Topic
Ethnic Reconciliation & Devolution
885 speeches · 164 speakers
Party share
By the speaker's party · counts only, no scoring. "Unattributed" = speeches not resolved to an MP.
Most active on this topic
| # | Member | Speeches |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna, M.P. Independent Group 17 - Jaffna | 67 |
| 2 | Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, M.P. ITAK | 51 |
| 3 | Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan, M.P. ITAK | 48 |
| 4 | Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam, M.P. ACTC | 37 |
| 5 | Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran, M.P. ITAK | 30 |
| 6 | Hon. Bimal Rathnayake, M.P. JJB | 27 |
| 7 | Hon. M.S. Uthumalebbe, M.P. SLMC | 25 |
| 8 | Hon. (Dr.) M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, M.P. SLMC | 25 |
| 9 | Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar, M.P. JJB | 24 |
| 10 | Hon. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, M.P. JJB | 19 |
Speeches
885 on this topic- 28 February 2025 The Hon. Amirthanathan Adaikkalanathan DTNA AI summary Hon. Amirthanathan Adaikkalanathan opposed the increased Defence allocation, arguing that the post-war North and East continue to face excessive troop presence, military occupation of civilian land, and restrictions on access to religious and agricultural sites. He cited specific locations in Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu and along the A-9, and urged the Government to implement the President’s pledge to release occupied lands and reduce troop numbers. He questioned the effectiveness and purpose of the military presence amid continued drug trafficking and criticized the use of national security and the PTA to arrest journalists and civilians, saying reconciliation requires reduced defence spending and an end to fear among Tamil communities. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage Debate Continued (Afternoon) Read →
- 28 February 2025 The Hon. Muneer Mulaffer - Deputy Minister of National Integration JJB AI summary The Deputy Minister argued that strengthening the Police, Public Security institutions, and Defence-related services is essential for national progress, while acknowledging both the need for criticism and the importance of supporting Police welfare and capacity. He said the Government plans to fill at least half of the reported 20,000 Police vacancies this year, expand community policing and Public Security Committees, and deploy more Tamil-speaking officers to sensitive areas in the North and East. He also outlined measures to train 5,100 officers in Tamil, improve technical and IT training, address narcotics through supply-chain enforcement and public awareness, and provide single-cab vehicles to about 80 Police stations in the North with Indian assistance. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage Debate Continued (Afternoon) Read →
- 28 February 2025 The Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran ITAK AI summary Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran welcomed the Government’s “Prosperous Country – Beautiful Life” policy and Clean Sri Lanka programme but argued that rising drug use and illicit liquor production, especially in Mullaitivu and the wider Vanni, undermine those aims. He cited village complaints and reported deaths linked to kassippu and cannabis-related illicit alcohol, questioned why Police and security forces have not controlled the situation, and referred to allegations of police complicity. He also raised concerns about related theft, family breakdown, youth addiction, forest destruction, timber smuggling, illegal sand and gravel mining, cattle smuggling, and an incident involving an allegedly intoxicated police officer at Yogapuram School, calling for stronger law and order enforcement. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage Debate Continued (Afternoon) Read →
- 28 February 2025 The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam ACTC AI summary Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam opposed the Defence and Public Security allocations in the 2025 Budget, arguing that increased defence spending and military salary hikes are unjustified in the absence of war and amid fiscal constraints and reduced social welfare expenditure. He said the heavy military presence in the North and East, particularly the reported soldier-to-civilian ratios in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi, signals continued militarization of Tamil-speaking areas and contradicts the Government’s stated commitment to ending racism. He also criticized the defence establishment’s employment of preschool teachers at higher salaries than the Education Ministry, saying it militarizes education in impoverished war-affected areas. He tabled two reports on military deployment and stated that his party would call for a Division and vote against the Defence and Public Security Heads. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage Debate Continued (Afternoon) Read →
- 28 February 2025 The Hon. Lieutenant Commander (Rtd.) Prageeth Madhuranga JJB AI summary Hon. Lieutenant Commander (Rtd.) Prageeth Madhuranga supported the 2025 Budget allocations for the Ministry of Defence and related agencies, emphasizing the role of the Tri-Forces, Police, Civil Security Department, and Coast Guard in war, disasters, and national security. He argued that national security depends on inter-ethnic harmony and criticized past political interference and communalism as causes of conflict and institutional weakness. He called for prioritizing technologically advanced maritime and air surveillance capabilities, including aircraft and patrol assets, to improve narcotics interdiction, search and rescue, and protection of Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone. He cited Budget provisions for Wave Rider boats, medium-speed patrol boats, naval refits, Y-12 aircraft, Coast Guard vessels, and other defence capacity-building measures. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage Debate Continued (Afternoon) Read →
