{"id":40178,"date":"2015-04-03T00:18:19","date_gmt":"2015-04-03T04:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=40178"},"modified":"2015-04-03T00:24:07","modified_gmt":"2015-04-03T04:24:07","slug":"efforts-to-promote-national-unity-will-break-down-unless-there-is-reconciliation-chandrika-kumaratunga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=40178","title":{"rendered":"“Efforts to Promote National Unity in Sri Lanka will Break Down Unless there is Reconciliation”-Chandrika Kumaratunga"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

The government\u2019s efforts to promote national unity in Sri Lanka will break down unless there is reconciliation, according to the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is absolutely crucial,\u201d Ms. Kumaratunga told The Hindu in her first interview to international media in some years.<\/p>\n

Recently invited to head a special presidential task force on reconciliation, she said it would be transformed into a permanent office on national unity and reconciliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been very encouraged by the reaction we have had already [received] from the international community, including India which is offering us a lot of help to do all this work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2018Sri Lanka restoring ties with India\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka is now reverting to a foreign policy based on a principle of \u201cdynamic active non-alignment\u201d, Ms. Kumaratunga said.<\/p>\n

She said the country was working hard to re-establish good relations with India after they were \u201ccompletely sabotaged\u201d by the past government.<\/p>\n

Ms. Kumaratunga \u2014 who met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Sri Lanka in March \u2013 said Mr. Modi, was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country in a long time, and also two months after the new government came in. \u201cSo it was a very strong message of friendship that he gave us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever since her return to politics late 2014, backing the joint opposition platform against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Ms. Kumaratunga has been actively engaged in the reconciliatory efforts of the new government under President Maithripala Sirisena.<\/p>\n

Attired in a summery white kurta and trousers, Ms. Kumaratunga spoke to this correspondent in the high-roofed reception room of her home in the heart of Colombo.<\/p>\n

Currently focusing on rebuilding the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) \u2014 founded by her father S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, subsequently led by her mother Sirimavo Bandaranaike and later herself \u2014 which according to her was effectively weakened by Mr. Rajapaksa, she plans to travel across the country with President Maithripala Sirisena to speak to the people at the field level and \u201calleviate the problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr. Rajapaksa, she said, was defeated by the people of Sri Lanka in a democratic election mainly for his bad governance \u201chis family\u2019s corruption, the lack of human rights and some murders and the lack of freedom overall\u201d.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the regime change that the island witnessed in January 2015, the former President said: <\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that everybody says, including his Ministers, is that even if we get nothing the feeling of freedom we have, after the Rajapaksas went, is so great. This was a police state. The people voted them out.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the new government took over, the engagement between Colombo and the Tamil National Alliance, the main Tamil party representing Sri Lanka\u2019s northern Tamils, in her view, has been \u201cexcellent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [the TNA] have to shout once in a while to keep their identity but we have very good relations,\u201d she said, on concerns raised by sections within the TNA over the pace and direction of the new government\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n

Rules out return to \u2018ugly\u2019 electoral politics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Observing that she would now like to contribute to reconciliatory efforts in the country, Ms. Kumaratunga however ruled out returning to electoral politics. Asked if her son Vimukti would \u2014 amid local reports speculating on his entry to politics \u2014 she said: \u201cI don\u2019t want to speak for my son but I definitely will not come into electoral politics. I think it is very ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n

This, she noted, despite sections among the international community insisting that she consider returning. On whether India was among those countries keen on her return, she said, \u201cNo comments.\u201d <\/p>\n


\nCourtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan The government\u2019s efforts to promote national unity in Sri Lanka will break down unless there is reconciliation, according to the former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. \u201cI think it is absolutely crucial,\u201d Ms. Kumaratunga told The Hindu in her first interview to international media in some years. Recently invited to head a special …<\/p>\n

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