The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, thank you for the opportunity.

¶ 02 First, I wish to raise a matter: For the Mannar District Solid Waste Management Project, Rs. 69 million from the Asian Development Bank and Rs. 8 million from Mannar Municipal Council (total Rs. 77 million) were allocated. Site identification commenced in 2012 and continued until 2015, and implementation began. Now a public institution has blocked the project and filed a court case. The Forest Department and Department of Wildlife also say the site cannot be provided. This severely affects waste management in Mannar. I bring this to the House and will table full details in the next sitting.

¶ 03 Today, important matters were discussed. I listened closely to the Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Mrs. Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Post-2009 war, most female-headed households are in the North and East. When Hon. Hakeem/Hizbullah served as Deputy Minister for Child Development and Women’s Affairs, he said in this House there were over 90,000 such households in the North and East. They face acute livelihood and nutrition crises, notably in island areas like Neduntheevu and in Kilinochchi and Jaffna, where nutrition support like Thriposha is sometimes not delivered. The Government must prioritize nutrition for pregnant mothers.

¶ 04 Sri Lanka is not a developed country; the economy is sliding and dependent on external aid. We need special attention to health, nutrition, and livelihoods—especially for war-affected women. Many surrendered to the military and are still missing. Former Northern Provincial Minister Ananthi Sasitharan handed over her husband to the military; despite court processes, he has not been returned. Parents of the disappeared have protested for over eight years; more than 180 have died during these struggles. The Government refuses international investigations. The LLRC and subsequent Presidential Commissions’ recommendations have not been implemented. Domestic mechanisms have failed; hence the Tamil people demand an impartial international investigation to secure justice.

¶ 05 Recently, a former EPDP cadre, “Sathaa” (Suppaiah Ponniah), publicly confessed at the Jaffna Media Centre on 9th that EPDP committed several killings, including of Nimalarajan, Arpotan/Araputthan, and Nicholas (the acting Government Agent in Neduntheevu). What investigation will follow? Journalists like Dharmeratnam Sivaram were murdered—investigations were suppressed. Eezhapriya was brutally killed by the army, as were many others. If you have done no wrong and uphold justice, why not allow an international inquiry? Without it, there will be no justice, reconciliation, or peace. I reiterate this appeal.