The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) announced that it will be quitting from the ruling Sri Lankan government coalition on Tuesday, in protest against President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

JHU leader Omale Sobitha, who announced the split on Rajapaksa’s birthday, told reporters,

"This (quitting) is not a challenge from an enemy force.”

"This is a birthday gift to the president to correct his ways. This is the advice of a friend given according to the teachings of the Buddha."

Technology and Research Minister Champika Ranawaka, a senior JHU member who previously warned that Sinhalese were becoming a minority, also announced his resignation on Tuesday.

The move led to National Freedom Front national organiser Jayantha Samaraweera to call on the JHU to reconsider its decision, stating that western factions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were attempting to “destroy national forces” on the island.

The following address was delivered by Tasha Manoranjan, a graduate from Yale Law School, and founder and director of People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), at the 'Feminisms, Structural Violence and Transitional Justice Conference' held at York University, Toronto last month.

"Tamil women have suffered disproportionately throughout Sri Lanka’s decades-long ethnic conflict. They have faced both the structural collapse of communities as well as the erosion of societal norms. In response, an increasing number of women joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) starting in the 1980s and throughout the years prior to 2009, and became an integral part of the armed resistance against the government.