- 28 February 2025 The Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake NDF AI summary Chamara Sampath Dasanayake questioned the Government’s stated cost of the President’s visits to China, India and Dubai with an 11-member delegation, asking the Prime Minister to explain how the travel could have cost only Rs. 18 million. He also referred to his past support for Aruna Jayasekara’s bid to become Army Commander, saying he had conveyed the relevant letter to former President Maithripala Sirisena. He supported returning lands in the North by removing Army camps, but urged the Government not to relocate those camps to Diyatalawa and other areas in Badulla District, arguing that vegetable farmers and local facilities were being displaced. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage Debate (Defence & Public Security Heads) Read →
- 28 February 2025 The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan ITAK AI summary Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan argued that defence spending and troop deployment remain disproportionately high in the North and East despite the absence of war, while social welfare, education staffing, and capital investment are underfunded. He questioned the continued military presence, alleging that camps and military-run commercial activities affect civilian life and contribute to social harm in Tamil areas. He criticized repeated government commitments to a “domestic mechanism” for accountability as inadequate, and called for fair inquiry and a political solution. He also demanded the release of lands in Valikamam North and other areas still held as High Security Zones, noting prolonged displacement of Tamil residents. Appropriation Bill 2025 - Committee Stage Debate (Defence & Public Security Heads) Read →
- 28 February 2025 The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan ITAK AI summary Sivagnanam Shritharan raised a question under Standing Order 27(2) to the Minister of Justice and National Integration regarding Tamil political prisoners detained for long periods in Sri Lankan prisons. He asked for the number of such prisoners, the prisons in which they are held, and the Government’s timeline for their release. He also requested consideration of their release on humanitarian grounds or through a Presidential pardon, citing the impact on their families and the Government’s stated themes of ethnic harmony and reform. Questions by Private Notice - Construction Work in Mannar & Release of Tamil Political Prisoners Read →
- 27 February 2025 The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam ITAK AI summary Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam opposed the proposal to relocate the Norwood Divisional Secretariat to Hatton, arguing that a new building should instead be constructed in Norwood to serve over 200,000 residents. He questioned the Government’s priorities in light of railway-related Budget allocations and warned that moving the office would further disadvantage the upcountry community. He also referred to past injustices against estate Tamils, including disenfranchisement and administrative boundary changes, and raised concern over the lack of clarity on estate workers’ wages despite references to a Rs. 1,700 basic salary. Adjournment: Motion on Prevention of Relocation of Norwood Divisional Secretariat to Hatton Read →
- 27 February 2025 The Hon. Mano Ganesan SJB AI summary Mano Ganesan moved an Adjournment Motion opposing reported plans to relocate the Norwood Divisional Secretariat in Nuwara Eliya District to Hatton. He said the Secretariat was established under Extraordinary Gazette No. 2147/28 of 29 October 2019 to serve 35 Grama Niladhari Divisions, largely plantation communities, by bringing public administration closer to marginalized residents. He asked whether the Minister was aware of the proposed move, whether it had Government approval, and whether any Coordinating Committee decision had been taken without public consultation, and requested that the relocation be stopped. Adjournment: Motion on Prevention of Relocation of Norwood Divisional Secretariat to Hatton Read →
- 27 February 2025 The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam ACTC AI summary G.G. Ponnambalam raised concerns about the independence and effectiveness of the Human Rights Commission, citing unresolved complaints from 2023 relating to arrests of protesters, journalists and lawyers at Thaiyiddy despite court conditions permitting the protest. He argued that in the North and East, where he said police conduct is militarized and mistrusted, the Commission is a crucial domestic avenue for accountability and must be allowed to investigate and complete inquiries. He also criticized the Government’s transitional justice position, saying references to the OMP, reparations, ONUR and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission are inadequate without criminal investigations and prosecutions for wartime atrocities, and urged the President and Government to act differently if they are to sustain claims of “system change.” Debate: Committee Stage of the 2025 Appropriation Bill - Special Expenditure Heads (Heads 1-25) and Amendments Read →
- 27 February 2025 Hon. Ajith P. Perera SJB AI summary Hon. Ajith P. Perera urged the Government to act on its mandate to abolish the Executive Presidency, establish a parliamentary system with a ceremonial President, and introduce a new electoral system, noting that both the Government and main Opposition support these reforms. He argued that the current dual executive-parliamentary structure is costly and unnecessary, and called for power devolution to support both reconciliation and balanced development. He said the Government’s 159-seat majority creates a rare opportunity to begin constitutional reform immediately and complete it by the second parliamentary session. Debate: Committee Stage of the 2025 Appropriation Bill - Special Expenditure Heads (Heads 1-25) and Amendments Read →
- 27 February 2025 The Hon. Kaveenthiran Kodeeswaran ITAK AI summary Hon. Kaveenthiran Kodeeswaran said families of the forcibly disappeared continue to seek truth and justice during the ongoing UN Human Rights Council session, arguing that domestic institutions such as the OMP and ONUR have not delivered meaningful accountability. He called for international criminal justice over domestic or hybrid mechanisms, citing mass Tamil civilian deaths and continuing impunity from the final phase of the war. He also urged a new Constitution with devolution beyond the 13th Amendment, fair delimitation of local government wards affecting Tamil-speaking communities, and decisive action with severe penalties against crime, narcotics and underworld activity. Debate: Committee Stage of the 2025 Appropriation Bill - Special Expenditure Heads (Heads 1-25) and Amendments Read →
- 27 February 2025 The Hon. Mano Ganesan SJB AI summary Hon. Mano Ganesan urged the Government to identify specific individuals accused of wrongdoing rather than generalizing about former MPs, while acknowledging its electoral mandate and the Opposition’s role in making proposals. He raised concerns about alleged discrimination and police abuse against Tamil estate residents in the Southern Province, citing the arrest and alleged assault of a 76-year-old at Sirisily A Estate, and requested senior police officers be instructed to address such practices. He also sought clarification on the Government’s positions on Provincial Council elections, the 13th Amendment, estate housing policy, and whether estate families would receive seven or ten perches of land, linking these issues to devolution and a future constitutional settlement. Debate: Committee Stage of the 2025 Appropriation Bill - Special Expenditure Heads (Heads 1-25) and Amendments Read →
- 25 February 2025 The Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam ACTC AI summary Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam assessed the Budget against whether it marked a substantive departure from past policies affecting Tamils in the North and East, arguing that it lacked targeted measures for war-affected districts despite the Government’s stated commitments. He questioned allocations for northern roads and the Jaffna Library, called for protectionist and special economic provisions for the North and East, and highlighted disparities in district capital funding. He also raised concerns over the militarization of preschool education, land seizures by the Forest Department and High Security Zones, dairy land disputes in Mayilathamadu and Madhavanai, and irrigation projects such as Maduru Oya and Lower Malwathu Oya, warning that these could perpetuate displacement and colonization unless addressed. Second Reading Debate: Appropriation Bill 2025 (Day 1-7) Read →
- 25 February 2025 The Hon. Asitha Niroshana Egoda Vithana JJB AI summary Hon. Asitha Niroshana Egoda Vithana supported the Government’s first Budget, describing it as a “citizens’ Budget” focused on rural, low-income, marginalized and vulnerable groups. He highlighted allocations for low-income households, persons with disabilities, senior citizens, kidney patients, schoolbooks, autism support, and additional interest for senior citizens’ deposits, while criticizing alleged misuse of public funds by former ministers. He also referred to drug trafficking concerns in Hambantota and Beliatta and said steps were being taken to stop inflows through local harbours. He noted a Rs. 100 million allocation to rebuild and digitize the Jaffna Public Library, linking it to reconciliation after its burning in 1981. Second Reading Debate: Appropriation Bill 2025 (Day 1-7) Read →
- 24 February 2025 The Hon. Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam ITAK AI summary Welcoming the increase in the disability allowance from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 10,000, the MP argued that it could be raised further if tax exemptions for large corporations and multinationals were reduced and revenue was better collected. He questioned why major concessions continued despite the Government’s mandate, contrasting them with taxes borne by ordinary citizens and the cost of social welfare schemes such as Aswesuma. He also called for Parliament and proposed disability legislation to address accessibility comprehensively, and urged inclusion of people disabled by the war in the North and East, citing gaps in allowance coverage in Batticaloa. Adjournment Debate: Policy-Driven Programme for Persons with Disabilities Read →
- 24 February 2025 The Hon. Upali Samarasingha JJB AI summary Upali Samarasingha outlined Budget allocations for Northern development, including funding for rural roads and bridges, the Mullaitivu Vadduvakal Bridge, resettlement of displaced persons in the North and East, improvements to the Jaffna Library, coconut cultivation, and restoration of tanks in Vavuniya. He stated that these were substantial allocations and that the Government would act fairly within its limits. Debate: Second Reading of Appropriation Bill, 2025 - Sixth Allotted Day Read →
- 24 February 2025 The Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna Independent Group 17 - Jaffna AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna said the Budget’s allocations for the North and East, including for the Jaffna Library, local roads, resettlement, Vattuvagal bridge, health and industrial development, were disproportionately small compared with total capital expenditure and amounted to token assistance. He argued that lasting progress requires addressing Sinhala-Tamil communication gaps, ending communal politics, protecting all religious sites, and repealing the PTA to encourage diaspora investment. He also called for meaningful development such as revival of the KKS cement factory and implementation of commitments affecting the North, including issues linked to the 13th Amendment. Debate: Second Reading of Appropriation Bill, 2025 - Sixth Allotted Day Read →
- 24 February 2025 The Hon. Shantha Padma Kumara Subasingha JJB AI summary Hon. Shantha Padma Kumara Subasingha supported the Budget as reflecting a participatory economic model and highlighted allocations affecting Ratnapura, including Rs. 250 million to begin restoring and extending the Kelani Valley railway to Ratnapura, with later phases to Kahawatta, Ambilipitiya and Sooriyawewa, while assuring fair treatment and compensation for affected residents. He also cited provisions for children with autism and neurodevelopmental disorders, children in care institutions, Malaiyagam Tamil housing, livelihoods and schools, and Rs. 100 million for the restoration of the Jaffna Library as measures aimed at welfare and reconciliation. Responding to Opposition criticism, he argued that the Budget contains substantive allocations and referred to proposed public servant salary increases, particularly for teachers, while contrasting them with past treatment of public sector workers. Debate: Second Reading of Appropriation Bill, 2025 - Sixth Allotted Day Read →