Unless these things are done quickly, the LTTE will strike and create violence and chaos yet again. Also, imagine the difference between the suggestions above and the destructive ideology of the LTTE who has to date sent thousands of poor Tamil youth to their deaths, trained thousands more in a destructive militant culture and destroyed their future and dragged the entire Tamil community of the north into an unwanted war!By: Patriot
The recent driving away of the LTTE from the east by the Sri Lankan army with, gladly, very little bloodshed is good news for all Sri Lankans and especially for the Tamil people in the East.
It opens up a golden opportunity for the government of Sri Lanka to really put its words into action about promoting ethnic harmony and peace.
I fear that the best way to bring peace to the east is to consolidate what is gained by quickly holding elections in the east and to bring in an elected civilian administration there as soon as possible. Also the best way towards ethnic harmony and amity is to quickly repair and renew the infrastructure and most especially the schools and hospitals of the area. The best way to gain the confidence of the eastern people is surely to accelerate as much as possible economic development in the east and most especially infrastructure development as well as creating job opportunities for the youth.
One sure way of bringing peace is for rapid economic development of the east and repair and renewal of the infrastructure of the area. This would definitely give confidence to the people of the area. Surely it is not that difficult to implement plans to develop the infrastructure of the area as rapidly as possible? It may cost some amount of money in the short term but nowhere near as the cost of war!
In addition, there should be a lot more communications between the youth of the two communities Sinhalese and Tamil with interactions and communications to build bridges and create a peaceful atmosphere of brotherhood. This is a must if peace is to reign one day. I truly believe that the secret ingredient missing so far for peace to reign is love between the two communities at loggerheads and if both the Tamils and Sinhalese have love in their hearts for the 'other' then peace will come easily, and this goes for both communities Tamil and Sinhalese. I am not suggesting that love alone will bring peace but I believe that it will be the main driver towards a peaceful atmosphere to reign and for all the Sri Lankan communities to gain confidence in each other. For this to happen, there must be a lot more dialogue and interaction between especially the youth of the two communities for mutual understanding to be built. So the government should as a matter of urgency make sure that this becomes part of the school curriculum. Is this so hard to achieve?
Unless these things are done quickly to give people of the area a renewed confidence, who knows, the LTTE may wreck havoc again!
Also we know that there has to be a political solution in the future. Let the intellectuals amongst the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims come together and come to a consensus on this like the All Party Representative Committe (APRC) is doing by looking at different ways of sharing political power by effective devolution of power. This is a must since the Tamil people obviously want more political power than at present.
In the meantime though, the best way for the government to win the confidence of the Tamil people is to implement the language laws to the full and really make sure that the Tamil language is used in an equivalent manner to Sinhalese in all dealings with the government. Why don't the government make sure there are more teachers, administrators, policemen etc who are conversant in Tamil? If the government can't find enough qualified personnel why not hire from South India or bring back to work retired people who are bilingual? Why not encourage the youth to learn Tamil as well and why not encourage the use of English as a link language especially in the urban areas? Why not hold training for the government administrators to learn English as well as Tamil. The promotion of English amongst the educated urban Tamil and Sinhalese youth is a must not just for peace but for dialogue with the outside world amongst other matters! One of the main reasons for the present conflict is lack of understanding each others languages and not being able to use English as a link language. So this must be remedied as soon as possible. These measures may cost some money in the short term but nowhere as near the cost of a war or the resultant suffering for all sides concerned. In the long run, these measures are very good value for money!
A further reason for conflict is due to the youth in the conflict areas not having employment opportunities. If these youth are not given opportunities to better themselves, they will surely join militant groups as without any kind of employment they would be penniless and disenchanted. It is imperative for the government of Sri Lanka to create proper employment opportunities for the youth for the conflict situation to come to an end.
In conclusion, the government has a golden opportunity to bring peace to the east and later on to the north and the best way is to quickly bring on civilian administrations to these areas, rapid infrastructure building and repair and economic development and creation of job opportunities for the youth and by fully implementing language laws to the full.
In the meantime, the government as well as the intellectuals in the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities should sit together and find the best ways for effective devolution of power which is acceptable to all. Of course, the government must always let the LTTE come to the negotiation table if they are serious about peace talks and is fully committed to peace.
Unless these things are done quickly, the LTTE will strike and create violence and chaos yet again. Also, imagine the difference between the suggestions above and the destructive ideology of the LTTE who has to date sent thousands of poor Tamil youth to their deaths, trained thousands more in a destructive militant culture and destroyed their future and dragged the entire Tamil community of the north into an unwanted war!
