Posted on February 7, 2013 by admin
External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L.
Peiris held a London audience enthralled with a short, crisp speech that
encapsulated Sri Lanka’s remarkable progress in less
than four years after the defeat of LTTE
terrorism in May 2009. Prof Peiris was
speaking at a reception held at the Sri Lanka High Commission to celebrate
the country’s 65th Independence Day and attended by members of the House of
Lords and the Commons, ambassadors and high commissioners, officials of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, heads of Commonwealth organisations and other
NGOs, businessmen and investors. The Minister stressed that no other country
that has emerged from years of internecine strife and terrorism has achieved
what Sri Lanka has done in such a short
time. He urged his audience to keep this fact uppermost in mind when evaluating
Sri Lanka’s performance. He said that
the country faced tremendous multiple challenges. Among these challenges was to
provide food, shelter and medicines for nearly 300,000 persons displaced from
the conflict areas. There were thousands of ex-combatants who had to be
rehabilitated and returned to society. There were child soldiers of the LTTE
who had to be helped and returned to their families. In addition there were
hundreds of thousands of mines and other explosive devices that had to
de-activated and removed so that displaced persons could return safely to their
former homes and the land put to productive use. Destroyed infrastructure had
to be rebuilt and the government invested enormous funds to
resuscitate the economy of the war- ravaged areas so that the people would have
a means of livelihood for them and their families. Prof Peiris said that Sri
Lanka is opening up to the world. New harbours and airports are under
construction. British Airways will return to Sri Lanka shortly after a lapse of
over a decade. Korean Air will begin flights to Colombo. All these are indications not
only of the elaborate steps taken by government at considerable cost to
enhance the life and livelihoods of a conflict-affected people but to rescue
from the clutches of terrorism what might well have been a lost generation.
Today, youth in war- ravaged areas have returned to school and some of them are
competing successfully with students from the more privileged colleges. Sri
Lanka is developing fast the technical skills of the youth so they may
contribute their knowledge and expertise to today’s technological society. He
pointed out that the enormous State- investment in the conflict- affected
north is paying dividends. The economy
there has grown by 22% and 27% in the past two years while growth in the rest
of the country was around 6-7 %. Prof Peiris urged British parliamentarians and
foreign diplomats to factor in all these achievements when they look at Sri
Lanka. He invited them to visit Sri Lanka and gain first hand experience of the
development without being guided by
hearsay and vindictive reporting. He said a nation takes time to return to
normalcy after nearly three decades of terrorism and secessionist war.
Reconciliation and rehabilitation are a slow process as other countries that
have gone through similar experiences will understand and appreciate. These
challenges cannot be answered and resolved overnight. They take time and a
nation needs space to do so. Sri Lanka is urging that it be given the time and
space. Sri Lanka is ready and willing to work with the international community
to achieve these ends. But this cannot be achieved if its efforts at peaceful
resolution of its problems are met with constant vilification and castigation
by a few in the international community. Referring to the Commonwealth which is
headquartered in London, Prof Peiris said it must be remembered that this is a
voluntary organisation of 54 member-states with diverse cultures, ethnicities
and value systems. It cannot be a monolith. If a few member-states attempt to
turn such an organisation into a political tool in pursuit of their own
agendas, it would not only damage the ethos that the Commonwealth represents
but also threaten the very future of the organisation.
http://firstlanka.com/english/news/sri-lankas-progress-remarkable-after-ending-a-bitter-conflict-g-l-tells-london-audience/
