|| Editorial

Timely words on child rights

There is plenty of food for thought in President Mahinda Rajapaksa's pronouncement that children of the Tamil community should be on an equal footing with other children on the question of accessing a suitable education while also being on equal terms with the children of terrorist leaders in enjoying the privileges of life.

It is no secret that the children of terrorist leader Prabhakaran are currently living in the lap of luxury in the West. Not for them the horrors and nightmares of war. Not for them the gruelling hardships suffered by LTTE child soldiers. Not for them the deprivations and inhuman harassment meted out to children, unfortunate to come within the tyrannical grip of the LTTE.

On the contrary, the children of Prabhakaran are living in princely and secure climes, enjoying very glittery career prospects. However, Tamil children living in areas frequented by the LTTE may end up in torture cells, as our lead story yesterday disclosed.

Such are the tragic disparities which the LTTE has visited upon the children of the North-East. While sky's the limit for the comfortable and secure children of terrorist leaders, life is a living death for Tamil children living in the shadow of the Tigers' smoking gun.

We wonder what the politicians who have become mouthpieces of the LTTE, feel about all this? Equally, what has the international community got to say about all this? Don't they realise that the Tamil community has been reduced to a state of helpless servitude by the LTTE? If so, something drastic must be done about the LTTE to make it fall in line with the requirements of civilized living.

One could also be glad that the President has broached the issue of equal rights for Tamil children. That is, the need for the rest of the Lankan polity to treat children of the Tamil community in a manner that it wishes its children would be treated and cared for by the country and the authorities. That is, on terms of equality.

Needless to say, discriminatory treatment of communities is the root cause of disgruntlement and rebellion; more so the young and impressionable among these communities. Discriminatory treatment in the provision of educational and other facilities which prove vital in the upward mobility of communities and groups have often been a recipe for conflict and a sense of estrangement among those thus affected.

Accordingly, the provision of equal opportunities in the field of education and other vital areas of life, could help in healing this land and bring it out of the quagmire of conflict it finds itself in.

All this has to do with democratic development. The more we travel along the path of providing equal opportunities among our communities, the more developed would Sri Lanka be in democratic terms.

Bridging the digital gap through cooperate social responsibility

The story of human achievement has been a story of wonder, a story of discovery, a story of imagination but also a story of courage. To try new things, to believe in what we cannot see and to boldly follow wherever the road may take us. Today that road of discovery is a highway of light and speed to connect the larger city to the smallest village across the globe.

GOSHAKA:

The incorruptible and never late Chandrika

Why did not Chandrika ever keep an appointment? Why did she make it a point to get late? She had absolute contempt for the vassals who voted for them and treated them as Praveni Dasa's. Therefore, in order to make her presence felt by them, the vilest scum of the earth, she made it a routine to get late.

Global Scrutiny:

Iran's historic overture to Latin America's Socialist leaders

With Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting Latin America for the second time in four months and making common cause with the region's Left-oriented leaders against the US, the battle lines in the current world order among its chief antagonists could be said to have been further underscored.