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On the Pesalai probe

There is no debate on the fact that there was an incident in a church in Pesalai. There were civilian casualties in an attack, and though versions of what happened defer, there is not much doubt that there was some incident in which a number of civilians perished and others were injured.

The Presidential Commission of Inquiry that has been appointed to probe the issue now takes the wind off the sails of those who reiterate that the Sri Lankan state is not sensitised to the tribulations of Tamil civilians.

Last week we editorialised in this space on the Kebitigollewa bus attack.

It's with an equal measure of angst that these words are written on the Pesalai church incident. Obviously, the President of Sri Lanka shares in the angst on the general plight of Tamil civilians caught up in the never-ending LTTE war on the state.

His message in appointing a Commission of Inquiry endorses all that international law has to say about the killing of civilians in conflict. There is no question of impunity; and no immunity can be countenanced for violations of human rights of civilians, no matter how searing the conflict and how complicated its ramifications.

Reams will be written by detractors saying otherwise, with claims that the Sri Lankan state is at best abstracted from the reality of possible human rights violations in a conflict situation that has been dissected and analysed to its bare bones.

But the President is not crass, and neither is he tuned-out. If there are civilian casualties due to some situation of excess by the forces, the LTTE will be happiest and the giddiest. The state should act to dispel any doubt that any possible skirmish in which the forces could possibly be involved, is not remotely countenanced by the state's institutions.

It's in the interests of the state to distance itself from any incident in which its forces may have been involved.

There is the almost catatonic insistence by some elements of the press to write the last word on incidents such as that in Pesalai without so much as a cursory re-checking for fact and corroboration. But that is the Jack-in-the-box method.

The responsibility of state and church is almost infinitely different. The first step is to ascertain the veracity of the charges. Are the facts conveyed by bishop Rayappu Joseph in a missive to the Vatican correct in the main? Was the sanctity of this shrine breached, with some sinister and crass motive, and if so by whom? How many civilians were killed, how many suffered injuries, and under what circumstances? If there is no LTTE involvement, is there a possible rogue element that seeks to malign the Sri Lankan forces with acts of barbarity aimed on the hapless and the innocent? A Commission of inquiry should lead us to firm and detailed conclusions and ascertaining the truth by means of evidence and corroboration is the rigorous method as opposed to the Jack-in-the-box method.

It's the responsibility of church and state, and its reason to say 'Hallelujah' that state and church are acting in concert in this matter of unravelling the facts behind the attack in the Pesalai church.

****

Not a sunshine story

Last Sunday's edition of this newspaper carried the front page news that a Stanford University study has determined that if the correct sites are selected, solar power could be generated to meet energy needs of the planet several times over.

That's good news for a sunny isle that usually gets itself typecast as a location of sun and sand, that's borderline rustic.

But, there is nothing idyllic about solar power generation. As last week's story states, 'going solar' is no longer a tree-huggers solution to the global energy crisis.

It's hard science. Sri Lanka is strategically placed for solar power generation in the manner that the Saudi Arabia is placed on the map for crude oil extraction.

But, we in these parts of the world could continue to bask in the gift of sunshine, getting our suntans and retiring for a repast of coconut toddy and rice with pol sambol thereafter. That's no way to win the energy race.

For the national grid to be supplanted at least partially by solar power, there are several imperatives. One is that the hard science should be imported. The more important is that there should be the political will to supplant the grid via new and innovative means.

But, the grid is treated sometimes as the private power network of the union mafia, and the godfathers there will entertain no depreciation of their clout by having to parcel out the energy generation task to new fangled technocrats with new fangled methods. In short, they will want to keep the grids to themselves, by ensuring that there is no challenge to the existing order in which the national grid is supplied by sub-stations in which the main conduit for power runs via the Union mafia.

The net effect is that our power generation system is in short circuit. Our glorious gift of year long sunshine may only be harnessed for suntans and sunshine advertisements. This is recidivism of the pathetic order.

We are not in a position to effectively put to use our most abundant and freely available resource, because the needs of personal power of the union mafias supersede the power needs of the nation. Are the masses destined to be energy poor, or could there be a political trick performed to remove this costly short circuit from the grid?

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