Public commitment to Reconciliation Though I am still getting to terms with Facebook and Twitter, and find the range of interventions excessive, many interesting points emerge. In response to what seemed a group of idealists, I thought I should draw attention to the National Reconciliation Policy, and hope that they and others will act as advocates for this. The Reconciliation Office, which I maintained for a couple of years before I told the Presidential Secretariat to close it down since it was a waste of money (none of my advice being taken by the President), drafted this with inputs from two of the most decent and thoughtful men in politics today, Eran Wickramaratne and M A Sumanthiran. I was deeply saddened that the first did not get a cabinet portfolio, and that the second (or rather his party) refused one, since they would have contributed immeasurably to Reconciliation in a way that I suspect no one in the Cabinet is now passionate about. The draft is available on peaceinsrilanka in the Human Rights section, and I hope all those who read it will disseminate it widely. The former President was sadly not at all interested, though he claimed he had passed it on to Lalith Weeratunge. Lalith said he had not received it, and when I sent a second copy and found that that too was ignored, I realized the writing was on the wall, for our efforts at least. But even now I hope that we do not try to reinvent the wheel, and that the Prime Minister will take a look at this. My disappointment that Reconciliation had been ignored in the first Cabinet list we got was alleviated when I found it came under him.In writing to the President’s Secretary about the last bits of equipment and the staff I had used for Regional Reconciliation meetings, I suggested he revive the document. But he has much else to do (which is why I have always felt that Reconciliation required a dedicated agency). I believe therefore that public interest and commitment would help considerably, in making it clear that this is what the nation wants, not the divisiveness of the last couple of years. .
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 06:24:13 +0000
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