A revitalised Commonwealth

Another Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting is set to take place in the coming days. The three day parley will be held in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will represent Sri Lanka, one of the oldest members of the Commonwealth.

The biennial event is attended by Heads of State representing one thirds of the world's population. The sessions would continue in the hallowed traditions of the Commonwealth dating back to over a century.

There will be the usual plenaries, the working sessions and the retreats of the participants where matters relating to global affairs and the Commonwealth will be discussed in conclave. Resolutions will be tabled and minutes distributed among members and speaker after speaker will hold forth on the history and antecedents of the Commonwealth movement and its contribution.

There will be other elaborate presentations and deliberations before the members of the Club disperse. It is in this backdrop that one should view the role of the Commonwealth today, its achievements and failures.

The most recent Commonwealth gathering was held in Colombo to select the host city for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which has become one of the prime sporting events of the world. Glasgow eventually prevailed over Abuja, but it brought Commonwealth nations together in a spirit of friendship. There was no animosity between the two main contenders.

There are those who question the validity and relevance of organisations such as the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement in a largely unipolar world where the world's sole superpower calls the shots.

However, they can still be forces for change on the world stage and powerful voices on burning issues confronting States. Although in the days of yore the Commonwealth made up of former colonies of Britain was even more powerful, it can still be a formidable force.

It would indeed be sad if the Commonwealth too descends to the level of some other organisations which are mere talk shops with little or no action on any major issue. On the other hand, with its rare combination of First World and Third World countries coming together under the same roof, the Commonwealth can make a difference to the world. It can still command the respect of the world by showing its collective strength.

Press M for Murder

The harrowing tale of an enraged father stabbing to death a 20-year youth after detecting a text message on the latter's mobile phone expressing love to his 13-year-old daughter once again brings to focus the rampant misuse of mobile phones especially by teenagers which could have fatal results.

The tragedy in the whole affair is that the sender of the text message was another youth known to the victim. According to our page one story yesterday the father traced the owner of the phone and stabbed him to death.

That the incident occurred in Thotamuna, a village in the interior of Matara goes to show the extent to which the SMS culture has caught on. Today one could hardly spot a youth or anyone else for that matter without a mobile phone, which has almost become an bodily accessory to some.

From the country's point of view it is no doubt gratifying to note the exponential increase of mobile phone users which to some extent is an index of upward mobility. But mobile phones in the wrong hands could lead to mischief or worse, as demonstrated by the Matara incident.

There is of course no way of stopping people sending text messages nor is it practical to try to ascertain if the recipient is a willing partner to the dialogue. In this case, the question to be asked is whether a 13-year-old needs a mobile phone.

Parents must think twice before giving such devices to their children, lest they are distracted from studies and family life. In fact, there is a proposal which seeks to ban the use of mobiles by schoolchildren. Such steps may not be practical in a democracy, but parents should still exercise caution when mobiles are used by children.