No agreement in devolution talks with President Ranil Wickremesinghe: Tamil National Alliance

The talks on power devolution between Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Tamil legislators yielded no positive outcome, according to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest grouping of MPs from the island’s north and east.   

The talks on power devolution between Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Tamil legislators yielded no positive outcome, according to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest grouping of MPs from the island’s north and east.   

Following his renewed pledge on May Day to address Sri Lanka’s long-pending national question, President Wickremesinghe met almost all MPs from the Tamil-majority areas, including from the TNA, on Monday (May 15) as part of his latest round of discussions. The Tamil National People’s Front, which has two MPs, stayed out of the talks that it said were “simply aimed at appeasing the international community”.

After his ascent to Presidency last year amid a debilitating crisis, Mr. Wickremesinghe vowed to resolve Sri Lanka’s national question before February 4, 2023, when the island nation marked 75 years of Independence. After having failed to meet his deadline, the 74-year-old leader has renewed his promise to solve the ethnic problem by the end of the year, even as the Tamil leadership remains sceptical of his outreach.

A meeting on issues pertaining to reconciliation was convened by the President last week, where TNA lawmakers pointed to growing attacks on Tamils’ religious sites and lands, while strongly opposing the government’s proposed legislation to combat terrorism.

Monday’s meeting was to focus on power devolution. Veteran Tamil politician and TNA Leader R. Sampanthan, who turned 90 this year, yet again emphasised the need for a political solution based on the Tamils’ right to internal self-determination, while highlighting successive governments’ failure in addressing it.

Also read: The elusive political solution in Sri Lanka

Former Chief Minister of the Northern Province C. V. Wigneswaran, now a legislator representing Jaffna in Parliament proposed, among other things, an interim administrative arrangement at the provincial level, until elections are held. While the President suggested appointing a committee to study the proposal, the TNA squarely rejected the idea, its MPs said.