Govt implementing LLRC recommendations - Vasudeva

National Languages and Social Integration Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara yesterday said that his ministry has already started implementing some of the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

The minister said that the ministry attempts to ensure that all ethnic groups are involved in the administrative affairs of the country and that this is the fundamental task in maintaining a relationship between diverse ethnicities.

He said that the ministry is working to remove from the minds of diverse ethnic groups that they are a minority in the country and thus validate the statement of the President that there are no minority groups in this country.

The minister said that accordingly, a national programme under the Name of “National Bilingual Movement” has already been initiated to establish 5,000 Language Societies to provide bilingual knowledge to all Sri Lankans creating a bonding and unity between diverse ethnic groups and that 1,000 Language Societies have already been established under the programme.

Minister Nanayakkara expressed these views at the monthly advisory, discussions which take place at the Ministry each month with the

Expert Panel about the activities of the Ministry . This expert panel comprises of intellectuals, professionals, university lecturers and professors of the highest calibre, representatives of Non-Government Organizations and specialists in language usage and social integration.

The minister noted that his ministry’s main focus is on ethnic grievances and that a separate division has been established as the

Ethnic Affairs Unit under an Additional Secretary to give priority to this subject.

The minister clarified that the Language Societies have already commenced to teach the Tamil Language to the Sinhalese and the Sinhala language to the Tamils and that the ministry provides teachers and text books freely under this programme.

The minister stated that the correct implementation of the Official Languages Policy was the key to resolving the ethnic issue in the

country and that during the last year, the ministry provided training to 20,000 Government Officers to gain proficiency in Official Languages.

Minister Nanayakkara declared that the ministry provides necessary officers, documents, forms and instruction papers to facilitate all Sri Lankans to do their business at government offices in their respective mother-tongues and that in the Divisional Secretariats where diverse ethnicities are more prevalent, the ministry has initiated “facilitation cells” which function to give bilingual instructions to the public. Accordingly, 41 bilingual areas have been recognized and facilitation cells have been established at 27 Divisional Secretariats.