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| Lecture by Sri Lankan
Ambassador, February 2008 |
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The first Ambassador's Lecture of 2008 took place on February 26
(Tues.) at the Japan National Press Club. This time we welcomed Ambassador Ranjith
Uyangoda from the beautiful island country of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean.
In around the 5th century BC the son of a northern Indian king was expelled from his royal
family and came with 500 followers to Sri Lanka. These people were the Sinhalese who today
form 74% of the Sri Lankan population. Next are the Tamils, consisting of those brought by
the British from India in large numbers to work on the tea plantations and also Sri Lankan
Tamils. Seventy percent of the population
are Buddhists, followed by Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
In addition to the renowned Ceylon tea, the island boasts plentiful fruits and
agricultural products and also produces many various gemstones. In the early16th century,
Portuguese rule began, followed by
the Dutch in the 17th century. At the end of the 18th century the British occupied the
whole island, and
in 1815 the kingdom of Kandy finally fell. In 1948 the country became a self-governing
dominion of the British Commonwealth, becoming fully independent in 1972 and changing its
name from Ceylon to the Republic of Sri Lanka.
In 1978, along with becoming a Democratic Socialist Republic, economic liberalization
gradually occurred with the result that rapid growth was achieved but around this time
ethnic conflict broke out. The minority Tamils armed themselves and created LTTE
(Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) to demand their independence. They still refuse to
accept peace and the bloodshed continues.
Japan, Norway and others are working as peace facilitators to achieve a solution in which
Japanese Government Representative Yasushi Akashi, who also happens to be ESUJ Deputy
Chairman, has a principal role. Prime Minister Fukuda has been Chairman of the Japan-Sri
Lanka Society for quite awhile. The country has good relations with Japan, and Japan is
the biggest donor of foreign aid to Sri Lanka.
Q&A included an enquiry about Sri Lankan cosmetics, providing yet another fascinating
topic at the end of this enjoyable, informative evening.
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