Commission on conflict to inquire from 2002-2009
May 11, 2010 07:56 am
A Commission on Post-Conflict Study and Reconciliation will
be appointed shortly as the preliminary work in this regard is now being concluded;
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said addressing the Diplomatic corps in
The period of inquiry of the Commission covers from the commencement of the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002 to its manifest breakdown that then finally led to the termination of the conflict situation in May 2009. The Commission will comprise persons of eminence, representing the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nature of Sri Lankan society. I am confident that the Commissioners will discharge their responsibilities with a deep commitment to protect the dignity and independence of both this country and the Commission.
Full speech;
Thank you for your presence this afternoon which I value very much.
Let me at the outset also thank you for the messages of felicitation
sent on behalf of your countries and on your own behalf on the
electoral successes of my Party and myself.
I am aware that some of you have served a long period in
When I met you earlier, the terrorists were in control of fifteen
thousand sq km of the land extent and two-thirds of the coastal belt
of our country.
The policies of my Government on democracy and human freedom have
remained unchanged from then. I launched the operations against the
threat posed at the time by LTTE terrorism to all communities, because
there was no other way to establish democracy in this country.
You would recall that several previous attempts were made to have
negotiations for peace with the LTTE.
On my own initiative, one of my first statements after assuming the
office of President was to publicly confirm my readiness to meet with
the leader of the LTTE. I sent senior delegates for negotiations at
both
proved to be fruitless.
However, I state with great satisfaction that while battling the most
ruthless and savage terrorist organization in the world, we have acted
in a manner to fully protect the democratic rights of the people.
We held Provincial Council Elections in the East in May 2008, no
sooner than the LTTE were cleared from that area. While the battle
against terrorists was on, we held Elections in all Provinces and
strengthened the democratic institutions of the country.
The recent Presidential and Parliamentary Elections enabled the
electorate in the North to exercise their franchise for the first time
after almost 28 years, without the menace of terrorism. Similarly, the
General Election in the North and East demonstrate that the people in
those areas are showing signs that they are seeking to free themselves
of narrow political aims and consider deeply about their future. The
General Election has shown that they are moving away in large measure
from political parties representing single communities or groups, and
towards mainstream political parties. Of the 267,000 rendered
internally displaced when the conflict situation ended due to their
having been used as human shields by the LTTE, almost 70% have now
been able to leave the transit welfare villages.
Excellencies, Friends,
It is in continuation of this same policy that action has been taken
to relax several important Emergency Regulations when the matter came
up for discussion in our Parliament on the 4th and 5th of this month.
The amendments to these Regulations were done with great caution. It
is interesting to state that in the recent debate on the Emergency a
young Member of Parliament that it was older than himself.
There are frequent reports of the recovery of considerable weaponry
secreted by the LTTE in many parts of the country. You are aware that
the residues of the LTTE conduct vicious propaganda intended to
generate funds for de-stabilizing
manifestation of these efforts is the elections being held in many
countries for a so-called Transnational Eelam Government.
You must be aware of the destructive aims faced by us. We, for our
part, have been pointing out to the concerned authorities the sinister
nature of these attempts.
No doubt all of you are aware that many countries of the world are
faced with immense difficulties due to the threat of terrorism. Public
life in the capitals of some countries faces immense threats from
this. I need not reiterate that in some countries hundreds and
thousands have been displaced due to this situation. Therefore, we pay
special attention to our national security.
Very often some groups present various material to you. There are wide
differences between the views of these sections and the vast majority
of this country. Therefore, in your reports to your Capitals about our
country it would be most useful to exchange views with the Ministry of
External Affairs and the Government.
You should also be especially aware of the history as well as culture
and lifestyles of
manner in which we view a particular situation may be different to the
view of Western or European, Eastern or African states. It is
necessary for us to work in accordance of our cultural values. Our
history and traditions can guide the world on friendly co-existence
among people. Similarly,
world on religious amity. Hence, we have a deep understanding about
human rights and friendship among nations.
