Restoring hearts

Restoring hearts
President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his Address to the Nation from Galle Face Green at the Victory Parade said what is most important to prevent the shedding of blood and tears for the country is to restore hearts shattered by violence and ease pain.
The country has seen too much of violence during the period which extended to almost three decades. Many thousands on either side of the divide perished in it. The majority among them is not combatants but ordinary citizens caught in crossfires or terrorist attacks. Each one the dead, whether combatant or civilian left a bereaved family and many grievous hearts. Many were left with no means of livelihood. The number of those who were maimed or debilitated would be even greater. Hence the urgency of restoring the hearts and healing the wounds of war.
There are several prerequisites for this restoration to be completed. First and foremost is guaranteeing that terrorism would not recur. That means looking into the causes that gave rise to it and addressing the issues involved, whether real or imaginary.
The second is to ensure a livelihood for all the victims of war. This also includes the combatants who are now undergoing rehabilitation. This process of rehabilitation by itself would not be a guarantee that they would not take up arms again at a future date. To ensure it, a conducive and free environment should be created for people to lead a life of work and contentment. The latter could be guaranteed through a process of reconciliation and rehabilitation.
As often said it is necessary to evolve a home-grown solution to ensure cordial and friendly relations between various ethnic and religious groups inhabiting our little isle. It has been proved that economic hardships lay at the root of many a militant movement. Ensuring development with equity is a means to eradicate such hardships. Being a poor country, development and ensuring equity would take time. However, if there is perceived commitment to reach that objective and if there is no injustice people would bear it with hope.
In this process of restoring hearts and healing the wounds of war, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission could help much. All nations that underwent such traumatic violent periods have resorted to such an exercise of some sort. It is the democratic and civilized way of erasing the scars of the past.
What the Sri Lankan people including those in the North and the East want at present is peace and tranquility to re-build their lives. Hence, it is most unfortunate that external forces are trying to resurrect the terrorist outfit that breathed its last a year ago. Certain local elements are also facilitating their efforts knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore, a vital need of the moment is to forge unity among the people. For this purpose one has to give up parochial interests in the larger interest of the nation and posterity.
The end of the war has brought about an entirely new situation. Hence it is necessary to give up sectarian ideologies that had their basis on the objective conditions of war and separatism. The new thinking should rather correspond to the need for peace, reconciliation and development.
It is by winning the development war and ensuring stability and prosperity for all one could ensure that the difficult and grand victory achieved over terrorism could be made long lasting and permanent. As the President stressed, the Sri Lankan people have the courage and capability to win the development war too.
Taking an example from the public service he said; “If our public servants make a commitment for four years similar to that by our Heroic Forces, we will be able to make this country the Wonder of Asia”.
What is necessary is the will to do so. If there is a will there is a way.