Mutual respect vital in national reconciliation

by Lalin FERNANDOPULLE

Head of International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) Singapore, Prof. Rohan Gunaratna said that there is a need to create an education system where children will grow as Sri Lankans at a forum on the ‘Role of Education in National Reconciliation’ at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) recently.

He said that education should be a catalyst to promote reconciliation and unity among children of all communities. Founders of educational institutions have a great role to play in creating an environment where children respect differences.

He said that Sri Lanka cannot rest on its past successes. Reconciliation is the way forward and all Sri Lankans must work constantly to achieve this goal.

“There is a significant progress in national reconciliation since the end of hostitlies in mid 2009. The private sector and social organisations have supported the government to achieve this milestone within a short time”, Prof. Gunaratna said.

He said that politicians should not be allowed to exploit ethnicity and religious differences to gain political mileage. Racism is only among elitist in Colombo. People in the rest of the country live in harmony.

Rehabilitation is the first step in reconciliation.The 11,500 Tiger detainees rehabilitated and reintegrated into society is a major achievement in the reconciliation process”, Prof. Gunaratna said.

The business community has supported the reconciliation process with various initiatives taken to resume business activities in the North and the East which would provide livelihood and a stable income to people.

Prof. Gunaratna said that the forum on the Role of the Business Community held last month with the participation of a large number of top business personalities from leading establishments was a huge success.

External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said that around 97 percent of the displaced people have been resettled and added that the Northern province has recorded a 22 percent growth compared to the eight percent growth in the Western province due to the infrastructure development.

He said that Sri Lanka has progressed considerably in building reconciliation within a short period and added that the LLRC report has been discussed in a transparent manner and steps have been taken to implement it.