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Getting off on the right note

True to her word, President Kumaratunga has launched consultations with the country's political parties on the Government's efforts to resolve the ethnic conflict, beginning with the opposition and UNF leader, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The President pledged to sound out all shades of political opinion on the peace effort with the aim of making the negotiatory process transparent, and she is doing just that.

There is no escaping the fact that a broad consensus needs to be formed in particularly Southern Sri Lanka, on how the peace effort should be proceeded with and President Kumaratunga couldn't have done better than by launching consultations initially with the Opposition Leader.

At this juncture, lessons from the UNF's stalled peace exercise need to be borne in mind. In this broken endeavour, the UNF administration failed to consult all relevant stakeholders while proceeding with the peace effort. Not even the President was taken into their confidence.

Consequently, the UNF-initiated negotiatory effort lacked transparency and was cloaked in secrecy. Small wonder, the peace process ran aground. When a broad consultation process is not launched on the peace drive, it tends to rouse suspicion and doubt among the people.

Besides, when legitimate stakeholders are left out of the project, it begins to court criticism - both well-intentioned and otherwise. It is these factors that stymied the then peace effort.

However, by seeking early consultations on the Government's approach to peace, among all relevant parties, the President is steering the peace effort away from the pitfalls of the past.

It is our earnest, wish, however, that the peace process wouldn't be dogged by the narrow political considerations of the past. As Northern opinion would put it, major Southern political parties have been playing "pandu" with the ethnic problem.

Political bankruptcy among some parties has been so great that they have been exploiting ethnic divisions to build their support bases. This happened even in the year 2000 when the PA-initiated draft constitution of that year was put to the torch in Parliament by some rampaging, UNP politicians.

We hope that this time round, statesmanship and not political brinkmanship would prevail. Political opportunism on the ethnic conflict could be made to prevail only at the cost of the country's future.

We call on all parties to the conflict to put country before narrow interest and to participate constructively in the peace effort.

In fact, those with doubts and reservations on issues could approach the National Advisory Council for Peace and Reconciliation, for the purpose of airing their views. This is an accommodative mechanism which would take their opinions into consideration. The need wouldn't arise for unruly dissent.

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The new elixir

"A Cup of Urine a day keeps ailments at bay." At least this is what a Thai academic says, based on a study carried out on a group of local people who engage in the unorthodox practise.

Followers claim it is derived from ancient manuscripts which proclaim that drinking urine improves health. They vouched that taking urine cured them of sinus trouble, premature greying and even cancer while enhancing their looks.

R. Cheepudomwit of the Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine Development Department says hundreds of urine drinkers attested that consuming a daily cup worked wonders for their health and helped slow the ageing process.

One would recall a former Indian Prime Minister who admitted taking Urine and who lived upto a century. In Sri Lanka, one often hears of urine being used as an anti-venom for snake bites.

Many are the accounts which have appeared in publications hailing the virtues of urine as an elixir. Be that as it may, one wonders if there would be many fans of this drink. A dose of one's liquid waste would be too much of a penance just for the chance of staying young - that is if one could drink it at all.

But who would not cherish perennial youth ? A long suffering youth wallowing in misery through unrequited love now does not have to look far. All he needs is a daily cup of this new wonder-drink. That will make him a Romeo with dames coming-a-running if the Thai experience is true.

The whole idea, repugnant to most, would no doubt have its advocates. Desperate situations call for desperate remedies, one would argue. After all, who does not covet youth and beauty - whatever the cost.

Haven't we all heard of the famous "Wadakaha " episode in the 40's where during a solar eclipse our dusky lasses, taking the advice of some local quack consumed the Wadakaha tuber - to be fairest among them all - only to be seized by diarrhoea which inspired the celebrated baila hit "Wadakaha Sudiya."

The urine therapy also speaks of diarrhoea as a side effect but who cares if the end justifies the means. Diarrhoea in any case is a normal affliction. Imagine the dilemma of an ageing playboy yearning for the hand of a pretty teenage lass. To drink or not to drink 'it' will be his predicament.

What if the practise catches on ? Will it cause a revolution in therapeutic medicine ? What is to stop urine tablets flooding the market in the near future so that one would not have to drink the stuff. In whatever form, it ought to give them a good fizz.

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