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| Photographs Tamil Guardian |
Farmers in the North protested on Wednesday after it emerged that 90% of new posts for agricultural research assistants in the province went to Sinhala people.
Of the 361 available appointments, 332 have been filled by Sinhala people.
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Protesting in front of the Northern Province's District Secretariat on Wednesday, the farmers said:
"The armed conflict has greatly affected our agricultural livelihood. Due to climate change causing droughts, heavy rains, as well as bank loans we have been only just keeping afloat."
"In this situation, the news that 332 of the 361 appointments are to be given to Sinhalese people came as a great shock. How can officers who cannot speak Tamil listen to our needs and wants and help us?"
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"The application form requested that agricultural research assistants must have GCSE O' Level in their mother tongue. It stated that someone who can speak to lay people in their mother tongue was needed. However now, ignoring our youth, officers from the South are being hired," the protesting farmers added.
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At the end of the protest, the farmers gave the Jaffna district government agent, N Vethanayagam a letter signed by themselves to give to the president. The letter was also given to the Northern Provincial Council minister of agriculture, P Ayngaranesan.