|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 21 September 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
People want nothing but peace by Farah Macan Markar Today is World Peace Day. After 18 years of bloodshed and 64,000 deaths, the country is at a crucial stage in its efforts to restore lasting peace. An entire generation has grown into adulthood without knowing for certain what peace is? The United Nations has declared September 21 as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and peoples to honour a ceasefire of hostilities for the duration of a day. That is in the context of global unrest. But what of Sri Lanka? How does the average person perceive peace? We asked a cross section of people about the need for peace and how it could be achieved. This is what they had to say... Suganthy Edirmannasinghe (Project Officer-Centre For Performing Arts): "Peace needs to be built upon. Everyone wants peace, but people have not committed themselves totally to it. It is only if we all get together and work towards peace in our country, could it last. The people want peace, but the politicians think of power and, when you think of power, there is no room for peace. Peace becomes endangered. I feel individually everyone is good, but when they get into politics, they break the peace to pieces". Tyrell Cooray (Sri Lanka representative for 'Hope for Children'): "We all want peace, there is no doubt about it. It is our fervent hope that the stalled peace talks will be resumed and we will have ever lasting peace in the country". Jason Leanage (Bond) (Programmes Manager Sun FM) - "I think the present peace talks is the best way to proceed. Other countries, like the Middle East, are following our example. You can't get anything by fighting. Compromise is essential. What's happening today, should have been done long ago. We need to build our nation towards peace somehow. Peace is the only solution. We have to make it last". Sunil Dissanayake (Head of Human Resources-SriLankan Airlines): "I feel the 'peace' we have now in the country is still not permanent. It will become "Lasting" peace once both parties have arrived at a negotiated agreement. To arrive at a successful negotiated agreement, it is extremely necessary for the two major political parties to come together and decide on a common strategy. Otherwise there will never be an implementable agreement". Preeti Almeida (Public Relations Manager-Taj Samudra): "Peace initiatives are good and have helped the country as a whole. The tourist industry, which I work in, has especially improved. The present peace situation needs to continue however, for only then, can the country develop. It is with peace that foreign investments will come and, we can go back to the development process we should have started 40 years ago". Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne (Director-Eco Product Development-Jetwing Hotels Ltd): "It is about time, the country got out of the rut it is in. Peace means, both, the North and the South, will see economic growth. The Northern peninsula is important as its wetlands are hosts to migrant birds in the season. There is also a strong possibility for marine mammal watching. Thus with peace there is a lot of potential for eco tourism. It is essential however, not to destroy the mangrove eco system by opening it for prawn farming, for this will heavily affect the fishery industry. With peace, it is essential, that the mangroves should not be destroyed for short-term commercial gains". Chevaan Daniel (Newscaster): "With the damage already done, peace is not an option anymore. It is imperative that we have peace. Peace should not be just talked of superficially, for without peace, people will lose jobs, lose lives, and have no food. It is important to shed our differences, respect one another and compromise. Even at the negotiating table, the two parties should give up their big demands and negotiate for the people, not for other reasons. My father is a Tamil. My mother a Sinhalese. Thus I am a son of the soil, so to speak. Coming from a joint union of the two, I feel it is ridiculous for 20 million people in a little island, to be fighting each other over racial issues when there is so much of coffee to be smelt". Geoffrey Fernando (Singer): "It's a good thing that we are finally making the correct decisions, in having peace. Our country is a beautiful island, which a lot of people don't value. With so much of natural resources, it is vital to get rid of corruption, and have peace. This could be the last opportunity to make this country one of the best in Asia. If we do not, we'd be falling into ***". Otara Chandiram (Businesswoman-Odel): "So far the situation in the country has been good. There's an improvement in business. Foreign tourists have increased. I like to think positively about things, so I hope this peace will last. Everything we do should be done on the assumption that things will go well, because only then, they will even have the chance of doing so". Jerome de Silva (Actor/Director - The Workshop Players): "I go to Jaffna every 3rd weekend to do