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Making a reality of G-20 theme

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India has selected the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) as the theme for the G-20 for next year, the year of India’s presidency of this important group of nations which accounts for 85 per cent of the world’s GDP, 75 per cent of trade and 66 per cent of its population. Without any doubt, this is a very noble theme, particularly when seen in the context of the most serious problems the world faces today.

By BHARAT DOGRA 

India has selected the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam) as the theme for the G-20 for next year, the year of India’s presidency of this important group of nations which accounts for 85 per cent of the world’s GDP, 75 per cent of trade and 66 per cent of its population. Without any doubt, this is a very noble theme, particularly when seen in the context of the most serious problems the world faces today.

The concept of one earth has been most often discussed in the context of the very serious environmental crisis. While climate change has become the most debated issue, more so now due to COP 27, the reality is that there are about a dozen or so closely interrelated environmental problems that have the potential to endanger the life-nurturing conditions of our planet.

These come with tipping points in the sense that if unchecked, some of these can spiral out of control. This is a question of only a very a few decades now, so time is really running out. In this context the concept of one earth informs and reminds us that there is only one planet that is inhabited by people of all nations, ethnicities, and faiths; we all will be endangered badly if its life-nurturing capacity begins to be disrupted. It is thus the common responsibility of all people to take urgent steps to avert such a catastrophic situation.

However, those who are most responsible for creating this dangerous situation, and who co-incidentally is the richest today in terms of resources, must share the most responsibility and must contribute the most for this. This would be a justice-based approach to resolving the most urgent problems. This brings us to another important aspect of the noble theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ – that of justice and equality. Integral to this theme is the idea that all people of this planet are equal and must be treated as equals.

They all must be able to meet their basic needs in conditions of dignity and there must be no discrimination on the basis of faith, race, class, caste, colour, nation, region, gender, etc. Unfortunately, the real world is very far from this reality and in some contexts, the situation is even worsening. Economic inequality is very high at various levels, internationally and nationally.

Discrimination on the basis of various social identities still remains high and sometimes takes new, more subtle but nevertheless serious forms. About one-third of the world’s people are unable to meet their basic needs, and this number is much higher in places where the environmental crisis and conflicts are more acute, with millions on the verge of starvation. Conflict and war are in fact the biggest threat to the concept of One Earth.The worst and most dangerous aspect of this threat relates to the accumulation of highly dangerous weapons, including weapons of mass destruction (nuclear weapons and others) whose existing stocks can destroy most life forms several times over.

This year the threat of the use of these WMDs has increased compared to previous years due to the rapid escalation of tensions between the USA and Russia over the Ukraine conflict, creating a very dangerous situation for the safety of humankind and other life forms on earth as these two powers have 90 per cent of all existing atomic weapons in the world.

In addition, there is the possibility of a nuclear conflict between other countries as well. There are many ongoing conflicts in the world that have caused enormous destruction and have led to the aggravation of mass hunger already being caused by disasters like prolonged droughts and highly destructive floods.

Clearly, these conflicts as well as the most serious threat of nuclear weapons conflict constitute the biggest challenge to any noble efforts which seek to guide the world on the theme of ‘one earth, one family, one future.’ This theme should above all emphasise the urgency of world peace with its most crucial manifestation being the search for a future without wars and without the most dangerous weapons (elimination of WMDs).It is in the context of these serious problems that the selection of this theme for the year of India’s presidency of G-20 should be welcomed. At the very least, this theme will continue to remind the eminent representatives of G-20 countries and regions of the most important real challenges and responsibilities our deeply troubled world faces at this critical juncture of its history.

However, it is important to go beyond such a minimal role of this theme. In fact, this theme can be the focal point around which several important initiatives relating to environment protection, equality, and justice, peace, and disarmament can be initiated by G-20 in the near future. This more active pursuit of the noble theme of ‘one earth, one family, one future’ is what will be looked forward to with more hope in the coming days.

(The Statesman/ANN)



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Opinion

HW Cave saw Nanu Oya – Nuwara rail track as “exquisite”

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Plans to resurrect the Nanu Oya – Nuwara Eliya rail track are welcome. The magnificent views from the train have been described by H W Cave in his book The Ceylon Government Railway (1910):

‘The pass by which Nuwara Eliya is reached is one of the most exquisite things in Ceylon. In traversing its length, the line makes a further ascent of one thousand feet in six miles. The curves and windings necessary to accomplish this are the most intricate on the whole railway and frequently have a radius of only eighty feet. On the right side of the deep mountain gorge we ascend amongst the tea bushes of the Edinburgh estate, and at length emerge upon a road, which the line shares with the cart traffic for about a mile. In the depths of the defile flows the Nanuoya river, foaming amongst huge boulders of rock that have descended from the sides of the mountains, and bordered by tree ferns, innumerable and brilliant trees of the primeval forest which clothe the face of the heights. In this land of no seasons their stages of growth are denoted by the varying tints of scarlet, gold, crimson, sallow green, and most strikingly of all, a rich claret colour, the chief glory of the Keena tree’.

However, as in colonial times, the railway should be available for both tourists and locals so that splendid vista can be enjoyed by all.

Dr R P Fernando
Epsom,
UK

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LG polls, what a waste of money!

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If the people of this country were asked whether they want elections to the local government, majority of them would say no! How many years have elapsed since the local councils became defunct? And did not the country function without these councils that were labelled as ‘white elephants’?