Similarly, my Government has also been mindful of the need to heal the
wounds caused to national amity by the conflict situation.
It is our intention to shortly appoint a Commission on Post- Conflict
Study and Reconciliation. The preliminary work in this regard is now
being concluded.
It is our responsibility to ensure that henceforth, no future
generation of Sri Lankans, will have to experience the anguish that we
underwent during the last three decades.
The period of inquiry of the Commission covers from the commencement
of the Ceasefire Agreement of February 2002 to its manifest breakdown
that then finally led to the termination of the conflict situation in
May 2009. The Commission will comprise persons of eminence,
representing the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nature of Sri Lankan
society. I am confident that the Commissioners will discharge their
responsibilities with a deep commitment to protect the dignity and
independence of both this country and the Commission.
My Government is determined to hold Provincial Council Elections in
the North, at the earliest appropriate time. We believe that both
through the recently completed Parliamentary Election and the
forthcoming Provincial Council Election, there will emerge a
leadership sensitive to the specific needs of those areas and to the
national aspirations for peace and progress. In the recent elections a
majority of representatives from the Government were elected from
those Provinces. We are continuing a wide ranging dialogue with them
as well as those from other political parties.
Excellencies and Friends,
The return to normalcy of our country and its accompanying further
entrenchment of democratic governance, adds to our strength to
successfully engage with the world outside. The mandate I received at
the Presidential and Parliamentary elections is to protect the freedom
and peace won with much sacrifice. Similarly, I have also obtained a
mandate to make
From the time I assumed duties in 2005, much attention was paid to the
development of the Sri Lankan economy. Priority was given to
infrastructure development that sought to erase the unjustifiable
disparities between the rural and urban sectors of society and the
inequalities of income among the people that did not suit a democratic
society. Similarly, considerable work was done in spheres such as
education, health and skills development. We gave importance to both
food and energy security. While all this was being achieved the per
capita income of the country was increased from USD 1000 to USD 2000
in a short span of four years.
Through the future strategies for development it is planned to raise
the per capita income to exceed USD 4000. The new Cabinet of Ministers
will work as the institutional structure of the state to achieve these
objectives. Plans are underway to increase
exceed 35% of national income and economic growth to exceed 8%. It is
our determination to provide all citizens a high level of education
and health services and to build an environment friendly lifestyle in
the country.
In this endeavour, a great responsibility lies with our development
community which has stood with us under the most arduous
circumstances. Similarly, I wish to state here that the international
financial institutions have also contributed much to our development
efforts. We value very much the manner in which the World Bank, the
Asian Development Bank and bilateral donor countries have come forward
to assist us in our development activities. We look forward to
necessary assistance from all countries towards this purpose.
It is my expectation that the international community and the donor
groups would play a large role in assisting to expand our
opportunities for development as a middle income country and to reach
the status of a developed country within a democratic framework.
We will remain conscious that the creation of global prosperity and
security is a shared responsibility. We have always felt that a rule
based, equitable global order is the best guarantor for the progress
of humanity. We will, therefore, continue our tradition of active
engagement in all multilateral fora and especially in the United
Nations.
Friends,
Global warming is inextricably tied up with the very survival of the
human race. Environmental pollution has no national borders with
pollution in one country affecting another. The reason for the rising
global temperatures is the burning of fossil fuel. The advanced
industrial countries of today have achieved their development through
the burning of fossil fuel. Therefore, the responsibility of reducing
global warming requires the intervention of these industrial
countries.
in its development process, we are committed to participate in the
reduction in global warming.
effectively under the Green Lanka programme.
Friends,
As you are aware, our foreign policy is always a non-aligned and
independent. We have the closest relations with
well as other neighbouring countries. You are aware that we maintain
the closest relations with the countries of Asia, Africa, the West,
the Middle East and
than 500 years. Our relations with
history as our relations with
We will always deeply value the friendship of bilateral relations that
brought benefit to us over the past four years and helped us to
resolutely deal with the menace of terrorism.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
said that trust begets trust. This is common to the good relations
among countries too.
I wish you all a prosperous futu