drama workshops. I work with young people, 16 years and above, especially students from the Jaffna University. For them, this temporary peace is freedom. They do not know what peace is. The present situation, for them, is a freedom, not from war, but from slavery. The war, to them was a system they were enslaved. They don't want to go back to slavery. They want their freedom to last. Another problem in Jaffna is that the rehabilitation is not happening. Various people displaced by war, have come back, only to find, their lands occupied by the army or fisherfolk. They cannot get their lands back and, this property problem, could endanger peace. Something should be done about this soon, for otherwise, there might be a war again". Jagath Weerasinghe (Artist/Archaeologist): "During this period, I feel it is important for the government to take with it, more emotions than statistics. Statistics are important, but emotions, should be dealt with on the political level as well. This peace is important, and I think everyone has taken the benefits of it. I myself have been to Jaffna. The Tamils too are free to move about. Peace is abstract, undefinable. You only know what it is when it is broken". Dr. Sali Ovitigala: "At the moment things seem to be going well, at least officially. Everyone thinks things are okay, but any moment things can go from bad to worse. You cannot rely on this peace". Nurse Wijeysinghe: "If peace comes it will be good, But I cannot see it coming. I have a lot of doubt regarding peace. There is still a lot of unrest in the country. Just look at the amount of strikes taking place. There is too much of problems in the country". Kosala Suresh (Year 13 student - D.S.Senanayake College): "I've read about the peace, and I like it. But it is important to have a meaningful peace. Everyone talks about peace, but no one really knows what they are talking about. I feel the government is not telling us everything. We are Sri Lankans, and there should be just one Sri Lanka". Kusuma Kumarihami (Teacher - Ananda Balika Vidyalaya): "Peace means having the freedom to live, and it is important to make this peace permanent. We should value and protect this peace for the future generation. Even if we come from different races, it is important for us to respect each other and live together unitedly". L. H. Julisen (Three-wheeler driver): "Both sides should get together for peace to really last. Those days it would be scary to go on the roads for fear of bombs. Even now, that fear still lingers. It is difficult to believe things have changed. Anything can happen, any moment". Police personnel: "I've been there in the North for the last ten years. You cannot fight a war. Too much of suffering. Too many lives lost. There can never be a true victory in war. Peace is victory. Peace is what we need. Whether the peace lasts, remains to be seen". Air Force personnel: Peace is better for the country than any war. There are less deaths. Peace to me means the end of the war, and for people to live in freedom and joy". Navy personnel: "I think everyone is optimistic that the peace should be long lasting. War does not achieve anything, and everyone suffers. However, the professional level of the soldiers, should not be allowed to go down. Standards should be maintained. Everyone wants peace, especially the soldiers. Peace is a must, for otherwise, we are in a war atmosphere, which has no freedom". Army personnel: "The Prime Minister is working very hard towards achieving longlasting peace. The peace, however, is fragile, and could be broken in a second. The fact that we are even having a temporary peace like this for so long is like a miracle. There has been much less war deaths, and lives saved. You cannot ever win a war. If we can make this temporary peace situation last, it will be a big thing. This is probably the only thing we can do. The only peace we can have or know". Call to still the guns - Kofi Annan Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan has invited all nations and peoples to honour a cessation of hostilities to mark the International Day of Peace, declared by the United Nations today, September 21. The UN Secretary-General in his International Day of Peace message has stated: The Day of Peace is meant to still the guns for some very practical reasons, so that humanitarian assistance can be delivered more easily, civilians can gain safe passage away from besieged areas, so that crops can be planted or shelter erected, free from the threat of instant destruction, so that refugees and displaced persons can have at least some respite from the hostilities that have routed from their homes". The message adds: "The challenge is to ensure that the rules, instruments and institutions are in place to deal with all threats not according to some hierarchy of 'first order and second order' issues but as a linked set of global, cross border challenges that affect and should concern all people. The divisions of the past year have raised doubts about the adequacy and effectiveness of those rules and tools." |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
