Defining moment for Sri Lanka

It was certainly a defining moment for Sri Lanka which harkened back to Independence Day a half century ago when the country became liberated from the British.

Only this time it was a different kind of liberation - the liberation of the country from the grip of a three decade long terrorist campaign seeking it’s dismemberment and undermine that hard won Independence.

No patriotic Lankan could have failed to be moved by the emotionally charged speech of President Rajapaksa when he made his ground breaking address to announce the unification of the country.

Particularly when he paid tribute to all the valiant soldiers who laid down their lives for the Motherland and when he extended his gratitude to all the mothers, wives and kinsmen who sent their sons and daughters to the war front.

But it was also time to move on and heal the deep scars left by the three decade old conflict. In a conciliatory note the President emphasized that the defeat of the LTTE was not the defeat of the Tamil people. On the contrary it was a victory for them who perhaps suffered the most under the brutal terror of the LTTE.

The President commiserated with them for the anguish and suffering they were put through as a result of the concessions granted to the terrorists in the past. “I ask those responsible to ask forgiveness at the feet of these innocent Tamil people for paving the way for this suffering by their follies,” he said.

But now the country, he said, had entered a new era and the President promised to give the utmost priority to ameliorate their conditions in order to facilitate their integration into the national polity. It is here that the President made his ground breaking declaration that no longer would the term minority find a place in the country’s lexicon.

We have removed the word minorities from our vocabulary three years ago. No longer are there Tamils, Muslims, Burghers, Malays and any others minorities. There are only two peoples in this country. One is the people that love this country. The other comprises the small groups that have no love for the land of their birth. Those who do not love the country are now a lesser group.

Coming from a leader who had been branded as a Sinhala hardliner by his critics this certainly is a revelation and bound to catalyse majority-minority relations in the future. By this one statement the President had demolished the barriers that separated communities that augers well for the unity he hopes to achieve in post war Sri Lanka.

He was also keen on breaking with the past as seen by his invitation to all expatriates, including the Tamil Diaspora who left the country to return and participate in the nation building process, from the ashes of war.

Hopefully this call would receive a positive response. Equally important was the reiteration of his call to all Lankan professionals domiciled abroad to return and help the country in the gigantic development task awaiting post war Sri Lanka.

He said the defeat of terrorism was a victory for democracy and that he was prepared to take up the challenge of developing the country with a new beginning. Despite the presence of terrorism he had already undertaken the mega development projects which were shelved by previous governments due to the terrorist threat.

He also referred to the possibility of foreign investors pouring in to help build post war Sri Lanka but was equally firm that any development would be undertaken on the country’s own terms.

Ditto for a political solution that has been the buzz word among Western Governments. The President once and for all cleared the air by reminding these powers that their suggestions and experiments on devolution won’t buy. While acknowledging that a military solution is not the final solution to the National question he emphasised the need for a home grown solution for which he asked the cooporation of all.

It is indeed a great victory considering that only three years ago almost one third of the country’s landmass and two thirds of coastal area was under the control of a terrorist war lord.

The task before the President no doubt is a monumental one but the people are optimistic that a leader who was able to unite the country after defeating the most ruthless terrorist outfit in the world will be up to the challenge in rebuilding the nation and chart a new course for it.

For this he will need the cooperation of all. From the unity displayed in the victory celebration at almost every street corner it is clear the country as one are behind the President.