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Process of building a united, peaceful nation has begun - PM

The process of building a new united, peaceful and tolerant nation has at last started and there is real hope for the future, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats at the Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo yesterday.

The Prime Minister said:"

War has left our country like a blinded person; confused, shocked, searching for the light and struggling to comprehended what has happened to us. Whether we are the LTTE, a Government Minister or an ordinary citizen we seek to escape this nightmare.

In the late 1980's it looked as though we were being given a chance. Then again in the early 90's and with the last attempt in 1994. Every attempt was valiant and well meant but-each failed. The breakthrough was never forthcoming but with each attempt we were able to understand a little more. None of us have substantial experience as peacemakers. Each of us has to feel our way and seek to find solutions. Constantly testing and experimenting to find better ways of achieving that goal which sometimes seems so far away.

That epitomises the activities of the past month or so. Things appeared to be moving forward at a steady paceover the past sixteen months. Then suddenly we found ourselves with a discontented peace partner who wanted nothing more of talks. Or at least, not for the time being.

In many ways such breaks can be cleansing and beneficial. Such enforced breaks lead each of us to re-evaluate where we were going and scrutinise how better we can achieve our joint objective.

The break in the peace talks allowed this Government to do precisely that; to re-evaluate and to review judgementally the last fifteen months.

We have learnt the lessons of past peace initiatives. We realised that any attempts towards peace had to be genuine and that we would have to work hard to make them happen.

That, I believe, we have done. It was an imperative with the economy in near collapse and unable to sustain war much longer. Nor could we do this without the international community whose funding and know-how are so vital to our success.

There is another reason why we have been so determined to keep the process moving forward. Unless we succeed this time with all of the international and national goodwill we have received then we will be consigned to the backwaters of history for a further thirty or forty years. Our people will become increasingly impoverished, our industries will struggle to compete in the world markets and many more people will die in a conflict without meaning.

Our re-evaluation of the last sixteen months has demonstrated that unlike other peace processes around the world we decided to take a different direction. Elsewhere the emphasis of early talks has tended to be on political issues first. Only when those matters were well developed did people give consideration to the humanitarian issues.

Here in Sri Lanka we could not do that, nor did we think it was right. Anyone who has visited the North and the East will have noticed the utter devastation and the misery in which so many people were living their lives. For us the choice was obvious; to alleviate that misery as quickly as we could.

An obvious first step was a ceasefire. But even before that we sought to free the flow of medical supplies and food aid which was so sorely needed. A small step in a complex business but one which harboured immediate benefits to our people in that area.

The permanent ceasefire agreement was the next obvious step. There has been much discussions about this agreement, but any sane person will see that it permitted us a breathing space and an opportunity to talk. With the ceasefire agreement have come other significant benefits to the people. Schools, temples and other public establishments have been released allowing more opportunity to bring normalcy back to the area.

Against this backdrop of progress we did face one major obstacle. The many international donors we needed to help us fund our development projects were not used to this new style of peace-making. They expected a piece of paper to be signed before they would bring in the necessary aid for redevelopment and rehabilitation. With our weak economy and a lack of treasury receipts we had little money of our own. We needed to gather international support and funds to start the rebuilding programme.

The breakthrough came with the Oslo Donors Conference in November last year. That gave us the money but did we have the capacity to carry out the necessary measures to drive forwards the normalcy programme?

The stark answer was No.

The lack of capacity is a consequence of the war. The administrative processes have been badly affected with some Government Agents working under the shelter of trees with the most basic of equipment. Although funds were pledged in Oslo they had to be collected and utilised.

There were further problems we had to face. In the desire to help the people of the North and the East we were confronted by a multiplicity of agencies trying to assist in a totally uncoordinated manner; some seventeen in total. The result was confusion and duplication of effort.

It is little wonder that the LTTE have been frustrated by the speed with which we have been able to act. We too have been frustrated at the time it has taken to implement even the most simple of measures.

We sought to overcome some of these problems by setting up committees such as SIHRN to see if that would speed up the process.

