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| Sunday, 1 September 2002 |
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Sel lipi : Earth Summit Swasthi Shree! Thus says his sacred Majesty, the gracious Great King, glorious Chakravarthi, King of the Kings of Maya, Pihiti and Ruhuna, Mahoora of the Vanniala-aeththo and ruler of all lands from Yapapatuna to Sampanthota: It has come to the notice of the Maha Vasala that thousands of officials and parisarasheeliyas have gone to the city of Juwanispura in Dhakunuaprikaawa to hold a jagath samuluwa about development and eradicating poverty while protecting rain forests, cleaning polluted air and fighting global warming. It seems the Nilames of poor countries say they need to develop in order to protect their natural resources. They want to receive from the wealthy nations 7 kahapanas for every thousand kahapanas of the latters' wealth. They also want the rich countries to reduce tariffs on agricultural goods from poor countries. Nilames from Amerikaawa and the Parangi Sangamaya are refusing to eliminate agricultural subsidies, which protect their own goviyas. The Parangi Sangamaya is ready to discuss targets for increasing aid to the poor and for converting to renewable energy sources, but Amerikaawa is against these. Ten years ago, the Chakravarthis of the world left the Rio Pruthuvi Samuluwa with many vows, which were never fulfilled. At Kyoto, a prathama satahana was made to reduce greenhouse vaayu pitaveem, which was rejected last year by the Chakravarthi of Amerikaawa. This time, it seems that the Chakravarthi of Amerikaawa, which is the greatest polluter, is not even going to be present. So it looks as if the Juwanispura Pruthuvi Samuluwa is going to be exhaling a lot of unu vaayu. Nothing much can be expected from it, any more than from its predecessors in Kyoto and Rio. But surely here, in this serene and resplendent isle, we are able to do something about this ever-growing problem of parisaraya? Do we not have a glorious 2000-year history of providing parks and wildlife sanctuaries? Alas, it seems that this glorious realm, too is merely adding to the pitaveem of unu vaayu. Examples abound of rathas belching forth noxious vaayu, of commercial establishments sending polluted water into the ela-dhola-gangaa of this ramya land. Many years ago the glorious jala dhurga of Sri Jayawardhana Kotte was declared a sanctuary for birds. But the wetlands that served as homes for many birds have been filled (incidentally also chasing away the kabaragoyas that abounded: the proliferation of serpents in the area may be attributed to this cause). Every morning there can be heard the heart-rending cry of the Korawakka as it is chased away - together with its fluffy, black offspring - from its latest home by the onslaught of rathas bearing earth, pushing earth, flattening earth, as many gauwas of flood-water-retaining marsh are swallowed up each day by rapacious man. And as in Sri Jayawardhana Kotte, so elsewhere, all over the island, the birds and beasts are driven forth by the encroachment of the great destroyers. But the ruk-devatas who govern the environment will have their revenge. Already, a brown cloud, the product of the anger of the devas at the despoliation, is threatening to bring prolonged droughts to the mahadveepa of Asiyawa. Is not global warming itself a consequence of the anger of the devatas of the trees, the fields and the streams at the merciless doings of humankind? And are we to propitiate these wrathful deities with poojas of mere unu vaayu, instead of right action? Swasthi Shree! This rock edict is made on this day of Ravi of the month of Binara of the Year of the Saka Era 1929. - Gotabhaya. |
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