The Select Committee of Parliament to Study and Report to Parliament its Recommendations to Ensure Communal and Religious Harmony in Sri Lanka, commenced the implementation process of the Select Committee recommendations, at its meeting at the Parliamentary complex, yesterday (04).

The Office of the Speaker, issuing a media release, stated that the recommendations were compiled after obtaining public views on establishing lasting peace in the country.

The meeting was participated by the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Select Committee Chairman and Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya and Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa as well as Select Committee members, relevant line ministers, ministry secretaries and other officials, the Speaker’s Office said.

Each recommendation in the Select Committee Interim Report was discussed in length, whereby each line ministry committed itself to the implementation plan, the release said.

The participants have endorsed the implementation plan as a viable process to bring about lasting peace and reconciliation in the country. The members of the Select Committee and line ministers have pointed out that some of the recommendations were already being implemented, some others would be implemented immediately and the rest would be implemented after future discussions. ‘It is noteworthy that the Select Committee members and line ministers showed common consensus in the urgency to implement the recommendations,’ the release added.

Attention has also been drawn on the Diyawanna Declaration of the Select Committee, which was adopted in view of the April 21 Easter Sunday attacks. The Declaration has specifically highlighted the role of political leadership in bringing about sustainable communal and religious harmony while disregarding political divisions. It is also noteworthy that today’s meeting brought the ruling and opposition party members to a consensus regarding the Diyawanna Declaration, the release further said.

Noting the success of the meeting, the Speaker has expressed gratitude to the President for his blessings on the road to accomplishing communal and religious harmony and thanked the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader for their active participation, highlighting that the future generations would reap the dividends of the consensus arrived today at this historic occasion, the Speaker’s Office stated.