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Will Jayalalitha rock the boat? Through all her secret missives and open threats, the AIADMK general secretary, Ms Jayalalitha wants to get across a very simple message to the Bharatiya Janata Party - only one of the two governments, either the BJP-headed coalition at the Centre or the DMK Government in Tamil Nadu, will be allowed to continue. The BJP is however free to decide which of them it wants. In the last three months of the existence of the Vajpayee coalition at the Centre or the DMK Government in Tamil Nadu, will be allowed to continue. The BJP is however free to decide which of them it wants. In the last three months of the existence of the Vajpayee coalition government, in which the AIADMK is a partner, Ms Jayalalitha has got only vague assurances on her demand for the dismissal of the DMK Government. When the BJP leaders were specific, they were talking of the hurdles in the way; the Supreme Court order in the Bommai case, an uncompromising President in Mr. K. R. Narayan and the difficulty in obtaining the approval of Parliament. But the AIADMK would like the BJP to get over the hurdles and not cite them as reasons for inaction. Indeed, senior AIADMK leaders view the "hurdles theory" as an excuse, a tactic to buy time. There is growing realisation that the BJP is keen on protecting its own image than obliging the AIADMK and that it would not dismiss the DMK Government except in its own interest. Ms Jayalalitha no longer trusts the BJP; she thinks she would have to force the hand of the Vajpayee Government. Thus, the current confrontationist approach. In the run-upto the last Lok Sabha elections when she had been fighting with her back to the wall. Ms Jayalalitha showed an uncanny ability to make friends of enemies: Dr. Subramanian Swamy of the Janata Party, Mr. V. Gopalasamy of the MDMK, Dr. S. Ramadoss of the PMK and Mr. Ramamurthy of TRC all one-time bitter critics, turned around and lined up behind her against the DMK-Tamil Manila Congress alliance. But now when she is in a position to pull the strings in New Delhi, the AIADMK leader is making enemies of friends. Though the BJP is bending over backwards to accommodate Ms Jayalalitha, nothing less than the dismissal of the DMK Government would do for her. "All those who are not with me are against me", seems to be the operating principle of her one point programme of ousting the DMK from power. Not surprisingly then the BJP is earning her wrath. The allies of the AIADMK believe that the DMK Government ought to go but they have difficulty in endorsing Ms Jayalalitha's methods to put pressure on the ruling coalition at the Centre. The MDMK, especially, feels alienated by her aggressive postures. Only Dr. Swamy, who was left out of the Cabinet formation by the BJP is whole-heartedly backing the pressure tactics of the AIADMK. But Ms Jayalalitha has her compulsions. Not the least of them are the corruption cases filed against her by the DMK government. While to others she might appear to be in an unseemly haste to return to power, politically Ms Jayalalitha cannot afford to wait. Conviction in the cases, if at all it comes about, is quite a distance away, but there is the risk of political damage even during the trial process. Besides there are court orders attaching her properties which in the words of AIADMK seniors, affects her "day-to-day life." After having touched a high in the last Lok Sabha elections, Ms Jayalalitha thinks that elections to the State Assembly would favour her party. Political expediency required an immediate dismissal of the DMK Government, against which all the argumentative skills and persuasive powers of the BJP leaders come to naught. While the BJP is vulnerable to AIADMK pressure, there are limits to which it might allow itself to be pushed. This is because the AIADMK does not have an alternative plan of action: if it cuts itself off from the BJP what next? In the absence of an Opposition group waiting to form a government if the BJP-headed coalition falls, the bargaining powers of Ms Jayalalitha have their limit and the AIADMK is a aware of that. And unfortunately for the party, the BJP too knows that. A non-BJP Government will need the support of the United Front constituents, and the AIADMK will find it more difficult than now to push through the dismissal agenda. By withdrawing support it will be as big a loser as the BJP. All the same, the budget session of Parliament is providing ample opportunities to the AIADMK to put pressure on the BJP. Ms Jayalalitha feels this is the right time to get the DMK Government dismissed as the ruling coalition is surviving on a day-to-day basis. Some of her allies have cautioned her against hitting the BJP when it is down, but Ms Jayalalitha senses a "now-or-never" scenario. The reasoning is: if the BJP does not crawl (it is ready to bend, but that is not enough) at this juncture, then it never will. Another factor in the AIADMK's calculations is the possibility of the BJP given time, piecing together a majority without the AIADMK front. Stepping up of pressure during the budget session is intended to preclude just that possibility. Already, there are warning signals that the BJP and the DMK are warming up to each other. From the start, the AIADMK was uncomfortable with the Vajpayee-Karunanidhi personal equation. The