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World Food Day reminders

Co-inciding with the dawning of World Food Day, the international community's reiterated pledge to support the reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement program in Sri Lanka, comes as a welcome boon and as a fresh vote of confidence in this country over its multi-layered, steady progress.

Our lead story yesterday said that to date some US $ 649 million has been siphoned to Lanka's recovery process from these supportive entities which include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the World Food Program, UNHCR, UNICEF, France, Germany, UK and the US.

The fact that we are welcoming these developments does not mean that the State and the public could lapse into a sense of self-deluding complacency. Frankly, the situation on the ground does not warrant any extravagant self-congratulatory gestures, although, economically and socially speaking, we have made some gains over the past two years, thanks mainly to the current peace process which is continuing to evolve, although at a painfully slow pace.

However, in all fairness it must be noted that Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe's personal diplomacy on the world stage could also have helped in garnering for Sri Lanka this substantial degree of international support, both materially and morally.

At least the tax payers of this country could now be satisfied that some evidence has emerged of the Premier's overseas visits having not entirely been in vain. Nevertheless, a lowering of defence expenditure is likely to drive the point home that the State is facing the future positively and not with doubt and apprehension.

Meanwhile, the renewed pledges of support Sri Lanka is receiving from the world community is strikingly consonant with this year's World Food Day theme, "International alliance against hunger."

Considering the structural defects in the world economic system, we do not see an alternative to the problem of world hunger and poverty being handled on a mainly multilateral basis.

Despite the seeming sea changes which are pervading the world economic system, there is no getting away from the familiar reality of one half of the world wilting and dying in hunger and want, while the other thrives and waxes more and more powerful and influential. Sri Lanka is, of course, among the first half and the continued gestures of goodwill by the world community towards this country are proof that multilateral economic cooperation between the two economic spheres of the globe could be shored-up and sustained.

In fact the affluent half of the globe has no choice but to establish and sustain cooperative economic links with the "Wretched of the Earth" or the world's developing countries, if the cause of world peace is to be seriously served. A "hands-off" approach towards the Third World on the part of the rich countries could only help in fanning the flames of social discord and civil war in the developing countries, thus greatly marring global peace prospects. For, even intra-state wars have the effect of creating international discord.

So, Sri Lanka could be considered a test case of the world community's commitment to keeping international economic cooperation alive.

This readiness to help needs to be extended continuously to other trouble spots of the world.

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