Statement of peace on Independence Day – විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය

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Friday, 30^th January 2015

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.

Dhanapala meets UN Rights Chief

Senior Presidential Advisor on Foreign Relations, Jayantha Dhanapala met with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein in Geneva yesterday.
The meeting was originally postponed from Wednesday to Thursday, after Zeid was delayed in New York following a visit there, Daily FT learns. Dhanapala was to meet the UN High Commissioner at 11 AM Geneva time yesterday.
Dhanapala who travelled to Geneva on Monday was also expected to meet with groups of UNHRC member states during his visit. The Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, said Dhanapala had also met with President of the Human Rights Council Joachim Rücker, as well as all members of the Human Rights Council in Groups.
“Characterizing his visit as an “exploratory visit,” Mr. Dhanapala briefed them on the policies of the newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena and his Government,” the Mission said in a media release.
The statement said that Dhanapala sought a constructive engagement with the High Commissioner and the Human Rights Council in terms of the manifesto and the 100-Days Programme of the new Government. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, called Dhanapala’s tour a ‘feeler trip’ aimed at sounding out key players in the UN about the Sri Lankan Government’s options as it faces a report by UN investigators probing allegations of war crimes in March this year. The Government is seriously considering the option of obtaining UN technical assistance to kick start a domestic mechanism to investigate major rights violations, Samaraweera told Daily FT. (DB)

LLRC Report: Observations and Recommendations

9.285
The Commission, strongly recommends that a separate event be set apart on the National Day to express solidarity and empathy with all victims of the tragic conflict and pledge our collective commitment to ensure that there should never be such blood-letting in the country again. Based on testimonies it received the Commission feels that this commemorative gesture, on such a solemn occasion, and at a high political level, will provide the necessary impetus to the reconciliation process the nation as a whole is now poised to undertake the process of reconciliation requires a full acknowledgement of the tragedy of the conflict and a collective act of contrition by the political leaders and civil society of both Sinhala and Tamil communities.
9.284
The conflict could have been avoided had the southern political leaders of the two main political parties acted in the national interest and forged a consensus between them to offer an acceptable solution to the Tamil people.
The Tamil political leaders were equally responsible for this conflict which could have been avoided had the Tamil leaders refrained from promoting an armed campaign towards secession, acquiescing in the violence and terrorist methods used by the LTTE against both the Sinhala and Tamil people, and failing to come out strongly and fearlessly against the LTTE, and their atrocious practices…
Leaders of all sides should reach out to each other in humility and make a joint declaration, extending an apology to innocent citizens who fell victim to this conflict, as a result of the collective failure of the political leadership on all sides to prevent such a conflict from emerging. Religious leaders and civil society should work towards it and emphasize the healing impact it would have on the entire process of reconciliation.

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)

From : http://www.ft.lk/2015/01/30/statement-of-peace-on-independence-day/

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