Category: News

Marking 200 years since their arrival in Sri Lanka from southern India, to work in the British-run plantations, members of the island nation’s historically marginalised Malaiyaha [hill country] Tamil community have sought greater recognition, political rights, and improved living and working conditions.

“Design, resource, and implement a 10-year development plan that is explicitly based on the principle of affirmative action in response to the decades of structural exclusion that has resulted in poor human development indices of Malaiyaha Tamil community when compared with all other communities,” a key demand read, in a declaration released after a recent three-day public event held in the central Nuwara Eliya city.

The development plan must aim to reduce poverty, provide land and housing, enhance public health and education access, while ensuring labour rights, including a fair living wage and legal protection, the declaration said. Further, it asked the Sri Lankan government to recognise the Malaiyaha Tamils as a community with “a distinct identity and as equal citizens”, and ensure appropriate political power sharing and proportional system of electoral arrangements.

Organised by the Institute of Social Development, an NGO working on addressing challenges facing the Malaiyaha Tamils, the event sought to highlight the centuries-long struggle of the much-neglected community, while demanding long-pending solutions to their enduring problems. From being deprived of their citizenship in 1948 — the struggle for citizenship continued until 2003 — to being subjected to discrimination and exploitation, Sri Lanka’s Malaiyaha Tamil community has been enduring incessant injustices.

Around 1.5 lakh people from the million-strong community currently work in tea and rubber estates, bringing in crucial foreign exchange to Sri Lanka. A majority works outside the plantation ecosystem, including as professionals across sectors.

The estate-bound families, living in the Central, Southern and Uva provinces, are among Sri Lanka’s poorest, with some still residing in colonial-era line rooms, without basic amenities. India committed financial assistance to build 14,000 houses in the estate areas, but the slow pace of the project has come under frequent criticism.

The financial crisis that shook Sri Lanka last year has further compounded Malaiyaha Tamils’ economic distress, pushing more than half the population living in estate areas into acute poverty, a recent World Bank report noted.

Along with Sri Lankan legislators, scholars, workers, artistes and activists from the Malaiayah Tamil community, popular Tamil rapper Arivu, of ‘Enjoy Enjaami fame’ participated and performed at last weekend’s event.

In the declaration released, the community resolved to foster the linkages and solidarity between Malaiyaha Tamils living in different parts of Sri Lanka and those that have migrated to India.

Source:The Hindu

ust over a year since former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned from office following nationwide protests demanding him to step down, evidence has come to light that the former president’s staff who are mostly political appointees continue to be recruited in the President’s Office under a newly created unit called ‘special projects’.

Even though Rajapaksa did not complete his full term and was forced to resign due to his mismanagement which spiraled the economic crisis, Rajapaksa’s hand-picked staff including his former private secretary Sugeeswara Bandara continue to receive a salary and perks from the state as they head the special projects unit in the President’s Office.

Rajapaksa himself continues to receive the incentives entitled to a former president despite his early resignation following public anger and has also had security appointed at his luxury bungalow provided to him by the state at Malalasekara Mawatha in Colombo and outside his private residence in Mirihana.

Rajapaksa is not residing at Malalasekara Mawatha due to complaints that the area was ‘noisy’ and other issues but it continues to be held by him with a security contingent also deployed for him.

In addition to the former president enjoying all benefits from the state despite the economic crisis, his former staff who functioned with him continue to be recruited at this specially created unit at the President’s office with serious concerns raised as to what the mandate of this office is.

This unit is now headed by Sugeeswara Bandara who was Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s private secretary when he was the president and is now functioning as the Director General of the Special Projects unit.

Senior officials attached to the former president’s staff told Daily Mirror that despite being recruited at the President’s office, officials such as Bandara are often seen accompanying Gotabaya Rajapaksa at events.

The former President’s staff being recruited at the President’s office raises serious concerns about why such special units continue to accommodate political appointees despite Gotabaya being forced out of office over a year ago.

