Sri Lanka has proved terrorism could be defeated - Israeli Deputy Chief of Mission

By Ananth Palakidmar

Eli Belotsercovsky, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Israel in New Delhi was on a visit to Sri Lanka recently. He toured Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambulla, Sigiriya and Nuwara Eliya on his motorcycle on a four-day trip. " The landscape and the people were pleasant and beautiful. There is peace everywhere. Sri Lanka has proved to the world that terrorism could be defeated", he said in an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer. her are excerpts of the interview.

Q: How do you see the relationship between Sri Lanka and Israel?

A: Well,now that there is peace in Sri Lanka we have designed an ambitious agenda. Israel is a `mini agricultural super power' in the world. So we have worked out plans to help Sri Lanka in its agricultural sector. Israel has offered job opportunities for Sri Lankans in the agricultural sector. Our agricultural expert visited Sri Lanka and had discussions with the relevant officials on enhancing the links between the two countries in the agricultural sector. We believe Sri Lanka has provided skilled workers and they could also share the techniques and skills from Israel.

The first batch of 300 Sri Lankan agricultural workers will get jobs in the farms in Israel. The Lankan work force in the agricultural sector is clever, intelligent and hard working. Therefore, the Israeli farmers will be delighted to employ them in their farms.

Israel looks forward to improve its links with Sri Lanka in the tourism sector. A large number of Israelis has shown their interest in visiting Sri Lanka. So I believe in time to come Israel tourists to Sri Lanka will increase significantly.

Q: You have now visited Sri Lanka where there is a peaceful atmosphere. What is your personal opinion about the country's current situation?

A: Sri Lanka struggled hard to bring an end to terrorism and finally reached its target in wiping out terrorism completely. This is remarkable.

This time I made a tour of my own enjoying the beauty of this country. I set off from Colombo a motorcycle and toured the country for four days. First I went to Negombo, then from there I reached Anuradhapura. From there I travelled to Dambulla and Polonnaruwa. My motorcycle riding continued via several areas of hill country before I reached Nuwara Eliya.

I need not speak about the serene and scenic beauty of this beautiful country. Every nook and corner in this island is picture perfect.

When I embarked on the motorbicycle ride all alone,my security officer cautioned me about my security. But I never came across any problem and it was a beautiful and a pleasant experience. People whom I had interacted were friendly, helpful and attentive. So I really enjoyed my ride.

Q: Israel stood by Sri Lanka during its turbulent days. What is your comment on how Sri Lanka defeated terrorism?

A: It is bit difficult to make a comparison on the menace of terrorism faced by Israel and Sri Lanka . Each situation has its own characteristics.

However the Sri Lankan Government has proved to the entire world that the war against terrorism can be won. For Israel, it is very encouraging. We feel that terrorism should not be tolerated. There has to be zero tolerance over terrorism. We can have political negotiations. But we cannot hold negotiations with terrorists. So Sri Lankan Government managed to conquer terrorism. Now we believe a political solution will also follow the military victory.

Q: Sri Lanka launched its post-war rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes soon after terrorism was defeated. What is your observation on the post-war humanitarian activities?

A: We understand that the Lankan Government is taking measures to solve the problems of the internally displaced persons. We could see the vast majority of those internally displaced persons have been already resettled. We expect the remaining IDPs would also be resettled in near future.

The Lankan government is using all its resources to solve the problems of the displaced persons. Obviously in an operation of such a scale different kinds of problems will emerge. We know how difficult the operation of this nature was. We have the confidence that the Sri Lankan government will overcome this problem successfully.

Q: It has been estimated that a work-force of around five thousand Lankans are currently in Israel. What is your assessment on the abilities of the Lankan workers in Israel and could you guarantee their job security!

A: Most of the Lankan workers in Israel are mainly domestic aides. They take care of the elderly and the sick. So far there are no complaints against the Lankan domestic aides. They have become part of the families where they have been employed. What we have understood is that the Lankan workers are very sincere and professional people. So in Israel the people are very happy with the Lankan workers.

As far as the job security is concerned unlike in other Middle Eastern countries the situation in Israel is different. In our country the labour laws are same for the local workers and for workers from foreign countries.

As long as a person from a foreign country is employed legally in Israel he or she is entitled to whatever the benefits the Israeli workers enjoy themself. A worker cannot be just removed. If he is removed he is entitled to compensation from his employer. The number of working hours is limited to eight hours a day. If a worker goes beyond it, he is entitled to overtime.

