Friday, 20 February 2004  
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Peace prospects undimmed

In what could be considered a vote of confidence in Sri Lanka, the international community has, once again, decided not to hinder the aid flow to Sri Lanka, while re-expressing the prime condition that substantial aid will remain tied to significant progress in the peace process, which is, of course, at present in a state of partial paralysis.

This is a gratifying development which should stir Sri Lanka to greater efforts in bringing peace.

Simultaneously almost, President Kumaratunga was quoted saying at a public function that a future government under her would in no way compel the LTTE or give it cause to get back to war.

On the contrary, the LTTE would be encouraged to get into the democratic mainstream, through the working out of a political solution to the ethnic conflict.

Thus has the donor community's faith in Sri Lanka been justified. While some mischievous elements have thought it best to play on public fears over a future return to hostilities, the President's words are proof that no such thing is on the cards.

This is substantial evidence that the present peace will hold and that every effort would be made to negotiate a solution to the ethnic problem.

However, it would be essential that the President receives a clear and unambiguous mandate to launch a fresh peace bid and to take Lanka along the development path.

An unreserved 'Yes' vote would enable the President to return to the path of dialogue with the Tigers and to workout a mutually - satisfactory solution. If the President does not receive the overwhelming support of the populace for negotiating peace, the negotiatory process would remain ensnared in the problems it is currently up against.

It is best that the country sees what is in store for it, as it weighs its options. The ceasefire is remaining largely unaffected but the ethnic conflict is still to be resolved. Every lost moment is a virtual victory for those opposing peace.

The challenge consists in convincingly answering the LTTE's ISGA proposals. As long as the latter remains unanswered, the Lankan State could be faulted as the party which is dragging its feet.

Besides, the enemies of a negotiated solution are being offered an opportunity to organize themselves better and to galvanize opinion against a just solution.

It is only fair that if the President is willing to work for peace she be afforded an opportunity to do so. Meanwhile, political duplicity should be shunned by all relevant parties to the conflict.

Mercury rising

One moment, you are sitting comfortably on a beach chair, sipping a sundowner. The next, a huge wave engulfs you and everything around you. This reads like a nightmare, but if you find yourself in the Pacific atoll nation of Tuvalu today, it might become true.

Meteorologists predict that Tuvalu will disappear under the waves for around one hour today, giving weight to dark predictions that it could become the first victim of rising sea levels.

"King" tides are likely to sweep onto Tuvalu, just 26 square kilometres of land scattered over nine atolls, none of which rises more than 4.5 metres above sea level.

Tuvalu and other island nations including the Maldives have warned that they are at risk from a rise in sea levels caused by global warming. However, little is being done to minimise and prevent global warming, which is caused by the build-up of "greenhouse gases" such as Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere.

The UN's Kyoto Protocol is still unimplemented more than six years after it was signed. A number of developed countries have not signed the protocol at all. Their attitude may spell catastrophe for the entire world - the melting of polar icecaps due to global warming could wipe out most major cities.

Several solutions have been proposed to prevent such a cataclysm. One eagerly explored option is carbon sequestration, in which waste Carbon Dioxide, extracted at source from fossil fuels, is pumped and stored deep below the sea or the ground, hopefully for millennia. Gaz de France, a state-owned French company, will take the first step in this direction with the pumping of Carbon Dioxide to an ageing methane gasfield in the North Sea. Storage there could reach 480,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide a year, a substantial amount.

The world must pursue these solutions and look for alternatives to fossil fuels, which give off Carbon Dioxide. More research and development are needed to make solar and wind power commercially viable.

Being renewable, free and non-polluting, they are an environmentally-friendly alternative that can replace fossil fuels one day. Hydrogen is also being touted as a fuel for vehicles.

Worldwide cooperation is essential to realise these goals and stem the tide of global warming that threatens to inundate us all.

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