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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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Editorial |  |
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Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429239 / 2331181 Fax : 94 11 2429230 Tsunami and peace In the wake of the enormous calamity that befell the nation following the tsunami wave of death and destruction on December 26 many including the President emphasised that nature did not discriminate between race, religion, politics etc. They drew the conclusion that it was a reminder to us to unite as one and face the challenge of tsunami. As a silver lining in this dark cloud they saw an opportunity to work together in the task of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Such a cooperative effort would create favourable conditions for the peace process to go forward, it was argued or deduced. Now almost one month after the disaster the question is raised whether tsunami and the quest for peace are related at all. Contrary to opinions expressed even by some official quarters we believe the two are related. A cooperative relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction effort is sure to improve the strained relations between communities and protagonists in the political as well as military arena. It would be a grand confidence building measure (CBM). Further, the scale of destruction requires such a united effort. Saying is, however, easier than doing. Practical problems are sure to arise in the context of decades of distrust, animosity and conflict. Actually they have arisen. Yet we should not undermine the positive developments It is hardly necessary for us to remind those concerned that the most appropriate strategy would be to capitalise on the positive elements and built trust among the communities. It would be both futile and regressive to go back to old animosities. Criticism of the government relief effort must not be considered a totally negative phenomenon. There could be genuine criticism that if accepted could improve the quality of service. One must be able to distinguish between constructive criticism and destructive criticism. It is not the politics of those who criticise but the substance of criticism that should be addressed. Every effort must be made to use the good offices of the Norwegian facilitators and international friends in order to place the negotiating process back on track. Care should also be taken not to fall into opportunist and vested interests that would like to derail the government from the peace track for their sectarian advantage. It should be noted that even the United Nations Secretary General expressed hope that conditions created by the disaster would be used to carry the peace process forward. The commitment of the international community to aid Sri Lanka could be eroded if we fail to make use of this opportunity to advance the peace process. Right now no sensible person except the most rabid chauvinist and a warmonger would call for a return to war. Fortunately the war phobia that certain interested parties were promoting was washed away with the tsunami tide. The scale of destruction is such that none of the belligerent parties could visualise it even as a distant possibility. Right now we have a negative peace. Objective conditions have made its continuation an imperative need. There is no danger of the ceasefire breaking. Hence, the possibility and the need to utilise the post-tsunami environment to further peace. The two are intrinsically related. We would also take this opportunity to warn of the danger by interested parties to spoil religious amity. The efforts by certain fundamentalist groups to increase their flock using the desperation of the displaced and the dispossessed as well as those that oppose disinterested relief activities by other religious denominations is a negative phenomenon pregnant with dire consequences. A grim anniversary Tomorrow the United Nations General Assembly will hold a special session to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps in World War II. It will be held at the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland which was liberated by the Soviet troops on January 27, 1945. Leaders from 40 countries including Russian President Vladimir Putin, France's Jacques Chirac, and Germany's Horst Koehler will join about 1000 Holocaust survivors in Auschwitz to honour the murdered. Up to 1.5 million people, mostly Jews were exterminated at the Auschwitz camp. Up to 6 million Jews are estimated to have died in the Nazi concentration camps, as well as hundreds of thousands of others deemed undesirable due to ethnic origin, religious beliefs or other reasons, including gays and communists. At the anniversary world leaders will pledge never to let such a holocaust repeat again. In a world where powerful nations openly flout sovereignty of nations and rain thousands of bombs on innocent civilians in pursuit of their commercial and military objectives much more than pledges of leaders will be required to attain these noble objectives. Only a worldwide anti-war movement linking all continents could achieve it. |
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