Unfortunately the reaction was not fast enough and the decision-making was too removed from the people who would benefit from any actions taken.

Despite progress on a number of fronts including opening up the country, improving the infrastructure, the demining programme, the rehabilitation of over 100,000 internally displaced people, the establishment of local industries especially fishing and farming and establishing medical and food supplies we have much more to do.

As land is cleared of mines and farmers are able to get back on to the land we have seen a bumper paddy harvest and substantial increases in the production of market garden crops.

Going back to my substantive point - doing is harder than talking. That is why we reviewed where we were and how well we had done. Many projects are being implemented, much has been done to move towards normalcy. As quickly as these projects are completed they are forgotten. With each new day the benefits of the last sixteen months are driving the people to want much more.

Matching expectations with delivery has and always will be the hardest part.

So today we find ourselves in something of an impasse. What is being demanded is not what can be easily delivered. Reality has to play its role. Frankly the LTTE have to be a little more understanding of the issues involved. Demanding is one thing, delivering is never straightforward. As a responsible government we have to abide by the rules and laws of the land.

As Tokyo looms nor can we afford to be partisan. We have to consider all of the people, North, South, East and West. The recent floods in the South have exacerbated a serious problem of poor infrastructure, poverty and under-employment. Whilst the South, or the North or the East does badly then the rest of the country suffers.

Being in Government means identifying a balanced approach to the problems of the country. 'Regaining Sri Lanka' aims to do that with its key objectives of creating jobs, building a sound economy through reform and liberalisation, developing a lasting infrastructure and improving productivity and investment.

The needs of the North and the East are clear to see. They are immediate and medium-term. But the needs of the country as a whole are more long- term. For sustainable development to drive the North and the East we need to change the envy cycle.

The people of the North and the East must realise that this war has deeply affected other parts of the country in unique and challenging ways. Whilst the people of the South should understand that, however bad their situation, there are urgent needs in the North and the East just to bring their services back to a basic level of normalcy.

Realisation comes when we all appreciate that a weak South damages our economic potential in the North and a shackled business community in the West cannot invest in the South, North and East. The sums of our parts need to perform equally for the whole to benefit.

That is why the 'Regaining Sri Lanka' programme will create the right environment to drive out poverty. Not through handouts which are self perpetuating and damaging but through intelligent investment in people and infrastructure.

So Tokyo is important not least because it signs up the International Community to our future but also because it will create the investment potential to build the sustainable development across the whole island in the years ahead.

I hope that Tokyo will be well attended. We are a government who serves all of the people to the best of our ability regardless of ethnicity, religion or geographical setting. If they suffer then we suffer with them and that we cannot allow.

So what does the immediate future hold? This week has been quite busy. With this breathing space to re-evaluate our direction we have been able to be self-critical. Not everything that went before was perfect. I strongly suspect it won't be in the future. Perhaps the greatest test facing us is to provide the right environment for people to become empowered. That is why we looked again at SIHRN and saw that it was too distant from the people who needed it most. We wanted to find a mechanism that could deal with the short-term problem of initiating and implementing projects in an orderly and sensible manner.

We believe that we have found that structure as the key to implementing the projects identified in the North East Needs Assessment. The key to undertaking the short to medium-term reconstruction, rehabilitation and relief needs of the North and the East.

Because timing is all important and because the administrative structure is still being rebuilt this solution will consist of representatives covering the ethnic mix. It will be appointed in the most transparent of ways. This body will more closely reflect the views and opinions of the people most affected by the war.

Nor will we rely on traditional methods of instigating the implementation. Instead we will seek the brightest and the best from around the world, whether they are doctors, engineers, project managers or teachers to ensure that quality implementation happens fast. It is my hope that these experts will bring their skills and the ability to transfer those skills to those whom them they work.

With that in mind I am hopeful that we can resume the Peace Talks and pursue the medium to long-term aims of establishing a federal system of government which empowers our people throughout the island and encourages them to take control of their own lives.

Nevertheless I must stress again, because there are those who would seek to misinterpret my words, we seek solutions within the framework of the laws of our country. Nor will we move to the final solution to this conflict without consulting the people through a referendum.

