http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/11/27/news02.asp

Japan praises Lanka’s reconciliation efforts

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

Sri Lanka has taken great strides towards national reconciliation since the end to its war, Japanese Embassy First Secretary Cultural Information Kyohiko Hamada said yesterday. This has led to improved relations between Sinhala and Tamil people in particular, said Hamada during an interview with the Daily News .

“I can say without any doubts that Sri Lanka’s post war reconciliation efforts have reaped positive results over the past three years,”he added.

Asked to elaborate on his observations about Sri Lanka’s post-war reconciliation and national integration process, Hamada said,

It has shown a great deal of progress in terms of establishing confidence between diverse ethnic communities.

“The government has been able to bring people together despite racial and religious differences,” he said.

“I can say without any doubt that there is greater interaction between Sinhalese and Tamil peoples in your country,”he said.

Hamada also said, the Japanese government is ready to mobilize aid to assist Sri Lanka at any time to support its efforts and programmes to achieve social cohesion.

They were planning to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Sri Lanka-Japan diplomatic relations.

A group of Japanese Randooga musicians led by Japanese master jazz pianist, the founder of Randooga genre of music Masahiko Satoh has arrived in Sri Lanka to hold concerts and workshops in Colombo and Jaffna to mark the diplomatic relationships between the two countries.

“We have invited the group to perform Randooga music because the Randooga method integrates people into creating “one” music that encourages everyone to communicate with each other from within. It is a form of music that creates harmony among people and one does not require to be an accomplished musicians to join in it,” he said.

“The group’s first tour of Sri Lanka last year was a tremendous success in terms of creating social harmony through music,” he explained.

Hamada said “he learned from Randooga musicians after their concerts and workshops in Jaffna and Colombo and from those Japanese citizens who have been engaged in development work in Sri Lanka that the people from different ethnic groups in Sri Lanka are interacting among themselves with such ease and harmony. Japan is happy about Sri Lanka’s success with national integration programmes. There is still work to be done and we are happy to help the Sri Lankan government, he added.