Nurturing ethnic harmony for sustainable development
31 Dec 2013 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka’s National Program for Ethnic Harmony, the most active program in Sri Lanka working towards nurturing harmony between ethnic groups launched a program on Sinhala –Muslim harmony recently.
The program was held at the Hilton Residencies with the patronage of the president/national organizer of the program Most Ven. Prof Kumburupitiye Vajira Thero and the president of Muslim affairs, Dr. Abdul Cader Mashoor Moulana. The occasion was graced by Sri Lanka’s National program for ethnic harmony executive director Damitha Wickramasinghe, operations director D M G Amarabandu and many other distinguished guests.
The present leadership of the country ended the separatist war prevailed for three decades in the country and made sure Sri Lanka is again recognized by the international community, economically and socially. The prominent features of this exercise are literacy levels, nourishment, poverty eradication, economic development, infrastructure, foreign investments, human resource development and political stability.
Yet hideous local and foreign movements with sinister motives still try to unstable the country by arousing communal differences. The slight unstable situation between Sinhala and Muslim communities which cropped up in January this year is now vanished into thin air. Yet some selfish quarters and even institutions still try to give unnecessary publicity to that incident and create differences between Sinhala and Muslim communities for their own benefits.
These elements are in the process of sending a dangerous message to the international community and Muslim countries saying that; Sri Lanka is a country which is unsafe for Muslims. This will be detrimental for the country, socially, economically and politically.
Curbing false propaganda
Thus the new ‘Sinhala –Muslim harmony program’ will act against the people who spread false propaganda and work towards nurturing harmony between the majority of Sinhala Buddhist community and the Muslim community. Its vision is to make Sri Lanka a country for all ethnic groups to live in harmony.
A thorough research carried out since the beginning of 2013 has brought forth practical solutions to enhance harmony between Sinhala and Muslim communities living in this country. The program will look forward to harness the age old tradition prevailed in regard to Sinhala–Muslim harmony and also curb false propaganda spreading around the world to tarnish the image of Muslims.
After regaining independency in 1948, Sri Lanka’s political leadership has drastically failed to harness harmony between communities and manage religious differences within the communities. Thus the country became socially, economically and politically unsteady. On analyzing with extreme seriousness and eventually identifying the core of the crisis, ‘Sri Lanka’s national program for ethnic harmony’ was commissioned find solutions for the crisis.
Dominance of the majority
The history has many examples of the powerful majorities dominating and discriminating the less privileged minority groups. As a result; social, economical and political differences had reared their ugly heads. Further the minorities had been deprived of their rights towards language, citizenship, minority rights, land, integrity, job opportunities, education and security.
These petty differences were eventually developed towards a communal war which tarnished Sri Lanka’s reputation in the eyes of the world. Many countries criticized Sri Lanka as a country which neglects disciplined norms that have to be induced to the society. This situation ruined to a great extent, the reputation of the country internationally at the macro level.
Equal respect, equal rights
Eradicating religious and ethnic differences between communities and making Sri Lanka a country that is a safe haven for all to live with equal respect enjoying equal rights, is the objective of the ‘Sinhala –Muslim harmony program.’ The entity is determined to strengthen the social, economical and political environment in the country, with a view to providing muscle to this worthy cause.
It is of utmost importance that religious and ethnic differences are curbed in a country in its walk towards sustainable development. A united society can be destroyed by bringing political, religious and ethnic differences into it by individuals or organizations. A good example for this is the fate befallen to some Middle Eastern countries in the recent past. Thus it is the earnest responsibility of any individual or a government to eradicate all elements which hamper ethnic and religious harmony in a country and contribute towards nurturing unity and harmony between all communities.
