The Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, we meet to debate the Adjournment Motion on the current global situation and its impact on Sri Lanka’s stability. One must ask whether the Government is managing the crisis without destabilization. It appears not. Instead of structured, long-term planning that anticipates shortages, we see reactive, step-by-step responses. Fuel queues and hoarding began at the end of last month; only two weeks later was the QR system introduced. One and a half months’ fuel was exhausted within ten days. Why did CPC fail to curb the sudden spike in demand? Who is responsible for hoarding? The Government must have forecast global developments, anticipated impacts, piloted, and implemented measures in sequence. Updating the QR system in time is governance; waiting for floods to set the dam is not.

¶ 02 Frequent changes to a system signal failures in planning, testing, and understanding ground realities. Has the Wednesday “saving” holiday delivered intended outcomes? We lost about 20 percent of human capital for a 2 percent reduction in thermal energy on that day: total energy per hour down 1.17 GW (2.1 percent), daytime peak down 113.6 MW (3.9 percent), and average usage per hour down 0.32 GW (2.1 percent). Is that efficient?

¶ 03 In this crisis, citizens in the North—especially in Mullaitivu and across the Vanni—bear additional burdens. “Ditwah” compounded suffering, and, while we faced the cyclone, we also faced state “great pain”—land grabs and barriers across our lands. Today’s fuel queues and hoarding are not only due to Middle East tremors but also due to state actions—like sanctioning a large salt pan in Kokkilai (Kokku Thoduvai) while fishermen face illegal practices you have failed to curb: illegal gears, dynamiting, light fishing, and Indian trawler incursions destroying gear and livelihoods. District fisheries offices report severe staff shortages; in Mullaitivu, only 10 of 25 sanctioned posts are filled as of 17.01.2025. Despite my repeated appeals since early 2025, no action has been taken. Fill vacancies urgently and curb illegal fishing; protect the North and East seas from illegal operators.

¶ 04 On land: the President rightly said in Anuradhapura that land is tied to ancestors and culture. Yet, on the same day, the Mahaweli Authority attempted to occupy ancestral Tamil farmlands in Kunjukkalveli (Kunchukalveli), Kokkilai, within Karainagarpatru (Karaituraippattu) DS Division, Mullaitivu—lands recorded as private and pasture in Topo PP 70 maps. Mahaweli has no authority there, yet it seeks to grab and lease to a trader for a salt pan, provoking tensions. Since 1988, under cover of “development,” the Mahaweli Authority has engaged in structured Tamil ethnic cleansing—occupying lands, renaming villages with Sinhala names, settling outsiders—causing ethnic tension and disturbing peace. Remove the Mahaweli Authority from the North where no Mahaweli waters flow.