A new Development fund will be set up by the Sri Lankan government in the north east part of Sri Lanka in the coming days.
The new development plan
The decision has been taken after the TNA leaders met to discuss matters of land disappearances of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. The new North east development plan aims to resolve the issues of the Tamil people living in Sri Lanka who has consistently been subjected to internal conflicts in the country. The fund will help to ensure investment in these areas and further help to address the problem of land disappearance.
The matter was brought into lime light after the President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a talk with the TNA leader. The two met for the very first time to address such issues since the TNA leader came into the political forefront in 2019. The meeting was held at the Presidential Secretariat for about a couple of hours. In the meeting, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the Irrigation Minister Chamal Rajapaksa, were also present.
TNA’s demand over new plan
The TNA’s demand for equal rights and equal standard of living for all Tamilian people in Sri Lanka has always been long standing. The TNA has demanded for a new constitutional settlement in regards to the problem faced by the tamils over the years. The government on the other hand has not been very fond of the discussion and has always postponed it.
Instead the government was able to shift its direction by highlighting the four key points. The most important was the release of detainees who were under the PTA (prevention of Terrorism Act). This highly controversial law was criticized but the government didnt repeal the law it only amended parts of it.
Even today, the state of Sri Lanka has not been able to find answers many people who are still looking for their family members lost during the civil war. Initially the officials has denied any such allegation of people going missing during the enforced disappearances.
Thus, during the meet, the president tried to convey his part by addressing some of these issues that were raised by the TNA.
The government has made these changes after years of being elected and promises to resolve the problems being faced by the tamils in the north and east part of Sri Lanka since the civil war. In addition, the state also sees widespread rate of unemployment in the region.
The country has also been under developed in parts especially in regions of north and east. This civil war has really affected the country to such an extent that the economy is at a pit fall. This raises the question of the Tamil people and the liberty and equality of life that should be provided to them. As per the reports, TNA Leader Mr. Sampanthan said, “We are willing to work with the government to solve this economic crisis, but we must remember that without a decisive political solution, we will not be able to revive our country’s economy.”
Thus, the small island country has faced a lot of issues since the time of its independence. The most dramatic being the problem of ethnicity. Till date, the Sri Lankan Tamilians face humiliation, torture and unequal treatment due to their ethnicity. They still live the life of a refugee in their own homeland. The tamil question still stand long pending. Thousands of whom are displayed. Although many countries, including India wishes to take back some of the refugees as political asylum seekers but the very existence of the condition of these people is shocking.
