Peace with dignity in an undivided country

My Government will give the highest priority to launch a new peace process to usher in a lasting peace through a political solution to the country's national question. Our method is discussion instead of war. We are aware that such discussions are not simple and easy. Yet it is the only way to peace. I wish to state here that my Government is ready to have direct talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The political solution to a lasting peace should be based on a consensus reached through discussions among all parties linked to the problem and it should receive the approval of majority of the people of this country. Our policy for reaching such a consensus is as follows:

In order to realize a lasting peace by solving the national crisis, we propose to build a new social democratic state that upholds political pluralism [and] the aspirations and rights of all sections of our society. Based on that principle we will pursue the following policy to reach a national consensus for peace with dignity.

i. Starting an open and transparent peace process.

The current Ceasefire Agreement will be revised to ensure the protection of human rights, prevent recruitment of children for war, safeguard national security, prevent terrorist acts, pave the way to rebuild lives that were shattered by war and the tsunami in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and introduce an open and transparent ceasefire monitoring machinery.

The failure of the United Front Government's peace efforts was the result of the peace talks being confined only to the Government and the LTTE. Instead of such an unsuccessful bipartisan approach there will be a new peace process in which all parties involved in the crisis can participate.

1. An open and sincere invitation will be given to the country's main Opposition to participate in such a process.

2. Special attention will be paid ensure Muslim people's representation in peace talks.

3. The peace process will be continued openly and transparently to reach a broad consensus within a definite time frame.

4. The facilitation and mediation extended by the United Nations and other such organizations that support peace in Sri Lanka, all friendly countries, the international community, India and other regional states will be properly organized and utilized to strengthen the peace process.

ii. Creation of a government infrastructure that will safeguard Sri Lanka's sovereignty, territorial integrity, unitary nature of the state and the people's national identity with the participation of all sections of our society as positive shareholders in a pluralistic system for the maximum devolution of power within an undivided sovereign democratic republic.

Instead of the concepts of traditional homelands and self-determination that allow an ethnic group to break away from the Republic of Sri Lanka, steps will be taken to ensure for all communities, including Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and Malay, the freedom to exercise all the rights enshrined in the Constitution - including the right to live in any part of Sri Lanka on the grounds that the entire territory is the homeland of all communities.

All citizens will be equal before the law and no citizens will be discriminated on account of ethnicity, caste, religion, sex, political beliefs or place of birth.

Steps will be taken to ensure freedom of conscience, religious freedom including the right of all citizens to embrace any religion or faith.

Appointment of a Commission to re-demarcate Secretarial Divisions, District and Provincial boundaries to suit new socioeconomic, environmental and political requirements for the establishment of grassroots level democratic people's representative organizations that will help all citizens to share the benefits of the country's mineral, water, land, oceanic and other natural resources, harbours, the beaches and human resources, to protect ethnic rights, accelerate rural development, secure the participation of all communities in the development process and launch large-scale development projects.

Public participation in the peace process will be encouraged to reach a broad national consensus through a series of open discussions based on the above points while the country's political parties, pressure groups, voluntary organizations, religious organizations and the media will be invited to contribute to a culture of peace.

Constitutional reforms will be proposed and approved according to proper legal procedures in order to include the objectives reached through a broad consensus in the state infrastructure.

iii. Rebuilding of lives affected by war and tsunami in the North and East will be parallel to the peace process and will be utilized to build up confidence [among] all communities that support peace.

A new Tsunami Reconstruction administrative infrastructure that will coordinate with the Central Government, provincial councils, pradeshiya sabhas, political parties and voluntary organizations will be introduced in place of the controversial P-TOMS which is now before the courts. This new setup will be linked to ‘Jaya Lanka', the Government's overall tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation program.

New projects will be introduced in the North and East to accelerate the rehabilitation and reconstruction process in the two provinces.

A new Authority, named Jaathika Saviya, will be set up to resettle with no discrimination all people displaced by war in their hometowns and ensure for them a livelihood. Each resettled family will be initially paid Rs. 150,000 and Rs. 250,000 for a permanent house. Likewise we hope to provide tax money to all those lost houses and property due to the establishment of High Security Zones.

Security forces will be ordered to do security checks without causing harassment or embarrassment to anyone. Special units will be set up in all police stations to enable to people to make complaints in their own language without fear or suspicion. A three-year crash program will be launched to expedite the full implementation of the official language policy in police stations, government offices and other public places and minimize obstacles that Tamil-speaking people face when dealing with the state organizations.

Realistic reforms will be done to make it clear at all state functions that Sri Lanka belongs to all of its citizens.

Steps will be taken to build the intellectual, moral and spiritual environment required for building peace and considering it as a collective effort rather than a miracle or the work of one man or political party.

Click on the link below for the full Policy Statement of President Mahinda Rajapaksa:

http://www.mahindarajapaksa.com/LNews/nov2505_01.php