The development ride
Last week President Mahinda Rajapaksa drove a bus by way of opening the Kottawa-Kaduwala section of the new superhighway network. That's 'development'. There were others in the vehicle. It was as though the President himself was taking them for a ride. On the other hand, some might say that this 'development' or rather the 'dominant paradigm of development' is taking millions for a ride, and not just in Sri Lanka. Disease, destruction, famine, poverty, wars, refugee camps, prison systems that have seen a return to slavery, homicide, rape, drugs, displacement etc etc etc....are they not the 'collateral' of this 'development'?
And Wiggie wants an Army in the sky!
Chief Minister of the Northern Province, C.V. Wigneswaran believes that women in his province are not safe because of a 'military presence'. Well, if that's the case, then the Army would have to be stationed out of the country because the last we heard there are women in all parts of the island. But then again maybe he's living in the past, i.e. around the time the IPKF was patrolling the districts under his purview. During those 2-3 years, over 4,000 women were raped. Today we hear stories of rape, but not a single incident where soldiers are implicated. What happened to the 'justice' part of this ex-judge who used to be called Justice Wigneswaran, we wonder.
Arun got it right
Since Wiggie is worried about the safety of Tamil women, he could ask himself the question implied in Arun Thambimuttu's Women's Day observations. What would have been the fate of women had the LTTE not been eliminated, what do you say Wiggie? Forced conscription, enforced vulnerability to bullet, suicide bomber etc etc, eh? That's better than what they get right now?
The diminishing loaf
It is reported that bakers will consider offering 50g loaves of bread. We don't know if they'll call it 'Buddy-Bread' but it clearly shows that the bakers have a pulse on affordability. Those who can't buy regular loaf can now go for half. In time, one wonders, whether they'll sell bread by the slice!
The top 4 drug traffickers
It is reported that Devundara Chamith, whose real name is Naruthota Hewage Thamil Ajith Kumara, recently arrested is the 5th in the list of top drug traffickers. This man owns 8 trawlers, 11 properties, many vehicles and is currently building a hotel, according to reports. If he's 5th and if the police know he's the 5th, then the police must know who Nos 1-4 are. And if this man's wealth is as above, we can only imagine what his betters must be worth!
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