So it is time that the government of Sri Lanka implements at least the measures suggested above and consolidate the gains they have made in the east before the LTTE strikes again.
The recent driving away of the LTTE from the east by the Sri Lankan army with, gladly, very little bloodshed is good news for all Sri Lankans and especially for the Tamil people in the East.
It opens up a golden opportunity for the government of Sri Lanka to really put its words into action about promoting ethnic harmony and peace.
I fear that the best way to bring peace to the east is to consolidate what is gained by quickly holding elections in the east and to bring in an elected civilian administration there as soon as possible. Also the best way towards ethnic harmony and amity is to quickly repair and renew the infrastructure and most especially the schools and hospitals of the area. The best way to gain the confidence of the eastern people is surely to accelerate as much as possible economic development in the east and most especially infrastructure development as well as creating job opportunities for the youth.
One sure way of bringing peace is for rapid economic development of the east and repair and renewal of the infrastructure of the area. This would definitely give confidence to the people of the area. Surely it is not that difficult to implement plans to develop the infrastructure of the area as rapidly as possible? It may cost some amount of money in the short term but nowhere near as the cost of war!
In addition, there should be a lot more communications between the youth of the two communities Sinhalese and Tamil with interactions and communications to build bridges and create a peaceful atmosphere of brotherhood. This is a must if peace is to reign one day. I truly believe that the secret ingredient missing so far for peace to reign is love between the two communities at loggerheads and if both the Tamils and Sinhalese have love in their hearts for the 'other' then peace will come easily, and this goes for both communities Tamil and Sinhalese. I am not suggesting that love alone will bring peace but I believe that it will be the main driver towards a peaceful atmosphere to reign and for all the Sri Lankan communities to gain confidence in each other. For this to happen, there must be a lot more dialogue and interaction between especially the youth of the two communities for mutual understanding to be built. So the government should as a matter of urgency make sure that this becomes part of the school curriculum. Is this so hard to achieve?
Unless these things are done quickly to give people of the area a renewed confidence, who knows, the LTTE may wreck havoc again!
Also we know that there has to be a political solution in the future. Let the intellectuals amongst the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims come together and come to a consensus on this like the All Party Representative Committe (APRC) is doing by looking at different ways of sharing political power by effective devolution of power. This is a must since the Tamil people obviously want more political power than at present.
In the meantime though, the best way for the government to win the confidence of the Tamil people is to implement the language laws to the full and really make sure that the Tamil language is used in an equivalent manner to Sinhalese in all dealings with the government. Why don't the government make sure there are more teachers, administrators, policemen etc who are conversant in Tamil? If the government can't find enough qualified personnel why not hire from South India or bring back to work retired people who are bilingual? Why not encourage the youth to learn Tamil as well and why not encourage the use of English as a link language especially in the urban areas? Why not hold training for the government administrators to learn English as well as Tamil. The promotion of English amongst the educated urban Tamil and Sinhalese youth is a must not just for peace but for dialogue with the outside world amongst other matters! One of the main reasons for the present conflict is lack of understanding each others languages and not being able to use English as a link language. So this must be remedied as soon as possible. These measures may cost some money in the short term but nowhere as near the cost of a war or the resultant suffering for all sides concerned. In the long run, these measures are very good value for money!
A further reason for conflict is due to the youth in the conflict areas not having employment opportunities. If these youth are not given opportunities to better themselves, they will surely join militant groups as without any kind of employment they would be penniless and disenchanted. It is imperative for the government of Sri Lanka to create proper employment opportunities for the youth for the conflict situation to come to an end.
In conclusion, the government has a golden opportunity to bring peace to the east and later on to the north and the best way is to quickly bring on civilian administrations to these areas, rapid infrastructure building and repair and economic development and creation of job opportunities for the youth and by fully implementing language laws to the full.
In the meantime, the government as well as the intellectuals in the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities should sit together and find the best ways for effective devolution of power which is acceptable to all. Of course, the government must always let the LTTE come to the negotiation table if they are serious about peace talks and is fully committed to peace.
Unless these things are done quickly, the LTTE will strike and create violence and chaos yet again. Also, imagine the difference between the suggestions above and the destructive ideology of the LTTE who has to date sent thousands of poor Tamil youth to their deaths, trained thousands more in a destructive militant culture and destroyed their future and dragged the entire Tamil community of the north into an unwanted war!
So it is time that the government of Sri Lanka implements at least the measures suggested above and consolidate the gains they have made in the east before the LTTE strikes again.
Post a Comment