If the present government’s wish is to do the will of the people, they should reconsider having local government elections. This way the government will not only save a considerable amount of money on holding elections, but also save even a greater amount by not having to maintain these local councils, which have become a bane on the country’s economy.

One would hope that the country will be able to get rid of these local councils and revert back to the days of having competent Government Agents and a team of dedicated government officials been tasked with the responsibility of attending to the needs of the people in those areas.

M. Joseph A. Nihal Perera

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What not to do

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Trump and Zelensky arguing in the White House

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

It is immaterial whether you like him or not but one thing is crystal clear; Donald Trump has shown, very clearly, who is the boss. Surely, presidents of two countries are equal; perhaps, that is the impression Volodymyr Zelensky had when he went to the White House to meet Trump but the hard reality, otherwise, would have dawned on him with his inglorious exit! True, the behaviour of President Trump and VP Vance were hardly praiseworthy but Zelensky did what exactly he should not do. Afterall, he was on a begging mission and beggars cannot be choosers! He behaved like professional beggars in Colombo who throw money back when you give a small amount!!

Despite the risk of belonging to the minority, perhaps of non-Americans, I must say that I quite like Trump and admire him as a straight-talking politician. He keeps to his words; however atrocious they sound! Unfortunately, most critics overlook the fact that what Trump is doing is exactly what he pledged during his election campaign and that the American voters elected him decisively. When he lost to Biden, all political commentators wrote him off, more so because of his refusal to admit defeat and non-condemnation of his supporters who rioted. When he announced his intention to contest, it only evoked pundits’ laughter as they concluded that the Republican Party would never nominate him. Undaunted, Trump got the party to rally round him and won a non-consecutive second term; a feat achieved only once before, by Grover Cleveland around the end of the nineteenth century. His victory, against all predictions, was more decisive as he got more collegiate votes and, even though it does not matter, won the popular vote too which he did not get when he got elected the first term. Even his bitterest critics should accept this fact.

Zelensky was elected the president of Ukraine after the elected pro-Soviet president was deposed by a ‘peoples revolution’ engineered by the EU with the support of USA. After this, the EU attempted to bring Ukraine to NATO, disregarding the Munich agreement which precipitated the Russian invasion. He should have realised that, if not for the air-defence system which Trump authorised for Ukraine during his first term, Russian invasion would have been complete. It may well be that he was not aware as when this happened Zelensky may still have been the comedian acting the part of the president! Very likely, Trump was referring to this when he accused Zelensky of being ungrateful.

Zelensky also should have remembered that he disregarded requests from Trump, after his defeat by Biden, to implicate Biden’s son in some shady deals in Ukraine and that one of the last acts of Biden was to pardon his son and grant immunity to cover the alleged period. Perhaps, actions of the European leaders who embrace him every time they see him, as a long-lost brother, and invitations to address their parliaments has induced an element of the superiority complex in Zelensky that he behaved so combative.

Trump wanted to be the mediator to stop the war and spoke to Putin first. Instead of waiting for Trump to speak to him, egged on by EU leaders Zelensky started criticising Trump for not involving him in the talks. His remark “He should be on our side” demonstrated clearly that Zelensky had not understood the role of a mediator. His lack of political experience was the major reason for the fiasco in the White House and the subsequent actions of Trump clearly showed Zelensky where he stands! PM Starmer and President Macron seem to have given some sensible advice and he seems to be eating humble pie. In the process Trump has ensured that the European nations pay for their defence than piggy-backing on the US, which I am sure would please the American voter. By the way, though Macron talks big about defence France spends less than 2% of GDP. Trump seems vindicated. Of course, Trump could be blamed for being undiplomatic but he can afford to be as he has the upper hand!

Ranil on Al Jazeera

Zelensky has shown what not to do: instead of being diplomatic being aggressive when you need favours! Meanwhile, Ranil has shown what not to do when it comes to TV interviews. God only knows who advised him, and why, for him to go ‘Head to Head’ with Mehdi Hasan on Al-Jazeera. Perhaps, he wanted to broadcast to the world that he was the saviour of Sri Lanka! The experienced politician he is, one would have expected Ranil to realise that he would be questioned about his role in making Sri Lanka bankrupt as well, in addition to raising other issues.

The interview itself was far from head to head; more likely heads to head! It turned out to be an inquisition by Tiger supporters and the only person who spoke sense being Niraj Deva, who demonstrated his maturity by being involved in British and EU politics. The worst was the compere who seems keen to listen his own voice, reminding me of a Sinhala interviewer on a YouTube channel whose interviews I have stopped watching!

Ranil claims, after the interview was broadcast, that it had been heavily edited reduced from a two-hour recording. Surely, despite whatever reason he agreed to, he should have laid ground rules. He could have insisted on unedited broadcast or his approval before broadcast, if it was edited. It was very naïve of Ranil to have walked in to a trap for no gain. Though his performance was not as bad as widely reported, he should have been more composed at the beginning as he turned out to be later. Overall, he gave another opportunity for the Tiger rump and its supporters to bash Sri Lanka, unfortunately.

Medhi Hasan should watch some of David Frost interviews, especially the one with Richard Nixon, and learn how to elicit crucial information in a gentle exploratory manner than shouting with repeated interruptions. He does not seem to think it is necessary to give time for the interviewee to respond to his questions. I will never watch Al-Jazeera’s “Head to Head” again!

Ranil’s best was his parting shot; when asked by Hasan whether he would contest the next presidential election, he said “No, I will retire and watch Al-Jazeera and hope to see you better mannered”!

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