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Propitious developments

Despite some anxious moments, the third anniversary of the government-LTTE Ceasefire Agreement has been observed in the spirit in which it should be - restraint and compromise.

Barring the killing of senior LTTE member, Kaushalyan, some days back and the more recent gunning down of a Government soldier in the East, The Ceasefire Agreement anniversary could be said to have passed off without major incident, thereby indicating a desire on the part of both parties to the conflict, to ensure its prolongation.

Here's something all Sri Lankans could rejoice over, despite the major setback suffered by the country in December last year.

The tidal waves of that month swept away lives in the hundreds and thousands, from all coastal areas of the country, regardless of region and community, but the ceasefire has held stubbornly preventing any more killings in Lanka's fratricidal conflict, which prior to December 26, 2004, proved our major killer.

Whereas very little could have been done to prevent the biggest catastrophe this country came up against in December, since it was Nature wreaking devastation, killings can be prevented in man-made conflicts, arising out of human viciousness, and this what the Ceasefire Agreement has achieved.

Seen against this backdrop, a point made in a recent Presidential Media Unit statement that the Government is willing to continue discussions with the LTTE on setting up a 'working arrangement' for the allocation and implementation of post-tsunami aid, should be warmly welcomed by all.

The statement went on to say that even the LTTE was willing to continue a dialogue with the Government on establishing such a working arrangement.

There is then a common need to get on with the task of evolving an arrangement for post-tsunami re-building in the North-East. We are, therefore, entitled to ask: why don't the parties to the conflict set up the relevant mechanism without further delay?

The earlier this is done the better because nothing could be taken for granted in the present situation. The peace process must be resumed and pursued vigorously if the conflict is to be resolved and the country prevented from returning to war. War would be in no one's interest and every party to the conflict realises this.

The need for a 'working arrangement' for rebuilding the North-East presents an important opportunity to get the peace process back on track. The fund of goodwill which could be built between the Government and the LTTE, though this arrangement, could be made use of to restart the dialogue on evolving a solution to our conflict.

We hope the Government would now set this process in motion. It has a clear mandate to help bring peace. Nothing should be allowed to get in its way in accomplishing this historic aim.

Women's rights

Women's rights have been enshrined in most countries. Yet, there are many instances of discrimination against women, not only in the developing world but also in the developed world.

For example, women get lower salaries than men for the same output of work in many countries and professions. There is still a lot to do in the sphere of empowering women.

Women's rights will be in the spotlight when ministers and high level representatives from more than 100 countries including Sri Lanka meet from today (28) to March 11 at the UN Headquarters in New York to confront major obstacles to the advancement of women.

The meeting comes 10 years after the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing. The participating countries will be reviewing the steps they have taken for women's welfare and uplift during the past decade.

More than 135 countries have submitted information on what they have accomplished in promoting gender equality and the challenges they still face in following through on the commitments outlined in the Beijing Platform for Action.

It is often easy to give such commitments, but implementing them is another matter altogether. The number of women in decision-making positions around the world is still low. Women are denied basic rights such as education in many Third World countries. Social and cultural practices inhibit the progress of women.

Women's health is not considered a priority in most of these countries. This does not mean that gains have not been made. The future of women could indeed be brighter because even the poorest nations are now striving to provide a sound education to girl children.

It has also been observed that women are affected by worldwide economic trends such as globalisation, trade liberalisation, the widespread use of information technology and migration. Developments such as increased migration, including trafficking of women for labour and prostitution, have not helped their cause.

The world community must take concrete action to ensure that women are given their due place in all strata of society. This should begin with the girl child.

More education and employment opportunities must be created for women so that they can break free from the grip of abject poverty. More women should be given an opportunity to enter politics, which can raise the number of decision makers among women.

We hope the two-week deliberations that begin today would examine all these issues in detail and mark a new beginning for women worldwide. The UN should play a leadership role to usher in a new era for women.

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