No ‘cookie-cutter model’ for reconciliation: German FM

22 September 2015 08:44 am

There is no ‘cookie-cutter model’ that can be applied to achieve reconciliation and the efforts should instead be focused on a holistic approach that incorporates several elements, German Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier said this morning.  

Delivering his press statement a short while ago at the Foreign Affairs Ministry following bilateral discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera, Dr. Steinmeier noted that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ model to address issues of reconciliation and justice. He emphasized the importance of a holistic approach that incorporates elements of truth seeking, re-compensation, justice and guarantee of non-recurrence while also developing outlooks for the future of the younger generations in order to guarantee that the society does not fall back into past ways of conflict.

Meanwhile, Minister Samaraweera during his address noted that Sri Lanka is currently laying the groundwork for a new Constitution including a new electoral system based on what is popularly known domestically as the ‘German Model’, in the aim of resolving longstanding grievances of the minorities and to embark on economic reforms that would result in a social market economy.

The Minister furthermore stated that Sri Lanka hopes to prioritize closer economic cooperation with German, pointing out it is Sri Lanka’s fifth largest export market that accounts for nearly 5% of the exports. He also encouraged and welcomed other German firms including those from Mittelstand to benefit from Sri Lanka’s skilled labour-force, improving governance and easily accessible emerging markets along the Indian Ocean rim including India and Pakistan.(Lakna Paranamanna)