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| Sunday, 5 June 2005 |
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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 Testing times ahead President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's visit to neighbouring India while Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar was in Washington meeting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice no doubt indicated that matters of utmost vital importance to the country were being discussed at these twin confabulations. These were not routine visits to express goodwill. It is incumbent on the part of any Head of State to conduct affairs in one's country so as not to endanger the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that geographical entity of which one is Head. In fact, the primary duty of the Head of State is to safeguard the sovereignty and integrity of the country in accordance with the Oath of Office. So, it is apparent that the visits of President Kumaratunga to India and Foreign Minister Kadirgamar to US were primarily to discuss matters concerned with security and preservation of the State. It has always been India's position that it supports the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. President Kumaratunga has the advantage of heading a government in which her own Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the major partner, has from its inception in 1951 attached the greatest importance to maintaining good relations with India. That has been the corner stone of SLFP policy which came to be known as the Bandaranaike policy if not dictum. That consistency in policy adopted by SWRD Bandaranaike, faithfully followed by Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike and now by their daughter no doubt stood in good stead when President Kumaratunga engaged in discussions with Indian leaders to strike a deal as it were to overcome the impediments to her plans to usher in peace to the country. There are rumblings which may if not addressed immediately lead to a situation that can be troublesome if not get out of hand and whatever President Kumaratunga gains by way of pledges from India to alleviate security concerns will be in the interest of the whole country and the region. Needless to say, the huge fund of foreign monies pledged by the donor community to resurrect the tsunami beaten country will be superfluous if the Government fails to maintain if not create conditions conducive to put these monies to good use. In fact, it is clear that spoilers and disruptors are aiming at setting up obstacles in the Government path. It is under such circumstances that these high level visits have been made. The threat to the territorial integrity of the country can not be brushed aside. A timely intervention to thwart the designs of anti-systemic elements is the most prudent course of action. We have no doubt that, that is uppermost in the mind of President Kumaratunga. All reports indicate that India has responded positively to President Kumaratunga's proposals to ensure security on the one hand and set up structures to disperse with the generous donations to manage post-tsunami operations on the other. What remains to be done, now that Indian support has been clinched is to marshal support at home. There are testing times ahead for all of us irrespective of our narrow political affiliations. Let us all resolve to reap the benefits that accrue from the successful visits of our leadership. Green cities Our pocket cartoonist Mahil says it in his inimitable style. The lumberman felling the trees claims he wants to make the city look green! Why not? The undergrowth of turf is surely green, is his implied argument. Now, how does that accord with what Suquamish Indian Chief Seattle had to say over two hundred years ago? "We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins". So, in felling those trees we are harming ourselves. And that is what the theme of this year's World Environment Day 'Green Cities: Plan for the Planet' is all about. We do not need to look beyond our shores or heed the warnings of the developed world over the hazards inherent in interfering with nature. The recent natural disaster that hit our coastal areas is a grim reminder of the horrible repercussions of our callous disregard of maintaining nature's equilibrium. Had the mangroves and coral reefs been there the fury of the tsunami waves would certainly have been smothered. With urbanisation, deep cuttings have led to earth slips that are life threatening. So, it is time that we heed the greens else, when the shores recede and forests are gone it will be the 'end of living and the beginning of survival'. The need to preserve and enhance the environment is all the more important today than when we began to observe World Environment Day kicked off at the Stockholm Conference way back in 1972. |
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