A senior official from the President’s Office told Daily Mirror that the special projects section was a ‘unit’ at the President’s office and its staff were mandated to coordinate some projects which were taking place outside Colombo and liaise with the President’s staff. It was also a unit formed at the request by the SLPP.

With the economic crisis far from over, concerns have also been raised as to why the former president’s staff continue to enjoy the salary and perks from the state at a time when staff can be reduced in order to ease the burden on the Treasury.

US Ambassador Julie Chung says much more needs to be done in Sri Lanka to strenghten good governance and anti-corruption initiatives to achieve economic recovery.

“The job isn’t over yet. More needs to be done to improve good governance and anti-corruption efforts, and these improvements will help to create new opportunities for both Sri Lankan and American businesses, help the country recover from this crisis, and boost economic growth,” she said speaking at the AmCham Ball in Colombo.

She went on to say that the United States, and AmCham, believed that a vibrant and prosperous economy was built by including and drawing on the diverse skills of all members of society, adding that they have done their part to help empower the aspiring businesswomen of Sri Lanka. Guaranteeing equal opportunities to women in the workforce is not only a social justice issue, but also an economic one. Research has shown that when more women participate in the labour force, economies grow faster and are more resilient to shocks.

This is because women bring new perspectives and skills to the table that lead to innovation and new opportunities.

I have travelled all throughout Sri Lanka, meeting such inspiring women who work hard to overcome the challenges to maintain and improve their livelihoods. Whether its young women, starting a tech company at Yarl IT Hub (in Jaffna), or mothers working rice paddies in the Northcentral Province, to feed their families, and fellow Sri Lankans.

Despite the current challenges and brain drain concerns, many are determined to stay here and help build up their country. They have not given up. It’s in this spirit of resilience and optimism that I am so grateful to AmCham for its efforts to ensure economic opportunities exist for all Sri Lankans.

Elliot Colburn, MP for Carshalton and Wallington and the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT) has urged the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to investigate the arrest of TNPF MP Selvarajah Kajendren.

As Chair of the APPG for Tamils, I am deeply concerned about the reports of Tamil MP, Mr Kajendran, being subjected to brute force and arrest by Sri Lankan Police. I urge the FCDO to investigate and raise with Sri Lankan officials.

— Elliot Colburn MP (@ElliotColburn) May 23, 2023

Kajendren was arrested earlier today alongisde eight other TNPF members whilst they were protesting against the illegally constructed Buddhist vihara in Thaiyiddy, Jaffna which has been built on occupied land.

Colburn stated that he was “deeply concerned” by the arrest and urged the FCDO to “investigate and raise with Sri Lankan officials”.

The Tissa Rajamaha Vihara in Thaiyiddy was built last month under the protection of Sri Lanka’a military and police. Locals have expressed their concerns about the new vihara which forms part of the state’s ongoing Sinhalisation of the Tamil homeland.

The International Monetary Fund notes that the present crisis in Sri Lanka is a combination of an economic and humanitarian crisis, citing that the present crisis is somewhat different from the previous crises the island nation had faced.

Resident representative of the IMF in Sri Lanka Sarwat Jahan speaking EXCLUSIVELY to News 1st on its Newsline program said “Sri Lanka has never faced debt sustainability issues before. This is the first time that Sri Lanka has announced a moratorium on its debt service. The situation is actually quite grave, and it is going to take quite a bit of effort on all to bring Sri Lanka back to its growth potential.”

In early 2023, the International Monetary Fund approved a $3 billion bailout for Sri Lanka, paving the way for the country to restructure its debt and for the economy to improve in 2024.

The South Asian country is grappling with its worst financial crisis in decades, and the IMF’s decision will allow an immediate disbursement of a $333 million loan over four years.

“The main part is to recognize how deep the crisis is, and then to for all Sri Lankan to contribute to the recovery, which means taking ownership of the deep reforms that are needed,” said Sarwat Jahan adding that these reform including tax reforms, SOE reforms, and structural reforms that will help build institutions so that Sri Lanka will not face such a situation again.