|
Press Trust of India / Colombo October 28, 2012, 17:35
|
Sri Lanka wants a closer involvement in the monitoring
mechanism of Kudankulam nuclear power plant and will step up diplomatic efforts
to achieve this, a media report said today.
Earlier this month, India and Sri Lanka discussed
issues related to nuclear safety at Kudankulam after concerns were raised here
over the risks faced by the island from the project.
"More diplomatic efforts will be made soon to
enable Sri Lanka to get more involved in the monitoring mechanism at the plant
which has caused serious concerns in both countries," Karunatilleke
Amunugama, Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs was quoted as saying
by the Sunday Times newspaper today.
Amunugama says that officials from the local atomic
energy authority and related experts need to get involved and keep the
government informed.
Sri Lanka maintains that while India has the right to
further its own atomic energy aims, Sri Lanka is equally entitled to pursue its
safety interests.
Amunugama commended the bilateral approach taken by
both countries to address concerns over the project in Tamil Nadu.
On October 12, during a bilateral meeting on nuclear
cooperation, India had assured Sri Lanka on its concerns over the Kudankulam
Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, telling the other side that it was a
state-of-the-art plant that was compliant with the highest safety standards.
Military presence
But
he does not have much company. Most other diaspora Tamils came in after the
war, saw, and flew right back. In the months after the fighting was over, banks
rushed to the Tamil-dominated peninsula to make good on what they believed
would be a post-war boom. The expected revival, though, has yet to happen.
A
recent hike in interest rates, has put a damper on business across Sri Lanka.
Jaffna suffers additionally from a continuing atmosphere of uncertainty. The
province continues to be ruled directly by Colombo, and the presence of nearly
18,000 soldiers, and the authority with which the military — entirely Sinhalese
— conducts itself, add to the uncertainty.
Also,
after years of dislocation and displacement, people neither have the
documentation or the security demanded by banks for advancing loans, for
business or even for house building.
Last
year’s “grease devil” incidents further heightened people’s fears. A number of
women in parts of the country, but more so in Jaffna, reported being attacked
by a grease coated figure. The incidents got attributed to the Army, and
enveloped Jaffna in an atmosphere more reminiscent of the war years.
“So
everyone is waiting and watching. No one is investing,” said C. Jayakumar, president
of the Jaffna Chamber of Commerce.
No industry
The
local economy is made up mainly of retail trading. Agriculture and fishing are
picking up slowly as people return to their homes. In Achuveli, which boasts
Jaffna’s famed fertile red soil, farmers who have regained possession of their
lands from the security forces are growing vegetables and fruits for the local
market. Grapevines are a common, if surprising, sight.
What
is lacking is industry, which means jobs are limited. Before the conflict turned
into a full-fledged war, Jaffna had a state-run cement factory, in
Kankesanthurai. There is no talk of reviving that. A cold storage plant would
have given a boost to fisheries, but there are no plans for one.
The
only job opportunities are in shops or in the small service sector. There is
only one university, which has limited seats. Most students discontinue their
education after their ‘A’-level exams, which makes jobs harder to get. Young
people are not interested in staying. All this makes people suspect it is a
deliberate plan to deplete Jaffna of its population, and “colonise it” with
Sinhalese settlers.
Road projects, with Chinese help
Spiralling
property prices in Jaffna, and the construction activity all over the peninsula
provide a more optimistic picture. Everywhere, people with means – which in
Jaffna means those with relatives abroad who send them money — are repairing
properties that were damaged, abandoned and fell into disuse during the years
of conflict. Malls and other commercial buildings are coming up.
The
thick construction dust over Jaffna, however, is from road construction: armed
with $423.9 m from China’s Exim Bank, the government’s Northern Road
Rehabilitation Project is building 512 km of roads in the Northern Province.
A
large part of the contract was given to the China Railway no. 5 Engineering
Group, which in turn has subcontracted the road works to Sri Lankan companies.
China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation is the other
main contractor, which has sublet works to Sri Lankan firms.
Already,
the A9 highway that connects southern Sri Lanka to the northern peninsula, has
been refurbished. Once known as the “highway of blood” for the deadly battles
over it between the LTTE and the security forces, it now eases the passage of
goods and traders between Colombo and Jaffna.
But
Tamils see roads as a double-edged facility: it eases their travel but also
helps southern Sri Lanka send its goods to the North, while there is not enough
in Jaffna to send to the south. Suspicious Jaffna minds see the new road
network as preparing the Northern province to be more liveable for Sinhalese.
“We
never asked for roads. Development is necessary, but we should be able to
decide for ourselves,” said Mr. Jayakumar, “what kind of development we want.
For that, what we need right now is a political settlement.”
