Time for diaspora to adjust their future strategy

By Sarath WIJESINGHE

There is absolute peace in Sri Lanka. Britain now faces a greater risk from mob attacks than Sri Lanka. The threat of terrorism in the UK and USA is higher than in Sri Lanka.

Peace is a basic requirement for stability, investments, tourist promotion and image building for a nation. There have been no incidents of terrorism anywhere in Sri Lanka since the eradication of LTTE terror from the Sri Lankan soil two years ago. This is commendable and it is hoped that this peace will be stable and maintained until Sri Lanka achieves the target of becoming the Wonder of Asia in the economic sphere as well as becoming a haven for peace.

Peace in Sri Lanka dawned after a long struggle of over 30 years of bloodshed.

Bloodshed during World War II was an eye-opener for the world and initiated the introduction of the UN Charter, which is the main human rights document under which the United Nations world body is formed, replacing the League of Nations which was established in 1919. The main eye-opener in the search for world peace was the massive destruction and loss of life caused by the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This killed over 250,000 citizens in addition to maiming and making hundreds of thousands of citizens permanently disabled. Cancer became rife.

Destruction of property during the Second World War was enormous and the death toll massive that the civilised world had to take some concrete steps to prevent such disasters in future. The opportunity bestowed was grasped by the international community headed by the Western countries and the United Nations Organisation was constituted based on Western values 66 years ago.

LTTE and front organisations

Sri Lanka was unfortunate to witness bloodshed and terror orchestrated by the most ruthless and feared terrorist outfit which the Government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa successfully eradicated to the amazement of the Western countries that considered it an unwinnable battle. The war against the people of Sri Lanka was conducted by the LTTE, managed by NGOs and certain politicians and mainly funded by the Tamil Diaspora backed by some Western countries. In the aftermath of the destruction, Sri Lanka was left to face the misery of darkness. War is the opposite of peace.

War is bitter, unpleasant but inevitable in complicated human societies. The result of war is disastrous. Sri Lanka has been throughout a peaceful, peace-loving country especially after embracing Buddhism which was brought to Sri Lanka from India by Arahat Mahinda and Sangamitta, the beloved son and daughter of Emperor Asoka who conquered India, having massacred a large number of human beings.

At the end of the victory, Asoka was a very unhappy person due to the high death toll and the destruction. After cultivating a friendship with a junior Buddhist monk, he embraced Buddhism. The initial step he took was to impart his realisation to his close friend Devanampiyatissa, the King of Sri Lanka to whom he sent his beloved son and daughter as emissaries.

Peace dividends

Despite the destruction of national wealth and the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and taking the country 30 years backwards and tarnishing the image of the nation, still Sri Lanka has gained a momentum towards development economically and politically.

Today, Sri Lanka is enjoying the peace dividends with an improved economy, tourism and investments and converting itself to one of the most sought after destinations for tourism and investment. What is most needed for the success of investment and tourism are stability and security of a country. In Sri Lanka, security is guaranteed with the able hands of the head of the security apparatus, the Defence Secretary and stability is guaranteed by the leadership of President Rajapaksa.

It is well known and accepted that Sri Lanka is one of the most beautiful nations on earth with an excellent environment, blessed with nature full of greenery and archaeological sites numbering over 250,000 which is a record by any standard. The liberated North and East are beautiful with fine beaches and virgin land for agriculture and development. The workforce is educated and able, IT knowledge is 45 per cent with a target of reaching 75 percent soon. English is spoken as a link language and a second language and there is ethnic harmony where the ethnic minorities intermingle and live with the majority community.

It is noteworthy to mention that in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, the majority community is Tamil which is only 24 percent of the entire population whereas the Sinhala population in Colombo is in third place, though the percentage of the entire Sinhala population in Sri Lanka is 74 percent. This is a classic example of friendship and tolerance coupled with ethnic integration and harmony which is a requirement for investment, tourism and image building of a nation.

Stock market

The stock market is on an upward path, and investments are pouring in. What is now needed is to maintain peace, stability and security. The only and main obstruction for this process are the remnants of LTTE front organisations backed by some NGOs and invisible forces making attempts to go for a change of regime in the guise of human rights violations and allegations of unequal treatment on certain groups.

