A concerned citizen has penned a letter to the United Nations General Secretary António Guterres urging him to take action in the incident in which 250 schoolchildren were used to carry a bridal train.
Excerpts of the letter follow:
‘1. An incident was reported recently from Kandy, the second largest city of Sri Lanka, about a wedding ceremony where a Guinness Record for “World’s Longest Wedding Sari” was achieved in the presence of the Chief Minister of the Central Province Mr. Sarath Ekanayake who was also the Education Minister of the Province. The event was organized by a private individual.
2. The ‘end tail’ of this Sari has been measured to have a length of approximately 3,000 meters (3 kilo meters) and nearly 250 school children have been deployed to hold this ‘end tail’ high up over their heads along the Colombo – Kandy Highway. The Principal of the Sarath Ekanayake Primary (Government) School Alawathugoda, Kandy has confirmed to media that these innocent children are studying in his school.
The event was covered by local and international media.
3. It should be pointed out, that in this occasion school children has been deployed unethically against all norms, rules and regulations of a cultured society. A number of legal experts, education consultants and teachers have denounced this shameful act.
But, the Chief Minister Mr. Sarath Ekanayake who was also the Education Minister for Central Province, has informed to Media that this participation of school children for this ‘historical event’ has been taken place under his instructions.
Through this letter we request from you, dear Sir / Madame; to conduct an impartial inquiry to find out whether the Chief Minister has misused his authority to obtain ‘supportive services’ from school children to achieve a ‘Guinness Record’ or to commit any other unjustifiable act.
If an inquiry cannot be arranged, we fear that this incident can set a ‘bad’ example to other politicians in the country to misuse their powers / authority. In a country where corruption reigns and inept politicians rule, innocent children as well as their helpless parents would have to suffer under them. These foolish and irresponsible acts would continue to repeat. Children or parents would stay silent, bearing the tomfoolery of misguided politicians.
Since a powerful politician like a Chief Minister of a Province is involved, Sri Lankan citizens have a very slim hope of seeing justice being done.’