Advani-Jayalalitha equation did little to upset that. Apart from the goodwill of the Prime Minister, Mr. Vajpayee, in which the DMK puts a lot of faith, there is another insurance for the ruling party in Tamil Nadu against its dismissal: the number of friends the Chief Minister, Mr. Karunanidhi, has among the other pro-BJP parties: Mr. Chandrababu Naidu of the TDP and Mr. S. S. Barnala of the Akali Dal are but two of them. In the AIADMK's pressure game, walkouts from Parliament are only the beginning. Withdrawal from the Government as a precursor to withdrawal of support to the Government could be the next stage. But a decision on opting out of the Central Ministry was deferred as such as a course of action could burn all the bridges with the BJP. Moreover, withdrawal from the Government would considerably undermine the secondary but 'hidden' agenda of the AIADMK: to extricate Ms Jayalalitha to the extent possible from the cases handled by the Central investigating agencies. If the AIADMK pushes the BJP too far too soon, it would certainly come to a point of no return. But again, it could not just spar for long without attempting a knock-out blow or two. As of now, Ms Jayalalitha is willing to strike and would; but she is afraid to kill. Suresh Nambath APEC still eyes liberalisation despite Asia crisis KUCHING, Malaysia, June 18 (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific ministers will press ahead with efforts to free up trade at a meeting in Malaysia next week despite an economic crisis that has rocked Asia, delegates said on Wednesday. Trade ministers from the 18-nation Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meet in Kuching city on Borneo island on June 22-23 in their final run-up to the annual APEC summit, set for mid-November in Kuala Lumpur. Senior officials will lay the groundwork for the trade ministers at a two-day session starting on Thursday. The ministers are expected to draw up a plan for accelerated liberalisation in nine sectors and reach an agreement on electronic commerce, officials said. "There is satisfactory progress at the initial officials meeting. The focus is on EVSL," an official from the APEC secretariat in Singapore told Reuters. "There seems to be some pullback by Asian countries, like Indonesia, which are badly affected by the economic crisis, but the sentiment on the whole is for liberalisation," he said. At last year's summit in Vancouver, APEC leaders agreed that member economies would set targets and deadlines for accelerated liberalisation in nine sectors by this June. The nine sectors due for "early voluntary sectoral liberalisation", or EVSL, are environmental goods and services, fish and fish products, forest products, medical equipment and instruments, telecommunications mutual recognition agreement, energy, toys, gems and jewellery and chemicals. "The economic crisis is an issue, but it is unlikely to overshadow the liberalisation process. But at the moment, only preparatory work is going on. The decision will be with the ministers," said an Australian delegate. The year-long regional crisis has thrown many fast-growing Asian economies into a tailspin, pushing down stock prices, undercutting currency values and eroding firms' profits. Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea, all members of APEC, had to seek multi-billion dollar rescue packages from the International Monetary Fund. Many Asian economies are expected to contract this year. Foreign investors, whose funds helped transform the nations into "tiger economies", are showing no desire to return in any significant way after fleeing last year. Earlier this month, APEC telecommunications ministers endorsed a mutual recognition agreement, which officials said set the stage for liberalisation in other sectors. The telecommunications ministers urged that priority be given to developing Internet-based electronic commerce to promote trade and investment among APEC economies. "We are quite hopeful that something concrete will happen on e-commerce," said an official from a Southeast Asian country. She said officials were focusing on easing barriers to electronic commerce among APEC members and developing a framework and standards. She did not give details. The APEC senior officials are expected to prepare a draft which would then be forwarded to the ministers. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Peru, Vietnam and Russia, which are scheduled to join APEC at the November summit in Kuala Lumpur, are participating in the ministerial meeting as observers. Capital punishment —
