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Building ethnic bridges

We carried a story in our front page yesterday of a visit by a group of schoolchildren from Ampara to view the Esala Perahera. It was also reported that this was the first time in several years such a visit had been undertaken by a group of schoolchildren from the region.

These young ones naturally expressed their gratitude to President Mahinda Rajapaksa who met them at the President's House in Kandy, for liberating the East of the LTTE presence that enabled them to make the trip.

The jubilation and delight on the part of these children for the chance to witness the country's premier cultural pageant as our report indicated is understandable.

It also speaks of the isolation our Sinhala brethren in the conflict areas had experienced over the years being virtual prisoners in their own enclaves.

Cut off from the mainstream of activities over a long period during the conflict the feeling of being orphaned and left out may have dogged them at every waking hour. Like the Perahera which they now visited how many other attractions, national pageants, celebrations and other events of importance would this segment of our population missed witnessing due the restriction of movement.

One should not forget that while the South was engrossed in cricket carnivals or television entertainment a majority of our brethren in the conflict areas were cowering in fear in their homes with death stalking their doorstep.

The reaction by the Ampara school children are but symptomatic of the deep yearning of those in the conflict areas hitherto consigned to the realm of the forgotten to unite with their brethren in the rest of the country and participate in all activities and events that have been taken for granted in the South.

It is a yearning to build bridges and share a common bond with their Southern brethren that had been severed due to their isolation as a result of the prolonged conflict. The Perahera visit could perhaps be an opening for a larger programme of excursions and interaction with the with South.

In addition to the Government's initiatives the private sector too should be encouraged to organise such unions to build comradeship and foster the spirit of fraternity among these groups.

This, while helping to shed their garb of isolation, could also help banish any vestiges of hostility or disenchantment due to their relegation from the mainstream all these years. The impetus for this has now been provided by the liberation of the East.

While programmes of interaction should be fostered in the South the Government should also make very endeavour to speed up development in the affected areas to make amends for the lost years of neglect.

These segments be they students or civilians in general and should not be made to feel in anyway that they are a separate entity not worthy of attention. The liberation of the East certainly has given these people new hope as the jubilation of the students who met the President indicated.

While the focus so far has been on mending fences with the Tamil community there could be a tendency to overlook the concerns of the Sinhalese living in the area who too have borne the brunt of terrorism.

A sizeable segment of the people in the East have been displaced and are living in temporary shelters. There is therefore a need for a refocus on strategy so that they would be made major stakeholders in the Government's development thrust.

Malaysia's Golden Jubilee

"Visit Malaysia-2007,"is the slogan found in public transport, shops, Malaysian Airlines planes, airports, public billboards and media so much that you are never far from this sign wherever you travel in Malaysia.

Full Story

Internationalisation of School Education

As a result of the expansion of private educational services a view exists that the country is going back to the system which existed during the British colonial period (1796-1948) where a few could afford to pay the fees to attend elite schools , and a majority were excluded from access to high quality education provided by such schools.

Full Story

LTTE's exploitation of truce to boost military strength bared

Wanni civilians disillusioned with LTTE, uprising imminent:

The Security Forces, foiled all their long-term plans by launching operations to counter their plans to capture strategic locations in the East and succeeded in all the attempts. Unlike in the past the LTTE is facing a difficult situation as the Forces do not leave the places after the areas are liberated from the clutches of the LTTE. 

Full Story

 

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