PM wants two years to provide solutions to Tamil issues

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe participating at a ceremony in Jaffna yesterday along with Tamil politicians - Pic by Pradeep Pathirana

• Says was unable to do so since 2015 due to lack of clear Parliament majority 

• But happy that progress has been made 

• Dedicated to power devolution based on 13A 

• Calls on Sri Lankans to draw inspiration from diversity of England’s World Cup winning team 

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said the Government had been unable to resolve key political issues of the Tamil community over the last four years due to the lack of a clear Parliament majority but assured they will be resolved in the next two years.    

Speaking in Jaffna the Prime Minister acknowledged that the Government had not managed to reach a power devolution mechanism, which was extensively discussed for many years and included a process to introduce a new Constitution since 2015, but emphasised that the issues of the Tamil community will be addressed in the next two years. 

“I am happy to state we are close to a political solution. We will provide a solution in the next two years. Through this we can achieve an environment where we can live proudly as Sri Lankans. No matter what ethnicity we belong to we are all Sri Lankans. All of us must think as Sri Lankans,” Wickremesinghe said.  

We are close to a political solution. We will provide a solution in the next two years. Through this we can achieve an environment where we can live proudly as Sri Lankans. No matter what ethnicity we belong to we are all Sri Lankans. All of us must think as Sri Lankans - Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe

Speaking further the Prime Minister said he continued to be dedicated to a power devolution mechanism based on the 13th Amendment.  Wickremesinghe also drew inspiration from the newly-crowned World Cup winning England cricket team and pointed out that they would not have reached such an achievement had it not been for the involvement of players either from or with diverse origins such as Indian, Pakistani and West Indies. He stated that Sri Lanka should also consider this example and adopt it to move forward. 

“The England cricket team had players from different nationalities and of different religions. This is how they were able to win the World Cup. In this country we have lived with diversity for over a thousand years. It is now time to work under a Sri Lankan identity to develop the country,” the Prime Minister added.