another view Aryadasa Ratnasinghe has presented a critical study of capital punishment in The Island of March 21. Discussing the ill effects of murder he says, "It usually does some injury or harm to others as well e.g. to the wife or the husband and children or the kith and kin of the deceased... Homicide is a serious crime which not only violates the law of the land but also customs and social values that have existed from remote antiquity. Modern society looks upon homicide as a challenge to humanity, how should it be handled, controlled or prevented". In the same breath he says, "Criminologists and sociologists concur in their view that capital punishment is not a remedy to prevent murder since the person who commits such an offence does so, in most cases, as have been established, under grave provocation and unconcerned of future happenings. That is why even with the imposition of capital punishment murders exist as homicide prevails". If it is admitted that murder is a serious crime that violates the law of the land, customs and social values" it logically follows that a solution to the problem has to be found and soon. But unfortunately this does not happen and criminologists and sociologists seem to take the easy path of merely pointing to the purported inefficacy of the death penalty without bothering to suggest an alternative. This is the attitude of all those who oppose capital punishment as a deterrent against planned murder. Nobody denies that certain murders are committed under sudden grave provocation. In such cases the murderer would use a knife, a club or an agricultural implement that happens to be with him or close at hand. In such instances it is not difficult to understand the circumstances under which the offence is committed and the offender deserves to be given a light punishment for "culpable homicide not amounting to murder". But do all murders, some of them mass murders that wipe out whole families, a number of families of relatives including infants or a whole neighbourhood using the most lethal weapons, grenades etc. and chopping the victims beyond recognition, severing the head from the trunk and displaying the two parts in two places, driving five inch nails into the head or the ears, inserting barbed wire through the anus, burning the eyes and even private parts with cigarette butts, pouring acetic acid down the throat, killing young girls, some of them not more than five to six years of age, after raping, fall within this category? Certainly not. They are very well planned murders that deserve no clemency whatsoever. It is true that a person who commits murder under grave provocation has no time to think of the consequences. But the murderer who plans his fell deed is well aware of the consequences that would follow if he is caught and yet commits the offence. Why? Because he is also well aware that, even if the murder charge is proved, he will have to serve only a life sentence — 20 years-which is often reduced to less than ten years. Not only that, he will also thoroughly enjoy prison life with liquor, tobacco drugs, if necessary, and whatever else he wants and come home having probably learnt a trade very often only to commit more murders. With regard to AR's admission that murder sometimes does some injury or harm to others etc. take the case of a young wife with children whose husband, the sole breadwinner, is murdered. Failing to find any other means of subsistence she might turn out to be a prostitute while the children might turn out to be beggars/ petty thieves who, as time goes on, will become hardened criminals for such children become easy prey of drug peddlars and underworld criminals. This way one murder can lead to a string of crimes and social problems. This goes to prove the need for very deterrent punishment for murder and an action plan to solve the resultant problems. It is the bounden duty of the state to ensure that the victim's family does not become destitute and a burden on society, or to compel the offender to pay compensation to the victim's family. Those who claim that the death penalty is not a deterrent against murder and developed countries have, therefore, abolished it discreetly refrain from mentioning other countries where very severe punishments — sometimes degrading as some would say — are imposed for crimes such as murder and rape and the fact that in them the crime rate is very low. Even with the best of roads and the most stringent traffic rules there will still be road accidents and no country with the best health plans can avoid death by disease and epidemics. Similarly, whatever the form of punishment, all forms of crime cannot be wiped out completely. What is needed is to reduce the crime rate to the barest minimum and to make the would be criminal realise that there is severe punishment awaiting him if he is found guilty of a crime. It is necessary, therefore, to distinguish between murder under grave provocation and planned murder like the ones at Elpitiya and Weeraketiya two of the most gruesome murders of recent times not to mention others and those that took place during the height of JVP activity not long ago, and impose the death penalty for planned murder. A close study of the murders that are being committed today would show that more than 90 per cent are pre-planned murders committed with utter disregard for the sanctity of life, the law of the land, and customs and social values, that such murders are on the increase and if not checked will have the most disastrous effects on the whole society and Sri Lanka will soon earn another first putting Chicago to shame. No amount of sermonising and modern psychological approaches can reduce the incidence of murder. All these methods have failed and the only hope lies in very severe punishment. Parliament has already approved with one voice the re-implementation of the death penalty because the people's representatives have realised the gravity of the situation and are interested in checking the evil trend. Meting out suitable punishment for any wrong is not tit for tat but an essential feature in any civilised, decent organisation or society. Ours being a predominantly Buddhist country should not stand in the way of punishing a wrong doer. Unless the capital punishment is re-implemented nobody, — nobody at all is safe in this Dharmadveepa and the large silent majority who yearn for peace and respect the sanctity of life demand that very severe punishment be meted out for planned murder as well as rape and other similar offences. The government must, therefore, immediately re-implement the death penalty as suggested or take effective alternative steps, if any, to stop the killing spree. Harassment and exploitation of
