A joint statement by several Tamil diaspora organisations has called on Tamil parliamentarians to affirm their commitment to the non-negotiable core principles of the Tamil nation.

The statement stressed the need for the international community, including the IMF, World Bank, and Asian Development Bank, to tie aid to Sri Lanka to “a permanent political solution to address the legitimate aspiration of the Tamil people”.

The statement begins by slamming outreach efforts by Sri Lanka’s President, noting that without agreeing to any preconditions, his invitation was “reprehensible”. The statement comes amidst a fractious period in which Tamil parties have been divided on how they should vote on the President’s budget. Whilst the Tamil National People’s Front opposed the budget, which would see military spending increased, the Tamil National Alliance abstained from voting on the bill given their recent discussions with the Sri Lankan president.

Read more here: Tamil parties split on Wickremesinghe’s budget

Commenting on the need for a political solution, the statement stresses the need for the dismantling of Sri Lanka’s unitary state and the recognition of the Tamil nation, which has been reaffirmed during the Thimpu talks of 1985 and the Tamil People’s Council in 2016. These talks reaffirmed the recognition of Tamils as a separate nation with an inalienable right to self-determination and the existence of a traditional and historical homeland comprising the Northern and Eastern provinces on the island.

Additionally, the statement stresses the need for the Sri Lanka state to address calls for accountability and justice. The statement laid out demands to address the issue of disappearances, “release of political prisoners, the release of land occupied by the Armed forces in the North-East, demilitarization, state-sponsored colonization, security sector reforms and contain guarantees of non-recurrence”.

The statement maintains the need for Tamils on the island to be able to hold a referendum to determine their political future.

The organisations which signed the statement are the National Council of Canadian Tamils (Canada), the Danish Federation of Tamil Associations (Denmark), the Italian Council of Eelam Tamils (Italy), the Maison du Tamil Eelam France (France), the  Council of Eelam Tamils in Germany (Germany), the National Council of New Zealand Tamils (New Zealand), the Dutch Tamil Forum (Netherland), the Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (Norway), the Swiss Council of Eelam Tamils (Swiss) and the Tamil cultural centre - Belgium.

Read the full statement here.