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| Saturday, 17 May 2003 |
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Ginigathena special correspondent A seminar to make the Central provincial mass mediamen aware of the current peace process carried out by the UNF Government was held at the Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Training Centre at Hanthana, Kandy recently. The Media Club of Sri Lanka organised the seminar which was presided by its President Sunil C. Perera and attended by a large number of Central Provincial print and electronic mediamen. Making the keynote address at the seminar, the Minister Councillor of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka Oddvar Laegried said that the only question almost all the Sri Lankan people raise in connection with the peace process of this country was as to why the Norwegian Government extended its co-operation for the peace programme of the Sri Lankan Government. "The only answer for the above question is that although Norway is not a super-power, the President and the Prime Minister of this country invited the Norwegian Government to extend its fullest co-operation to solve the ethnic problem of the country and create peace in it. That was why our Norwegian Government decided to assist Sri Lanka for its endeavour to create peace in the country". "During the past two decades Sri Lanka had to suffer a lot, several state and private institutions and houses in the Northern and Eastern Provinces were destroyed and the public life in the war-torn areas collapsed due to the ethnic war between the Sri Lankan Government forces and the LTTE'. "However the present government was able to cease the existing war in the country and create a peaceful environment in the war-torn areas in the island through the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE". "As a matter of fact, the ethnic problem prevailing in this country could be solved not by war, but by compromise. That is why our Norwegian Government helps the Sri Lankan Government to hold peace talks between the present government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE with a view to solving the ethnic problem of the country and creating peace in it". "The Norwegian Government has supported not only Sri Lanka but also to the Middle East and African countries and South America to achieve peace in them. Norway does so because it admires peace". "The present UNF Government with the guidance and co-operation of the international community has resorted to resolve the ethnic conflict through negotiations". "The Norwegian Government extends its fullest co-operation for Sri Lankan Government to make its peace process a success". "I would also like to mention that the media persons of Sri Lanka have to be very careful in handling the media in this sensitive moment". "If the aim of media persons is to achieve sustainable peace for the nation their minds should be devoid of hatred and differences", he said. Dr. Jayantha Seneviratne said that although there were about 1,672 dialects in India it did not face an ethnic problem like in Sri Lanka which had only two main speaking languages Sinhala and Tamil. Therefore we would take steps to tackle this ethnic problem of our country and create peace in it, he said. Sunanda Deshapriya of the Alternative Policy Centre said that the media persons of this country while extending their co-operation for creating peace in the country should handle their media accurately. |
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