Category: News

A letter by seven political parties representing the Tamil-speaking people in the North and the East (N-E), to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting that the Indian Government urge the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to fully implement the 13th Amendment (13A) to the Constitution, will most likely be sent today (11).

“The letter, signed by seven of the Tamil political parties, will most likely be sent to Modi today (11). Our main requests are that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution be fully implemented, and that the Provincial Council (PC) Elections be held,” Thamil Makkal Thesiya Kuttani (TMTK) Leader and Parliamentarian C.V. Wigneswaran told The Morning yesterday (10).

The letter, as seen by The Morning, notes that: “Since Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948, the Tamil-speaking people have been demanding meaningful power sharing from all the successive governments that came to power. The political leadership of the Tamil-speaking people wanted a solution in accordance with internationally accepted principles recognising their legitimate aspirations. Although many attempts were made to find a solution internally as well as with the assistance of the international community, the Tamil-speaking people’s national question remains unresolved to date. We remain committed to a political solution based on a federal structure that recognises our legitimate aspirations.

“The Tamil-speaking people have always been the majority in the North and East. The Indian Government offered its good offices in 1983, which was accepted by the GoSL and consequently the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed on 29 July 1987. Thereafter, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was introduced, establishing a PC system that envisaged the devolution of powers to the provinces. But the Amendment was introduced into a unitary Constitution making the exercise one of decentralisation instead of devolution. It is against this backdrop that every effort made thereafter moved in the direction of surpassing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution towards a federal structure.”

In addition to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the letter has also highlighted that the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, pertaining to language rights, be implemented in “word and spirit”. Commenting on alleged land grabbing taking place in the North and East, the letter requested that “all attempts to systematically change the demographic pattern of the North and the East, acting contrary to the provisions and spirit of the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact (1957), the Dudley-Chelvanayakam Pact (1965), and the Indo-Lanka Accord (1987) should stop forthwith”.

“All activities and attempts by the Archaeology Department, the Mahaweli Authority, the Forest Department, the Wildlife Conservation Department, the Tourist Board, and the Defence Ministry to destroy and pervert evidences that confirm the historical habitation of the North and the East as the traditional homelands of the Tamils must immediately cease. The Archaeology Department must recognise the antiquity of the Tamils from pre-Buddhistic times, accept that it was the Tamils who received Buddhism (Tamil Buddhists) into Sri Lanka, and act accordingly instead of perverting history and prevaricating on history. Tamil villages in the border areas between the Northern and Eastern Provinces are altered by either attaching them to Sinhala areas or bringing Sinhala villages into Tamil areas, thereby altering the ethnic composition to make Tamils minorities in their own areas. This will prevent Tamil people from obtaining political representation in the local government, PCs, and the Parliament. Such pernicious practices must be discontinued,” the letter mentions.

The party leaders have also requested that Sri Lankan Tamil people of Indian origin be given full citizenship, and that the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act No. 48 of 1979 (PTA) be immediately repealed. They have further requested that the “proportional representation (PR)” electoral system be implemented in the country and that the newly appointed “One Country, One Law” Presidential Task Force (PTF) be dissolved.

The letter has been signed by Wigneswaran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader and MP R. Sampanthan, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Leader Mavai Senathirajah, Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) Leader A. Adaikalanathan, Democratic People’s Liberation Front (DPLF) President Dharmalingam Sithadthan, Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) President K. Premachandran, and Tamil National Party (TNP) Leader N. Srikantha.

The discussions relating to the aforementioned letter initially involved the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) (representing mostly Tamils of Indian origin in the upcountry areas), the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). However, Wigneswaran said that these three parties had decided not to sign the letter as the “problems of the Tamils from the North and the East are different to those of the upcountry Tamils and the Tamil speaking Muslims”.

He claimed that whilst the TPA had feared that the Sinhala-speaking population in the upcountry areas may get “upset” over the letter’s push for federalism, the two parties representing the Muslim population had been concerned over discussions to merge the North and the East which could potentially affect their electoral representation.

Speaking to The Morning yesterday, TPA Leader and MP Mano Ganesan said that whilst the TPA still extends their support to the other parties representing the Tamil-speaking people, and joins the call for the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and holding the PC Elections, the TPA has “other concerns”. “The discussion process began with the idea of requesting the Indian Government to assist in the GoSL implementing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the conduct of the PC Elections. However, other elements were brought into the drafted letter which was initially supposed to be only one-and-a-half pages long (the final letter stands at eight pages). The TPA and the parties representing the Muslim population are compiling a separate letter,” he added.

A Gazette notification has been issued extending the tenures of Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas until March 19, 2023.

The Gazette has been issued today (10) by the Minister of Public Services, Provincial Councils & Local Government Janaka Bandara Thennakoon exercising the powers vested in him by the Municipal Council Ordinance, Urban Council Ordinance and Pradeshiya Sabha Act.

