Ceylon Today Editorial

Athletes caught in ugly crossfire of empty words

15 October 2016

Plenty of crossfire was seen between senior athletes and authorities in charge at the National Sports Festival recently, over an incident coming out of that meet held in Jaffna. The matter over spilt later and became a national issue, quite unnecessarily. The question arose regarding the confirmation of the 800-metre record set by Nimali Liyanarachchi at the meet and leading officials intervening in the matter explained how these hand timed records are ratified internationally.

There still does not seem to be any final agreement between the two sections on the matter. The fact that all records are meant to be broken is a rule clearly understood by those athletes who set records. This probably has been a longstanding reality and may have existed since sports began.

Not satisfied with the explanations of experts or the above longstanding agreement, Susanthika Jayasinghe decided to open up the debate and a can of worms with it, at national level by going public over a national TV channel giving a one-sided view on the matter. In these modern times that have been evolving through our lifetimes and before so many records have got into the record books only temporarily. In this impermanency we live in there cannot be records that will remain forever.

But that is not the argument carried by our Olympic silver medal winner known as the black mare of Asia. She was supposedly going around the bush talking utter nonsense that is not fit for a consultant to the President of the country. The meet was held on the rules of the IAAF, and the IAAF recognizes hand timing as against electronic timing for events that are known as middle distance running and several countries even in places like Australia, New Zealand and England. But Susanthika was ranting over the non- acceptance of another record set in a jumping event asking about the fairness of it.

For someone who has been around, it would not be acceptable to display their ignorance, putting forth such arguments when much more is expected of them who have been hailed internationally. This very same person was on the same boat at one time when things were not all that rosy and people yet stood by her pleased by her achievements.

The record breaking run by Nimali Liyanarachchi who comes from a similar background to those opposing her today, ran the race on a grass track and it was not the perfect place to run as the ground was full of pot holes and other obstacles.

And even the hand timing did not indicate the real timing, because compared to electronics hand timing is not as quick. Had it been electronic timing she would have done much better with her timing, say experts.

It would have been much more graceful for these two senior athletes, both of whom have represented their country and gone through ups and downs during their careers, to have been more sensitive and instead cheered the achievements of another like them. Not do what they did talking against an achiever who still has more to place before the country. This was what was expected from the seniors by the public. It may also have been the expectations of the minister who was graceful enough to appoint her a consultant in his ministry.

Susanthika is a person who was speaking of putting up an academy for athletes and with this kind of temperament how she would achieve is questionable. The purpose of her tantrums over the trivial issue is even more complicated and needs further explaining. Otherwise we will simply have to assume that the whole episode was one of simply expressing their unhappiness over another Sri Lankan up and coming performer achieving records. Records are what entice them to go further with their performances that could eclipse performances of these seniors who could then become bygones.

It is a sad thing that such behaviour would be coming from those trusted to guide juniors into being better performers using their experiences gained from performing for the country in the past. But instead what we see is simply backstabbing those who need guidance by these seniors; very inappropriate indeed.

Daily News Editorial

Food for thought

15 October 2016

Did you know that there are nearly 800 million people around the world who do not have enough to eat? That means one in nine people do not get enough food to be healthy and lead an active life. Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to health worldwide — greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.

At the same time, the global population is growing steadily and is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. Agricultural production must rise by about 60% by 2050 in order to feed a larger population. Will there be enough food to feed all these mouths, given that agricultural land will not increase in extent? This is a major challenge faced by a world that is also undergoing vast changes due to climate change, which in turn has a direct bearing on agriculture.

In fact, one of the biggest issues related to climate change is food security. The world’s poorest - many of whom are farmers and fisher folk - are being hit hardest by higher temperatures and an increasing frequency in weather-related disasters. We have seen these adverse effects here in Sri Lanka.

To meet such a heavy demand, agriculture and food systems will need to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change and become more resilient, productive and sustainable. This is the only way that we will be able to face the food security challenge.

This will be at the heart of World Food Day 2016 celebrations tomorrow (October 16) under the theme “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too.” The day marks the creation of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) on October 16, 1945, in Quebec, Canada. This year, the day takes on added significance as it will be observed, just before the next UN Climate Change Conference, COP 22, from November 7-18 in Marrakech, Morocco.

Growing food in a sustainable way means adopting practices that produce more with less in the same area of land and use natural resources wisely. It also means reducing food losses before the retail stage through a number of initiatives including better harvesting, storage, packing, transport, infrastructure, market mechanisms, as well as institutional and legal frameworks. Incredibly, more than one third of the food produced in the world (around 1.3 billion tons) is wasted annually in the post-harvest period – food that can feed at least some of the 800 million people who do not have enough to eat. Moreover, by 2050, catches of main fish species are expected to decline by up to 40% which will aggravate the hunger problem.

At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, 193 countries including Sri Lanka pledged to end hunger in the next 15 years. However, this goal cannot be met without addressing climate change.

