by Anwar A Khan
4th February 2019 is the 71st Independence Day of Sri Lanka. We know it, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, known as Ceylon before 1972, is a predominantly Buddhist island nation in South Asia. It is often popularly referred to as the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean," and is home to more than 20 million people. Dear Sri Lankan sisters and brothers, please accept my best wishes on this auspicious occasion.
Full of romantic landscapes, stirring mountains, lush green tea gardens and golden beaches, the island nation of Sri Lanka is nothing short of magnificent. The country has no shortage of beautiful awe inspiring spots, natural, historic and cultural, each more picture perfect than the next. Take a trip to these spots, the beautiful places in Sri Lanka and you would find it difficult to leave.
Following the Second World War, popular pressure for independence of the country intensified from the British colonial rule. On February 4, 1948 the country won its independence as the Commonwealth of Ceylon. In 1972, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth, and the name was changed to Sri Lanka. On July 21, 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the first female head of government in post-colonial Asia when she took office as prime minister.
In the 1970s, political conflicts emerged between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities. The Tamil community cited extensive institutional discrimination and political disenfranchisement, and sought increased regional autonomy and affirmative action. In 1971, the Janathā Vimukthi Peramuṇa (JVP) (People's Liberation Front), founded in 1965 with the aim of providing a leading force for a socialist revolution in Sri Lanka, launched a rebellion. Although this JVP rebellion was suppressed, the JVP established a permanent place in Sri Lankan politics as a voice of extreme Sinhalese chauvinism, along with the movement within the UNP associated with Cyril Mathew.
In the 1980s, the island's long-standing peace and stability was shattered by the Tamil separatist movement led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which demanded an independent state of Ealam in northeastern Sri Lanka. A 1986 peace accord brokered by India failed by 1988 when the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) were drawn into a direct military conflict with the LTTE while attempting to disarm the militants. At the same time, the JVP launched its second insurrection in Southern Sri Lanka, necessitating redeployment of the IPKF in 1990. Sri Lankan nationalists sought the exit of Indian troops, and by the year 2000 as many as 50,000 people were killed in battles between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE. In 2002, the Sri Lankan government and LTTE signed a Norwegian-mediated ceasefire agreement.
From 1985 to 2006, Sri Lankan government and Tamil insurgents held four rounds of peace talks without success. Both LTTE and the government resumed fighting in 2006, and the government officially backed out of the ceasefire in 2008. In 2009, under the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lanka Armed Forces defeated the LTTE, and re-established control of the entire country by the Sri Lankan Government. Overall, between 60,000 and 100,000 people were killed during the 26 years of conflict.
Today Sri Lanka has enjoyed a more robust economy, less extreme poverty and a higher level of welfare than many of its neighbouring countries. The country has also endured several decades of civil war. From the time of its independence, the country enjoyed a higher living standard than many of its neighbouring countries in South Asia. However, in the 1970s Sri Lanka underwent an economic crisis. Prices for traditional export products from colonial times, including tea from its plantations, had been falling on the world market for a long period.
From 1970 to 1977, Sirimavo Bandaranaike led a left-wing coalition which emphasised state control of the economy. This was Bandaranaike’s second period in government, the first of which began in 1960 when she became Sri Lanka’s – and the world’s – first woman prime minister. The centre-right wing opposition won the election in 1977. Under J. R. Jayewardene it liberalised the economy, and in the 1980s Sri Lanka underwent a period of considerable economic growth.
A Norwegian-supported programme for rural development in the Hambantota District in the south of the country began in 1979. Rural development programmes were an important aspect of Western development aid in the 1970s and 1980s, and were tested out by the World Bank, among others. Norway supported programmes of this type in several countries, and not all were equally successful. However, the programme in Sri Lanka was considered a resounding success.
