An Ambassador of the Truth about SL
Rasika Somarathna and Sandasen Marasinghe
Parliamentarians and state officials representing 54 countries
participating at the ongoing 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference
in Colombo could act as ambassadors in telling the world that Sri Lanka,
is busy with development, committed to peace and cooperation and is on
the path to rapid progress, the CPA General Secretary Dr. William F.
Shija said.
Dr. William F. Shija |
Speaking to ‘Daily News’ on the sidelines of the CPA Executive
Committee meeting at Hotel Hilton yesterday, Dr. Shija said, “We are
here as eye witnesses to what is going on in Sri Lanka. So no one in
future will tell us something different, unless some changes come” he
added.
“We don’t need people who tell wrong stories. We need people who tell
the right stories. I will be one of the Ambassadors to tell the right
story” he said when questioned about his views on the post-conflict
developments in Sri Lanka and views of the international community to
the goings on in the country.
Dr. Shija who said he had visited some parts of the c country,
including the North to see for himself the work been carried out on the
ground said, that a lot of positives are happening which was very
encouraging.
“We congratulate Sri Lanka for having overcome terrorism. We commend
the country’s leadership and government on ending conflict and laying
the foundation for rapid progress and reconciliation” he added.
With proper development taking place after a long drawn out conflict
Dr.Shija said that the state should ensure its continuity and the world
should support the endeavour.
In this regard he said unity among various partners in the country
was the key. For this he said that parties need to accommodate each
other and political parties need to tolerate each other with the prime
focus being the peoples wellbeing.
“Tolerance and accommodation produce a stable society and this is
what we think will happen in Sri Lanka” he noted.
Speaking on the conference Dr.Shija said that Sri Lanka had come
forward and volunteered to hold the 58th conference which many countries
at the time had highly appreciated.
So far he said the conference has been a success with all
deliberations proceeding well. He also praised the arrangements laid out
by the organizers.
Speaking about the aims of the conference Dr.Shija said that the main
among them was promotion of parliamentary democracy. He said that the
gathering was also focused on forging new partnerships and friendships
with the aim of propagating peace, development and cooperation.
He said that the CPA will have a number of workshops with the purpose
of propagating the usefulness of democratic practices.” This will help
in building peace and that in turn would help development. For this to
happen all should be open to dialogue and discussion to work towards
cooperation” he added.
|