Wikremesinghe: a plan for reconciliation with the Tamils

The Sri Lankan President met with the spokesperson of the Tamil National Alliance, who called for the early holding of provincial council elections and the implementation of powers delegated to them. He hopes for an agreement by 4 February 2023, when the nation marks the 75th anniversary of independence. 

Colombo (AsiaNews) - In an invitation addressed to Tamil parliamentarians, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is formulating a roadmap on ethnic reconciliation. The discussion was the subject of a meeting on 8 December at the president's temporary residence attended by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesman M.A. Sumanthiran.

TNA leader R. Sampanthan, although unable to attend the discussion, will take part in the party leaders' talks to be held soon.

According to political analysts polled by AsiaNews, 'the president's invitation indicates a revival of interest in the thorny issue of ethnic reconciliation, with a positive response from the TNA'. And Sumanthiran's participation in the meeting shows that he has 'become the key figure through which Tamil demands are articulated'.

Senior government officials revealed that Sumanthiran made several different demands, the most significant of which is the early holding of provincial council elections and the implementation of all powers now legally vested in provincial councils.

Sumanthiran also advanced several suggestions from an earlier package, known as the 'CBK package', which was made public during the term of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, but never implemented. The two main demands of the TNA are the need for 'self-determination and a federal form of government'.

Already on 2 December, at a felicitation ceremony for his 50th anniversary as a lawyer, President Wickremesinghe - referring to the civil war that dragged on for 26 years, setting the island's economy back decades - declared that "if all Sri Lankan lawyers would unite, the country could put all its major problems behind it by the 75th anniversary of independence," 4 February 2023.

In the meantime, however, Mani Pandey, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, expressed to the Human Rights Council 'the Indian delegation's concern at the lack of measurable progress by the Sri Lankan government on its commitments to find a political solution to the ethnic issue, through the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the delegation of powers to the provincial councils and the holding of provincial council elections as soon as possible.

India's consistent position on peace and reconciliation in Sri Lanka,' he added, "is that of a political solution within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, ensuring justice, peace, equality and dignity for the Sri Lankan Tamils..."

Some senior academics commented to AsiaNews that "a package that includes the parameters demanded by Sumanthiran would have to traverse uncharted territory, which would involve lengthy discussions. The views of Buddhist monks and minor parties representing the interests of other minorities would also have to be obtained. A package leading to ethnic reconciliation by February 2023 is a daunting task, even if the president has a genuine motive to resolve the issue."

Sources in the Sri Lankan Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the ruling party, let it be known that "while we are not against ethnic reconciliation, we should be cautious about some of the contents of the package."