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Governments meet to finalise international tobacco treaty
Government officials from around the world meet in Geneva between October 14-25 to negotiate an international tobacco treaty: the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).

This will be one of the final rounds of negotiation before the treaty is adopted in May 2003, according to a statement from the IOGT Regional Council for South and South East Asia.

The council is a member of the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), a coalition of more than 180 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and networks from over 80 countries, which is acting to "counter the influence of the tobacco industry in the negotiations, and ensure that a strong treaty is adopted which places public health ahead of the interests of the tobacco industry."

The current draft treaty includes provisions on important issues such as smuggling, packaging and labelling, advertising and health over trade. According to Olcott Gunasekera, Regional Secretary of the IOGT Regional Council for South and South East Asia, "a weak or poorly drafted treaty will be used by the tobacco industry to fight sensible tobacco policies. Currently, the draft treaty has a number of weaknesses that would benefit the tobacco industry, not public health."

He said the majority of countries negotiating the FCTC want to put health before trade, yet there are a few countries who wish to subordinate health to commercial interests. "If special rules can be drawn up for other hazardous products, such as small arms and ozone-depleting chemicals, why not tobacco?" asked Gunasekera.

He said the illegal cigarette trade not only deprives governments of over $25 billion annually, it also supports money-laundering, the narcotics trade and organised crime.

Four million people die around the world every year due to tobacco-related illnesses, and the numbers are rising. There is an urgent need for trans-national rules and regulations to govern the consumption and spread of tobacco products, the statement said.

Sri Lanka is represented by Dr. H. Athula Kahandaliyanage, Director General of Health Services who has been a pioneer in supporting a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. At all the previous International Negotiating Body meetings and the Inter- Sessional Meetings, Sri Lanka has been advocating a strong Framework Convention and should be commended for their stance, the statement added.

Letter
International airport expansion - an alternative
Due to confusion created by the statements made by various authorities about the proposed expansion to the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake, there was a massive protest demonstration objecting to the project. Some of these statements have been made in the light of the gazette announcing the acquisition of large extents of land stretching from the existing airport to as far as Galkanda Junction in Negombo. About 40,000 inhabitants might be displaced and resettled in Anamaduwa, a distant undeveloped area.

Strangely, the parliamentarians of the area say they are unaware of this expansion plan and are therefore unable to answer any queries. The authorities have threatened to shut down the airport if this expansion plan is not allowed to proceed, and build a new airport in Kalutara or Avissawella, which they say will cause unemployment in Negombo.

Do they endorse scrapping the Free Trade Zone as well, because it is tied up with the airport? The present airport and FTZ represent about 40 years of development efforts. It simply does not make sense for the authorities to shut down these vital economic projects without understanding the serious consequences involved. The International Air Transport Association has pointed out the need for Sri Lanka to have a second runway.

My alternative proposal is to move the expansion in the direction of Seeduwa, a less developed and less congested area. Here, the new runway could be about two kilometres away from the existing runway and parallel to it. The FTZ will be sandwiched between the two runways and access to it could be through a sub way. These arrangements have to be decided only after proper ground surveys. The displaced people could be resettled in the Muthurajawela swamp after it is filled up.
E. Carlo Fernando
Negombo

SLT commissions Jaffna project
The project "Hope", which was launched last February by Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) intending to develop the dilapidated telecommunication network in Jaffna was recently commissioned in the presence of Minister of Mass Communication Imthiaz Bakeer Markar and T. Maheshwaran, Minister of Hindu Affairs.

"Sri Lanka Telecom is not just providing telecommunications. We understand our duties and responsibilities with a much broader vision. We help bring people and cultures together in this island," SLT chairman Thilanga Sumathipala said referring to project Hope.

The initial plan of Project Hope which was to provide 4,000 new telephone lines in Jaffna peninsula has now been expanded to 5,300. Out of these lines Jaffna will have 3,600 while Point Pedro would have 1,700.

Phase I is planned for installation of telephone exchanges in Jaffna and Point Pedro. The Point Pedro telephone exchange was opened in June this year while Jaffna was opened very recently.

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