Speaking in parliament this week, the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) leader, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam emphasised that Sri Lanka's economic and political crises will not be solved without an election, demilitarisation and a federal state structure. 

Ponnambalam highlighted that the demonstrators who have been protesting predominantly in the capital "are not going to leave the streets" until there is an election and "until the people feel confident in the members" in Sri Lankan parliament.  

"For as long as you postpone an election, the political crisis that currently prevails will become far worse. Riots will pursue because this house will be seen as not standing to the will of the people and a house that is totally discredited," he noted. 

"And when riots happen, what is going to happen? We have a president even today who takes great pleasure in appointing army personnel to ministries, to secretaries. What is going to happen when riots take place, when the people have decided to talk?  When they go further because their voices are not being listened to, what are you going to do? You're going to unleash the military. That is what is going to happen. That is what this President and this government is gearing for," Ponnambalam told parliament. 

"If every single member seated opposite wants to maintain their political credibility, the only way that they can do it under the present circumstances is to support the dissolution of Parliament. Give us the support for that two thirds so that we can go and tell the president to hold that Parliament election and I say that you need a Parliament election because even if the president resigns, for whatever reasons tomorrow, this house will be asked to elect a new president. How can this house be asked to elect a new president when this house itself is totally redundant?" 

Devolution of power 

In his speech, the TNPF leader slammed opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, for recently claiming that he will implement the 13th Amendment which was established in 1987 as part of the Indo-Lanka accord and created the system of Provincial Council, promising greater devolution of land and police powers to a merged North-East. However, Sri Lanka has failed to implement the accord.

"How are you going to implement it?" Ponnambalam questioned. 

"Are you going to do something that you have not done in the last 34 years?  You can't implement so called the 13th amendment because it is within the unitary state structure. For as long as you remain within the unitary state structure, you cannot devolve power [...] The Supreme Court has ruled not once, over 30 times, upholding that principle. So you can't implement the 13th amendment and be sincere to devolution. You have to change the system. And what is that change? You have to move away from the unitary constitution." 

"We are asking the ordinary Sinhalese people to then just think, if their own leaders have brought them to this level, have lied to them and destroyed this country in the way they have in front of their own eyes, just imagine what they have been telling about the Tamils. Just imagine what they have been telling about what the Tamils stand for. When we say we are for a federal state, the Sinhalese leaders without batting an eyelid, continue to lie even today - lie and say that federalism is separation," Ponnambalam added. 

Inflated Sri Lankan military budget 

Ponnambalam added that Sri Lanka continues to allocate a high proportionate of it's budget towards its military, which has an inflated presence across the North-East. Although the armed conflict ended over a decade ago, Sri Lanka's military have intensified their presence in the region by intruding into civilian life. 

"Today this country's spending almost 19% on defence. 13% directly goes for military 13% of your annual budget and that is supposed to increase by 2% every year. That is the nature of the military that you have created. This is after the war. Military expenses at its highest even more than during the war," Ponnambalam noted. He also pointed out that few questions have been asked by Sinhala protesters, who have been calling for the resignation of the Rajapaksa administration, about the defence budget even though Sri Lanka is in the middle of an economic crisis. 

Ponnambalam concluded his speech by stressing that if the Sinhala people don't recognise the Tamil speaking nation and do not move to a federal state structure, then Sri Lanka will fail.