The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, welfare measures are very important in this country. Economic setbacks and instability have created a segment of people reliant on welfare. But are these benefits reaching them properly, and are they actually enjoying those benefits? That is in question.

¶ 02 Therefore, welfare schemes must be reviewed not only in Kilinochchi District but in many districts I have seen. Due to these shortcomings, people face severe hardship. Many who deserve welfare do not get it, while those who should not — the well-off — have received it. This must be immediately reviewed so that rightful beneficiaries obtain the benefits.

¶ 03 We will always support the decisions led by our brother Mano Ganesan and the Tamil Progressive Alliance to raise the basic salaries of plantation workers in the hill country. The hill country people have always been affected and remain vulnerable. Their poverty and educational conditions have been neglected, as the previous speakers and I wish to record.

¶ 04 In Sri Lanka — even on the world map — they are still identified as people living in “lines,” in long rows of tin-roofed rooms without basic facilities, as if caged. Nearly 300,000 hill-country Tamils live without owning homes. The government should approach a country or international financial institutions, obtain funding, give them land, and build homes. If done, this government could become historic. They need change and forward-looking measures. We will support TPA actions regarding their salaries.

¶ 05 Assistance for resettled people was not given properly by past governments, particularly in the eight districts of the North and East. Many resettled families were to receive Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 300,000 as “damage/resettlement” grants. But in many districts, assessment and disbursement were not proper. In Kilinochchi, 38,000 families were resettled; only 11,791 families received this grant. The remaining 26,209 families have not received it. Displaced persons in Vakarai (Batticaloa), in northern Vavuniya, entire districts in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, parts of Vadamarachchi East, pockets of Mannar, and people from Jaffna, Trincomalee, and Ampara who resettled have not received the “damage” grant.

¶ 06 At least under this government, act justly and ensure disbursement. District Secretaries should create awareness. This is not only for public servants but for all resettled people. They have been wandering pillar to post even to fill the forms, spending much money. Even when “RAPIA” existed to facilitate easier resettlement, it was not done properly. Allow people to submit forms through GNs or Divisional Secretaries and receive assistance easily. This is a basic right. It has been delayed far too long. I urge immediate action.

¶ 07 Positively, this government is paying attention to people’s issues. You have a large Sinhala mandate; Sinhala youth are watching your actions. Even on Tamil political solutions, you will find full support from them, because a fair-minded sentiment has grown among the Sinhala people. Nurture that. Unfortunately, some incidents are happening.

¶ 08 Just the other day in Ampara District, as raised by a fellow MP, at Kalmunai Periyaneelavanai Police Station, a woman was kept from 4.00 p.m. to 9.00 p.m. without female officers, assaulted by male officers, and sexually harassed. What will the country do? What justice will be given to her? What action against the police? Please think. Incidents like this make me wonder if the police are undermining the good intentions of the government.

¶ 09 Further, I saw a report that people from Colombo and Pannadura have applied for land in Jaffna. I also saw an interview with a media liaison of the NPP in London, “Dhaga Einstein,” claiming that Tamils have been “settled” in Puttalam, Chilaw, Negombo, Kollupitiya, Wellawatte, Wattala, etc. He should read history. In Puttalam, Chilaw, and Negombo, were Tamils settled artificially or have they lived there traditionally? From Kuruvita (Kuruvaathota) to Kollupitiya and Wellawatte in Colombo, Tamils have resided traditionally.