17 February 2016 09:20 am
President Sirisena, who was visibly moved after viewing the pictures taken at concentration camps, at Nazi factories and at Auschwitz, asked journalists why Sri Lanka couldn't look back and make a self-criticism in order to forgive and forget.
The monument that commemorates the murder of more than 6 million Jews by Nazi German Leader Adolf Hitler is a popular tourist attraction in the centre of Berlin. It is visited by thousands of tourists every day, and they go through the literature and photographs that show what kind of terror tactics the SS used to exterminate the Jewish population in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. One picture shows a fleet of heavy tractors dumping thousands of emaciated, nude corpses of Jews into a huge pit.
Meanwhile, Vocational Training and Skills Development Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who is a member of the tour party, told Daily Mirror that President Sirisena’s state visit had all the necessary ingredients to make it an extremely successful investment and business promotion tour, as German -- Sri Lankan relations are at their zenith today.
Sri Lanka could use this visit to encourage German investors to make use of the attractive opportunities in Sri Lanka to invest in industries and use Sri Lanka as an export hub -- to export the products to South Asia in general, and to the huge Indian market in particular, he said.
‘In the educational sphere, Germany could increase the intake of Sri Lankan students seeking higher studies. The German Stiftungs Foundation could strengthen assistance to Sri Lanka in the varied development segments. The GTZ has been conducting new livelihood projects to help low income groups in society. Small and medium enterprises and industrial projects could also be assisted. The German government could look afresh at the links forged over the years to enhance the bilateral relations that have existed for more than 64 years, Mr. Samarasinghe said.
Sri Lanka looks to Germany as a progressive partner. The Germans were not invaders or colonisers; they were intellectuals and financiers. Germany is more relevant today politically for Sri Lanka as Chancellor Angela Merkel heads a grand coalition government comprising the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and sister parties the Christian Social Union and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). This is similar to Sri Lanka’s consensual government, Mr. Samarasinghe said. (Sandun A Jayasekera in Germany)