Accordingly, the term of each member of all 24 Municipal Councils, 41 Urban Council and 275 Pradeshiya Sabhas have been extended until March 19, 2023.

The Federation of National Organisations has asked President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to put an immediate halt to the ongoing process of entering into an agreement with India, purportedly to develop the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm. It has called for a thorough investigation into the questionable deal.

A letter signed by FNO Convener Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera addressed to the President says the then government of Ceylon took possession of 99 tanks at the farm paying Sterling Pounds 250,000 to the British Navy in 1964. That government did so, taking the national interests into serious consideration. The so-called agreement process contained serious technical flaws. Agreements made without following due process are null and void before the law. Therefore, the President should immediately stop this process and make a full revision of it. Any decision taken otherwise owing to the pressures of public protests or court decisions will pave the way for serious repercussions which would be detrimental to the image and sustenance of the government and Indo-Sri Lanka relations.

The FNO says that the government instead should pay attention to make a policy decision to ensure energy security of the country by retaining its hold on bunkering.

Informed public opinion in this country today is that the process of handing over 99 tanks to the LIOC is questionable. People do not trust this agreement and there will be public protests, the letter has said.

The president of crisis-hit Sri Lanka has asked China to restructure its debt repayments as part of efforts to help the South Asian country navigate its worsening financial situation.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the request during a meeting with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Sunday.

In the last decade China has lent Sri Lanka over $5bn (£3.7bn) for projects including roads, an airport and ports.

But critics say the money was used for unnecessary schemes with low returns.

“The president pointed out that it would be a great relief to the country if attention could be paid on restructuring the debt repayments as a solution to the economic crisis that has arisen in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Mr Rajapaksa’s office said.

The statement also said China was asked to provide “concessional” terms for its exports to Sri Lanka, which amounted to around $3.5bn last year, without providing further details.

Mr Rajapaksa also offered to allow Chinese tourists to return to Sri Lanka provided they adhere to strict coronavirus regulations.

Before the pandemic, China was one of Sri Lanka’s main sources of tourists. And it imports more goods from China than from any other country.

In recent months, Sri Lanka has been experiencing a severe debt and foreign exchange crisis, which has been made worse by the loss of tourist income during the pandemic.

China is Sri Lanka’s fourth biggest lender, behind international financial markets, the Asian Development Bank and Japan.

The country has received billions of dollars of soft loans from China but the island nation has been engulfed in a foreign exchange crisis which some analysts have said has pushed it to the verge of default.

Sri Lanka has to repay about $4.5bn in debt this year starting with a $500m international sovereign bond, which matures on 18 January.

The country’s central bank has repeatedly assured investors that all of its debt repayments will be met and said funds for this month’s bond repayment has already been allocated.

Sri Lanka is a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a long-term plan to fund and build infrastructure linking China to the rest of the world.

However, some countries, including the US, have labelled the project a “debt trap” for smaller and poorer nations.

Beijing has always rejected those accusations, and in response has accused some in the West of promoting this narrative to tarnish its image.

Is China luring poorer countries into debt?

Last month a Sri Lankan government minister said the country planned to settle a debt for past oil imports from Iran by paying it off in tea.

It plans to send $5m worth of tea to Iran each month to clear a $251m debt.

In September, Sri Lanka declared an economic emergency, after a steep fall in the value of its currency, the rupee, caused a spike in food prices.

Authorities said they would take control of the supply of basic food items, including rice and sugar, and set prices in an attempt to control rising inflation.

Nobody will make the decision for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to leave the Government, and it will be a decision taken after discussions between the SLFP and the President himself, says the Deputy Chairman of the SLFP, Mahinda Amaraweera.

Speaking to media on Monday (10), SLPP and SLFP members expressed opinions on whether or not the Government would lose its 2/3rd majority as a result of its own factions criticizing the Government.

Citing the reports of the former President himself criticizing the Government, the State Minister of Transport, Dilum Amunugama stated that it is not an issue for the Government, and the assistance of the SLFP is not necessary for a party that was able to elect the President and the Prime Minister.

Speaking further, the State Minister reminded that the SLPP is a party that rules with an additional one seat at the Parliament and that they do not need a 2/3rds majority to govern.

“Mark my word, just because they are part of the 2/3rds majority we cannot be patient every time, they will finally leave us,” he added, speaking to media.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Mahinda Amaraweera stated that the SLFP is not owned by anyone, and is a party that assisted in forming the Government,

“It was the President who we supported and formed a Government which obtained 2/3rds majority with our assistance,”

Furthermore, the SLFP Deputy Chairman stated that the party came and joined with the Government based on the request by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“We don’t let anyone make a decision about us on joining or leaving the Government, it will be a decision that we will make,” he added.