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Global concern and national rejuvenation

The numerous well-known international dignitaries who would be touring tsunami-racked Sri Lanka today and over the weekend are sound proof that this country is attracting unprecedented global concern and attention.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, US Secretary of State Colin Powell and World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn are just three such international personalities who would be in Sri Lanka over stepped-up global efforts to infuse a degree of relief and succour to this country and others in Asia which were in the eye of the tsunami-induced devastation.

The current situation where a high degree of global concern is focused on the tsunami-traumatized regions of Asia could be considered most propitious for a restructuring of global relations. Thus far, the relationship between the wealthy and poor countries of the world has been strained and tension - laden on account of the inequality and historical animosities which have characterized it over the decades. Whether it be the economic, political or cultural planes of existence, rifts rather than reconciliation have characterized East-West ties.

The crumbling of the Cold War-dominated, bipolar world in the late Eighties of the last century, may have deflated some of these tensions but the condition of the poor countries couldn't be said to have improved in a fundamental sense. For instance, unequal economic relations between the First and Third Worlds have not improved over the years, with economic globalization proving a great divider rather than a beneficient equalizer.

It is our hope that the current outpouring of international concern for the tsunami-hit region of Asia would register a change for the better in this unequal world climate. The pivotal world figures who would be visiting Sri Lanka in the next couple of days would be best placed to make an on-the-spot assessment of the condition of our country, besides taking cognizance of the impact of poverty and want on other parts of Asia.

Thus far, 'Unequal Exchange' has characterized North-South relations in particularly the economic sphere. For instance, the lack of equitable trade terms between the developed and developing countries has led to suffocating poverty in countries such as our's. It is such poverty and deprivation which aggravates the condition of our peoples at times of natural disasters. After all, there is no doubt that it is the poor and helpless who are suffering most in Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, we hope the international attention we are receiving would lead to a stepped-up humanization of North-South relations and help in a restructuring of relations at all levels between the powerful and poor of the world.

Our minds go back to the Marshall Plan of the late Forties which helped Germany to rise from the ashes of war and become one of the world's strongest states. A plan of this kind for crisis-hit Asia would be in order.

Cooperation for relief

The international response to the disaster in Sri Lanka has been nothing less than amazing. India, herself battered by the waves, was the first to respond. The other SAARC nations too responded swiftly.

Now almost all the rich nations in America, Europe and Asia have joined the relief effort, sending medical teams and supplies worth millions of dollars. They have also made donations amounting to millions of dollars.

The distribution of local and foreign relief aid has been made somewhat complex in Sri Lanka's North-East, because some areas are controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). These areas too suffered heavy damage in the tsunami tragedy of December 26.

President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was the first to reach out to the LTTE in the aftermath of the catastrophe. The President's Secretary wrote to LTTE political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan that the Government was ready to grant assistance to all disaster-stricken areas. The Secretary requested the LTTE to keep him informed of the relief requirements in the areas held by them. Thamilselvam had thanked the President for her gesture and said he saw the cooperation from the Government as a silver lining.

In this context, it is distressing to note allegations now being raised by the LTTE that areas under their control do not receive aid from the Government. The Government started sending relief goods to LTTE areas soon after the disaster occurred.

As the President's Office emphasises in a news release "the people in the affected areas in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu have in fact been receiving more Government assistance than those affected in the South".

The Government has also mobilised its administrative machinery to streamline the aid distribution process in LTTE-held areas. Government Agents and top Government officials are on the ground in these areas, cooperating in the relief and rehabilitation mechanism.

This is hardly the time for the LTTE to be bickering over the relief effort. Thousands of people in the LTTE-held territory have lost their lives and thousands of others have lost their homes. The LTTE must cooperate with the Government to uplift these victims. Such a mutual arrangement may eventually lead to a better understanding between the two sides and in the long term, the resumption of the peace dialogue.

It is also vital that the Government remains the first contact and conduit for countries, international organisations and NGOs wishing to donate funds and material to LTTE-held areas. All such requests should necessarily be channelled through the Foreign Ministry.

There has already been one instance of a foreign donation being made directly to the LTTE. We hope that such actions would not be repeated.

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