Tidal waves devastate Asian coast

Like everyone else in the region we remain in deep shock at the extent of the devastation and join in the mourning for the lives lost and ruined. The tragic sweep of the havoc that has hit seven Asian countries including Bangladesh leaves us almost speechless with horror and sorrow and we would like to extend our heart-felt sympathy and deepest solidarity with the thousands upon thousands who have lost loved ones and seen their lives shattered.

The event has spurred an international relief effort which must be intensified and coordinated so that the harm is minimised. No expense should be spared by the international community to counter this truly international tragedy -- and if we all join hands then we can achieve far more by way of relief than if each affected nation operated independently.

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The catastrophe reminds us once again of how helpless we are in the face of the power and fury of nature and should prompt a renewed call to re-examine the equation between nature and humankind. Events such as these teach us clearly that we can no longer afford to ignore the forces of nature and should serve as a wake-up call to us to rebalance our relationship with our environment. It is abundantly clear that the potential hazards of geological phenomena and the question of how best to minimise such hazards must be brought to centre stage of the global discourse.

On a purely pragmatic level, it is noted that there are early warning systems to provide advance notice of tectonic activity in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans but that no such system exists for the Indian Ocean. This must be rectified immediately. Indeed, not only an early earning system, the clear necessity now is for a collective approach in the region to safeguard against such depredation in the future and to have in place systems to minimise the damage caused by natural forces that are unavoidable.