Steps aimed at reaping peace dividend :

AG briefs European Commissioner

Attorney General Mohan Pieris who is now in Brussels for the Sri Lanka EU GSP+ dialogue briefed European Commissioner for International Cooperation Dr. Kristalina Georgiva, that with Sri Lanka now well on the way to sustainable recovery, the Government and the people were increasingly focusing on reaping the peace dividend, while endeavouring to restore justice to further strengthen national unity.

The Government delegation met the European Commissioner on Friday.

The Attorney General was joined in the discussion by Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera, External Affairs Secretary Romesh Jayasinghe and Lanka’s envoy to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Ariyasinghe.

During the discussion the Attorney General said that in this regard several steps had been taken within less than one year since the termination of the conflict.

Foremost among them is the reviewing of the regime of emergency regulations, through considerably amending and even repealing some of them, on the basis of the clear improvement in the security environment.

Another important measure is the establishment of the Commission on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation, which comprises eight Sri Lankan personalities selected for their eminence, while being representative of the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural character of Sri Lanka.

Finance Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera recalled that when he had earlier visited Brussels in September 2009 accompanying the then Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa who serves as the Chairman of the Presidential Task for Resettlement, Development and Security in the Northern Province, the number of IDPs stood at over 250,000.

Basil Rajapaksa has pledged sustained and rapid action and the results of this endeavour had today translated to over 200,000 having been resettled with less than 30,000 residing on a continuous basis in the transit facilities. He said that a team of European Commission officials who had recently visited Sri Lanka had also confirmed the significant improvements being made on the ground.