Jaliya Wickremarachchi CSLAT [Canadian Sri Lankans Against Terrorism]

Now that Sri Lanka has defeated the Tiger terrorists, it is the right time to start the healing process, and look forward to the future by reaching out to our friends and foes alike. Also, Sri Lanka needs all the help it can get to re-settle nearly 300,000 IDPs, which is a daunting task for any country. There is no reason to harbor ill-will towards anyone or any country. Besides, we have just proved to the entire world that Sri lanka will no longer be intimidated or pushed around, especially by the Western bullies and their phony Human Rights organizations and NGOs.

Sri Lanka must take the high road, and take every effort to build a civil society free of fear, corruptions, prejudice, and practice the rule of law and fairness to all its citizens regardless of their ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. Yes, it is a tall order, but anything less will keep us divided forever.

The government and its law enforcing agencies should NEVER leave any room to create another black July ever, by thugs or hooligans – be they Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims, etc. It is the responsibility of the government to maintain law and order in the country, and as such we all hope His Excellency President Rajapakse will realize that defeating terrorism is just the beginning, and the next big challenge is to eliminate the wide-spread culture of corruptions, political cronyism, and create economic and social conditions where all Sri Lankans will have equal opportunities to economic prosperity without prejudice and favoritism.

It is not a fair society when only about 5% of the total population enjoys 85% of the wealth and privileges, while the rest of the population is having a hard time making their ends meet.. In my opinion, poor economic and social conditions, political corruptions, combined with lack of opportunities for the youths, are the biggest contributors to the unrest in any country – more than so-called “ethnic grievances.” Economic development must be the top priority, now that the financial burden of the costly war is over.

The Sri Lankan government must move forward quickly to establish a united Sri Lanka, without any special privileges or concessions to any particular ethnic group, and bring forward genuine constitutional changes quickly guaranteeing equal rights for every citizen. There is no reason to create regional boundaries along the ethnic and racial lines – which is a recipe for disaster as we have seen in the past.

It is time the minorities realize that they are part of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka is part of them, and no ethnic minority (or the majority for that matter..) should have the exclusive rights to claim part of Sri Lanka just because the majority of citizens in that area happen to belong to one particular ethnic group.. Sri Lanka belongs to all its citizens regardless of their different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. Both, majority and minority communities need to understand this fact and learn to live in peace & harmony, respecting and appreciating their differences.

Unfortunately, the Eelam dreamers of pro-LTTE Tamil Diaspora seem to have a hard time accepting this reality. Anyway, that is their problem, not ours. On the other hand, no matter what we do, some will never be happy….!
Jaliya Wickremarachchi