District Reconciliation Committeess meet at BMICH

The District Reconciliation Committees (DRCs) met at the Bandaranaike Memorial Conference Hall (BMICH) to discuss reconciliation strategies.

The DRC is a brainchild of President Maithripala Sirisena as National Integration and Reconciliation Minister.

It was approved by the Cabinet to resolve ethnic and religious tensions.

BMICH show 25 DRCs with over 200 inter-religious leaders, District Secretaries including retired magistrates and retired principals meeting on January 1. They commenced the programmes with the Pledge of National Declaration on Reconciliation and the seven Core Values/Virtues on Reconciliation.

Over 250 participants representing 25 districts met to initiate reconciliation intervention programmes, examine the issues and challenges including operational modalities.

The forum discussed the need to meet regularly, address tensions, maintain database on incidents on ethnic and religious tensions, address attacks on religious places of worship, hate speeches, and negative messages through social media. The forum also discuss promoting peace journalism, inculcating core values and virtues among schoolchildren youths and universities, adults, and Sunday religious schoolteachers, National Integration and Reconciliation Ministry Secretary V. Sivagnanasothy said.

The programme aimed at identifying the capacity gaps and providing skills and training on non-violent conflict resolution methods to the DRC members. The DRCs were expected to promote unity, integration, reconciliation and peace-building at the grass-roots level.

V. Sivagnanasothy, Secretary, Ministry of National Integration and Reconciliation; Bryce Hutchesson, High Commissioner of the Australian High Commission; David McKinnon, High Commissioner of the Canadian High Commission; ManoTittawella, Secretary General of Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms; Una McCauley, Resident Coordinator of United Nations; Libuse Sokoupova, Head of Delegation/First Secretary of European Union; Paul Green, First Secretary of the British High Commission,and Christoph Feyen, Programme, Director/Senior Advisor of GIZ were present.

The European Union funded ‘Strengthening the Reconciliation Processes in Sri Lanka’ supported the forum.