09/01/2005 - The Sunday Island Getting things right Just as much as many things were right, most so the wellspring of domestic and global sympathy, goodwill and unstinted generosity demonstrated in the disaster response, others have admittedly gone wrong. There is no purpose in finger pointing and witch hunting in this context. What is important is to set things right as quickly as possible and ensure that mistakes are not repeated. As for those human vultures who descended on the misery that the tidal wave brought in its wake to tens of thousands of our people and sought personal profit for themselves, only the most severe and deterrent punishment will do and it is the duty of not only the government but every citizen of this country to help ensure that they are properly dealt with. We reported last week that former minister Milinda Moragoda had floated the idea of a government of national reconstruction for a limited period of time so that the energies of the entire spectrum of the political establishment is devoted to alleviating the suffering of the distressed and rebuilding the coastal infrastructure that has been destroyed. The response from his United National Party, to say the least, has been lukewarm. There are reports that the idea is being tossed around in governmental circles too with details including the proportion of office that the various players will be allotted. Whether this is being seriously considered we do not know. It is self-evident that political contention is the last thing the country needs at this point of time. The president did well in inviting all parliamentary parties to join her disaster management task force and the UNP did well in accepting her invitation. The failure here was the LTTE’s refusal, or non-acceptance. The TNA too is sitting on the fence which is unsurprising given the LTTE’s tack. But we have to go into something much broader than a task force though the chance of this coming to pass seems remote at this particular moment. That’s a great pity. ^ Top Although the LTTE has not formally joined the government in the relief and rehabilitation effort, there is evidence that there is a fair degree of cooperation at a local level. There was a picture published yesterday of Northeast Governor Tyronne Fernando shaking hands with the LTTE’s Lawrence Thilagar in Vavuniya where Fernando chaired a meeting on humanitarian assistance to the districts of Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. There have of course been reports of the LTTE hijacking some aid consignments destined for the areas claimed as the Tamil homeland. Fortunately, the concerted efforts by the Tigers to get some of the international VIPs, including most notably UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who is now here, to visit areas they hold appear to have failed. While there was an instance of Italian aid being mistakenly delivered to the LTTE, something which the concerned authorities swiftly took up and sorted out, it is inconceivable that the UNO’s top official would be guilty of a similar faux pas. The Colombo foreign office, handled that particular hot potato rather well with a guarded three paragraph statement acknowledging that some media reports had said Annan would visit some places in cleared and uncleared areas. Saying that his programme is being drawn up in consultation with the UN office here, the ministry noted that except for saying that he would be welcomed at Hambantota by the prime minister none of the places he would visit had been specifically identified. "For programming and security reasons it is not the policy to discuss the specific places the UN Secretary General will be visiting," the statement said. It didn’t say Annan will be going or not going to any rebel-held area. The chances are that he will visit the northeast but will go to some area where both the LTTE and the government are present, many diplomats believe. It is unlikely that he will bestow on the Tigers the kind of recognition that the LTTE would dearly love at this time. If that was likely, the foreign ministry would not have issued the statement it did yesterday. The president has been accused by some of appointing her buddies/cronies/confidantes to some of the key positions in the relief and reconstruction machine. Gaja Mithuro were the Sinhala words used by one critic. That may be the case. But if the president appoints capable people who are loyal to her and have a track record of efficiency to handle vital tasks, she cannot be faulted. However, it is essential that she chooses the best talent available in the country without opting exclusively for loyalists. Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar, in his Jakarta speech last week, claimed a "mature bureaucracy" for Sri Lanka. Whether deliberately or otherwise he did not use words like "capable" and "efficient" to describe the people on whom much of current relief and reconstruction effort must rely. The reality is that over the decades our politicians have ruined the excellent administrative machine the British left us. In that context it is necessary to look outside for some of the people who must be tasked to do some of the vitally important work that must now be done. Ms. Kumaratunga would have done well if she chose at least some of the key people from outside her own fold. ^ Top