Daily News I.

SSC)Clatea Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd July 24,2013 Dear Editors of the Re: News:

Response to Articles "Be Cursed or say Sorry" Article of July 17, 2013 and "Daily News Expose

Pro

NGO backer hide her Twitter account" Article of July 19,

published in on July 17

13

I am writing in response to the above

are
As one of Sri

19,2013.

eminent

I must say I was surprised to find an article focusing on on July 19, 2013 when I individuals that her

contents you

accounts run by individuals was able to find a home on the front page of your that Sri Lankans all over should know that one of
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esteemed publication on July 17,2013. My surprise only account. It truly must have been a slow news day given the diversity OUf Lankan women
,-,,,,u,au

issues of concern facing Sri Lankans: assaulted.

leaving the house as they are worried about

men costs Tamil living. Widows are East

Sri

families all over the island are facing increasingly our Lankan military by costs. and

disproportionately Our Our Muslim brothers they are Muslim.

war-affected communities in the North tremendous challenges in rebuilding their sisters are in daily lives the sole reason

law in Sri Lanka use

criminals to walk free due to

political connections while corruption and

the victims of these crimes suffer in silence. all our communities is rising to levels never before seen Lankan civilians. accounts on the front of your government waste is all too common facet of life for all Amid all these your paper decides to feature individual

news
Lankan People are Internal and
Daily as likely retaining has the as of finding the enemies of Sri Lanka wherever they may with Bandula former Daily News editor.

Daily News remains a state owned connections he

me assist you in the

mandate.

majority of

enemies of country. The enemies the Sri

people are not solely those who live

Lankan people include: all those who choose to make it work or school, to come all those that directly all

but those who live within

Lankans, regardless of their children or to play with lives their own personal bank account. family

to go to

who treat the nation's assets as external enemies of

I am also well aware of

all those who resort to the same old tactics in Sri Lankan politics since independence; of tired nationalisms professing the superiority of one a geographical over

that has over another

d!HlUi''-!

all and all

iJv."'-J:n,)

need for one community to

who vilifY their interlocutors not on any matters of

but on issues

and/or religion. While these commems will likely not the of your any an after policy, I would that

would email further

the fact that all parties concerned distanced themselves from the commems within the offending tweet was made. There was never any intemion of any party to accoum ofMr. Jayasekera. I hope that in the future, we can rely on the Daily to provide impartial and unbiased reporting in its news coverage.

My unwavering commitment remains towards developing a united and undivided Sri Lanka where all people, regardless of commitmem is amply ,-,,-,,u,-,,,,, current by as a have etc. have the basic necessities to live imerviews in non-governmemal with full and in Lankans Without Lankan families of my

Borders and my leadership of a campaign to raise $25,000 to build water wells for
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Consul

Sri

in T oromo, Han.

Paranawithana.

Building a Constructive Relationship with all

I
this: I am at that

Lankan Communities
will likely fallon Frankly, I vilifY that you

with a campaign to tarnish

reputation. Know just fine.

I am a lawyer running a thriving commercial litigation practice in

city in "'-''''''''Ud. Whatever you decide to

6'h

I am going to

But know this as well. was born in. Also like most

most of my friends here in Canada the my

world who are connected

to Sri Lanka in some way, shape or form, I will never

I
of

people in whatever way I can, with or without your support. Whether it be in five months, five years or

fifty years, I am confident (hat there will come a time:

when the Sri Lankan Diaspora will work across ethnic lines to address the many challenges faced by the average Sri Lankan in their daily life. when the Sri Lankan government will accept the Sri Lankan Diaspora as people who care for the wellbeing and welfare of all Sri Lankans, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, caste and wherever they may be in the country and will allow the Diaspora to help to rebuild the country without insisting that the Diaspora adhere to pre-determined political positions. when the Sri Lankan media will end its preoccupation with finding the enemies of Sri Lanka and focus on news that matters to the average Sri Lankan. This is not to say that this will happen tomorrow. I sympathize with the need to be vigilant against the global Tamil Nationalist movement who are vocal about war crimes that military forces may have committed while conspicuously silent about the crimes of the Tamil Tigers. At the same time, I also aware of the growing population of young Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim professionals, both in Sri Lanka and in the Diaspora, who acknowledge the vital contributions of the Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim communities in the formation of the Sri Lankan identity. These professionals recognize that the Sri Lankan identity is poorer without these communities. These professionals yearn for a different politics than that practiced by previous generations; a politics that can simply be reduced to ensuring each community "has the other's back." I know this because I am a part of these groups and am continually grateful for the opportunity to share in these friendships. Thirty years after the events of Black July and less than five years after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, I am tired of the constant need to search, find and malign enemies. As fellow Sri Lankan patriots, I hope you will cease your campaign to identifY enemies and rather begin anew to build a constructive relationship with the Diaspora by trying to identifYing those who seek to rekindle the bonds of friendship between all Sri Lankan people, wherever they may be. Best regards,

Romesh Hettiarachchi p.s. Although I have no authority to speak on behalf of the Diaspora writ Large, I am deeply grateful for all those in the Sri Lankan media committed to writing about the welfare of the Sri Lankan people. It is because of you that the Sri Lankan Diaspora remains committed to finding ways to address the variety of challenges facing the Sri Lankan people. On behalf of the "Diaspora", deepest thanks. p. p.s. Recognizing there is little likelihood of this article being printed in full, this letter with attachments will be publicly accessible on my website. I hope you don't mind.