Lankans think SAARC a meaningless ritual

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will arrive in Colombo for the 15th SAARC Summit on Friday amidst anger and resentment voiced by the people of Sri Lanka.They say the summit of South Asian leaders has nothing to offer them and is a meaningless ritual.The session was initially planned to be held ... ...Kandy. But it was shifted to Colombo, citing security reasons. Each day brings with itself a news of extreme security measures."Half of Colombo would leave before the official SAARC meeting. I was three days before at an area in Colombo where 700 houses were demolished. And these houses were demolished for a very strange argument. Manmohan Singh is staying at a room in Colombo from where he can have a very bad view of Colombo," says Farooq Tariq, leader of the Labour Party in Pakistan.In Colombo, house searches are being conducted and roads have been closed, restricting free movement. Residents see it as an attempt to repress them undemocratically."The biggest problem is that we don't have our own freedom. We can't move around in this country. When this type of SAARC comes, our movement is restricted. Normal day-to-day life is shattered by this unnecessary SAARC which is not meant for Sri Lanka," says one of the Colombo residents.Many have not even heard of SAARC. And those who have think it is not relevant to their lives.A people's SAARC will have to address the urgent issues confronting the region from terrorism to the food and energy crisis.

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