women widely prevalent Harassment of women is on the increase. Inadequacy of publicity by organisations dealing with women's affairs is a major obstacle faced by harassed women. The activities of the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MWA) and information of affiliated institutions island wide are unknown to those in need of advice and guidance. The concept of karmic effects, fear of unseen problems by being exposed, the docile character and humility, push women to cushion the effects of harassment by relegating themselves to suffer in silence. This state of affairs should surely be taken as a challenge by the M.W.A. Sri Lanka has enough and more laws in the statute book to meet women's problems that we can think of. The most cumbersome link in the process is to push the starter button to activate the law enforcement authorities in a given situation, as almost, all legal procedures can only be originated by complaints. The party aggrieved has to complain to some authority. In most cases a complaint has to be lodged in the police, regardless of the choice of the aggrieved party. This exposure or the act of having to linger around public offices is the biggest obstacle that makes the aggrieved party to think of it as something that adds insult to injury. It is the last thing a person of the local community would resort to. This whole system must be made simple and more practicable to serve all those, who stand and wait. This should be the challenge that confronts the N.G.O. and the M.W.A., dedicated to protect the hands that rock the cradles. The phenomenon of nature and the behavioural pattern of the animal kingdom consolidates this argument. It is the weak and the easily frightened, that falls victim to the strong. So how can the MWA think that the women are an exception, though, the rate of literacy for women stands at about 87.9 percent compared with 92.5 percent for men? Can the Ministry presume that women should come out with their tales of woe for the simple reason that they have infiltrated into every sphere of human activity from household affairs to that of the first citizen? Whatever it may be, the position of women other than those of the elite class, still remains the same, as in the bygone feudal society. The feudal system forced the women to attend to domestic needs and child care. The only salvation they could think of was their elevation to be grand-mothers or mother-in-laws, who commanded better family status on account of maturity. In that set-up the clergy in the village kept the men and women under their guidance, directing the laity to live harmoniously, while the village headmen or the chieftains kept them alive to the leagal system of the land. This pattern of feudal system has faded away with the birth of the modern society that benefits only the elite class of women. The others though they have infiltrated into diverse spheres of human activity are still vulnerable to harassment. Change of society, free education and clamour for equal employment opportunities have, in fact added more hardships to a considerable percentage of women. In addition to the earlier concept, that women should look after the homes, children and the male partners, they have now to act as bread-winners too. Those, who are more harassed and exploited can be traced to the middle class society. The M.W.A. should endeavour to rescue these unfortunate victims of society, without waiting for complaints to act on. The recent proposal of the ministry to create more places in the political arena can only be seen as an excuse to make room for the elite class and not those, who suffer in silence paying the penalty for being born as women of middle and the lower middle class families. I suggest that the WAM collaborate with other ministries and departments to formulate a more practical procedure with a view to: 1. Eliminate the need for complaints from those being harassed, as a basis to initiate action. 2. Change the image of the film industry, where the women are shown either as divine creations for the pleasure of men or as recipients of the wrath of men. 3. Change the theme of songs that arouse sex impulses of men by highlighting only the sex appeal for women. 4. Keep vigilance on women victims by organising social workers to visit households frequently. 5. Promote regular talk shows. 6. Promote regular meetings in places of religious worship, where men and women are constantly reminded of the values of harmonious living. 7. Create a better awareness of good virtues and harmonious living among children. Children may serve as mirrors to get a closer look at their families. 8. Promote religious sermons that find direct answers to family matters rather than deliberations on philosophical thesis. |
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