Major step towards normalization

The normalization process in this country has been further advanced with the decision by some 1,800 rehabilitated ex-LTTE cadres to join the Civil Security Department. Equally encouraging is the news that by doing so they will be directly participating in Northern development projects. Thus, the lives of these young persons, which were nearly blighted by the LTTE, are being revived and made to flower. The possibility is great of having happy endings to the tragic life stories of these unfortunate young persons.

A very important aspect of the country’s normalization process that is thus unfolding is that the state is playing a very pivotal role in it by acting according to the tenets of justice. It is ‘Recalling’ these young persons back to ‘Life’ by giving them the opportunity of integrating with mainstream society and of making a contribution towards the public good. The state, in other words, is playing Mid Wife to the process of bringing to birth useful lives which could contribute towards national development.

The role of the state needs to be focused on because until recent years the state was seen by some sections as part of the problem which came to be described as the Lankan conflict. Hopefully, with the state continuing to launch more and more initiatives which would help in strengthening the bonds between the communities of this land, the state would cease to be seen as being biased against this or that community.

The problem commonly identified as the ‘ethnic issue’ is many sided and complex but the perception that the state was not acting justly, was a major factor in the conflict that resulted in decades-long bloodshed and political turmoil. Whether the state was culpable, as made out, is a contentious matter but the fact is that the perception was held by some youthful sections of the North-East, with, of course, disastrous consequences for this country.

Accordingly, the mentioned ventures by the state in the direction of national integration are to be warmly welcomed because they help to put the record straight with regard to the role of the state in nation-building. Under the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration, the Lankan state is going some distance to be even-handed in its handling of issues relating to our communities and this constructive role needs to be regarded as of crucial importance in this context. One of the end results of the state’s current initiatives is that it will cease to be seen as part of this country’s conflict and this is vital from the viewpoint of nation-making.

The news of the 1,800 rehabilitated former LTTE cadres joining the CSD comes close on the heels of the disclosure that several youth from the North are being admitted to the National Cadet Corps as Second Lieutenants and this too is a vital development from the perspective of national integration. Once again, what is notable is that these youths are joining the state sector in important capacities and here again the potential for strengthening national unity is enormous. Currently, quite a number of eyes are on the LLRC recommendations and on their implementation.

The state is on record that all the implementable recommendations would be given practical effect and this should help clear the air. There is no question of the government underplaying the importance of the LLRC recommendations. The latter will be progressively implemented by a wide range of state agencies under the supervision of a committee headed by the Secretary to the President and there would be no baulking on this important undertaking.

Now, all the recommendations of the LLRC are promotive of national integration and the recruitment of rehabilitated former LTTE cadres into state institutions is proof that the process of implementation has begun. Some may see these measures as inadequate and as not being implemented at the required speed, but the process of implementation has begun in earnest. It stands to reason that the full implementation of the recommendations would require some time.

We do not think it would be in the national interest for sections to downplay the importance of the LLRC. Nor would it accrue to the national good for the LLRC to be viewed cynically. If a just peace is to take root in this country and if future generations are to inherit a stable Sri Lanka, national integration must win top priority and the LLRC recommendations given our wholehearted backing.