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| Sunday, 13 July 2003 |
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Editorial |  |
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Please forward your comments to the
Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 1 429239 / 331181 Fax : 94 1 429230 Imagination The Government is to submit detailed proposals on the structure of the proposed 'Interim Administration' for the North-East region. This is something on which the whole country will focus. For the people of the North-East region, the proposed administrative structure is meant to fullfil a burning need. That is the need to recover from the devastation of war as quickly as possible thereby shortening the agony that communities in the war-affected areas now suffer. While the psychological, emotional and spiritual suffering will take a long time, perhaps generations, to alleviate, the physical, economic, social and infra-structural damage can be repaired quicker. What is needed for this is the infusing of the adequate quantum of resources and the proper mobilisation of capacities - institutional and human - for the purpose of rehabilitation and reconstruction. The political will for rehabilitation and general recovery is already there. This is part of the political will towards peace. The Cease-fire Agreement of 2002 is the longest running success story in the history of the ethnic conflict, despite several disruptive incidents and actions, precisely because of the political will on both sides of the war. It is a will arising from the larger awareness that the military option has been exhausted and has proven counter-productive to both protagonists. The success and stability of the Cease-fire means that a new phase of interim action for rehabilitation and reconstruction is at hand. The political will is there for this as well but requires something more than a Cease-fire Agreement for its successful articulation. Rehabilitation and reconstruction, especially the required urgent action, needs an institutional framework, a set of administrative mechanisms, that will enable the work to be done in the quickest possible way and in a manner most appropriate for the beneficiaries in the target region: the North-East. Hence the need for an interim administrative structure designed to enable the community leadership in the region to effectively mobilise resources and human capacities for this purpose. After decades of decline of existing facilities and infra-structure, and the actual devastation of infra-structure in the North-East, whole new systems of human activity have to be set up in the region to meet the urgent needs of post-war recovery. Only the most imaginative and creative efforts at designing such new systems will satisfy this need. The whole nation must devote its energies in supporting this effort. The very complexity of the task of designing such a new administrative structure is a challenge to the national imagination: not only must it ensure locally autonomous decision-making and transparent efficiency of management at regional and district level, but also inclusivity and representation has to be built in to ensure that all communities in the region are adequately accommodated and catered to. Accidents The spate of traffic accidents with mass fatalities this past week and more once again, for the umpteenth time, raises the issue of inadequate road safety and poor driver performance. On the one hand, the state of the country's roads is in question. The inadequate size of roads to accommodate current traffic volumes, the lack of pedestrian walkways and protection, the poor surfaces and other design ailments that do not meet modern traffic speeds all contribute to the on-going tragedy. On the other hand, while some of this can only be redressed when resources are available, the problem of poor driver performance does not need any new resource. The authorities simply cannot delay anymore the improvement of driver training infra-structure and the combating of corruption in the issue of driving licences. This small step will surely help save a few lives on our violent highways. |
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