Little Progress Made on Issues Important to People in the North

Photo by Jithmi Athukorale

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his National People’s Power (NPP) party swept into power with the support of voters in the North and East, voters who usually place their confidence in Tamil political parties. But one year one, while still popular, the president and his government are slowly losing support and credibility as they make little progress on the issues that are most important to the people in the North and East.

Groundviews spoke to Mahendran Thiruvarangan, Senior Lecturer at the Jaffna University and Suresh Premachandran former MP and head of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) about how they view the government’s performance. 

Mahendran Thiruvarangan

Is the government losing the support of the Tamil population by not addressing their grievances?

There was a lot of hope and optimism in the Tamil community when the NPP was elected to power in 2024. But people were not thinking about big changes like constitutional reforms and federalism but at least some of the low hanging fruits such as releasing the land, demilitarisation and creating livelihood opportunities for the community. These are issues where the NPP could have done better. So sections of the community feel very disappointed. For instance, although some roads were made accessible, people couldn’t use these roads after some time. Some army camps have been dismantled but is still a lot has to be done because there are still large areas that are under the control of the military. There are other issues like the Thaiyiddy Buddhist temple that was built after the war on people’s private land. This land was under the military who transferred it illegally to a Buddhist monk and he put up the Buddhist temple there. Every month on the poya day, people who lost their lands and their supporters gather there to demand the release of the land to its rightful owners. This is a clear cut issue where the land belongs to the people and it should be released to them. Likewise, if you look at the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the NPP was fully committed to the abolition of the PTA and they were also equally committed to not replacing PTA with another anti-terror law but now they are introducing an anti-terror law that seems equally frightening. We know that the PTA was used against workers but later it was used against Tamils, Muslims and Sinhala activists in the South during the aragalaya. Sadly the government has gone back on its promise. These are issues they could easily address. So in that sense I think there is discontent brewing within the Tamil community, within the minorities. But at the same time, I also see that the president seems to be very popular in the North because he connects with the masses whether he’s in the South or the North. That charisma is still there. There is a section of the Tamil community that thinks that under this regime corruption will be tackled in a strong way. They are seen as people who are not wasting the public funds. But another growing concern is that there has been no move to call the Provincial Council elections. So when is it going to happen is a question we are asking.

Are many people from the North trying to go abroad?

After the 2022 crisis, some academics who obtained their qualifications abroad resigned from the university system and went abroad. So did medical professionals. This is a trend that is really worrying because we need these people and these institutions to keep our society alive, socially meaningful and vibrant. When they go away, it is a loss. For recovery after the devastation of the war, where will we find such human capital? You have to invest a lot in the local universities and schools. Also what resources are available need to be redistributed in a fair and just manner so that universities and institutions in the peripheries are supported better without resources being concentrated in Colombo.

Do people feel strongly that Provincial Councils are necessary so they have more power to govern themselves?

In the North this has been a longstanding demand because the Provincial Council system came out of a struggle so people still value it although they are also critical of it because of the lack of powers devolved to the provinces and that even some of those powers can be easily taken back by the central government. It is seen as an inadequate solution but at the same time people don’t want to get rid of it and think that you can build on it. They would like to see the elections to take place soon. This is part of the constitution of the country so they have to definitely hold the elections.

Why do you think the government is not doing moving forward on several of the promises it made to the Tamil people?

The government knows that the Sinhala Buddhist community is the major electoral constituency and it is very careful not to antagonise this community. They are governing in the anticipation of a backlash. Whenever you want to do something good, you are worried about the backlash from Buddhist monks; this is something that they fear a lot, which is not good for a healthy democracy. The Buddhist monks have so much power that even when the government wanted to abolish corporal punishment, there was a backlash from the monks and it took a step back. Similarly, it is worried about LGBTIQ issues. When it comes to educational reforms, it made a mess. They have to pacify the Buddhist monks so it shows that even under the NPP the Buddhist establishment remains very powerful. The real test will happen when there is a crisis. When we start to repay the debts in a few years, there will be public discontent. That is why the government needs the PTA or a replacement as a tool to control the masses. Another key promise was the abolition of the executive presidency but again little has been done towards this. The government says that there is a constitution making process underway but we haven’t heard much about that; there is lack of political will.

Are the local government bodies functioning satisfactorily?

They have started to function but then one is worried about the Praja Shakti initiative, which seems to function as an alternative or parallel decision making body and has a lot of power in the District Development Council meetings. When it comes to funds allocated by the central government to be utilised by the local government bodies, the Praja Shakti have a lot of say. If you are really committed to decentralising powers, regardless of who wins in the election, you have to let those bodies function and exercise the powers that were granted to them. Having alternative bodies creates unnecessary fear. Does this mean that the central government is trying to find extra constitutional mechanisms to undermine constitutionally elected bodies like the local government bodies? This is the new question that we are faced with now.

Suresh Premachandran

Are people in the North pressing for Provincial Council elections?

For the last seven years we haven’t had Provincial Council elections. The government is giving excuse that it wants to change the electoral system. But the Tamil parties are saying to have the elections under the current proportional representation system. After that the system can be changed. The government has allocated funds for the elections. It should allow the Tamil people to look after themselves. But the government feels it may lose the elections.

Is the NPPs losing support of the Tamil people?

Definitely. The president comes regularly to Jaffna and makes promises but in practice, there is nothing. The land occupied by the armed forces has not been released. The PTA is remaining under a new name. The government fears that like the aragalya, if another agitation comes, it has to be suppressed. Another issue is about religious sites. Some Buddhist monks and the armed forces have put up a Buddhist temple on private land. It is an illegal construction. I don’t understand why there are so many temples in places where there are no Buddhists. They are doing the same things as previous governments. Even the economic policies policies are what Ranil Wickremesinghe promised the IMF. But what are the new ideas? What are the new investments? What are the new policies on the economic front? We are asking the government to to develop the Kankesanthurai port and the Palali International Airport. But the government is not willing to develop the airport because it says that its is not commercially viable. But many Tamils will use it as well as south Indian tourists.

In one and a half years, what sort of development has taken place in the north? How many jobs are given to the youngsters? There is nothing. Definitely people are getting fed up with the government.

Could this disillusionment lead to another separatist movement?

The government losing the ground but doesn’t mean that there will be a call for separatism. The government promised a new constitution but so far there is nothing about the new constitution as such. Whether it will bring a new constitution and whether itwill resolve the Tamil national problem in a proper way nobody knows. But the government said it will abolish the executive presidential system. A lot of promises were given before the elections but in practice it is not doing anything. If there is no economic development in the north, there will be no jobs for the youngsters. In the 1960s and 70s the Northern and Eastern people felt abandoned and ignored so they revolted and the revolt became a separatist struggle. Because we lost so many of our people,going for another armed struggle is not relevant. But there will be peaceful agitation. I don’t know what form it will take but people will agitate against the government.