The aim of the Hambantota programme was to increase incomes and living standards in rural districts, and included rehabilitation of irrigation systems, forestation and development of agriculture, fisheries and handicraft production. The fact that Sri Lankans themselves largely managed the programme was one of its success factors. Norway later supported similar programmes in two other districts, Monaragala and Batticaloa.
Norwegian development aid also included commodity assistance. This meant that Norway paid for the procurement of goods that Sri Lanka needed, including newsprint paper. Until the mid-1980s, commodity assistance constituted around half of Norwegian development aid.
Sri Lanka’s majority population is Sinhalese. Tamils constitute the largest of the minority groups. Relations between the two groups were periodically fraught with conflict, the conflicts escalated into riots in the 1980s, and from 1983 a prolonged civil war was fought at great cost to the civilian population. The most important of several militant Tamil groups was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who waged an armed struggle with the aim of establishing a separate Tamil state.
Norwegian development cooperation with Sri Lanka became the focus of criticism in Norway following condemnation of the Sri Lankan authorities’ alleged human rights violations during the unrest. In this period, abuses were committed by both sides in the conflict. Some of the aid was reallocated to provide more aid for refugees and rehabilitation of victims of the hostilities.
A peace agreement was entered into in 1988, to be monitored by Indian armed forces. These withdrew in 1992, after being involved in battles with LTTE guerrilla group. From 1990, Norway was involved as a facilitator of peace negotiations, based on contacts established in the context of Norwegian development cooperation with the northern regions of the country. In 1999, Norway was asked to assume a formal role as mediator between the authorities and the LTTE guerrilla group. The ensuing peace negotiations led to a ceasefire agreement in 2002.
As part of the agreement an observer force was set up – the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), headed by Norway. It consisted partly of personnel from the Nordic countries, and partly of locally recruited personnel. The observer force, for which Norway contributed a total of NOK 350 million or 40 per cent of the costs, helped to resolve local conflicts to prevent them from escalating. The SLMM also helped to ensure the release of children who had been forcibly recruited. During this period, the specific aim of Norwegian development cooperation was to support Norway’s role in the peace process.
In 2003, the LTTE withdrew from the negotiations but the ceasefire held. In 2004, the centre-left wing alliance won the parliamentary election. The new government under Mahinda Rajapakse was less inclined towards a peaceful solution than the previous government headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from the United National Party. Rajapakse was also elected president in 2005.
In December 2004, more than 30 000 people were killed in Sri Lanka as a result of a tsunami that affected a number of countries in Southeast and South Asia. The tsunami also led to major material destruction. In January 2005, the Storting (Norwegian parliament) allocated an extraordinary grant of NOK 1 billion to assist tsunami victims throughout the region, including Sri Lanka. 2006 saw the escalation of the military conflict between the LTTE and the government and the failure of new peace negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. Possibilities for the SLMM observer force to operate worsened, and it was disbanded in 2008.
In 2008, the Sri Lankan authorities withdrew from the ceasefire and launched a full military offensive. In May of the following year, the government forces were able to declare victory in the war when they conquered the last area that the LTTE guerrilla group still controlled. In the aftermath of the defeat of the guerrillas, numerous accusations of human rights violations were made. In 2011, the UN requested an inquiry into possible war crimes, and in 2015, Sri Lanka entered into an agreement with the UN on a national reconciliation process. Today there is close contact between the international community and Sri Lankan authorities on implementation of this process.
Norway has supported initiatives for the settlement of those who were internally displaced as a result of the war, as well as peace and reconciliation initiatives. Norway has also contributed to several projects for economic growth in regions of the north that were most severely affected by the civil war. Since 2016, this has included a project under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for value creation in value chains for fruit, vegetables and fish. The project targeted 2000 small-scale producers.
