Most Venerable Members of the Maha Sangha
Members of the clergy of other religions
Hon. Prime Minister
Hon. Maithripala Sirisena and all
Hon. Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers,
All representatives of the people
Friends
It is our immense privilege to witness another great victory of irrigation in Sri Lanka. Personally, today I have the satisfaction of having carried out a great responsibility placed upon me by history. The pleasure I feel today is the same as what I felt as a child when I walked behind by father and relations at the chena, the paddy field, the threshing floor, and jumped over bunds and sluices of the paddy fields. The wind that brings the scent of the cocoa and cardamom fields of Matale to me today is the same as the winds that blew over the “kurahan” fields of Weeraketiya.
Mr.President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It gives me great pleasure to be in Havana today and speak on behalf of my country – Sri Lanka.
Our country has been a member of the Non-Aligned Movement from its very inception, 45 years ago. Sri Lanka’s association with the Movement, in fact, precedes the Belgrade Conference. We take modest pride in having played a role in the very founding of the Non-Aligned movement as one of the 5 convenors of the Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung in 1955, - a meeting which indeed inspired the birth of our Movement.
Statement by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka in the plenary session of the Foreign Ministers meeting of the 14th NAM Summit - Cuba
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates
First of all, I would like to congratulate Cuba in taking over the leadership of the 14th Non-Aligned Movement. I also like to thank you for the gracious hospitality extended and the excellent arrangements made to host this summit in Havana.
DCAF-EPC-KBF Workshop on
Security Sector Reform in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding: Towards an EU-UN Partnership?
Polak Room, Résidence Palace, Brussels, 28 June 2006
Keynote Address
By
Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, Senior Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka; former Under-Secretary General for Disarmament Affairs, Department of Disarmament Affairs, United Nations
Introduction
I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak on such an important topic at a time when both these issues – security sector reform and post conflict peacebuilding – are rightly receiving significant attention from policy makers and practitioners not just in Brussels and New York but in the field as well. All this is part of the endeavours to help states emerging from conflict in building a peaceful and stable future. The international community’s efforts to engage in post-conflict peacebuilding has a long history while, on the other hand, security sector reform – in short: SSR – is a relatively new and emerging concept. But it too has an important heritage, grounded as it is in the key principles of good governance and the vital message that the security sector should not be ignored – on the contrary should be a central focus in applying the principles of accountability, transparency and the rule of law – if states and their citizens in states that suffer the consequences of armed conflict are to achieve a peaceful and secure future.
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
At the outset, on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, I would like to congratulate Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam on his election as the President of this conference. I assure you the fullest cooperation of my delegation to lead this conference towards a successful conclusion.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2006 OF THE BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA
"NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR ASIA: DRIVING GROWTH TO THE NEXT LEVEL"
22-23 APRIL, 2006
ASIA, THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION STATEMENT BY JAYANTHA DHANAPALA, SENIOR ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT OF SRI LANKA
Introduction
The second half of the 20th century saw the genesis of modern Asia's economic ascendancy. It began with the miracle of post World War II economic development in Japan in the 1950s and 60s; followed by the remarkable growth of the so-called "newly industrialized economies" of the Republic of Korea and South-east Asia; and, later, by the impressive growth of China and India. This has been broadly coterminous with the 60-year-old history of the United Nations, where the Asian Group now has 54 countries, and with the process of globalization. The 21st century will undoubtedly see its full efflorescence - provided good governance, education, health, the environment and infrastructure needs receive the priority they deserve. Given the growing economic content in political power and other non-military aspects of security, a shift of the centre of gravity of global power may well be possible.
Mr. Chairman,
Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament,
I am pleased to be here with you today, and at the outset let me thank you Mr Chairman and members of the Foreign Relations Committee of the European Union for giving me the opportunity to address you. I am here at a time when many positive developments are taking place in my country especially in relation to the peace process. The Government has just concluded a round of talks with the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Geneva after a lapse of nearly three years, and the next round of talks are scheduled for late April.
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