The North and the East are important to us because of the destruction that has occurred, the wasted lives and the damage to the economy of the whole island. Building trust between the two communities is vital; something that will take a long time and will require considerable patience from all concerned.

When this Government came into office sixteen months ago we faced the problems of debilitating war. We had an economy on the point of collapse. We had one further problem which needs to be addressed with equal concern.

Ask any Sri Lankan and they will tell you that our democracy is not functioning as it should. There is bitterness, rivalry and unprecedented levels of partisanship often centred around communal politics.

For the long-term development of our country we need to turn these differences around. It is one thing to disagree on a point of principle or to attack malpractice and incompetence. It is quite another to oppose for the sole purpose of seeking power. Such self seeking degrades our political system and destabilises whichever party is in office.

We have made a modest start at sorting out some of these problems. Our media are free than ever before, they have even sought to set up their own self-regulatory body rather than resort to legislation. The five commissions are coming on-stream to seek to depoliticise our most sensitive institutions and we are working on the first Freedom of Information Act in this part of the world.

Bitterness between politicians spills over when one party or another feels frustrated and isolated from the decision-making process. Democracy is about seeking strong government that can carry out its mandate. Nevertheless an opposition that feels secluded is not only a wasted resource but a danger to that democratic process.

That is why we are proceeding with plans to establish thirteen to fourteen oversight committees to scrutinise the work of Government.

The challenge for us was to involve the opposition as widely as possible in these committees. That is why our proposals recommend that the Chairperson of each committee will be a member of the Opposition.

These committees will have the right to seek papers and records on any subject within the remit of that committee. They will also be entitled to summon Ministers at all levels as well as officials to seek clarification on any aspect of the work of that Ministry.

Each committee will consist of between five and eight people and will involve experts and academics from beyond Parliament. There will be up to three non-Parliamentary specialists entitled to sit on those committees.

We hope and believe that this involvement will prohibit the feeling of alienation from the decision-making process and see a more involved and responsible approach to the issues of the day.

One small but significant addition is the setting up of legislative interns who will help Members of Parliament to research background materials to help them enhance their contribution to debates within Parliament.

The problems we face in Parliament display the social breakdown we have faced in our country over a number of years. To move forward we have to develop a roadmap for sustainable development. We have to rebuild the organisational capabilities of our institutions and we have to see development by empowering our people.

The challenges we face include creating a new system of government. One that allows people throughout the country to have an increased say in the development of their local area. That will come by creating a Federal structure. Finding ways to pass down power will be one of the big challenges. A Federal solution will not be enough in itself. We shall have to seek ways in ensuring that our social cohesion is rebuilt.

We are a society which lays great store on our social capital. This war has seen many families, especially Tamil families split and scattered all over the world. With the family unit being of such importance to us we need to rebuild those family units. We need to encourage our diaspora to return with their know-how, their expertise and most of all their ideas for a better Sri Lanka.

So the step-by-step approach continues. With each step we review and re-evaluate. We look to the positives and we continue the work of rebuilding trust between the two sides.

That trust can only happen over time. Nor can it be confined to senior levels, it has to happen at all levels. That is why I am so encouraged to see the two communities coming back together in so many walks of life. Whether it be professional contacts, businessmen doing business or school cricket teams and debating societies meeting, the pleasure of two communities re-discovering each other is taking place everyday.

The statements by the LTTE that they no longer sought a separate State was a source of great encouragement to us. After so many years of living in a divided State, to be able to bring the two communities back together is an important objective. The contribution by the LTTE to the flood victims in the South showed further progress in rehabilitating our communal relationships. We consider this to have been an important and significant gesture which would have been unheard of just two years ago.

It suggests that the process of building a new united, peaceful and tolerant nation has at last started. Despite recent setbacks I believe that we have great opportunities ahead of us and real hope for the future.

With that I would like to leave you with just one final thought. It comes from the constitution adopted by UNESCO in 1945. It reads,

"Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed."

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