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Thursday, 5 April 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
IN matters of national reconciliation, engagement with all stakeholders is important. The Friday Forum, a grouping of intellectuals and respected public figures, recently made known their views of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in the post-UNHRC environment.
Among other points, the Friday Forum welcomed the setting up of the LLRC and cooperated constructively by making representations before it. They noted that in November 2011 the commission produced its final report which, though not meeting all their expectations, could form the basis for building national reconciliation in Sri Lanka. They stressed the importance of the early implementation of the recommendations, especially those flagged by the commission for immediate and short-term implementation.
The forum also called to have the LLRC report translated and published in Sinhala and Tamil and requested the Speaker to arrange for a comprehensive debate in Parliament on the report and encourage all print and electronic media to give the widest publicity to the report so as to create public awareness and dialogue over the report and its recommendations.
It must be acknowledged that these are essential points to make the masses understand the importance and content of the LLRC. In most instances what is published is what individual politicians say about the report and these statements are understandably flecked with their viewpoints and judgments. The best way any person can form an unbiased view of the report is to read it by themselves and this will not be encouraged if access if not provided in a language that they cannot understand.
To let the people decide is the ultimate ideal of democracy. The people may not come to the same view as a result of this, but at least they would be empowered to make decisions without political colouring and short-term agendas. If Sri Lanka is to truly become a ‘developed’ country, then it needs to develop its ability to understand co-existing ethnicities and treat them equitably. This cannot be done unless the ethnic problem can be seen from their angle as well.
The Friday Forum also appealed to the Government to proceed with the implementation of the key recommendations of the LLRC. They insist that this will serve to strengthen the credibility of the Government in fulfilling its commitment to create an environment of trust and reconciliation within Sri Lanka and among all people.
Furthermore they urged the releasing of the report of the Udalagama Commission of Inquiry into killings, including that of the five students in Trincomalee and the 17 aid workers in Muttur, making available names of detainees and missing persons with regard to whom there is documented information of death and taking measures to prevent abductions and investigating such allegations as a matter of urgency and prosecuting offenders.
These are all pragmatic requests that would take the two communities a long way towards genuine reconciliation. It would also assist to implement some of the LLRC recommendations since many of the Tamil people who testified before it appealed for information on detainees and assistance in promoting law and order.
Without practical changes that can be seen on the ground, there is grave danger that Tamils and Sinhalese will continue to draw apart and that would undermine any hope for a lasting peace.