Archives

Momentous visit

In a culminating moment of our warm, friendship ties with the United Kingdom of Great Britain, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, was with us in our hour of need. His presence here was indeed a morale-booster and we could be certain that Great Britain would continue to care for Sri Lanka from across the seas, particularly against the backdrop of our tsunami-triggered suffering.

Whatever the nature of our relations with Great Britain during colonial times, she now relates to us in a spirit of complete camaraderie and caring. In fact, this spirit sustains the British Commonwealth of Nations, of which Sri Lanka has been a long-standing member. It augurs well for the future that Prince Charles has promised to continue to help Sri Lanka in the current crisis with adequate and continued forms of sustenance.

There are immense possibilities in these ties of friendship with the foremost states of the West which are in the process of being reinvigorated and strengthened now. Only a few days back former US Presidents George Bush (Snr) and Bill Clinton visited us, raising the possibility of the caring eyes of the world being on us for the foreseeable future. Prince Charles' visit is further confirmation that our relations with the states that count are being remoulded on the basis of long-cherished human values - friendship, understanding and cooperation. Thus, perennial values replace Realpolitik considerations. Accordingly, we are offered the possibility of rebuilding our bridges with the world outside on a completely new basis and thereby transform our relations with the West in particular into highly emulatory ones, which could serve as a new standard for all.

Prince Charles - as we indicated yesterday - has seen for himself the torment of our tsunami-affected population groups. He has been moved profoundly by their suffering and hardships. But he has been also witness to the unyielding, defiant spirit within our people. They have amply indicated that they need to get on with their lives and we hope this would spur the heir apparent to the British throne to facilitate the aid-giving process to Sri Lanka. In fact this should be the resolve of all the foreign dignitaries who have been visiting Sri Lanka.

However, this same spirit of defiance and courage should motivate us to build a culture of self-reliance in our isle. We certainly should be helped on to our feet but we shouldn't look forward to be constantly propped-up by crutches of external make. However friendship with all should remain.

Baby's day out

Babies are very much in the news these days, but all other news items pale beside one we have just heard from Bangladesh: Four Bangladeshi babies have appeared in court in their parents' arms accused of looting and causing criminal damage.

The magistrate Monday asked the parents to post bail of 3,000 taka (50 dollars) for each child whose ages ranged from three months to two years. The children were among 10 people named in a case filed with police in the southwestern port city of Chittagong.

One would tend to think that even babies have not been spared as 'partners in crime' in a highly criminalised world, but these infants are simply too young to realise the criminal machinations going on around them. Nevertheless, there have been many cases here and abroad where juveniles have been caught by police for committing various offences either on their own or in connivance with adults.

Magistrate Ali Noor, who expressed surprise at seeing the babies in court, is confident that it appears to be a false case as filing such cases to harass a child's family is a regular occurrence in Bangladesh. The children's relatives said the allegations stemmed from a dispute over land with a neighbour.

This appears to be a very crude way of taking revenge. Babies and children are innocent and care-free souls who simply do not know how to cause harm to others. Dragging them into disputes among adults, which happens here too, is uncalled for.

But one baby who was unwittingly dragged into such a dispute will be in the 'dock' today or tomorrow. Sri Lanka's world-famous tsunami survivor 'Baby 81' (Abilash) will appear on ABC's Good Morning America program today or tomorrow to tell his story to the US. The story of Abilash could have been straight from a Hollywood script - a little baby who survives a fearsome tsunami is found under a pile of garbage by a passerby and then nine mothers come forward to claim him as their son. Subsequently, the parents and the baby have to undergo DNA tests.

Abilash sparked an international media frenzy, with TV crews and reporters descending on Kalmunai in droves. Abilash himself may not have understood what's going on, but his was a rare 'happy' story that emerged from the gloom of the tsunami. And now, he's getting his day out on the other side of the world. Here's one baby who is definitely going places, with the law on his side.

www.ceylincoproperties.com

www.Pathmaconstruction.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries

Produced by Lake House
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager