- Friday, February 28, 2025
During a meeting on Thursday (8), Wickremesinghe sought the progress of initiatives in five key areas, namely legislation, institutional activities, land issues, prisoner release and power decentralisation of power.
By: India Weekly Staff
Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed relevant government departments to expedite the drafting of legislation necessary for the implementation of the Action Plan for Reconciliation that seeks to address the thorny issue of ethnic reconciliation of Tamilians in the island-nation.
Sri Lanka has endured a three-decade conflict including a protracted and brutal armed conflict, between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the country’s armed forces.
On May 18, 2009, the separatist campaign led by the LTTE to establish a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern province of the island nation came to an end with the killing of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) supremo Velupillai Prabakaran by the Sri Lankan Army.
In 2015, the Sri Lankan government renewed its commitment to reconciliation and thereafter embarked on several initiatives for national reconciliation.
The Action Plan for Reconciliation was part of the government’s need for a comprehensive national policy to resolve these prickly issues.
During a meeting on Thursday (8), Wickremesinghe sought the progress of initiatives in five key areas, namely legislation, institutional activities, land issues, prisoner release, and power decentralisation, which were also reviewed, the president’s media division said in a media release.
The implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the establishment of a National Land Council, and the formulation of a National Land Policy were among the matters that were also discussed.
Additionally, the president emphasised the need for enhanced operations of the Office of Missing Persons, including digitisation efforts and the issuance of Certificates of Absence for individuals who had previously disappeared without a trace, the press release said.
Furthermore, Wickremesinghe also instructed the relevant parties to complete the ongoing initiatives to establish the Office of Reparations and the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation within the next two to three months, it said.
A comprehensive report on the progress of these programmes was also requested, it added. To address the release of prisoners and matters of amnesty, the president instructed the relevant officials to submit a detailed report through the justice ministry.
Minister of foreign affairs Ali Sabri, president’s senior adviser on national security and chief of presidential staff Sagala Ratnayaka were some of the key members who participated in the meeting.
Sinhalese, mostly Buddhist, make up nearly 75 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 22 million population while Tamils make up 15 per cent.
The majority hardline Buddhist clergy has also been thwarting attempts for reconciliation with the Tamil minority since 1948 when the country gained its independence from Britain.
The Tamils allege that thousands were massacred during the final stages of the war that ended in 2009, a charge the Sri Lankan Army denies.
(PTI)
