ERIC SOLDHEIM AND PEACE BUILDING IN SRI LANKA
Posted on January 3rd, 2023
BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS
Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka ascends many issues and the process of peacebuilding has been a giant process since before 1983 that required considering different influential factors related to the nature of ethnic and religious beliefs of people. When Sri Lanka faced the problem of loss of peace among ethnic communities there was an easy role to rebuild the peace, but the reality consisted of a giant manipulation and misunderstanding role and many neglected aspects associated with economic, social, and religious flow outs and the process involved with humans than any other factors. Does Sri Lanka need outsiders for building peace is a serious question and why outsiders are involved in the peace-building process seems concerned with international politics? How the ethnic peace in the country had been maintained since the era of homo sapiens would provide strong support for policy developments and when outsiders come to interfere with the process it has gone out of order. Generally, ordinary people believe that no place could be built in the country with the involvement of outsiders.
The experience of the era of Lord Buddha indicates that the People of Sri Lanka will agree with outsiders if outsiders’ work consists of the feeling of domestic people. Consider the facts in the way how Lord Buddha approached in history and why that process was successful. Will Eric Solheim’s approach or ready to approach similar way is doubtful among Sri Lankan especially the majority community Sinhalese? I think, president Wickremasinghe knows this situation and did not make any speech containing his views in public.
When people noticed the news that Eric Solheim re-emerged in the peace-building process many talked that peacebuilding in the country might be a dream than an achievable reality because the expectations under the leadership of Solheim would not be successful and it contains a double game.
Why Solheim is reluctant to make a public statement considering the democratic values of Sri Lankans? In fact, he doesn’t want to Sri Lankans be in peace together without ethnic differences, he is a person looking for a job to survive. He needs a conflict to make his approach.