Sri Lanka will be a role model for reconciliation - Dr. Jemilah Mahmood

by Ranil Wijayapala

Dr. Jemilah Mahmood founder of the world renowned relief organisation, Malaysian Medical Relief Society or better known as Mercy Malaysia established in 1999 in response to an international crisis in Kosovo, was the keynote speaker at the opening session of the Commonwealth People's Forum held at the Chaaya Tranz hotel in Hikkaduwa.

She spoke on 'The role of civil society in post-2015 development architecture Equitable growth and inclusive development'. Her address was well received and her statement that Sri Lanka must aspire to be a role model to other nations facing post- conflict challenges was welcomed by the media.

She urged international, national and local civil society in Sri Lanka to assure the Government of Sri Lanka, that they were here as partners to help fulfill these commitments, and in equal measure urged the government to embrace civil society as its partners and as a reflecting mirror.

After the address she met the local media and answered questions.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: What do you feel about delivering the keynote address at the People's Forum of the Commonwealth in Sri Lankan at this juncture?

A:I felt honoured. The Commonwealth is represented by a number of countries in this region. I think Sri Lanka were great hosts with space for dialogue for civil society organisations. I am happy to be at this Forum and be the keynote speaker.

Q:How do you see post-conflict development in Sri Lanka and civil society engagement in the post-conflict development process?

A:We cannot allow development to be eroded by conflict and natural disasters. Sri Lanka is uniquely positioned in post- conflict development. We can see plenty of development activities going around Sri Lanka. I welcome President Mahinda Rajapaksa's statement at the opening of the People's Forum in Galle. He said that Sri Lanka is ready to face the challenges of addressing the issues of press freedom, inequality, democracy, gender gap and human rights issues. He also welcomed the participation and partnership of civil society. For me it is about moving forward and I take this as a strong signal that Sri Lanka is serious about moving forward. I hope civil society and become genuine partners not only in terms of engagement but also holding the government to account. I would like to see Sri Lanka emerge as a much stronger nation and also as a role model for countries that are in transition from post-conflict to sustainable development.

Q:You mentioned that Sri Lanka can become a role model for countries emerging from conflict situations, upto now how do you evaluate the Government's solidarity with the Northern and Eastern population in the reconciliation process?

A:Reconciliation is a process and it does not happen overnight. There were problems and there are little groups who disagree and are intolerant with the process. But there are positive movements after the Truth Commission recommending to investigate human rights violations and to other incidents. I think these are positive steps .

It is not for me to judge how Sri Lanka is doing at the moment. I think Sri Lanka is in the process of achieving and attaining this reconciliation . Now the Government is trying to do that. To make it sustainable they have to be transparent to civil society and the process needs a time line to achieve that reconciliation. We have seen successful reconciliation processes in South Africa. I think Sri Lanka would also become a model for reconciliation.

Q:In your address you emphasised the necessity to have South- South dialogue. Can you elaborate on this?

A:I think South to South negotiation is important. My country is Malaysia and Ghana gained independence in the same year. Malaysia achieved all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) recently.

It is important to think how we can learn from each other to achieve these MDGs. Malaysia can share its experience with other countries and show how to face challenges and how to overcome these challenges in achieving these MDGs . Similarly Sri Lanka is a good example in the SAARC region. It is important to see what Africa and Asia can learn from each other, what countries in the Middle East and Asia or from South Asia can learn from each other . I think there is rich experience and knowledge in the global south.

Challenges are actually the global south and its citizen organisations are highly resourced as Northern organisations . They don't have enough funds to establish more international organisations. We have technology and opportunity to speak to each other on skype and through the web. We can be more innovative to improve South South partnership.

Q:You said Sri Lanka can become a role model for countries from post- conflict development. But the rest of the world and specially the western world doesn't think so. They always have this negative mindset and even the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillai has said that Sri Lanka has to do a lot in the process of reconciliation. What is your opinion?

A:Yes Sri Lanka has to do a lot for reconciliation . For me the important thing is you need to reflect what is being said by the international community and then to communicate and be transparent in what you are going to do in moving forward. I don't want to be in a position to criticise without allowing Sri Lanka to work. Firstly it has to be constructive criticism and I don't believe in isolation.

If you have a child and if he makes a huge mistake you don't isolate the child. You sit down with the child and talk to the child and try to see what problems he is facing. Similarly as a citizen of the world we see fellow citizens and fellow nations having these challenges. I think, we need to engage more rather than isolating them. I throw the challenge back to the Government of Sri Lanka. I hope the statement made by the President will be a turning point. Taking this as a start citizens and civil society should form real partnership to address reconciliation.

Q:How do you asses the relationship between the Government and Civil Society Organisations in this part of the world?

A:I think in this country civil society is emerging and I think civil society must take what the President said as a starting point. We have well- returned documents that were distributed among members of civil society that we can use and engage the government as a tool for accountability and to have dialogue. We have seen that commitment throughout.

Q:You keep saying that Sri Lanka can be a role model for post-conflict development for countries emerging from conflicts. In your personnel opinion what kind of requirement should Sri Lanka fulfill to become the role model that you are talking of?

A:First of all there are international instruments that are available such as the Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodical Review Sri Lanka can make use of.

The Truth Commission has to be independent and be credible to give advise and to share the outcome of those findings. I think the road map has to be firmly in place. The road map has been developed by the Sri Lankan government with other stake holders including civil society.

I hope Sri Lanka cane become a role model and I really have great expectations for this country because President Rajapaksa is sincere in achieving reconciliation and sustainable peace. He said there can be no sustainable development without sustainable peace in the country.

So for a start I would like to call on the Government to look at the issues that are fragmenting society today. There is tension between communities in Sri Lanka. We should not allow it to escalate. We need to nip it in the bud. Any disagreement, intolerance and conflict has to be addressed fast and should not be tolerated by the Government.