Rt Revd Kumara Illangasinghe,bishop Emeritus of Kurunegala

In our reflections last year on the commemoration of independence we emphasised with much concern that the sixty third commemoration of our Independence can be meaningful only by creating an environment where all people alike will be able to live without fear or suspicion and without any hesitation, they will have to feel and believe that they are a valuable and a useful part of this country. Further that they need to have the freedom of expression and movement, together with all necessary background to live peacefully and independently in our country. It is now for us to evaluate our performance in the past year.

In many democracies, with no exception in Sri Lanka, it appears that the will of the people is tested at the time of the elections and the winners take on the authority of all decision making without any consultation or reference to those who elected them, even to the extent of violating the mandate received on the declared policies.

Independence means freedom of expression and assurance of right to live

The last year has seen a number of legislation that had to be withdrawn as they did not have the will of the people. In such situations we have observed responses in the form of some aggressive steps taken, leading even to loss of lives.

Resettlement process is still not complete after many years, not only of those who were affected by the war, but the ones who have been displaced even before. Claims of resettlement are not authentic at all. It does not mean only the process of taking the victims away from the camps and putting them in their own land, as claimed and with some limited initial material support. It is true to say that concerns of rebuilding the lives of the displaced like livelihood, education, health, shelter and all other causes that led to the war, have not been dealt with. It is an urgent need for us to have a clear and an authentic understanding and a definition as a nation, about what it means to be resettled.

Freedom of expression and the right to information is extremely restricted as increasingly there are controls on dissent and information channels are blocked.

Corruption and theft has reached unprecedented proportions and the greed for money of some powerful persons is unbelievable. It appears that there is a highly discriminated sharing of resources and disproportionate access to the limited resources, is a common factor. This reality has arisen in the recent years more than ever in the history of independent Sri Lanka and we appeal to the authorities to arrest this deteriorating situation, before the voiceless in our society go starving and resort to undesirable ways of regaining and securing their basic needs.