UNP-SLFP deal removes biggest pitfall in Lankan crisis

It paves the way for a major change in this country’s political culture. It is a reason to hope that this time, unlike on previous occasions, a peaceful solution may be within this country’s grasp,” he said in a keynote speech at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Sri Lanka branch’s National Conference.

Dominick Chilcott, the new British High Commissioner, last week praised the agreement between the SLFP and the UNP, saying “it removes, at a stroke one of the biggest pitfalls on the path towards a political settlement of the country’s internal conflict.

“It paves the way for a major change in this country’s political culture. It is a reason to hope that this time, unlike on previous occasions, a peaceful solution may be within this country’s grasp,” he said in a keynote speech at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Sri Lanka branch’s National Conference.

He said plenty of other obstacles still remain, not least the continuing fighting, which risks giving the ‘LTTE a pretext not to attend the talks.’ “It is time for the guns to fall silent, for the killing to stop, for the refugees to go back to their homes and begin to rebuild their lives. Enough is enough. Let us not put these talks in jeopardy,” the high commissioner urged.

He said the business community can take a lot of credit for coming out of their comfort zone and pushing the politicians in this direction. “They, you, have shown real, sustainable leadership in doing so.”

He said the business world had a huge amount to contribute to politics and policy making and its contribution should not be confined to arguing for the right economic policies or for getting the most favourable climate to attract inward investment, important though those subjects are.

In Sri Lanka, until quite recently, the voice of business on the need for a peaceful settlement was like the dog that did not bark in the night. “Doubtless, it was understandable that business people did not want to annoy politicians by pressing them to make the necessary compromises for peace for fear of losing out commercially,” he noted.

But, the high commissioner added that, after many years of war and, particularly, when recently it looked as though the cease-fire agreement and the hope of peace that the Oslo accords had brought in, in 2002, was unravelling fast, business people seemed to sit up and take a different view.