‘National rejuvenation getting into top gear’

Text of keynote speech for the defence seminar, ‘Towards Lasting Peace And Stability’ delivered by Defence and Urban Development Ministry Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on August 8

The theme selected for this year’s seminar is ‘Towards Lasting Peace and Stability’. Under this topic, Sri Lanka’s post conflict efforts on Reconstruction, Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Reconciliation will be discussed. This is both appropriate and timely. Last year’s Defence Seminar focused on how the defeat of terrorism in Sri Lanka was accomplished. As Sri Lanka enjoys its third year of peace and stability after the defeat of terrorism, the great progress that has been accomplished here is similarly worthy of study.

Sri Lanka today is one of the most peaceful and stable countries in the world. It is a country in the midst of a national revival. How this transformation has been achieved is at the heart of this seminar.

During the course of these three days, all of the participants will have the opportunity to learn about the strategies adopted by the government of Sri Lanka in addressing its post conflict development challenges. I particularly encourage the foreign delegates to make full use of their time here to interact with and learn from the people who were instrumental in our post-war efforts. I am confident you will learn a great deal of value from their experiences.

The war in Sri Lanka ended on May 18, 2009 with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, better known as the LTTE. The LTTE was one of the most vicious terrorist organisations in the world, and was once described by the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as being “among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world”. Its defeat was greeted with an immediate and unprecedented outpouring of relief and joy throughout the country. However, at the same time, the government was deeply aware of the grave challenges and responsibilities it faced in the war’s aftermath.

? Demining needed to be carried out over approximately 5,000 square kilometres of land

? Reconstruction had to take place in the former LTTE controlled areas

? Nearly 300,000 internally displaced people needed to be Resettled

? Close to 12,000 surrendered LTTE cadres had to be Rehabilitated and then Reintegrated

? Normalcy had to be restored throughout the land; and

? Measures had to be taken to foster national Reconciliation and economic development.

The government of Sri Lanka has achieved remarkable progress on all these fronts during a remarkably short span of three years. During the course of this address, I will briefly discuss each of these post war challenges and outline the ways in which they were dealt with.

The most pressing issue that needed to be addressed was ensuring the wellbeing of the civilians who had been displaced from their homes. As the war progressed, the LTTE moved people out of their towns and villages and retreated to its strongholds near the North Eastern coasts. By the time the war ended with the LTTE’s defeat, 295,873 internally displaced people were left in the government’s care.

Demining programme

They could not return home because their towns and villages were no longer safe for human occupation. As it retreated, the LTTE had laid large quantities of antitank mines, antipersonnel mines, and many different types of Improvised Explosive Devices in the areas it left behind. Demining those areas swiftly and resettling the internally displaced was a significant challenge for the state.

In total, it was suspected that mines had been laid in more than five thousand square kilometres of land. Demining such a vast area was a very difficult challenge that the government unhesitatingly undertook immediately after the war ended. Many foreign organisations came forward to assist the government, including the Danish Demining Group, the Indian Sarvatra Group and the Horizon Group, the UK based Mines Advisory Group and several others. These groups took on the responsibility of demining various identified tracts of land throughout the North and East. The Sri Lanka Army was given the responsibility of demining the largest area of land, which comprised almost 1,500 square kilometres and included most of the densely mined regions.

The entire demining programme was carefully planned and executed. Priority areas were chosen to maximise efficiency and enable the speedy return of the internally displaced. The first priority was to demine the towns and villages. The second priority was to demine the agricultural areas and paddy fields. The last priority was to clear the forested areas. I am pleased to note that as of today, nearly all of the two main priority areas that were identified for demining have been cleared. Work only continues in a few areas where the concentration of mines is at its highest.

To be continued