Sunday Punch 2

exploring other avenues to achieve their just grievances, their new year promise holds that they will not put the lives of the sick and dying before an extra wad of notes in their top lined pockets.

But if that was one reason to strike it was not the only one. Affected as they have been with their terminal ailment, SAITM – after many had thought that had been cured for good – saw a remission.

On the second day of the New Year, the GMOA announced that if the Government did not abolish SAITM, they would launch a series of strikes again. They warned that the very future of the government was at stake.

Various solutions have been put forward to resolve the issue but the GMOA had rejected them all. Even the Government taking over SAITM’s teaching hospital was not enough to satisfy them. The Government appointed a special committee headed by Dr. Harsha de Silva to inquire in the affair. The report was to be released on January 1, but now the released date has been postponed to the 15th of this month. But whatever recommendations it comes up with in the best interests of all the stakeholders, students included, the GMOA announced this week that they would be satisfied with nothing less than the total abolishment of SAITM.

GMOA Assistant Secretary Naveen de Zoysa said this Tuesday they would resort to trade union action if the government attempted to use short cuts to register “bogus degree holders”.

He warned that the next week would be critical to the government and the ministers if they failed to keep their word and pointed out that if the Government continues with its double standards the GMOA would resume its countrywide anti-SAITM fight.

And displaying the callousness the government doctors union had shown all along to the innocent students who have been the victims, he declared “the government should abolish SAITM and then