Towards country’s progress:
Many good things had been done - German delegation
German Parliamentary Delegation Leader Petra Ernstberger confirmed
that overall impression following visits to the North and East and said,
“many good things had been done.” She also thanked the Government for
the opportunity extended to them to familiarize themselves with the
progress made in Sri Lanka.
The visiting cross-party delegation from the German Parliament held
discussions with the External Affairs Minister G L Peiris at the
Ministry on November 06.
Minister Pieris expressed his satisfaction that the Delegation had
obtained a first hand experience of the post -conflict developments
taking place in Sri Lanka. The Minister gave an overview of the
Government’s efforts, and said that Sri Lankans had been emancipated
from fear and terror after almost three decades.
Minister Peiris emphasized that although the military victory had
been necessary to overcome terrorism, it has to be supplanted by
practical initiatives in rebuilding the country.
The first element he said was removing the scars from the people’s
hearts and minds, and working towards long-term reconciliation.
He explained the work of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation
Commission (LLRC) and said that in setting up the LLRC the Government
has drawn from the experiences of other countries, while being
responsive to local sensitivities.
The LLRC which started its work on August 15, has already submitted
an Interim Report containing recommendations to President Mahinda
Rajapaksa which included the urgent need to address issues such as the
reducing of the High Security Zones, reintegration of ex-combatants into
normal life after rehabilitation, administrative measures to be put in
place for the use of the Tamil language and expediting legal processes
against detainees.
The Minister further informed the delegation that an Inter
Ministerial Committee has already been put in place and has started its
work towards implementation of these recommendations. The second element
was humanitarian considerations.
In this regard, the Government had achieved significant progress. The
Minister noted that out of the original 297,000 internally displaced
persons, only approximately 18,000 now remained, all the rest having
been resettled. Out of the 11,690 persons detained, 5221 have been
released after rehabilitation while only the very hardcore among the
detainees will be tried in Court.
The Minister said that the third element in the Government’s strategy
is the diaspora, and the Government is reaching out to them to
participate in the rebuilding process of the areas ravaged during the
conflict.
An important segment of the diaspora is actively engaging with the
Government and working towards addressing post-conflict socio-economic
issues.
The Minister observed that development work in the North is underway
and the private sector has responded magnificently in taking industries
to the North thus giving the people there opportunities for jobs and
livelihood recovery.
As to the political process, the Minister briefed that President
Mahinda Rajapaksa has revived the dialogue, which was started months ago
with Tamil political parties, including the largest Tamil party
represented in Parliament with 14 seats, the Tamil National Alliance.
The delegation, representing the German Parliament’s South Asia
Friendship Group consisted of Petra Ernstberger (CDU/CSU), Chairperson
of the Group and Head of the delegation, Sabine Weiss (CDU/CSU) Deputy
Chairman, Joseph Winkler (Bundnis 90/Die Grunen), Deputy Chairman, Paul
Schafer (Die Linke), Deputy Chairman, Jurgen Klimke (CDU/CSU), Christian
Von Stetten (CDU/CSU), Holger Ortel (SPD) and Dr Brigit Reinemund (FDP). |