There are a few steps we can take to tackle climate change without waiting for governments to act. The livestock industry is one of the biggest contributors to climate change and besides, eating meat is one of the least efficient ways of getting protein and other nutrients. And the immense suffering undergone by animals even before their slaughter makes it a morally wrong choice as well.

Indeed, one of the actions FAO suggests in tackling climate change is eating at least one plant-based meal a week. Conscious consumers follow the Three Rs of eating: “reducing” or “replacing” consumption of animal products and “refining” diets by choosing products from sources that adhere to higher animal welfare standards if meat consumption cannot be avoided. Research on artificial meat is already at an advanced stage – there is hope in the future for meatless meat which can satisfy even the most avid meat lovers out there.

There is another way in which we can help – by sourcing our food locally except in cases where no local products are available. Today, we eat foods that have been produced on the other side of the world even when local alternatives are available. Just imagine the environmental effect of transporting food halfway around the world. On the other hand, if everyone buys food locally, it will help the local farmers and traders too. All those who have a plot of land, must try to grow at least one food item. It will not only help world food production even in a very small way, but also the wallet.

Governments and research institutions must experiment on crop varieties that are more resilient to drastic changes in climate. Thinking outside the box is also vital when it comes to agricultural production. Concepts such as vertical farming (farming on high-rise buildings) and hydroponics, a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions in water, without soil are already well established. Researchers have also achieved success with 3-D printed food which will probably be commonplace a decade from now. Ending hunger by 2030 is s huge challenge but it is not insurmountable if the entire world gets together.

The Island Editorial

Will the govt. fall?

15 October 2016

 

The political marriage between the UNP and the SLFP is on the rocks. It is popularly said in this country that even the shadow of a doomed marriage is crooked. A few moons ago, it almost broke up owing to a dispute over the appointment of the Central Bank Governor, but the two parties had to sink their differences thanks to the intervention of several influential architects of the present regime. However, this time around, the situation has taken a turn for the worse with not-so-surreptitious efforts being made to undermine President Maithripala Sirisena’s position in the government as never before; not to be outdone he has struck back, publicly lashing out at the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), the controversial Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The JVP lost no time in doing what was expected of Sirikotha, the UNP headquarters; it called upon President Sirisena to elaborate on his statement that the aforesaid institutions must not work according to a political agenda. The Rathu Sahodarayas are now demanding to know whose political agenda the President has referred to. Some civil society outfits which threw in their lot with Sirisena in the presidential race last year have also taken exception to his swipe at the institutions probing the government’s political enemies. Before asking the President for a clarification or finding fault with him they ought to tell the public whether they think the outfits at issue are devoid of political agendas. If so, will they explain why no action has been taken against the UNP ministers, some of whom have even refused to appear before those institutions in spite of being summoned ?

The CIABOC and the CID worked according to the agenda of the Rajapaksa government for ten years and since the change of government in early 2015, they have been toeing the line of the present regime. The less said about the FCID of recent origin the better! Hitler may be long dead but the Gestapo tradition lives on!

The Rajapaksa government was corrupt to the core; most of its leaders abused power and were on the wrong side of the law with impunity. All of them must be probed and brought to justice if credible evidence can be found to arraign them on charges of corruption etc. But, the manner in which the present government has been interfering with police and judicial investigations has allowed the rogues of the previous regime to pretend to be victims of a political witch hunt and gain public sympathy.

The incumbent leaders have made a mockery of their commitment to good governance by being selective in bringing rogues to justice and shielding their favourites. Nobody has been arrested for the Central Bank bond heist, as it were, which has cost the state coffers billions of rupees, but several Opposition politicians have been and remanded indefinitely for abusing one or two state vehicles each.

Some Joint Opposition (JO) activists are cock-a-hoop about the trouble in the government camp. It was only the other day that former Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told the media that the JO would release a list of shame consisting of the ‘Top Ten corrupt members’ of the government. (Look who is talking!) The best way to catch a thief is to set a thief and, therefore, the JO has a vital role to play in exposing the corrupt within the government ranks. Similarly, let the JO be urged to prepare a list of the Top Ten corrupt persons in the previous government. The public has a right to know what may be called T-20 in corruption.

Will the JO’s dream of the ruling coalition disintegrating come true? Hope springs eternal, but the warring factions of the government will be compelled to stick together while fighting mainly because it will be MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) for them to part company vis-à-vis relentless efforts the JO is making to stage a comeback. They cannot survive separately. Their administration is like a blind man carrying a cripple on his back on a begging round. Moreover, they know the boot will be on the other foot if they lose power and the FCID will turn against them overnight with some courts remaining open till midnight to remand them. The international players who backed the 2015 regime change want the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration to continue so that they can further their geo-political interests.

Whether they like it or not, the UNP and the SLFP will have to cohabit like the proverbial cobra and mongoose, caught up in a flood, cooperating to maintain the balance of the log they cling on to for survival. So, all signs are that the-blind-man-and-the-cripple circus is likely to last longer than the JO leaders, salivating at the thought of savouring power again, may think.