Towards a brave new Lanka

The Government?s comprehensive plans to pull the country out of the twin setbacks it has suffered in the form of the 25 year-long North-East war and the tsunami debacle, which were unveiled to the country?s donor community, speak volumes for the State?s zest to put Sri Lanka on the path of growth and recovery.

Rather than succumb to a sense of doom and despair, the State has decided to fight back and this is, of course, the correct attitude to take. It and the public would do well to remember the inspiring saying: ?When the going gets tough, the tough get going?.

It is in this spirit that we need to handle the challenges confronting us and it is encouraging to note that we enjoy donor support in this endeavour. However, the Government should always remember that it is called on by the people to lead from the front and that it would also need to ?walk its talk?, rather than only simply talk.

We hope that in this endeavour the UNDP?s ?The Millennium Development Goals Report? - which focuses on Lanka?s current challenges - would prove an eye-opener.

According to this report, there are more than five million poor people in this country. The long-running North-East war and the tsunami tragedy have added to the number of persons thus steeped in poverty and it is up to the State to not merely give these people hope but to lighten their yoke of hardship and deprivation.

As often pointed out, Sri Lanka has not done badly in terms of the UN-recognized Per Capita Quality of Life Index. For instance, access by the people to essential public services such as, education, health and State-run transport, has been satisfactory but unemployment and poverty have been reaching disconcerting levels. The poorest of the poor are fended for by the State but deprivation has been, nevertheless, rising.

A principal reason for this has been the North-East war, which has been steadily eating into public finances.

A large budgetary outlay for defence has meant that the essential public services have suffered proportionately. Two of such areas are public education and the nutritional levels of the people. However, our public worries have now been aggravated by the tsunami disaster.

As said earlier, we must boldly pick up the pieces and move ahead. But we need to remember that a permanent political solution needs to be found to the North-East conflict. If such a solution is not found in the near future socio-economic frustrations would continue to be our lot. Fortunately for Sri Lanka, the Government under the guidance of President Kumaratunga is fully conscious of the need for a just solution.

Cooperation with the LTTE in post-tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation would, no doubt, pave the way for such a solution. It is our hope that the historic aid group meeting would pave the way for a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka. Where there is a will, there is a way.