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'Speedy political
solution needed for ethnic tensions in Lanka'
A newly appointed
Catholic cardinal has said that only a speedy
political solution to the festering issues of
the minorities could resolve long-standing
ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka. Appearing before
the government-appointed panel looking into the
civil war that ended in 2009, Cardinal Malcolm
Ranjith said though fighting was over between
government troops and Tamil Tigers, only a
political solution could help in fully resolving
the conflict. According to the Island newspaper,
he told the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation
Commission (LLRC) that the grievances of the
minorities should be addressed politically. "It
is only a political solution that will help to
eliminate the root causes of violent
insurrection, ethnic disharmony and suspicion
and mistrust between communities. We believe
that the search for a political solution to the
ethnic conflict must be intensified," the
cardinal was quoted as having told the LLRC.
Reverend Dr Malcolm Ranjith, who is the
Archbishop of Colombo, was elevated to the
position of Cardinal in October and will be
anointed later this month. The Island newspaper
said that the Cardinal asserted that the Sinhala
Only Act and several other laws, particularly
the 1972 Constitution, introduced by different
governments had caused ethnic tensions and
created the situation leading to a bloody war.
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"He cited
controversial colonization schemes in the
Northern and Eastern Provinces as another cause
of ethnic tension. He called for meaningful
measures in the post-war era to restore
confidence among the minorities as part of a
strategy to prevent bloodshed in the future,"
the newspaper said. The Cardinal said attempts
were being made to change the demographic
make-up of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, where
the ethnic Tamils were in majority. Since the
end of the war in May, 2009, the government has
made progress in resettling the 300000 displaced
Tamils and dismantling military-monitored camps.
But critics say there’s be no progress any
addressing issues raised by the Tamil community
including the devolution of local administrative
powers