Sri Lanka became a middle-income country in 1997. Revenues from migrant workers have been important since the 1980s, in common with the export-oriented textile industry. In the years following the end of the civil war, the economy grew more rapidly. The proportion living in extreme poverty represents 4.1 per cent of the population, which is significantly lower than most other countries in the region. Moreover, Sri Lanka had lower infant mortality than most other Asian countries (figures for 2012) and in 2013, maternal mortality fell to the same level as more prosperous countries such as Malaysia and South Korea.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, elected in 2005, was voted out of office in 2015 after overseeing a major expansion of Chinese influence in the country. President Maithripala Sirisena was elected in 2015 on pledges to restore parliamentary democracy, rein in corruption, and review infrastructure deals signed with China. The economy is based on exports of processed commodities and garments. Sri Lanka’s economic freedom score is 56.4, making its economy the 115th freest in the 2019 Index.
It is hard to not be stunned by the beautiful murals and statues in this beautifully preserved cave with over 150 statues of Buddha. Experience the peace and silence in this stunning cave temple that bear testimony to the extraordinary cultural artifacts in ancient Sri Lanka.
Experience a peaceful afternoon, staring at the endless sea from the charming Galle Old Dutch Fort, the best preserved sea fort within South Asia. Nothing is going to make you want to turn back! This place is for those who are deeply interested in history. It is said that the establishment of this fort dates back to the 16th century. The maintenance is not perfect, but one can see history peeping through the fort. There is a sea nearby and you can get that perfect view from the top of the fort. One can even walk on the shore too.
This will be completely unfair and your trip will not be complete if you do not visit the city of Colombo, which is the capital of Sri Lanka. There are several places in this city that you can visit and that will attract you definitely. The city is beautiful overall and the beauty of it cannot be described in words.
Sri Lanka is undoubtedly a beautiful city, but commercialisation has made its place in the country. Thus, resulting in overcrowded places and markets, but if you want to spend really peaceful time in Sri Lanka, then Beira Lake is the place for you. After that long and tiring shopping and travel if you want to sit calmly and relax your mind, then come to Beira Lake and have a boat ride there. You will feel as if all your tiredness and tension has gone. The lake is very beautiful as it has green water and also because of the lots of Ducks that remain in the water and appear in front of the visitors during the boat ride. One can even go with a paddle boat as they too are available for rent. This lake offers an overall peaceful experience to the visitors.
Apart from all other beautiful natural features, Sri Lanka is best known for its beaches. There are many popular beaches in this country and it is said that they come in one of the most beautiful beaches in Asia. The beaches here are not just for the sake of enjoyment along the side of the sea, but one can even enjoy going in the water. One can get such an amazing experience after visiting the Arugam Bay. It is said that this beach is the most enjoyable of all. One can easily dress up in their swimwear and can go into the water if they want.
Apart from this, the beach offers a lot of water activities too, to its visitors. These activities include diving, speed boating, and many others. What makes this beach beautiful of all the beaches in Sri Lanka is the blue water that it has and the coconut trees that are there on the beach. With all these features, this beach has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sri Lanka and is a must visit.
I, being a foreigner, remember the words of Eisenhower Fellow and Attorney-at-Law Saliya Pieris, “ When Sri Lanka’s military forces finally defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009 ending thirty years of civil war, the outcome was greeted in many parts of the country with joy by a people who had endured years of terrorism and violence. However, with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, the country now faces another struggle of developing a truly democratic society underpinned by the rule of law, judicial independence and a vibrant civil society.” Pieris has further said , “Civil society in Sri Lanka needs to take a more proactive role in challenging the barriers confronting democracy and to bring pressure to bear for change.”
However, like a venerated Sri Lankan brother, the writer of this piece of Bangladesh echoes the same sentiment, “Let us all communities come and celebrate this auspicious occasion. Let us use this occasion to strengthen community unity among all Sri Lankans without any discrimination based on our ethnicity, language and religions. Let us live as children of one Mother Lanka. Let us hope and pray for prosperous Lanka for the future generations.” Long live Sri Lanka and its people in peace, progress and prosperity.
-The End –
The writer is a senior citizen of Bangladesh, writes on politics, political and human-centred figures, current and international affairs.
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