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| Saturday, 01 January 2005 |
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Editorial | |
| News Business Features Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
| Please forward your comments to the Editor, Daily News. Email : [email protected] Snail mail : Daily News, 35, D.R. Wijewardene Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429429 / 94 11 2421181 Fax : 94 11 2429210 An opening to pull through unitedly At a time when hopes are high that Sri Lanka would rise Phoenix-like from the debris left behind by the killer waves of December 26, comes the possibility of a dramatic detente between the Government and the LTTE. Two recent developments which fuel the latter expectation are the offer condolences from the LTTE leader, V. Prabhakaran, to the Sinhala community and the acceptance of Government assistance to reconstruct and rehabilitate affected areas of the North-East, by LTTE political wing chief, S. P. Tamilselvan. "This new tragic situation has laid the foundation for both parties to come together and work towards closing the division between the two parties," Tamilselvan was quoted saying. Such views are in consonance with the recent observation made by President Kumaratunga that Sri Lanka needs to rise as one man-shedding all petty differences - to overcome the unprecedented, multifaceted crisis thrust on us by the devastation of December 26. Thus it could be said that some space has opened for the Government and the LTTE to work unitedly, in a spirit of friendship and sharing, towards the achievement of a common objective which could ensure the well being of all. We call on both parties to the conflict to use this climate of amity to bring lasting peace and unity to Sri Lanka. The reality is that the current suffering is cutting across all man-made barriers. The people of the North-East account for a considerable number of those killed or affected by the tsunami waves. The Government has promptly gone to the assistance of the North-East. It is obliged to lend a helping hand to all communities on account of its position as the governing entity. Realising this, the LTTE is duty-bound to facilitate this process of reaching out. It should join hands with the Government in the reconstruction and rehabilitation effort. Life would never be the same for all Lankans from now on. There was a time when the country was blissfully oblivious to the dangers Nature could pose. Horrific tragedies, such as the tsunami disaster, we thought, wouldn't ever touch us. Such comfortable assumptions now stand shattered. Difficult though it may be to absorb and digest, we now need to be constantly mindful of the fact that we could be victim once again, to Nature's unrelenting furies. In short, we need to be on the look out for natural tragedies. Could we then afford to dissipate our energies on wasting conflicts and wars? United as one nation we may pull through future traumas. Disunited, this country may fall apart. The time's ripe, therefore, for a united effort at rebuilding Sri Lanka and putting the past behind. If the LTTE is to conduct itself responsibly towards the Tamil people it would work in cooperation with the Government to ease the lot of the Tamil public. It would also resolve to make such cooperation a foundation for a permanent solution to the ethnic conflict. |
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