The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam

All Ceylon Tamil Congress· Jaffna· 22 August 2025 ·Adjournment: Adjournment Motion: Human Rights Issues Faced by the Tamil Community in the North, East and Hill Country

Ethnic Reconciliation & Devolution

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Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam questioned the Government’s position on federalism in the context of its commitment to a unitary state. He argued that the term “federal” has long been portrayed among the Sinhala public as racist or separatist, and urged the Minister to state clearly that federalism is not equivalent to racism or separatism so it can be discussed openly with the public.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Minister Bimal Rathnayake, I accept that your Government stands for a unitary state. My question is this: for 76 years, the word “federal” has been vilified among the Sinhala public as racism or separatism. We argue Sri Lanka should adopt federalism. At least state clearly today that federalism is not racism or separatism. Then we can go to the Sinhala public and explain without fear.

Provenance

Source: Hansard, Friday, 22 August 2025 ·No. 1756894696039492 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Permalink: /lk/speeches/22358

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Cite as: The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 22 August 2025. No. 1756894696039492. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/22358