President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said that a meaningful engagement with the Tamil community through domestic institutions is essential for achieving lasting peace in Sri Lanka. Addressing the high-level UN General Debate here on Wednesday, he stressed that his government stands ready to engage with all stakeholders and seek the support of its international partners in the process.
In 2019, Sri Lanka experienced devastation wrought by extremist religious terrorists Easter Sunday attack that killed more than 250 people. Referring to the conflict with the LTTE, he said, “Earlier, till 2009” the country was “suffering from a separatist terrorist war for 30 years”.
global challenge
“Terrorism is a global challenge that requires international cooperation, especially on matters such as intelligence sharing, if it is to be overcome,” Mr. Rajapaksa said.
To achieve lasting peace, it is necessary to promote greater accountability, restorative justice and meaningful reconciliation through domestic institutions, he said.
equal participation
“It is therefore also ensuring more equal participation in the fruits of economic development,” he said, adding that it will build a prosperous, stable and secure future for all Sri Lankans, regardless of their government’s ethnicity, religion or gender. have a strong intention to do so.
Mr Rajapaksa stressed that Sri Lanka stands ready to engage with all domestic stakeholders in this process and to seek the support of its international partners and the United Nations.
The Sri Lankan leader said violence over the past half century has robbed his country of thousands of lives and decades of prosperity and expressed his government’s commitment “to ensure such violence never happens again in Sri Lanka. We are working to address the core issues behind this.”
“However, history has shown that lasting results can be achieved only through domestic institutions reflecting the aspirations of the people. Sri Lanka’s parliament, judiciary and its independent statutory bodies must have unrestricted scope to exercise their functions and responsibilities.”
Mr Rajapaksa’s remarks came as the United Nations Human Rights Council announced in Geneva last week that it had nearly 120,000 evidence of alleged abuse by Sri Lankan soldiers during the final stages of the conflict with the LTTE.
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