Eternal vigilance the key

Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayaka’s warning of a reprisal strike by the LTTE to avenge the death of its political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan should be heeded by all and measures taken to minimise the risk.

Sri Lankans have a peculiar tendency to bounce back after any major catastrophe. This was the case also with the many terrorist attacks in the city. Most of these were forgotten no sooner a foreign cricket team landed on our shores and everything was back to square one.

The Thamilselvan killing was a major scalp for the Forces that delivered a severe dent to Tiger morale. Therefore the main man in the Vanni may be busy plotting a course in order to the wrest back the initiative vis-a-vis the Forces.

Prabhakaran now virtually driven to a wall may want to wriggle himself out of the humiliation suffered by his outfit on many fronts in the battlefield and may want to salvage himself with the Tamil diaspora from where the funds pour in for his terror campaign.

Hence the probability of more daring attacks such as the one at Saliyapura or even by targeting a VIP to even the score somewhat. True, the security measures currently in place are watertight with the City coming under a fine toothcomb.

It is the element of surprise the Government should guard against. As in the past, attacks may come out of the blue when the public least expect it. Hence eternal vigilance should be the byword.

The public too should lend their cooperation to the Security Forces to ferret out LTTE suspects and also by bearing with the inconvenience of constant checking. All VIPs on their part should try to minimise their public engagements.

It would be better if Government Ministers communicate with the public over TV and radio as done in most countries under seige by terrorism. True some may see this as caving into the terrorists. But it is unwise to lull ourselves into a sense of security.

As seen from the past most of the LTTE strikes in Colombo have been targeted at debilitating the economy.

However the possibility of the wounded Tiger going for soft targets cannot be ruled out.

Although the move may be unpopular, house to house searches should be stepped up and movements of strangers monitored with extra vigilance.

The authorities on their part should take it upon themselves to constantly remind the public of the lurking danger in their midst and conduct a round the clock vigil. At no time should the Forces nor the public drop their guard.

Ringing in change

The Government’s decision to ban mobile phones for those under 18 years of age is certain to draw mixed reactions in several quarters.

According to our report in the inside pages yesterday Minister of Child Care Sumedha Jayasena is to submit a Cabinet paper calling for the ban based on the latest revelations that underaged children are being lured to pornography, child sex and other forms of abuse through this medium.

The Minister certainly cannot be faulted for carrying out her remit of protecting children from the clutches of perverts and degenerates given the recent exposures of Paedophile networks operating in the country.

There is no doubt that today our children are a vulnerable lot, given their overexposure to sleaze and other forms of vulgarities be it over television or the Internet. Today children of affluent families are for the most part of the day hooked onto the Internet where they gain access to porn and other mind polluting material.

While this is a phenomenon the world over the concession to modernity and technological advancement should in no way shut the eyes of our elders to the dangers of their children turning into virtual zombies.

While the Cyberworld has opened up new frontiers of knowledge it has also sounded the death knell to many of the old practices and values. For instance the reading habit among the young is today almost non existent and children are virtually held under a hypnotic spell by TV and other diversions.

The ubiquitous mobile phone is today no longer a status symbol and is carried by every Tom, Dick and Harry ranging from pavement hawkers in Pettah to even toddy tappers in the coconut belt as was revealed in a newspaper report some time ago.

Its wide use while being an index of advancement for a Third World country like ours had also had its downside.

Its handy nature was demonstrated in a recent incident when an armed gang was nabbed with Rs.140 million worth of gems following a call made over a mobile while on the other hand it was through this same medium that the gunning down of a High Court judge was plotted.

Now, if as the Minister states it is being used by paedophiles and degenerates to corrupt the young, urgent measures should be taken to nip this in the bud. Steps should be taken to alert parents to the dangers of giving underaged children uncontrolled access to mobile phones.

The parents on their part should be more vigilant on the activities of their children who have free access to an expanded array of devices to satiate their curiosity.