Approximately 160,000 deaths have so far been reported in the recent tsunami in the Indian ocean. This total is likely to increase and no estimate can be made at this stage about its after effects both materially and human psychologcy. A few Indians in gulf newspapers have commented that this was not merelyfrom the nature but there is a little part “man made”
Sri Lanka took the lead in establishing in 1990 the Indian Ocean Marine Affairs Cooperation (IOMAC). Kenya, Mauritius, Iran, Bangladesh and South Afria joined the body as members and India, Indonesia and Australia as Observers. Since Pakistan was very active member hence in 1993 it was elected as Chairman of the Body. This body was established for issues like early warning systems, regional cooperation in maritime sectors similar to monitoring center already run by the U.S in the Pacific for the last 50 years and had contributed towrds savings thousands of human lives.
Since Sri Lanka and Pakistan had taken the lead hence it did not suit India the so called biggest democracy. Its attitude towards this body was neative. It maniuplatd and soon with Australia and South Africa set up another Indian Ocean Rim Countries Organisation the purpose of which only was to exclude and keep Pakistan away. It successed temporarily in the initial stage in its design. The other day a marime term expert and an ex high executive of Sri Lankan initiated monitoring organisation in his article commented that India’s’ this manipulation in a term sabotaged the initiative for early warning system in the region which otherwise by now would had been a sold cooperation.