The minimum wage in Israel for any worker is one thousand US dollars. The foreign workers employed in Israel are very happy. We have not received any complaints so far.

Each and every Sri Lankan worker has direct access to the Lankan embassy in Tel Aviv.

Q: What are the areas Israel anticipates to improve relations in the economic sector in Sri Lanka?

A: Well, we look forward to broaden our mutual relations. In June this year there was a delegation of Israeli businessmen to Sri Lanka. It was organised by the Israel embassy and the Chamber of Commerce in Israel. Now we are planning to arrange a similar delegation from Sri Lanka to Israel. In several sectors we feel there is potential.

One of the sectors is the Information Technology. Other sectors could be medical equipment and software development. So there are several other areas where we could look into.

The other prime sector is tourism. From my own experience I know Sri Lanka is a very beautiful country.

Forty thousand tourists from Israel visit India every year. So a substantial part of these Israeli tourists could also visit Sri Lanka and enjoy what it could offer.

The people in Israel always look forward to new destinations. Therefore, promoting tourism between Sri Lanka and Israel won't be a difficult job. Now there is no danger of war in Sri Lanka. So there is room for more and more tourists from Israel to visit Sri Lanka.

Similarly we also want to promote Israel as a good destination for Lankan tourists. Israel is a holy land the birth place of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the Christian pilgrims from Sri Lanka could visit there. We also have very interesting geographical features such as Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on earth and it is also known for its medicinal values.

Tel Aviv is a lively city.It is known as the city without a break! There are several locations where the Lankan tourists can enjoy themselves and we invite the Lankans to visit Israel.

Q: Does Israel have any plans to assist Sri Lanka in its post-war humanitarian programmes?

A: Israel is situated far away from Sri Lanka. However, we are ready to help Sri Lanka in whatever way we could in the post-war development programmes.

When Sri Lanka was affected by the tsunami Israel played its role in helping Sri Lanka. We provided the ambulance service and trained the medics in assisting the tsunami victims.

Q: What is your comment on Israel's foreign relations with the countries in South Asia and in Asia at large?

A: Although Israel is traditionally close to Europe and the United State of America the country is now focusing more on Asia. The growing importance of Asia is very much felt globally. Many people believe that the future lies in Asia.

For instance out of the five Government universities in Israel, three have faculties for Chinese and Indian studies. These faculties cover the greatest civilizations in Asia. We have study courses on Japanese language. So the faculties on Indian and Chinese studies are the fastest growing faculties in Israel. More and more students are enrolling in these faculties to learn more about the civilizations in Asia.

With India, we maintain good relations. The trading activities between India and Israel have been estimated at around 5 billion US dollars.

We are negotiating on a free trade agreement with India. We don't consider South Asia is an easy-going region. According to several sources the prime terrorist organisations are located in Asia.

Apart from this we feel the Asian region has plenty of potential in various spheres. We also consider Sri Lanka is a prime destination in the region.

Q: How do you describe the latest peace initiative between Israel and Palestine?

A: One must realise that in Israel there is an 18% Muslim population. This 18% enjoy all privileges. They have their educational system, cultural autonomy, and Sharia courts funded by the Government of Israel. So it's wrong to say that Israel is an anti Muslim country.

We have issues with Palestinians and we are ready to negotiate with them and settle those issues. But our problem is with the extremists among the Palestinians. They are not ready to discuss matters with us. They have an agenda aimed at destroying Israel. Outfits such as Hamas and Hisbulla are pure terrorist organisations.

They do not recognise the right of Israel to exist. So it is pointless to negotiate with such extremist organisations.

But we are talking to the moderate Palestinians such as the leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. There are of course difficult issues in their agenda.

The Israel Government prepared to negotiate on forming a Palestinian state. The extremist have however created problems. They are funded by Iran and Syria to destabilise Israel.There was a time when Israel and Palestinians were at loggerheads. But now it's different.

Palestinian moderates such as the PLO, Egypt and Jordan are in one camp with Israel for a negotiated peaceful settlement. But the extremists such as Hamas, Hisbulla along with Iran and Syria are on the other camp to disrupt a negotiated political settlement.

Therefore the moderate Palestinians and the Israel worry how best we could overcome this struggle.