Almost 3000 Tamil youth from across the North-East and from Upcountry demanded political parties call for and end to Sinhalisation of historically Tamil areas and immediate demilitarisation, ahead of the island’s parliamentary elections on Monday.
As part of an event titled, “The Power of Youth is the Zip Code of Democracy” last week, thousands of youth came together in Kilinochchi to put forward a set of 25 demands to political parties.
Amongst the demands, which they handed to the Chief Minister of the Northern Province C V Wigneswaran, were the demilitarisation of the North, East and Hill Country, the administrative merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces and an investigation into violations of international humanitarian law.
They also passed a resolution, stating the youth would “support only to those who accept our demands in promoting genuine democracy”.
The event also saw the discussions on the role of youth in democracy and strategies to make informed electoral choices.
See a full list of their demands below.
The resolution reiterating the following demands:
1. Advocate for issues that are of importance to all Tamils irrespective of any regional differences.
2. Advocate for the administrative merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
3. Use international mechanisms strategically to advocate for greater rights for Tamils.
4. Implement a federal solution to resolve the long standing grievances of the Tamils.
5. De-militarize the North, East and Hill Country.
6. All military administered farms across the Northern Province should be placed within the purview of the respective Pradeshiya Sabhas.
7. Ascertain the whereabouts of all political prisoners and expedite their release, and repeal the PTA.
8. Immediately put an end to sinhalization of historically Tamil areas.
9. Protect the religious, traditional and cultural identities of the Tamils and preserve all historical and archeological evidence in those areas.
10. Advocate strategically for an investigation of the violation of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law in historically Tamil areas.
11. Effectively address the socio-economic needs, particularly livelihood needs, of women-headed households and those disabled due to war.
12. Provide reparation to all those affected by the war; such reparation should include compensation, including to the families of the disappeared for the absence of time until their return, and memorialization.
13. Ensure peoples’ participation in all post-war development activities.
14. Ensure all job opportunities are considered on the basis of skills and knowledge, not by political affiliation or bribe. Further, make provision for affirmative action for groups that have been historically marginalized and discriminated against.
15. Estate areas in the Hill Country should be brought under Pradeshiya Sabha administration and their right to adequate standard of living, including land rights and right to decent housing, should be ensured. Work towards eliminating line housing for estate workers.
16. Work towards reasonable wage increase for the estate workers and promote a political culture that doesn’t only apply to the Estate Workers Union.
17. Ensure the participation of relevant experts in development activities and other institutional capacity development initiatives.
18. Prioritize regional development as opposed to individual interest or politics.
19. Ensure the proper use of natural resources to increase youth employment in historically Tamil areas.
20. Give priority to environmental protection and undertake adequate environmental assessments before initiating development projects in historically Tamil areas.
21. Ensure there is no undue, illegal or improper interference in civilian commercial activities, particularly where peoples’ respective livelihood activities in historically Tamil areas are concerned.
22. Ensure the basic needs of people residing in historically Tamil areas are met.
23. Increase women’s participation and representation within the relevant political parties and encourage opportunities for new members.
24. When promoting Tamil Rights, political parties should speak with clear united voice while they continue to advocate for Tamil Rights.
25. The decentralized budget allocated to every Member of Parliament should be spent solely on the development for the communities and constituencies, as opposed to personal pursuits.