[lg policy] Sri Lanka: Looking To Build The Hearts And Minds Of People

[Harold Schiffman]

Looking To Build The Hearts And Minds Of People

   - *Minister Ganesan stressed the importance of getting involved in peace
   building and reconciliation*
   - *NPC’s project was implemented with the support of FOKUS in nine
   districts*
   - *The project mobilised women to take an active part in community
   healing*

As the country looks to fast pace development, the need to build the hearts
and minds of the people was once again stressed on last week.

The National Peace Council (NPC) presented the findings of its project,
Post Conflict Healing: A Women’s Manifesto, at a national level meeting at
SLIDA. The findings included policy briefing papers, a Women’s Manifesto
and a video.

The meeting was attended by Minister of National Co-existence, Dialogue and
Official Languages, Mano Ganesan; Secretary-General of the Secretariat for
Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms, Mano Tittawella; Chairperson of the
Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, Ms. Manouri
Muttetuwegama; NPC Board Member and Founder and Chair of the Association of
War Affected Women, Ms. Visaka Dharmadasa; and Country Director (Sri Lanka)
FOKUS, Dr. Shyamala Gomez.

Minister Ganesan stressed the importance of getting involved in the peace
building and reconciliation process, pointing out that neither women in the
north nor in the south had seen justice served or received compensation for
trauma they had suffered during the war.

He urged them not to wait for the government to take action but to take
their futures into their own hands and start making their own decisions.

“We need to build hearts and minds of people to develop the country. We
cannot do it without women. Women must take on the leadership,” he said.

NPC’s project was implemented with the support of FOKUS from April 2014 in
nine districts across the country that were both directly and indirectly
affected: Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee, Ampara, Galle, Hambantota, Kandy,
Nuwara Eliya, and Puttalam. The policy briefing papers and manifesto are
outcomes of the objective to bring women’s voices at the grass roots to the
forefront of the reconciliation process.

The project mobilised women to take an active part in community healing, to
establish lasting peace and to increase the participation of women in the
process of post conflict transition.

It also trained participants on Transitional Justice (TJ), women’s rights,
role of women in post conflict society, reconciliation, the Lessons Learnt
and Reconciliation Commission and its recommendations and UN Security
Council Resolution 1325 that deals with women and security.

The briefing papers, which covered the topics of restitution of land and
property and economic reintegration, physical security, psychological
recovery, democratisation and governance and justice, will be presented to
decision makers with the aim that the affected women’s concerns and
recommendations will be considered in the future reconciliation process to
ensure it is more gender sensitive.

NPC’s Executive Director, Dr. Jehan Perera said women were being excluded
from decision making. Through the project, NPC had been able to reveal what
women thought, their hopes and aspirations.

“Women have different priorities than men and we have been able to bring
those priorities to the fore,” he said.

Three women from Puttalam, Mannar and Hambantota told the meeting about the
trauma they had undergone during the war and the difficulties they were now
facing as widows bringing up families and encountering discrimination in
many forms. By participating in the project, they had come to realise that
all communities suffered during the war, not just their own, and were able
to understand and sympathise with the others.

Given the opportunity to ask questions from Minister Ganesan, the women
cited the non- implementation of the language policy as a major drawback to
reconciliation. Tamil speaking government officials, doctors and lawyers
were not available in the north and east, causing many problems in the
daily lives of the people.

Another woman asked why the Office of Missing Persons had not been
established despite the passing of legislation while others said they were
still looking for missing relatives without any success and one asked why
political prisoners were not being released. *(NPC)*

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2016/12/18/looking-to-build-the-hearts-and-minds-of-people/

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