet Trump but the hard reality, otherwise, would have dawned on him with his inglorious exit! True, the behaviour of President Trump and VP Vance were hardly praiseworthy but Zelensky did what exactly he should not do. Afterall, he was on a begging mission and beggars cannot be choosers! He behaved like professional beggars in Colombo who throw money back when you give a small amount!!
Despite the risk of belonging to the minority, perhaps of non-Americans, I must say that I quite like Trump and admire him as a straight-talking politician. He keeps to his words; however atrocious they sound! Unfortunately, most critics overlook the fact that what Trump is doing is exactly what he pledged during his election campaign and that the American voters elected him decisively. When he lost to Biden, all political commentators wrote him off, more so because of his refusal to admit defeat and non-condemnation of his supporters who rioted. When he announced his intention to contest, it only evoked pundits’ laughter as they concluded that the Republican Party would never nominate him. Undaunted, Trump got the party to rally round him and won a non-consecutive second term; a feat achieved only once before, by Grover Cleveland around the end of the nineteenth century. His victory, against all predictions, was more decisive as he got more collegiate votes and, even though it does not matter, won the popular vote too which he did not get when he got elected the first term. Even his bitterest critics should accept this fact.
Zelensky was elected the president of Ukraine after the elected pro-Soviet president was deposed by a ‘peoples revolution’ engineered by the EU with the support of USA. After this, the EU attempted to bring Ukraine to NATO, disregarding the Munich agreement which precipitated the Russian invasion. He should have realised that, if not for the air-defence system which Trump authorised for Ukraine during his first term, Russian invasion would have been complete. It may well be that he was not aware as when this happened Zelensky may still have been the comedian acting the part of the president! Very likely, Trump was referring to this when he accused Zelensky of being ungrateful.
Zelensky also should have remembered that he disregarded requests from Trump, after his defeat by Biden, to implicate Biden’s son in some shady deals in Ukraine and that one of the last acts of Biden was to pardon his son and grant immunity to cover the alleged period. Perhaps, actions of the European leaders who embrace him every time they see him, as a long-lost brother, and invitations to address their parliaments has induced an element of the superiority complex in Zelensky that he behaved so combative.
Trump wanted to be the mediator to stop the war and spoke to Putin first. Instead of waiting for Trump to speak to him, egged on by EU leaders Zelensky started criticising Trump for not involving him in the talks. His remark “He should be on our side” demonstrated clearly that Zelensky had not understood the role of a mediator. His lack of political experience was the major reason for the fiasco in the White House and the subsequent actions of Trump clearly showed Zelensky where he stands! PM Starmer and President Macron seem to have given some sensible advice and he seems to be eating humble pie. In the process Trump has ensured that the European nations pay for their defence than piggy-backing on the US, which I am sure would please the American voter. By the way, though Macron talks big about defence France spends less than 2% of GDP. Trump seems vindicated. Of course, Trump could be blamed for being undiplomatic but he can afford to be as he has the upper hand!

Ranil on Al Jazeera
Zelensky has shown what not to do: instead of being diplomatic being aggressive when you need favours! Meanwhile, Ranil has shown what not to do when it comes to TV interviews. God only knows who advised him, and why, for him to go ‘Head to Head’ with Mehdi Hasan on Al-Jazeera. Perhaps, he wanted to broadcast to the world that he was the saviour of Sri Lanka! The experienced politician he is, one would have expected Ranil to realise that he would be questioned about his role in making Sri Lanka bankrupt as well, in addition to raising other issues.
The interview itself was far from head to head; more likely heads to head! It turned out to be an inquisition by Tiger supporters and the only person who spoke sense being Niraj Deva, who demonstrated his maturity by being involved in British and EU politics. The worst was the compere who seems keen to listen his own voice, reminding me of a Sinhala interviewer on a YouTube channel whose interviews I have stopped watching!
Ranil claims, after the interview was broadcast, that it had been heavily edited reduced from a two-hour recording. Surely, despite whatever reason he agreed to, he should have laid ground rules. He could have insisted on unedited broadcast or his approval before broadcast, if it was edited. It was very naïve of Ranil to have walked in to a trap for no gain. Though his performance was not as bad as widely reported, he should have been more composed at the beginning as he turned out to be later. Overall, he gave another opportunity for the Tiger rump and its supporters to bash Sri Lanka, unfortunately.
Medhi Hasan should watch some of David Frost interviews, especially the one with Richard Nixon, and learn how to elicit crucial information in a gentle exploratory manner than shouting with repeated interruptions. He does not seem to think it is necessary to give time for the interviewee to respond to his questions. I will never watch Al-Jazeera’s “Head to Head” again!
Ranil’s best was his parting shot; when asked by Hasan whether he would contest the next presidential election, he said “No, I will retire and watch Al-Jazeera and hope to see you better mannered”!
-
Opinion6 days ago
Insulting SL armed forces
-
News4 days ago
Alfred Duraiappa’s relative killed in Canada shooting
-
Foreign News17 hours ago
Search continues in Dominican Republic for missing student Sudiksha Konanki
-
Features3 days ago
Richard de Zoysa at 67
-
Editorial5 days ago
Ghosts refusing to fade away
-
Features3 days ago
SL Navy helping save kidneys
-
Features5 days ago
The Gypsies…one year at a time
-
Midweek Review4 days ago
Ranil in Head-to-Head controversy