Obtrusive role by int'l community -External Affairs Minister
Sandasen MARASINGHE
External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris yesterday stated that the
international community does not have any legitimate right to involve
itself in the national reconciliation process in Sri Lanka, when the Sri
Lankan government itself is committed to it.
He made this observation while delivering the keynote address at the
National Conference on the Role of Education in Reconciliation,
organized by the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International
Relations and Strategic Studies, Colombo.
The External Affairs Minister further stated that the international
community has submitted a resolution against Sri Lanka within a
strikingly short period, while Sri Lanka needs ample time to resolve
the issues which arose durin g the 30 year conflict. He said that the
government has directed all the relevant ministries ,departments and
other statutory institutions to find short term, medium term as well as
long term solutions to the issues at hand.
The minister also stated that the issues created by this 30 year war
were serious and complicated. He said that one of the most serious is
the land issue in the North and East. He added that the LTTE evicted the
people from lands who had the legitimate ownership. They were used by
the LTTE and in some lands, the Mahavir families were settled.
"Somehow, after the war was won, people who fled the country are
coming back and claiming their lands in the North. The deeds have been
destroyed by the LTTE and most of them had been living on those lands
for more than 15 years. According to the law a person who had been
settled in a land for a period of 10 uninterrupted years has a right to
that land. The government faces the problem of finding finding solutions
for them. "Nobody can find solutions for such issues like switching on a
light", he said.
The minister further stated that these issues cannot be resolved in
Geneva. He added that this was the reason to emphasize the need for a
home grown solution to this issue. He said that the LLRC report was
prepared and presented to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and then to
Parliament on December 17. Now, even before a decision has been taken in
connection with its recommendations, the international community submits
a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council. The same resolution has
polarizes the international community.
Minister Prof. Peiris further added that a particular overseas Head
of State making a remark on this incident questioned as to how the
international community could force a solution when the country did not
seek one.
Professor Peiris further said that the government is well on its way
towards reconciliation. He added that out of the 297,000 displaced
persons received by the Army, 97 per cent have been resettled and it was
not just physical resettlement. He also added that the economic growth
rate in the North and East is 22 percent while that of the entire
country is 8 percent.
Head of ICPVTR, Singapore Professor Rohan Gunaratne, Monitoring
Member of Education Mohan Lal Grero, Ladies College Colombo Principal
Nirmalie Wickramasinghe, former Secretary to Cultural Affairs and Sports
Ministry Sundaran Divakalala, former Associate Professor King Faisal
University, Saudi Arabia Dr Rajasingham Narendran, Higher Education
Ministry secretary Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne, Sister Canice Fernando,
Javid Yusuf and LKIIRSS Executive Director Asanga Abeygoonassekera also
addressed on the occasion.
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