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Welcome moral pressure

Joint pressure brought by international human rights organisations on the LTTE, that it should establish its peaceful intentions by respecting human rights and international humanitarian law, marks a refreshing new trend in efforts by the international community to help end Sri Lanka's conflict.

The demands put recently to the LTTE on respecting and promoting human rights, by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists, point to stepped-up efforts by the world community to mount moral pressure on the LTTE.

While it could be argued that such pressure should have come very much earlier, we, nevertheless, welcome this call on the basis of the adage; "better late than never."

Nicholas Howen, Secretary General, ICJ, could be considered as having spoken on behalf of all the human rights groups concerned, when he said: "We appealed to the senior LTTE leaders to show the world that they are both willing and capable of respecting the lives and rights of all Sri Lankans."

This statement goes to the very heart of the matter. Paying lip service to human rights and peace just would not do. Sri Lanka and the world need demonstrable proof by the LTTE that it is for peace and is willing to go any distance to make it real. Thus far, quite the opposite seems to be true.

The LTTE is engaging in an orgy of violence, gunning down and spilling the blood of anti-LTTE political activists, intelligence operatives and the like, while paying scant regard for the dignity and rights of members of other communities.

We have it on the authority of UNICEF that in May, June, and July 2004 alone, the LTTE had recruited 259 children while releasing 106. So abusive is the LTTE of the rights of children, despite its international commitments in this sphere.

We call on the LTTE to refrain from these horrendous misdoings if it is sincere when it says that it is desirous of peace. We also urge the world community to sustain the pressure on the LTTE to improve its deplorable human rights record.

Time was when the LTTE garnered some sympathy from credulous sections of the international community which fell for its propaganda. Now it is plain to see that the LTTE is terribly falling short of human rights norms and standards.

The world community needs to constantly encourage the LTTE to sit at the negotiating table but it must also impress on the LTTE that it should act within the democratic framework. There could be no peace without democracy. This, the LTTE needs to realise.

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Doctors vs Nurses

"Committee appointed to look into Surgeon-nurse dispute" ran a headline in our Wednesday's edition. According to the new item, there had been a clash between a Consultant Surgeon and a nurse at the Colombo National Hospital which crippled the Hospital's services.

No amount of persuasion by the Hospital authorities to bury the hatchet yielded results with both parties sticking to their guns even refusing a compromise formula for a settlement suggested by the authorities.

What of the patients ? According to the report, they were reduced to mere bystanders of this scene which caused the breakdown of services including the cancellation of operations and paralysis of other vital functions.

Which brings us to the question of present day role of doctors, nurses and hospital staff. Time was when a doctor evoked awe and respect among the patients and public among whom he had an unquestionable standing. The Hippocratic Oath by the doctors was taken as an article of faith by the public and so was the Nightingale Oath of the nursing fraternity.

However, the recent incidents involving both these groups have eroded public esteem towards them. Tuesday's incident at the Colombo National Hospital is just one of the many such occurrences one often comes across in daily newspapers.

Nowadays one hears of instances where patients turn their wrath on doctors and hospital staff over some dereliction of duty or neglect. But a doctor-nurse spat is a novelty which does not augur well for the health sector.

Old timers would recall with nostalgia the days when Government doctors displayed a compassionate nature towards their patients. They would remember the healing touch and the benevolent smile that brought confidence to a stricken individual.

They cannot also forget the discipline and devotion to duty of our Nightingales which went a long way towards accelerating the healing process. Not that we lack medicos with the humane touch today. Nor is there a dearth of nurses whose hearts overflow with the milk of human kindness.

But there is a growing perception that mammon holds sway even in this vital sector as in the case of other State institutions. A new militancy on the part of both doctors and nurses to highlight their grievances and win demands have also alienated them from the public.

Conciliatory efforts should be made between all parties involved to end the fractious relationship and bring back the medical profession to its former glory where doctors, nurses and medical staff worked collectively in harmony for the good of the patients in their care.

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