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A profound moral to ponder on

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga couldn't have enunciated a profounder moral truth when she told the people that "this is a moment of great humility for all of us. We have been incredibly humbled by Nature's great forces".

Thus far, Sri Lanka in its post - independence history in particular, has been torn asunder by mainly man-made conflicts; conflicts in which the ego and its attachments and obsessions have figured greatly.

For instance, not only at the level of the individual but also at the level of social groups, communities and cultural collectivities, Sri Lankans have, by and large, been guided by narrow, selfish motives.

There has been a marked reluctance among these groups to reach out to each other in brotherhood and love and to feel for each other. It has mostly been a question of these groups striving bitterly to safeguard their narrow interests by excluding others from processes that enable each collectivity to lead a contended life.

It is this obsession with "me and mine" which, essentially, led to the eruption of the ethnic conflict in this country. To President Kumaratunga's credit it must be said that she was the first Head of State and Government who identified the conflict correctly and in broad outline envisaged a solution to the problem; that is, power-sharing among our communities, rather than the concentration of power in a single community.

In fact, if the President had the full backing of all principal political formations and parties, an answer could have been worked out to our conflict some time back. Alas, some intransigent parties and forces have failed to see the wisdom of sharing and caring for each other as the only workable solution to Lanka's travails.

Consequently, Lanka has continued to be mired in conflict and strife but now, as the President said, Nature has humbled us by a show of her mighty destructive power.

Now, whether we will it or not, all of Sri Lanka has to join forces and strive as one man to come out of this dark night of suffering which has been visited on us by the horrific tsunami waves.

The time has come for Sri Lankans to completely disregard caste, creed, political and communal differences and pool all resources and exertions to reconstruct and rebuild Sri Lanka. Nature has, in a sense, taught man what he has stubbornly refused to face up to: unite or fall apart.

As the President has further emphasized, the tidal waves have not been a respecter of caste, creed or community. Nor have they been deferential towards wealth and worldly might. In fact, Nature has been a great leveller and equalizer because its destruction has treated everyone alike. Man has no choice but to come together in the face of this reality and unite to save himself and his progeny.

In this great effort at pulling through together, President Kumaratunga has taken the lead by providing relief supplies and sustenance to all those affected in Sri Lanka, regardless of whether they inhabit the North, South, East or West. She is leading from the front in the moral endeavour of proving that all of Sri Lanka are one.

Unfortunately, she is not receiving sufficient support from the LTTE in this historic task. Apparently, the LTTE is preferring to work out an agenda of its own, while the Tamil people suffer.

This is reminiscent of Nero's tragic fiddling. We call on the LTTE to fully cooperate with the Lankan State in bringing relief to the Tamil people. It must bear in mind that the State represents every citizen of the land.

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