Tamil parliamentarian and leader of the Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK) C V Wigneswaran said that he would not attend a forum on “Water, Environment and Agriculture Security” in the Northern province unless the Sri Lankan military was uninvited, as he hit back against continued militarisation of the Tamil homeland.
In a letter to the Governor of the Northern Province, Wigneswaran expressed his regret that the upcoming forum “is arranged in collaboration with the Office of the Commander, Sri Lanka Army”.
“Most of the problems our people face today in the Northern Province is because of the continued presence of the Military even 12 years after the war in our Province,” continued the former chief minister of the Northern Province.
“What our Ministries and Departments of the Northern Provincial Council should handle are now taken over by the Office of the Governor to be handled with input from the Military. In other words the centre is now intruding into the affairs of the Provinces. No election for the Provincial Council to be formed have taken place for over 3 years.”
“I have always thought the Military should leave the Northern Province and allow only a workable office of the Military to consider security,” he concluded. “I am unable to agree that what has to be handled by the Provincial Council should be handled by the Nominee of the President, Hon’ Governor, and the Sri Lanka Army.”
See the full text of his letter here.
His letter comes as the Sri Lankan military continues to maintain an overwhelming presence across the Tamil homeland. Earlier this year, more than a decade since the end of the armed conflict, the Sri Lankan military raised a deadly new unit in Kilinochchi, the heart of the Tamil homeland, reportedly to “eliminate the internal and external threats”.
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Despite more than 12 years having passed since then, Sri Lanka’s military remains one of the largest per capita in the world.
Last month, Sri Lanka’s finance minister presented the Appropriation Bill for 2022, with the largest budget allocation once more earmarked for the Ministry of Defence.
According to Janes, the proposed defence allocation accounts for 15% of total government expenditure for 2022, a 14% increase over the allocation in 2021.
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