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Give corruption no quarter

In another frank and forthright appraisal of things, President Kumaratunga has highlighted two contemporary malaises which have been dogging this country at its heels for quite some time now: corruption within the Police and in the judiciary.

These deeply disconcerting ills, of course, are no secret but it is very rarely that those who hold the reins of power in Sri Lanka openly and unflinchingly broach these issues in public to enable some space to emerge for a robust public debate and discussion on the price the country pays for their relentless proliferation.

Accordingly, we appreciate the President's forthright recognition of these problems and call on her to use all the authority at her command to put things right in these important arms of the State-the Police and the judiciary.

As rightly pointed out by the President, corruption among sections of the Police and the judiciary has spurred the crime rate in this country to astronomical heights. Before commenting any further we need to mention that by making these observations we do not intend to tar all sections in these vital State institutions with the same brush. For, it goes without saying that there are quite a number of women and men of integrity in these arms of the State. However, the lesson needs to be learnt that a few "bad eggs" bring dishonour and shame to the institution in its entirety.

The President's reference to the dishonest deals between racketeers and some sections of the Police, helped focus on the dilemmas faced by the authorities in dealing with crime. The State is not in a position to reward efficient and honest police officers with cash rewards to the tune of, say, one or two hundred thousand rupees, because it is by offering bribes of these proportions that wealthy offenders buy the integrity of compromising law-enforcers.

Parasitical politicians along with the criminal underworld and errant law-enforcers comprise an evil triad which is figuring prominently today in Sri Lanka's dangerous descent into national ruin and ignominy. It is no secret that some police officers are in the "pockets" of criminals who in turn are in league with errant politicians. How, indeed, could the law and order machinery hold crime in check?

Admittedly, these are complex problems which require gradual disentangling, but political party leaders could help considerably by showing errant, conniving politicians the door. We believe that those politicians who tend to tamper with police investigations and those who set themselves up as patrons of the underworld, should be brought before the law by political leaders themselves.

Institutions such as the National Police Commission should also prove their worth in these situations. The remedying of irregularities quickly in the Police Department by the NPC could prevent police officers from being lured by filthy lucre and other temptations.

Besides, errant officials in the judiciary too should be speedily taken to task by impartial institutions.

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Nuclear power

The word 'nuclear' instantly makes us think of the devastating twin explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But there is also a good side to nuclear power. Nuclear reactions can drive huge power plants to generate electricity. Many countries operate such nuclear power plants, though they are not 100 per cent safe all the time. Radiation leaks have occurred - the most famous instance being Chernobyl.

But nuclear technology is advancing. The proposed International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is in the forefront of these developments. This would be a nuclear fusion based reactor, as opposed to nuclear fission used in warheads and conventional nuclear power plants.

The ITER has become a controversial subject, with two countries vying to host it. The two candidates to host ITER, which would emulate the sun's nuclear fusion to generate inexhaustible electricity, are Cadarache in southern France and Rokkasho-mura in northern Japan.

The latest round of six-way talks on the ITER's location ended inconclusively at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. But Japan and the United States are no longer categorically ruling out the French bid to host the revolutionary project. South Korea, Russia and China are among the other backers of the ambitious project.

ITER will be a test bed for what is being billed as a clean, safe, inexhaustible energy source of the future. It is not expected to generate electricity before 2050.

The ITER project is especially important in the context of the current oil crisis. Most countries operate oil-based thermal power plants to generate electricity.

Crude oil is a finite resource and scientists are scrambling to innovate alternative agency sources. Oil will not run by 2050, but it will certainly be on its way out. Solar power, wind power, wave energy are all being tried, but they are still not commercially viable on a large scale.

This is where nuclear fusion can come in. It will be a massive research and development investment - the ITER budget is projected to be 10 billion euros over the next 30 years, including 4.7 billion euros to build the reactor. It will however be worth every euro if the ITER becomes a successful venture. Imagine a clean, inexhaustible power supply - and oil will not be so important anymore.

International cooperation will be essential to see the ITER through. The six-country consortium and the European Union, which will present its views on the ITER on November 26, should invite other countries to participate in the project. They should also resolve the location issue without delay. It really does not matter where the ITER project should be located - it has the potential to benefit the whole world and mankind.

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