The Diaspora of a nation is its wealth and strength. The definition of diaspora according to the Collins Dictionary

is “people originally belonging to one nation”. In the present context, different definitions would apply as Sri Lankans are spread worldwide for various reasons - for employment, family reunions, in the guise of asylum seekers and as permanent settlers in other nations.

The Sri Lankan work force spread worldwide is remitting large sums of money to the country which is the main source of income of the nation. Workers are temporarily out of the motherland for a definite purpose. There are others who are settled temporarily or permanently in other countries and known as ‘Diaspora’ which is a word originated from French. A part of the misguided diaspora sometime back shook the Sri Lankan political landscape through its financial and ideological support to the military struggle of a misguided group of people who waged a battle against democratically elected governments for 30 years.

Invitation to diaspora

Most Sri Lankans living abroad and who belong to the diaspora have not visited the country for a long time. It is time that they visited the country and witness for themselves the freedom their brethren enjoy, the developments that are taking place and the current trends on development, equality, infrastructure, road structure, industries, education, health sector and also modern infrastructure developments on par with the rest of the world.

It must be noted that in Sri Lanka there is a health service offered free which is of a high standard. Education is free from kindergarten to university, placing Sri Lanka among the most educated nations. Education is not free in most countries as there are direct and indirect payments by way of grants, loans and direct and unseen payments.

Tamils and Muslims are communities engaged in business and are land owners in Colombo, the capital. There are no protests or ill feelings among the majority community on this situation because they live in harmony with perfect ethnic integration. The judiciary is independent and there is a powerful Human Rights Commission and the NGOs are powerful to safeguard human rights. These are realities that our own diaspora is not aware of.

Currently after the liberation of the North and the East from the LTTE, the influx of visitors to these areas from the South has reached 500,000 persons per month. The recent elections have shown that the people in the North and the East enjoy the democratic right to elect members to the local bodies. There will be more elections in future as they are now free to take political decisions on their own.

Peace process

To maintain peace and stability, the peace process should continue. The peace process must give rise to constitutional arrangements which should be based on the thinking, aspirations and ideologies of the peoples of the nation. It should be local, indigenous and emerge from the people, not from politicians who live in the capital in ivory towers.

Most politicians in the North and the East are leading lawyers, professionals and businessmen who are absentee politicians - they are politicians who live in the capital not on their ground.

The politicians in the past made a number of historical mistakes of espousing divisions among ethnic groups. The three ethnic groups in Sri Lanka - the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims - lived in harmony for thousands of years, sharing the land and culture with the ideologies of the great religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

Historical mistakes have been made earlier by obstructing the peace process. As a result, the nation bled and the destruction of human lives went on. Leaders groomed young LTTEers, referring to them as ‘Boys’. Unfortunately, they were gunned down by the very same boys they groomed and thousands of citizens were killed by the misguided boys who orchestrated the terror regime. We are at cross-roads in a historic era where peace has dawned and the country is prospering despite many drawbacks in the world.

The economy, political situation and the security situation in the UK is on the balance. Europe is in economic trouble with problems in Greece and Italy. Norway is paying a large price for associating and espousing terror groups who have influenced some members of the small nation famous for peace. The Middle East is in flames. Afghanistan and Pakistan are being destabilised by the West. Today only Asians are at peace and heading for prosperity. China and India are leading them as emerging superpowers.

It is the era for South Asia, India and China. In this context , atmosphere and situation, it is time for the Sri Lankan diaspora worldwide to rethink and readjust their future strategy aiming at Sri Lanka as their permanent destination for investment, settle down here for good and usher in prosperity for them and the nation.

The main requirement for this arduous exercise is peace, stability, understanding and trust. Therefore, we invite the diaspora worldwide to Sri Lanka for a better life and a future for themselves and their kith and kin. This will lead to a peaceful, prosperous and developed Sri Lanka and become a stepping stone for Sri Lanka to be the Wonder of Asia.

(The writer is Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in the UAE and is an Attorney-at-Law and Solicitor)