US Lauds Steps Taken by New Lankan Government
SRI LANKA'S NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT MAITHRIPALA SIRISENA (AFP PHOTO)
January 18, 2015
WASHINGTON: Lauding the steps taken by the new Sri Lankan government, the US has said it looks forward to to work with the administration of newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena.
"Our expectations from the new government are the expectations of the Sri Lankan people. We simply want to support the new government in fulfilling its campaign pledges to the Sri Lankan people," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal said.
"We are extremely heartened by the steps that they have taken in these early days. We welcome the very resilient and robust verdict on democracy in Sri Lanka," she told PTI.
"The fact that this was a very peaceful transition and the fact that the new government has come in and has already started implement many of the promises that they made in their campaign," Ms Biswal said.
"We look forward to engaging with the new government and we look forward to working with them," she added.
Sri Lankan voters ousted two-time president Mahinda Rajapaksa on January 8 from power and elected his one-time ally Sirisena, who defected to the Opposition camp on the eve of announcement of the elections.
"The fact that this was a very peaceful transition and the fact that the new government has come in and has already started implement many of the promises that they made in their campaign," Ms Biswal said.
"We look forward to engaging with the new government and we look forward to working with them," she added.
Sri Lankan voters ousted two-time president Mahinda Rajapaksa on January 8 from power and elected his one-time ally Sirisena, who defected to the Opposition camp on the eve of announcement of the elections.
By Sanjayan Rajasingham -January 18, 2015
Sanjayan Rajasingham
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
Why Be?
A lot of us would like a different Sri Lanka. If what a society is like depends greatly on what its people are like though, we need to change. We need tobe a new Sri Lanka. And if we aren’t prepared to change, then, frankly, we shouldn’t expect our country to.[i]
There is more to it than that though. For instance, many of us were outraged by those government MPs who voted in favour of the 18th amendment and the impeachment. Particular ire was reserved for those MPs who knew these measures were wrong, but didn’t have the backbone to refuse them. This was their sphere, they had power, they could do something – but they didn’t. If that makes us angry, then we need to be different. We need to act to make things better in our spheres, where we have influence, where wecan do something.
We also need to act because who we are today determines, in part, who we are tomorrow. How we use our influence today shapes how we will use the influence we have tomorrow. If today we are too busy, or too fed up, or too cautious to do what we can to make things better or to stand up for what is right, then we’ll probably be the same tomorrow. And then, if we get into positions of responsibility, we will not have the moral strength to stand up for what is right. Moral fibre does not spring up overnight. It comes from consistently acting for the good, for what is right, even in the insignificant spheres of life. Only then will we, if we get into power tomorrow, be different to those in power today.Read More
