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Thursday, 11 June 2015 00:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Uditha Jayasinghe
Sri Lanka’s Government is making fresh attempts to woo Diaspora communities for development with a festival planned for later this year, an official said yesterday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mahishini Colonne outlined plans to encourage Diaspora communities of Sri Lankan Tamil, Sinhala and Muslim origin to engage with the Government to improve investment and reconciliation, especially in boosting business ties and infrastructure improvement in the entire country.
Making a statement on talks between the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) that Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera was also a participant of, she insisted the Government was keen to connect extensively with Diaspora groups who possessed wealth, expertise and connections to link investment and improve Sri Lanka’s international image.
“The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) clearly outlined the need to include the Diaspora to achieve sustainable peace in Sri Lanka. The Government is aware of the great resources at the disposal of Sri Lankans domiciled abroad and would like to support efforts to increase their role in reconciliation and development,” she told reporters.
As part of this venture the Government has mooted plans to hold a “Diaspora festival” later this year and will push for it to be an annual event. Clarifying such efforts further, Colonne also insisted that Samaraweera did not initiate talks between the TNA and GTF but merely sat in on the talks. She also stressed that the meeting did not cover sensitive topics such as the proposed local mechanism to investigate allegations of war crimes and disappearances during the conflict.
She backed a joint GTF and TNA statement released after the meeting where the two parties said, “The need for constructive engagement by the Sri Lankan Diaspora was discussed, including the needs of displaced people. It was agreed that a further meeting will be called to present the requirements to various High Commissioners and Ambassadors based in Sri Lanka, with the aim to raise funds for housing of over 2,000 families in these newly released lands.”
“The release of prisoners held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in the light of the review by the Ministry of Justice was also discussed. Ideas of ways in which the Sri Lankan Diaspora could assist by bringing its exceptional capacity and capabilities were explored,” it added.
Responding to questions, Colonne revealed that the Defence Ministry was in the process of re-evaluating a list of Tamil organisations, including the GTF, which had been banned in Sri Lanka through a Gazette notification issued by the previous Government. She defended the move by insisting the provisions included an annual review of the list and it should be changed to “reflect the current views” of listed groups.
At the time the Gazette also came under fire from international human rights activists for earmarking organisations fighting for political rights but not a separate state.
BOX 1
Mangala to visit Japan
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will visit Japan from 17 to 20 June as a guest of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.
During the visit, Minister Samaraweera will hold bilateral discussions with Minister Kishida on issues of mutual interest, including promoting cooperation in the political, economic and cultural spheres, in regional and multilateral fora, and in the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka.
On the invitation of his Japanese counterpart, Minister Samaraweera will also deliver a speech on peacebuilding and national reconciliation based on the Sri Lankan experience, at the ‘High-Level Seminar on Peacebuilding, National Reconciliation and Democratization in Asia’ to be held in Tokyo on 20 June.
BOX 2
No oil from Iran
The Foreign Ministry yesterday rejected reports of Sri Lanka accepting a shipment of Iranian oil by violating US sanctions and insisted no cargo had been unloaded from the vessel.
Responding to questions, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mahishini Colonne acknowledged a ship named F. Whale carrying a suspected consignment of Iranian oil had entered the Colombo port on 5 June to obtain bunkering services. However, she insisted it did not carry a shipment of fuel for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and had not unloaded any cargo before its departure.
Local media reports on Tuesday citied a warning made by the US embassy in Sri Lanka cautioning the authorities against accepting any oil from the suspected ship.
