K.M.Ravindran,AIR Special Correspondent, Colombo

The 4th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians concluded in Colombo this week was a major milestone by the very fact that it was being held after a gap of seven long years. Last time it held was in Dhaka in March 1999.

Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha Sardar Charanjit Singh Atwal led a seven member delegation from India that included Members of Parliament - Mr. Mr.Prasanna Acharya, Dr. K. Malaisamy, and Dr. Karan Singh Yadav and the Lok Sabha Secretary General Mr.P.D.T.Achary.

Declaring the conference open, the Sri Lankan President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse urged the SAARC members to build 'structures' that are mutually helpful for taking on the 'numerous economic and social problems' that the region face today. The Sri Lankan leader said that the people of SAARC region 'broadly share a common culture, common values and common way of relating to the world which are deeply rooted in history.' 'We may speak different languages, follow different religions and our appearance may be a little different from one another. But we cannot move away from the fact that the people of SAARC countries look upon our part of the world - South Asia - as a distinct social and cultural entity or region' Mr.Rajapakse observed.

The leader of the Indian delegation, in his opening remarks, said that parliament as the Supreme legislative body has the cardinal duty of ensuring the welfare of the people. Sardar Atwal added that the Parliamentarians' Associations serve to strengthen people-to people contacts and promote mutual understanding and trust among the SAARC members.

India's Deputy Speaker also drew the attention of the delegates to the Right to Information Act passed by the Indian Parliament. 'Once the people have access to information and start questioning activities that are not in consonance with rules and regulations, it will automatically work as a deterrent against negligence and corrupt practices'.

Referring to the social responsibility of the Parliamentarians, Sardar Atwal said that the law makers were well versed with the problems of the people and were better placed to provide inputs to the Government on issues affecting the people. The leader of the India delegation also noted that widespread poverty which continues to mark the SAARC region posed the most formidable challenge. He termed the adoption of the Social Charter by the SAARC an important milestone in the history of the regional grouping.

During the three day deliberations the delegates discussed the role of Parliamentarians in the emerging global scenario. The topics with special focus were 'Parliament and Non-Government Organizations', 'Public Duty and Private Interests of the members' and 'Promotion of inter-Parliamentary Relations among the SAARC Nations'.

The other heads of the delegation at the conference were Mr,W.J.M.Lokubandara, Speaker of Sri Lankan Parliament, Mr.Akhtar Hamid Siddiqui, Deputy Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament; Sardar Muhammad Yaqub, Deputy Speaker of Pakistan Parliament' Mr.Dasho Ugen Dorje, Speaker, Bhutanese Parliament; Mr.Ahmed Zahir, Speaker of Majlis, Maldives; and Mr.Taranath Ranabhat, Speaker of Nepalese Parliament.

Addressing a joint media conference in Sri Lankan capital, the Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament and the Chairman of the conference Mr.W.J.M.Lokubandara said that the conference discussed the ways and means to enhance the cooperation between the legislative bodies of the SAARC nations. He suggested setting up of bilateral Parliamentary Friendship Groups between all the member countries citing that such a forum already exists between India and Sri Lanka.

In his address on the concluding session Sardar Charanjit Singh Atwal said that there is need for the Parliamentarians to devise mechanisms to ensure that public good prevailed over individual interests of the law makers. He observed good governance is not threatened by conflicting political ideologies, but by corrupt practices.

Sardar Atwal added that as the elected representatives of the people the parliamentarians would complement and supplement the political, economic and cultural relations among the SAARC countries. Referring to the Right to Information Act passed by the Indian Parliament last year the Deputy Speaker said that it is a valuable tool to promote transparency and accountability.

The 5th conference is to be held in Pakistan next year.