By: ratna

ratna — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 17:03:20 +0000

Each MBRL rocket cost about $1000 (SL Rs. 100,000).
Many rockets are fired each day to kill Srilanka’s Tamil citizens in the north..
But indirectly, each rocket kills many Srilankans in the south (with cost of living).
You cannot occupy land without sacrifices.

By: ilaya seran senguttuvan

ilaya seran senguttuvan — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:27:50 +0000

The suffering the people upon whom is heaped burden after burden by an inept government grows day by day. Some of the prices you have quoted are outdated e.g. price of Gas – which was upped 2 days ago. Experts commented of the massive sums spent on defence hadware and equipment that is in the hands of the armed forces represents only about 30% – in the past many years. You can guess for yourself where the rest went.
The wastage on the jumbo cabinet – luxury jeeps, fuel, personal staff, regular overseas travelling 1st class and stay in luxury hotels with kith and kin misrepresented as “personal staff” all eat off large sums of the depleting coffers – inspite of heavy taxes on the people. Some advisors of the govt go about saying
the CoL only applies to the working class and to those in the urban and suburban areas and that the rural farmer and others are unaffected. This is not quite correct. Everyway pays in the indirect taxes on fuel, water, electricity etc., Printing of money has further increased inflation that now stands around 26%
The dubious appeal of the JHU asking the people to “bear in the interest of the Motherland until the war is won” will soon wane away. The economic situation would have been much better as President Rajapakse came in but for the fact he took in managers and advisors – lightly termed “the 2nd XI”
The parachutist Trade Minister who claimed on TV day in and day out when he was in the Opposition assuring he knows how to bring down the CoL eventually exposed his ignorance
by not being able to distinguish between a Pettah Importer whom he called a “Nattamai” He later learnt a Nattamai is the labourer who carries the heavy bags from lorry to shop and vice versa. No wonder the CoL has been sky-rocketing with the people given only the usual excuses. The Central Bank Governor – a junior in financial circles – openly promised to bring down the rate of inflation to single digits by end 2007. From about 15% it is now over 26% – and we have many excuses why this is so. The present Army top brass told us the war will be over by end 2008. Now it is end 2009. We remember what the limping General told us years ago – that the war will be over by 2002. The spin doctors in the Govt will now look for excuses to divert further the attention of the suffering people from the real issues. Looks like an anti-Indian campaign in the short-term may not be too bad an idea – some constituents of the Govt seem to feel. The question now is who will kill the mass of the people first – the unending war or the spiralling CoL?

Comments on: Escalating war fuels rising prices

By: ratna

By: ilaya seran senguttuvan