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Time to unite for peace

Spurred on by some important initiatives taken by President Kumaratunga,life is steadily being injected into the Lankan peace process, which was at one time held in abeyance. So promising is the peace picture now that it could be said that the country is on the threshold of re-launching the peace effort.

A crucial impetus to the reactivation of the peace effort was President Kumaratunga's convening of the National Advisory Council on Peace and Reconciliation (NACPR), which is to function as an advisory forum to the negotiations.

Since every shade of significant political and public opinion would be represented in this forum, the possibility is great of evolving the hitherto elusive Southern consensus on the conflict, which could provide a key to peace.

At the time of writing the LTTE has gone on record that it is willing to discuss the Government's counter-proposals to its ISGA proposals. Earlier, the LTTE insisted on launching talks on the ISGA proposals only. The President's pronouncement earlier that the Government was willing to evolve a solution on the Oslo and Tokyo Declarations, would, no doubt, have occasioned this flexibility by the LTTE.

The Ven. Mahanayake Thera of the Malwatte Chapter too, earlier, created a climate conducive to the resumption of talks by calling on the TNA and the UNP to join the NACPR process which was boycotted by them. As we pointed out yesterday, global human rights organisations and Western governments have gone the extra mile to impress on the LTTE, the need to resume talks and to prepare an appropriate climate by respecting human rights, inclusive of child rights.

Thus we see a stepping-up of the tempo of preparations for a relaunching of the peace process. At this juncture a duty is cast on all political parties, groups and personalities to give of their best to the peace effort. We wish history would be their guide.

Although the UNP is on record that it would support the negotiatory process, it is clear that it is not proactively involved in promoting its resumption. If it is in earnest the UNP would make a concrete effort to help relaunch talks. We draw its attention to the 25 year war which devastated our land. Deceit and deviousness by political parties contributed considerably towards this result. Does it intend perpetuating this state of affairs?

It is now or never, we may say. Lankan hearts and minds are yearning very deeply for peace and contentment and the need of the hour is a countrywide effort to resolve this wasting conflict.

A welcome move

Hundreds of used cars are lined up for sale every few hundred metres. These cars, which go under the glorified name of 'reconditioned vehicles' are imported from Japan and Singapore. Most of these cars are imported in an 'as is' condition, without any reconditioning. Most cars have also failed to pass emissions and mechanical tests at home. The obvious answer is to ship them to countries such as Sri Lanka, a junkyard for used cars.

The reconditioned car business is doing the country a huge disfavour. It drains a massive amount of foreign exchange to import cars which have been used abroad for several years. The cars are imported indiscriminately, not on specific customers' orders.

The meter is often tampered with to show a low mileage to dupe customers. Used car sales outlets take acres of valuable real estate to display cars, some of which lie idle for months.

Each centre employs just three or four personnel - there is no significant generation of employment. There is virtually no after sales service. Spare parts for some of the vehicles are scarce. Some dealers import used spare parts for the used cars, which compound the problem.

In this context, the authorities must be commended for taking steps to stem the flow of reconditioned cars by amending the depreciation table used for their valuation. This will hopefully make the import of reconditioned cars a pointless exercise, as they will be nearly as expensive as brand new cars.

Now that a start has been made, the authorities must move towards the abolition of used car imports over a period of several years. Hiking duties on reconditioned cars further and decreasing the permissible age of the cars will help.

Several countries in the region are already moving in this direction. Bangladesh, for example, has slashed duties on brand new cars to make them more affordable compared to used cars, the import of which is being phased out. With more duty hikes, brand new cars will be further out of reach of those who aspire to own a new vehicle.

If a reconditioned vehicle costs marginally less, buyers will still be tempted to select that option, which adversely affects the economy in the long run. Reducing duties on brand new cars, at least for those with engine capacities less than 1.5 litres, will be an incentive not to consider reconditioned cars.

The authorities must also consider why people dream of owning a car. For the middle classes, it is a sign of emancipation from our deplorable public transport system. A better, cleaner, comfortable and efficient public transport system will help curb the desire to own one's own wheels.

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