Editorial - May the rule of law prevail in the days to come

Year 2013 dawns amidst loud and sparkling fireworks, bringing with it many aspirations and expectations as the New Year usually does. There is commonness in the wishes that are exchanged back and forth; there is a hope for happiness and good health. There is also a wish for prosperity- an aspiration that needs to be achieved not only individually but also as a nation.

A New Year is a time one makes resolutions to do things right and learn from the past mistakes. Looking back at the departing 2012, as a country, there may be a few positives we can take on in the New Year; yet there are many issues that were left unattended ; many predicaments that were not remedied and many questions that were left unanswered.



Going into the fourth year in the post war Sri Lanka, the government’s priorities should be shifted to sustainable development that directly benefits its people and give them the opportunity to taste freedom of all sorts ensured in the Constitution. The policy-makers, before implementing mega-million development projects that hardly help the general public, need to take stock from the failed poverty alleviation strategies and shift their focus on methods that are more feasible. In fact, the rulers should realize that they ought to treat people with dignity and use public money wisely. The loopholes where people resort to bribery and corruption should be barricaded; be it a high head in the government or a principal in a rural school, actions of such nature should be publically condemned and the errant persons should be brought to the book.

The state also has the responsibility to provide maximum protection to the ordinary citizenry who cannot afford to travel with an entourage of security personnel as a privileged minority seems to be doing. With the spiralling crime rate, the unarmed ordinary man seems to be more at a risk than those that go in bulletproof vehicles.

While the state responsibility being thus, there are also many obligations lay in the hands of its people. It should be people’s call to demand justice when injustice prevails and safeguard democracy. It ought to be them who should stand against the dangers that pose the natural eco-systems Sri Lanka has been boasting about. It should be their ultimate call to voice out displeasure when the regime errs.
Peace came at the expense of many lives that belonged to all the communities.  Hence, without waiting for the rulers to make things rosy, it should be people who unite and stand as one, without leaving any space for extremists to fan the flames. After all, one should remember the horrors of war to cherish and live in peace.

We wish our readers a year devoid of natural disasters, drastic price hikes in consumer goods and test paper leaks; one that is full of carnivals that all of them can afford to attend!