Thoughts from London

Failing to look beyond the Norse
What do you know! Our conservationists have discovered 35 new species of frogs. While we have no intention to belittle the conservationists who doubtless know their fauna and flora, searching, tabulating and keeping them from being destroyed by rapacious adventurists, I wish that they had extended their search.

True, our rain forests, or what’s left of them, provide a haven for frogs and frog spotters, both local and foreign. Still, had our conservationists taken the trouble to look outside their accustomed habitat and gone beyond the forests into the political jungle that is infested with predators as feline as tigers, they would surely have been able to account for far more than 35 new species.

Out there in the political jungle there are frogs of many different hues-green, blue, red, yellow and some of indeterminate colour. And there is a whole lot of croaking going on. Some croak more than others, some croak to the same tune and some others are a raucous lot that don’t like their leader who croaks to foreign tunes. Others are leap-frogging fellow frogs to get close to the leader and sing from the same score.

Our conservationists might find Diyawanne Oya a good starting place. Spies report that much croaking has been heard of late from its environs. Now that is a sign of the increasing presence of certain amphibious varieties that make an awful noise, usually when one is about to settle down to a bottle and buth curry.

But, according to an informant whose knowledge of fauna, of course, is limited to a certain feathered variety by the name of Flora, the croaking around Diyawanne Oya has been heard more in the daytime than at night.
True, biologists and conservationists would know more about the habits of frogs and their life cycle from tadpole to adult and I would be the last to dispute that.

But I am reliably informed by those who are sociologically-inclined that no self-respecting frog would croak before sunset, unless it is dismally-rainy weather as we are experiencing here just now.

So this din must be put down to some other phenomenon. Right now the only explanation that comes to mind is this thing so indecorously called P-Toms and critics say should read P on Toms.

Whoever thought of P-Toms as an acronym for a document that took months to negotiate and with far-reaching political consequences deserves a special award for the infelicitous use of language.

The other day at a birthday bash for that veteran journalist Derek Ingram celebrating his 80 years, I was asked by a British media type “How is your Peeping-Toms going.” Naturally I took umbrage. These days when everybody and their domestics leaking intimate secrets and being sued for invasion of privacy these days, I thought I was being accused of reproachable, tabloid-style conduct.

Minutes later I discovered that it had nothing to do with me but that blessed document which he claimed laughingly was “fathered on you chaps by the Norwegians.” So it seems even outsiders are exercising their larynx, saying how the Sri Lankans were sold down the river by the Vikings and their abettors in the donor community.

No wonder there is so much croaking going on day and night. Some are croaking in support of the P-Toms while others are already hoarse having denounced it. It is time to make up the balance sheet. They who croak most croak loudest.

Conservationists have also missed out on the foreign species that have infiltrated into our midst and are singing their own tune.
So much so that the foreign ministry is urging donor nations to croak in welcome of the P-Toms.

If we have to ask foreigners to beat the toms- toms on our behalf without letting them to it on their own, it does seem very much like another puerile attempt to drum up support at home, based on a hangover from colonial times. If the White Man says it is good, why, it has to be good. And you must accept it is good, never mind your reservations.

That logic might be good enough for those who slaved for the whites or profited from them in various ways. Those who know how they profited might well shout one day from the rooftops. But then it will be from their rooftops, not from residences received for services rendered.

People are not misled by such contrived accolades, as the Africans are not by the G8, the rich industrialised countries attempts here this week to “make poverty history” with a few token gestures.

How is it that the Norwegians and the donor community that are so eager to bring democracy, pluralism and rule of law to the world are conveniently silent when it comes to those who croak in the Wanni?

The 35 new species of frogs discovered indicates that pluralism, however simple exists even in the primeval jungles. But in the jungles of the Wanni everybody must croak together when the big frogs say so. If you don’t croak together, they croak you, if some slang might be permitted.
Yet the western guardians of democracy, those who went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of democracy killing thousands of innocent people, seem to have taken a vow of silence over the lack of democratic choice in the Wanni.

India, it seems, has not been hoodwinked by the P-Toms to judge by news reports of New Delhi’s reaction indicating clearly that it stood for political pluralism in the north and east.

Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar reportedly said in a recent article that if Norway is unable to plead the cause of democracy, the right of dissent and promote human rights in areas controlled by the Tigers, it should step aside and let others perform that task.

Unfortunately these brave words come far too late when our political leaders have allowed themselves to be led blindly by the Norse.
Last month the Asian Tribune carried a story that Norwegian diplomats smuggled Tiger leader Prabhakaran out of the country by seaplane to the Maldives from where he was flown to Oslo.

If that story is true then Norway has violated not only international law by violating Sri Lanka’s air space, taking a citizen of Sri Lanka out of the country bypassing immigration controls violating local laws and also violating the Vienna Convention on diplomatic conduct.

Up to the time of writing I have not seen a contradiction of this story by the Norwegian embassy in Colombo or the many Norwegian politicians and diplomats who fly in and out of Colombo. Recently Norwegian deputy foreign minister Vidar Helgesen was in Colombo to sell his explosive package.

Yet not one person in authority in Oslo has denied this story which said that Prabhakaran was dressed as a Catholic priest. I don’t know what the Catholic church thinks of such behaviour by the Lutherans, but those who have been agitating for an anti-conversion law might find such instant conversion grist to their mill, particular the one that grinds slowly.

Since Foreign Minister Kadirgamar seems to be rather agitated over Norway’s lack of enthusiasm in some areas of political endeavour, perhaps he could ask the Norwegian ambassador or his counterpart in Oslo about the veracity of this story instead of trying to push donor countries to sing their song of praise on P-Toms.

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