A Herculean task

The Government has decided to consolidate it's Kilinochchi victory by fast tracking a development plan for the liberated Tiger citadel. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said Kilinochchi will be developed on par with the other districts once all landmines have been cleared.

"The Government is committed to look after the needs of those who suffered untold hardships due to terrorism", the Minister added.

Fittingly Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa MP will be at the helm of the planning. Going by the results that is being achieved in the East under his stewardship there is no doubt that this success would be replicated in the newly liberated territory in the North as well.

But the task would be a Herculean one given the massive devastation that has been wrought in the North compared to the East. Also the demography in the North too is quite different to the East in almost every aspect.

Any plan to rebuild the North would have to take into account this feature. The North being the epicentre of the three decade long war the assessment of the devastation alone would be a mind boggling exercise.

The Government would have to virtually begin from the ashes. It is not just the physical devastation that will have to be repaired but the mental scars of the population too would need healing. This could well be a long drawn out process and would have to be undertaken with great tact and care.

What is needed therefore is a holistic approach that would address the overall situation. Rebuilding the North would present a gargantuan task that would necessarily have to be undertaken with foreign assistance. In this regard the keen interest shown by certain Western countries to assist in the Eastern Awakening' program' is a happy augury for the prospects in the North once the development programs there gets underway in earnest.

But as mentioned it is not only the devastation wrought to the infrastructure alone that has to be resuscitated but the resettlement of the population and restoring their livelihoods would be a mind boggling task.

Because mere resettling the population in their dwellings alone would be futile without rebuilding the economy of the region to enable them to eke out an existence. Fisheries and agriculture which were the mainstay of the Northern economy is today in tatters.

Add to this the youth there today are devoid of any skills that would bring them gainful employment due to three decades of war. All these factors need to be addressed in a any proposed development plan.

Above all what is needed is to dispel their sense of alienation and integrate them into the national milieu so they could live without fear or suspicion as children of one nation. Therefore immediate measures are needed to promote fence mending between the North and the South so that our once estranged Northern brethren would be able to function as equals with a sense of belonging.

It is gratifying to note that steps in this direction are already in progress as seen in the liberated East where the youth are gradually being exposed to avenues and opportunities hitherto shut out to them due to the climate of war.

A recent plan mooted to construct an International Cricket stadium in Batticaloa too is a move in the right direction. This is one step to bring the North on par with the rest as hoped for by Minister Yapa.

More and more such projects are needed to boost the integration process. Another way is to arrange for more programs of interaction between the North and South such as in the fields of culture and the arts.

The steps taken to reopen all abandoned cinemas in the East too is a welcome move that would propel the people to indulge in one of their most popular pastimes that was denied to them by the raging conflict. It is hoped that in time to come this scenario would be replicated in the liberated Kilinochchi too which would bring a smile to the faces of the people who had only known tears for the past three decades.

Election Monitors

The Elections Secretariat has confirmed that there would be no foreign monitors for the up coming Provincial Council elections. We are unaware if Foreign monitors were not invited or they had kept away on their own. Whatever be the reasons it is time that the Elections Commission did away with the practice of inviting foreign monitors to oversee our elections.

Sri Lanka is a vibrant democracy and its people have been exercising their franchise even before some the modern states evolved. Besides this amounts to a tacit acceptance that we are unable to conduct our elections smoothly or a free and fair one for that matter.

It is also unbecoming of a sovereign nation and an endorsement that Sri Lanka is not yet a mature democracy. Anyway election monitoring by Foreign agencies has not had any impact on our voters and it is a waste of money and resources to invite them.

On the other hand it also serves to accentuate feelings following an elections due to filing of adverse reports by these monitors. A majority of the election monitors have no grasp of the election cultures in different countries and tend to view things from a different standpoint.

Besides it is well known that some of these foreign monitoring agencies are offshoots of lobby groups of vested interests that are wont to interfere in the domestic affairs of poor Third World countries. Some of them are fifth columnists who come in the garb of election monitors.

No mature democracy would entertain election monitors into their countries. Britain or the USA don't have election monitors but polls in these countries proceed smoothly. It is time Sri Lanka too followed suit.