Heart-warming gesture towards the young

It is most encouraging that yet another Juvenile Court is being established; this time in Jaffna. This is indicative of an awareness on the state's part, that justice is a crying need for the young of this land. There is no need to require extra proof on this score because it is quite evident that justice for the young is essential, considering current realities.

Unfortunately such thoughtful gestures were not forthcoming in former times. Perhaps, if the youth of the land could have accessed justice and its institutions with greater ease over the past 30 or more years, the bloody youth upheavals that disfigured this country so badly, would never have occurred. Nevertheless, the establishment of Juvenile Courts countrywide is still a stitch in time and very many young lives would be saved from the ravages of injustice and enabled to lead lives of hope and fulfillment.

On this day which is tremendously special for President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he could not have done better than by authorizing the setting-up of Juvenile Courts all over Sri Lanka for the express purpose of bringing justice to the young of this country. This will rank among the President's thoughtful gestures which have won for him accolades, both local and foreign. Particularly, the establishment of a Juvenile Court in the North has more than just symbolic significance because the institution would prove vital in redressing the grievances of the young in these post-conflict times. It is desperation in the face of unaddressed grievances that led some restless youths of the North-East to take-up arms against the state. The establishment of a Juvenile Court would reduce the chances of the young being driven to desperation.

The process of taking justice to our youth and the acceleration of the development effort need to go hand-in-hand because the young should be blessed with lives of promise and fulfillment and there is no better way to achieve this than by bestowing on the young justice and development. As could be seen, major development projects are being launched in the North-East and very many of these hold out the promise widespread material prosperity, if implemented with an eye to social justice and equity. That is, the young should be integrated into the development process through the provision of ample employment opportunities and other avenues to a life of fulfillment.

As we see it, the development policy of the state should be geared to ensuring that each citizen leads a contented as well as productive life. One vital step towards these ends is a life free harassment and abuses. It is from this point of view too that the Juvenile Court system would prove very crucial. This of utmost importance to youths wherever they may be. It is doubly important in the case of sections of our North-East youths, whose lives were blighted by the LTTE. Not only must they be restored to physical and mental wholeness, they must be enabled to lead very productive and useful lives in these post-conflict years, wherein their faith in life and in the state must be increasingly strengthened.

Accordingly, the Juvenile Court system could not only be considered a timely measure but an essential component in the process of national rejuvenation; which is all about bringing healing and promise to the majority of our younger citizens and others. The state has done well to rehabilitate many youths whose lives were gravely harmed by the brutal diktat of the LTTE. The possibility of having justice with relative ease carries the promise of burying forever the antagonisms of the past and of ensuring a life free of abuses and excesses.

It should be the effort of the state to ensure that ethnicity would be heard no more. It is the perception that one is wronged irredeemably that leads to the conception and spread of ethnicity. Justice at hand and justice effectively administered would ensure the nipping of ethnicity in the bud.