Home › Policy › Governance › National

UN Coverage: Sri Lanka's Challenges

Share

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake speaks at Asia Society, Sept 24, 2009. (Elsa Ruiz/Asia Society)
enlarge image

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake speaks at Asia Society, Sept 24, 2009. (Elsa Ruiz/Asia Society)

NEW YORK, September 24, 2009 – Rebuilding Sri Lanka after 25 years of civil war will require resettling thousands, encouraging foreign investment, and preventing a resurgence of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake.

The war between the government and the LTTE ended in May 2009 after the military reportedly killed Tamil leader Velupillai Prabhakaran. “Sri Lanka suffered for almost three decades of destruction from terrorism by the LTTE,” said Wickramanayake. Despite victory, he said, “residual effects and related problems remain.”

Speaking at Asia Society headquarters in New York, the prime minister said resettling internally displaced persons (IDPs) is the country’s largest post-war challenge. However, he made clear that a full resettlement will take time. “You cannot have a solution overnight,” he stressed. Wickramanayake said an estimated 280,000 still remain in internment camps, as a result of the conflict.

“It is not an easy task to provide welfare to these people all at once... yet we accepted this challenge," he said. "Today, the [displaced] are being resettled systematically and efficiently.”

In an effort to expedite the recovery of the war-torn north and east, Wickramanayake called on the international community to boost investment in the island nation. “We need the support and cooperation from nations that can afford to,” he said. The prime minister stated that the government has already begun substantial reconstruction projects in the two regions.

Wickramanayake also called on nations to help Sri Lanka clear the large number of mines scattered throughout the country’s north. “Terrorists have planted landmines in playgrounds, holy sites, farm fields, and roads,” he said. “We are not ready to push our people onto these death traps.”

“Accept that we have a big problem,” the prime minister urged, “ and help us.”

In a question-and-answer session moderated by Asia Society’s Executive Vice President Jamie Metzl, Wickramanayake addressed allegations of human rights abuses by the military and criticism of the government’s treatment of displaced Tamils. The Sri Lankan government and the LTTE have both been criticized by the United Nations over alleged human rights abuses during the conflict. Wickramanayake bluntly denied allegations of human rights abuses, saying “no crimes were committed by the army.”

When pressed by Metzl to clarify under what conditions the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would be allowed access to internment camps, Wickramanayake would only say that he supported the ICRC's work "to the extent that [they] will not disturb the normal peace and tranquility that remains within the camps." However, he would not provide any specifics.

Reported by Jamal Afridi, Asia Society Online

Anonymous | 09:25:09 05:25pm
just wait till the rest of the world figures out that the singala majority dominated government is buying time and has no plans to release the idps and more importantly has no plans to address the legitimate grieviences of the Tamils....just wait....it is only a matter of time....
SLFireBall | 09:28:09 01:35pm
We've been waiting and seeing this for 30 years. See what happened in May 2009. History will repeat and Tamils will be vanished from Sri Lanka.
Anonymous | 09:25:09 02:25pm
You are absolutely correct.
Margaret Ladner | 09:24:09 07:21pm
Regarding the IDPs, if there are delays due to the need of mine clearance, why can't the government speed up the process of releasing IDPs so that they can join family members living in other parts of Sri Lanka? What prevents the government from allowing most of the IDPs to leave the camps if they have family members who can host them?
Anonymous | 09:25:09 04:42pm
you are absolutely correct.
SLFireBall | 09:25:09 12:29pm
Hi Margaret, Government has already released elderly IDPS (60+) in this way and called applications from the interested relatives to host the IDSPs. According to the Government sources so far only about 2000 such applications were made. You should agree that this is far less than the number of IDPs. The second reason is the number of former LTTE carders hiding among the IDPS. Still the government forces are recovering so many hidden cashes of weapons, bombs and bomb material by the LTTE. if these hiding LTTE carders were released with out proper screening and if they carry out attacks against the rest of the civilians in Sri Lanka, who is going to be responsible? Do you see the NATO forces accept the responsibility of lack of security in Afghanistan?
Margaret Ladner | 09:24:09 07:00pm
Hon. Prime Minister Wickramanayake: What steps is the government taking to address the political concerns and grievances of the Tamil and Muslim ethnic minorities? What will be done to ensure that Sri Lanka's democracy is and remains responsive to these minority groups and protects their rights fully.
Anonymous | 09:24:09 05:43pm
Sri Lanka has won the war with the LTTE. Now Sri Lanka is having difficult time dealing with the Western World and the UN. Sri Lanka cannot ignore them, as they will need their help in the future. How are they planning to deal with this situation without hurting Sri Lanka?
Anonymous | 09:24:09 05:07pm
In a conversation with journalist, N.Ram, of The Hindu, President Mahinda Rajapakse was quoted in saying, "There are no minorities in Sri Lanka, there are only those who love the country and those who don’t..." This seems to be a rather simplistic dichotomy that dismisses the reality of minority rights in Sri Lanka. Must a "love for one's country" be in opposition to pride for the varying ethnicities, languages, and religious backgrounds in Sri Lanka? Is there no room for a more complex reading of nationalistic pride- one that allows Sri Lankans to embrace their diverse roots, languages, cultures, to grapple with questions of human rights and equity, and to engage in dialogue around our historical struggles? In order to move forward, must we erase the word "minority" or can we deal with the reality of the different needs and struggles of Sri Lanka's distinct communities from various caste, ethnic, religious, and language backgrounds? Is the GoSL equipped to represent a multiethnic/multilingual Sri Lankan nation?
Anonymous | 09:25:09 06:36am
Sri Lanka has since 1948 continued as a multi-ethnic society. Some who were more privileged than the others during colonial rule, sought to maintain their privileges that were fast disappearing. The so-called ethnic crisis is one such attempt where lower caste Tamils who were oppressed by the higher castes sought to bring about change. Some in the upper castes encouraged this for their own purposes. The result was that the poorer sections of the Tamil population got killed fighting the poorer sections of the Sinhala population who joined the Sri Lankan Army. The international debate is based largely on the agenda cleverly set by the LTTE. Many of the various pronouncements made by the diplomatic community and the NGOs ignore the reality of people of different ethnicities co-habiting without any animosity towards each other on the ground. The LTTE's recruitment process also exploited the poor and defenceless. Journalists write in the international media to suit the readership and sell more papers, get more hits, listeners or viewers. The promotion of human rights based on ethnicity keeps fueling the flames. So does the call for release of internally displaced persons from 'internment camps'. It helps journalists get more dramatic stories; gives more employment to large numbers from developed countries in international non-governmental organisations; helps return donor-country money back to the donor countries; and assists certain super-powers to keep control of resources both human and material in a far-flung corner of the world. To the man on the street in Sri Lanka, a weighty discourse on human rights by holier-than-thou countries at international fora mean nothing when those same countries are trying to impoverish him and her by placing restrictions on importing the produce that he sweats for. When will the GOSL be equipped to represent a multiethnic/multilingual Sri Lankan nation? Only when the developed countries that seek world dominion allow poorer countries to develop with respect and dignity.

Post new comment

Your comments are welcome, please adhere to our guidelines

Be respectful. Personal attacks will not be tolerated; nor will profane, abusive or threatening posts.

Keep it short (150 words or less), Stay on topic.

Asia Society reserves the right to moderate all comments and remove or edit for guideline violations. Thank you.

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Type the characters you see in this picture. (verify using audio)
Type the characters you see in the picture above; if you can't read them, submit the form and a new image will be generated. Not case sensitive.