A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Tuesday, October 25, 2016
UNREST IN THE NORTH OF SRI LANKA: HOLD IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATION, ESTABLISH NORMALCY & DEVOLVE POWER
( Jaffna students blocked A 9 road in protest; Image courtesy of Garikaalan Twitter)
The
importance of restoring normalcy to the North has become evident in the
aftermath of the fatal shooting incident involving two university
students. The students were shot by police when they failed to stop at a
police check point in the early hours of the morning. Students and
businesses in Jaffna have been engaging in public protests. There are
suspicions voiced in the North that this was a planned incident to
deliberately create tensions which would justify a continued strong
military presence. In a context in which the North (and East) of the
country continue to remain militarized, with large contingents of
military personnel in the two provinces, such incidents are also bound
to be seen in ethnic terms and therefore contribute to a spiral of
negative sentiment.
The National Peace Council condemns the shooting of the unarmed students
and welcomes President Maithripala Sirisena’s swift order to the police
to conduct an investigation of this incident. He has also ordered
compensation to the bereaved families. We condole with the families who
have experienced this tragedy. We call for an impartial investigation
that will be seen to be impartial in addition to being impartial. We
are aware of a massive trust deficit due to the lack of normalcy in the
affairs of the North.
We also note that the initial report filed by the police stated that
the deaths were caused by a traffic accident. The five police personnel
involved have been arrested which is a positive indication of the law
taking its course.
In restoring normalcy to the North and East of the country, where most
of the three decade long war was fought, we call on the government to
emphasise the building of good relations between the police and the
people. The local recruitment of more police officers will be
necessary. We also call on the government to work with the elected
authorities in the North and East, especially the provincial councils to
ensure that law and order prevails in a manner so that the people feel
greater confidence that all levels of government are functioning for
their benefit.
At the present time the government is absorbed in a
constitutional reform exercise that involves the whole parliament but
whose outcome is not certain.
Instead of waiting an indefinite period for this constitutional reform
process to be finalized, we call on the government to implement the 13th
Amendment to the constitution, which exists as the supreme law of the
land, and devolve police powers to the provincial councils.
Sustainable solutions require dealing with all of the relevant issues
articulated by civilians and political leaders in the North and East.
It equally demands that all interests are at least acknowledged, if not
entirely satisfied in the short term. Failure to do so would
potentially lead to negative outcomes in the long term.