The root cause of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is the inability to solve the ongoing ethnic issues, said Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) Leader and former parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran at a meeting in Vavuniya today. 

 “Everyone says that once the economic issue is resolved, all other problems will be too,” said Premachandran.

“But have they forgotten that the root cause of an economic problem is war and ethnic issues? The Sri Lankan government is said to have spent nearly USD 250 million on funding war crimes committed in the country. The cause of the economic issue is the government’s funding of the war. Resolve the ethnic issue… There’s no other way around it.”

“There cannot be political stability if there continue to be riots such as those we witnessed in Vedukkunaari, Kurundurmalai, and the Sinhalisation and Buddhisation of the North-East,” he continued.

“Loans obtained by Sri Lanka have only been deferred for a few more years. We have not grown economically. Similarly, no leader is interested in resolving the ethnic issue and continues to deceive the Tamil people.”

He further said that the continued struggle is a struggle for the existence of the Tamil people.

“We have overcome many obstacles, 40 years have passed since the beginning of our armed struggle, and yet our issues remain unresolved to date. No leader in this country has been able to resolve the ethnic problem of the Tamil Eelam… All we have now is the 13th Amendment. Even provincial council elections have been indefinitely postponed.”

“There are 5 Tamil political parties and multiple conversations about the elections and a coalition,” he added, speaking about the island’s upcoming polls. “We should use the presidential election for the benefit of the Tamil people. The Tamil political parties must make use of this opportunity.” 

It is only through the nomination of a common Tamil candidate for the forthcoming election, that Tamils can reiterate the need to find a lasting solution to the ethnic issue, he added.