Statement of peace on Independence Day
- Special expression of solidarity and sympathy with all victims of the 26-year-long civil war as per LLRC recommendation
By Dharisha Bastians
Six years after the end of the war, the Sri Lankan Government will mark Independence Day on 4 February with a special Statement of Peace at the ceremony, in a bid to push forward the reconciliation effort.
President Maithripala Sirisena and his Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal by Acting Foreign Minister Ajith Perera and Minister of Home Affairs Joseph Michael Perera to make a special statement expressing solidarity and sympathy with all victims of the 26-year long civil war.
Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told journalists yesterday that the decision was in line with a key recommendation by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in its 2011 report.
In chapter 9.285 of the landmark report that has become the basis of international calls for reconciliation and accountability in post-war Sri Lanka, the LLRC recommends a special event be set up apart on National Day to express “solidarity and empathy” with all victims of the conflict.
The LLRC Report also calls for a commitment to be made at the ceremony to “ensure that there should never be such blood-letting in the country again”.
The Commissioners said in the observations and recommendations section of their report, that such a gesture at what they called a ‘high political level’ will provide an impetus to the national reconciliation effort.
The former Government which commissioned the LLRC report, that was repeatedly called upon to implement the recommendations of the LLRC report, consistently bypassed this recommendation by the LLRC at successive Independence Day and Victory Day ceremonies over the past four years. Instead, the Rajapaksa Government struck triumphalist chords at every national day event, with speeches about patriotism and military valour and massive shows of military strength.
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LLRC Report: Observations and Recommendations
9.285 |
Northern Governor to assume duties in Jaffna on Monday
Setting the tone for civilian administration in the formerly embattled Northern Province, the region’s new Governor H.M.G.S. Palihakkara will assume duties in Jaffna next Monday (2).
Palihakkara, a retired career diplomat and member of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, was sworn into office by President Maithripala Sirisena earlier this week.
With his appointment, one of the first big steps by the new administration to build trust with the Tamil National Alliance which holds a two thirds majority in the provincial assembly, a civilian takes over as presidential representative to the province for the first time since the war ended.
Governor Palihakkara hopes to maintain good relations both with the TNA administration in the Northern Province and the military, that still maintains a heavy presence in the former war-zone. “At the root of several of Sri Lanka’s governance and diplomatic challenges is the situation in the north and east,” Palihakkara told the Daily FT.
“What you need to have is constructive dialogue, rather than combative monologues,” the former diplomat explained. (DB)
