National Peace Council
of Sri Lanka
12/14 Purana Vihara Road
Colombo 6
Tel: 2818344,2854127, 2819064
Tel/Fax:2819064
E Mail: npc@sltnet.lk
Internet: www.peace-srilanka.org
01.02.15
Media Release
INDEPENDENCE DAY PRESENTS
OPPORTUNITY FOR RECONCILIATION PROCESS TO COMMENCE
On February 4, Sri Lanka will be celebrating its 67th
year of independence. This Independence Day celebration will be
significantly different from those of the recent past. It will be led by
a new government that comprises the spectrum of political parties in the
country, and also its ethnic and religious diversities. The
National Peace Council welcomes the government’s decision to express sympathy
and reach out to the victims of the country's three-decade long war at this
year’s Independence Day celebrations. We wish to highlight this action
that binds the people of the country together in recognizing that war and
violence are a tragedy to all.
The government will mark Independence Day with a special
Statement of Peace at the ceremony. President Maithripala Sirisena
and his Cabinet of Ministers have approved a proposal by Acting Foreign
Minister Ajith Perera and Minister of Home Affairs Joseph Michael Perera to
make a special statement expressing solidarity and sympathy with all victims of
the 26-year long civil war. The Ministers, taking into consideration the
recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission appointed
by the previous government, have proposed to express sympathy and cooperation
with the war-affected people in the country and to pledge that it will be
dedicated in unity to prevent recurrence of such situations in the country in
the future.
The LLRC recommendation 9.284 noted that "Leaders of
all sides should reach out to each other in humility and make a joint
declaration, extending an apology to innocent citizens who fell victim to this
conflict, as a result of the collective failure of the political leadership on
all sides to prevent such a conflict from emerging." The LLRC also
recommended that a "separate event be set apart on the National Day to
express solidarity and empathy with all victims of the tragic conflict and
pledge our collective commitment to ensure that there should never be such
bloodletting in the country again."
The National Peace Council is mindful that those sections
of the people who were victims of the war have urgent concerns that include
locating missing or detained persons, being restored their lost land, property
and livelihood opportunities, and obtaining justice and accountability for
crimes committed against them. While the government takes steps to find
solutions to these problems which may take time, we also urge the government to
take whatever immediate actions it can, even those at a symbolic level, to
reassure the ethnic minorities that they are equally valued citizens of Sri
Lanka.
The LLRC Report warned that banning the national anthem
being sung in the Tamil language, as was done by the previous government would
“create a major irritant which would not be conducive to fostering
post-conflict reconciliation”. The Commission’s recommendation 9.277 argued
that “the practice of the National Anthem being sung simultaneously in two
languages in the same time must be maintained and supported.” The Tamil
and Muslims ethnic minorities living in Sri Lanka are primarily
Tamil-speaking. The constitution does not state anywhere that the anthem
should be sung in Sinhala only or that it cannot be sung in Tamil. We
believe that singing the national anthem in both Sinhala and Tamil languages on
Independence Day can become one of the first steps in the process of confidence
building and national reconciliation.
In conclusion, it is essential to recognize that no
single political party, institution, sector or group, regardless of its
stature, can be expected to singularly shoulder the enormous burden for
creating sustainable peace in Sri Lanka. The building of peace and
reconciliation is, by necessity and definition, an inclusive, representative
and participatory process. It needs ultimately to be a collaborative and
inclusive effort which is recognized and promoted as we celebrate the 67th
Independence Day of Sri Lanka.
Governing Council
The National Peace Council is an independent and non
partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the
ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri
Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the
communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is
determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse
walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in
the country.
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