Why only the peace path matters

PRESIDENT Kumaratunga's determination and courage to implement the joint mechanism proposal to rebuild the North-East, if it has the backing of the majority of the people of this country, risking even her life in the process, augurs well for Sri Lanka's future.

It points to a single-minded zeal on the part of the President to pursue, come what may, policies which would prove beneficial to the country in the medium and long-term in particular.

Such determination smacks of true statesmanship and statesmanship is what is needed at present, when hard decisions need to be made to put Sri Lanka on the path to progress. As we have mentioned before, we do not see an alternative to the State working cooperatively with the LTTE to put the North-East back into shape. There are a few critics of this arrangement, but unless and until they formulate an alternative to the joint mechanism concept, their strictures would need to be dismissed as mindless destructive criticism, lacking even an iota of substance.

It is plain to see that there is no alternative to working in cooperation with the LTTE in the post-tsunami reconstruction effort. The LTTE, after all, is a plain fact of life. The alternative course of action is to militarily eliminate the LTTE, which would plunge Sri Lanka into a state of war once again. We ask along with the President, are these critics of the joint mechanism proposal prepared to go to war? Are they prepared to send their children to war and forget about the country's development priorities?

These are just a few of the posers that mindless critics of the State's efforts to rebuild the country would need to answer. The country simply cannot get back to the ruinous path of war because therein lies prolonged national agony and devastation. This path the country traversed over a 20 year period and all that it reaped was bloodshed and national ruin.

Fortunately for Sri Lanka, these vociferous defenders of a non-reconciliatory path are in the minority. The majority of the people of this country prefer the path of peace and reconciliation and are, accordingly, supportive of the joint mechanism plan. This silent but moral majority is the strength of the Government. It could, under the direction of President Kumaratunga, go right ahead and traverse the path of peace, secure in the belief that the vast majority of people of this country would be solidly behind it.

Nevertheless, this is a time when commonsense and wisdom needs to prevail at all levels of the polity. The donor community has just pledged financial assistance to the tune of US$ 2.2 billion to our country rebuilding effort in the belief that this would be well and effectively spent. A rebuilt Sri Lanka is the donor countries' final aim.

If Sri Lanka falls short of their expectations through a misuse of these funds, the chances are that Sri Lanka would come in for worldwide criticism and very probably earn for itself international isolation.

Accordingly, wise counsel must prevail among both the rulers and the ruled. There is no alternative to travelling along the road to a negotiated peace.