News
Lankan activists seek justice, unity and economic progress
(UCAN) Lankan activists have urged the leftist coalition government to address issues of justice, reconciliation and economic recovery on a priority basis following its landslide victory in the general election.
The leftist coalition bagged 159 out of a total of 225 seats up for grabs in the parliamentary election on Nov. 15.
The National Peace Council (NPC), an independent and non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting a negotiated political solution to the nation’s longstanding ethnic conflict called on the government to promote national unity.
It also called on the current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to take effective measures in all regions including those inhabited by ethnic and religious minorities to ensure justice and reconciliation.
Dissanayake became the nation’s first leftist president after winning the election on Sept. 21 with 42 percent votes.
“This support is a sign that the president’s leadership has successfully bridged ethnic and religious divides,” the group said in a statement on Nov. 18.
The NPC said that the failure of political parties representing minority interests to achieve significant results over the past decades has alienated the electorate. It is largely due to these negative factors that minority voters have moved away from supporting these parties.
“A solution to the ethnic conflict would be welcomed not only by the ethnic and religious minorities within the country, but also by those in the international community, particularly India, which has long advocated for a resolution as beneficial for both Sri Lanka and India,” said NPC.
Following the election, a diverse group of candidates, including Tamils, Muslims, Christians, tea workers, and a representative for the visually impaired, were elected to parliament. On Nov. 18, President Dissanayake appointed a 21-member cabinet of experts.
Emilini Sera is a Catholic university student who joined the mass protests that ousted the former strongman president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022.
Sera said that ethnicity-based politics, which has long influenced the country’s history, remains a divisive force that obstructs national unity, sustainable development, and lasting peace.
“Overcoming this form of politics is crucial for Sri Lanka’s advancement toward a united, prosperous, and peaceful society. The government should begin drafting a new constitution that supports all minority ethnic and religious groups, ensuring equal rights and preventing future conflicts among communities,” she told UCA News.
Sri Lanka’s ethnic divide between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority led to three decades of deadly civil war that left tens of thousands dead. The war ended in 2009, but the division is still rife and continues to influence politics, observers say.
“The lingering wounds from the conflict are still deep, with many political figures continuing to exploit these divisions to preserve their power,” said Sera, a Tamil.
She said this has fueled recurring ethnic tensions, exacerbated by political leaders’ divisive rhetoric, turning the political landscape into a battleground for ethnic identities instead of fostering dialogue and reconciliation.
A Colombo-based Catholic nun from the Holy Family congregation said that divisive politics undermines the development of a unified national identity, as voters often prioritize ethnicity over key issues like education, healthcare, and economic progress.
Thus, elections often turn into contests of ethnic loyalty rather than policy debates, which weakens the foundation of democracy, the nun said on condition of anonymity.
“Bridging ethnic and religious divisions is essential for Sri Lanka to overcome its economic crisis and establish lasting social and religious harmony. Only through unity and mutual respect can we address the nation’s challenges and build a prosperous, peaceful future for all communities,” the nun told UCA News.
The nation’s estimated 22 million people plunged into the worst economic crisis in its history in 2022 after the country became bankrupt, triggering massive nationwide protests and forcing the ouster of the powerful Gotabaya dynasty who ruled for decades.
“No shipment for 10 days; seas off western coast will become rough by April end”
Education Secretary of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) Pubudu Jayagoda says the Indian company which secured a tender to supply coal for electricity generation this year has delivered only 13 of the 25 shipments required and no vessel has arrived in Sri Lanka for the last 10 days or so.
Jayagoda said so while addressing the media during a protest held in Colombo yesterday.
Jayagoda said the Indian company Trident Chemphar, which secured the tender to supply 25 coal shipments for 2026, had placed the country’s coal stocks at risk.
Although all 25 coal shipments are required to be unloaded before the end of April, only 13 vessels have arrived in Sri Lanka so far, according to Jayagoda. He also claimed that no shipment had arrived during the first week of March, adding that coal vessels had not arrived for about 10 days.
Jayagoda warned that the situation could endanger the country’s energy supply as the seas off the western coast usually turn rough by the end of April, disrupting unloading operations.
According to Jayagoda, a report submitted by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka to the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on infrastructure and strategic development, power cuts may become necessary from August even if the country falls short of five shipments unless electricity is generated using costly diesel-powered thermal plants.
Jayagoda also alleged irregularities in the tender process, claiming that the government had changed tender specifications and delayed the tender process by about four months, possibly to allow the Indian company time to register and secure performance guarantees.
He further alleged that the coal supplied by the Indian company was substandard.
Jayagoda questioned why the tender had not been cancelled despite several shipments allegedly failing to meet quality standards and why no investigation had been launched.He asked why legal action had not been taken against the company despite supply disruptions.
The US Department of State has said that Washington respects Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in handling matters relating to the Iranian warship IRIS Bushehr and its crew, according to agency reports, quoting a State Department Spokesperson. He has said the final decision regarding the vessel, its crew and the rescued Iranian sailors rests with Sri Lanka in accordance with its domestic laws and international legal obligations.
The statement follows comments by Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath that Sri Lanka was looking after 32 sailors rescued from the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena under Colombo’s international treaty obligations.
The frigate was sunk by a US submarine off Sri Lanka’s southern coast on Wednesday during escalating hostilities involving the United States and Iran.
Sri Lanka’s Navy conducted rescue operations, following the incident, recovering 84 bodies.
Asked whether Colombo was under US pressure not to repatriate the Iranian sailors, Herath said Sri Lanka had taken all actions in accordance with international law.
Sri Lanka also provided safe harbour to the second Iranian warship, IRIS Bushehr, and evacuated its 219 crew members a day after the Dena was torpedoed. The vessel was taken to the port of Trincomalee after reporting engine problems.
Citing an internal cable, Reuters reported that Washington had urged Sri Lanka not to repatriate the Iranian sailors. However, the State Department spokesperson reiterated that the disposition of the crew and survivors was a matter for Sri Lanka to decide, adding that the United States respects Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in managing the situation.
Meanwhile, India allowed a third Iranian warship, IRIS Lavan, to dock in a port on humanitarian grounds after it reported operational difficulties.
The ship docked at the port of Kochi, where many of the crew, including young cadets, were disembarked and transferred to a nearby facility.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Colombo would follow the provisions of the Hague Convention, which requires neutral states to detain combatants of warring parties until the end of hostilities.
A senior administration official said Sri Lanka was in discussions with the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the treatment of survivors from the torpedoed vessel. International humanitarian law would apply to the wounded, who could be repatriated if they requested it, the official added.
Iranian diplomats in Colombo have requested the return of the remains of sailors killed in the attack to Iran.
Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, emphasised the critical need for the Indian Ocean region to remain peaceful and not become part of any conflict, said a news report published by NDTV yesterday.
It said: As the Iran-Israel war enters its second week, the theatre of the war has expanded dramatically, reaching the waters of Sri Lanka. With the sinking of Iranian warship IRIS Dena in international waters off Lanka’s coast and the docking of a second Iranian vessel, IRIS Busheher, Colombo has become embroiled in a conflict where it seeks to remain only a neutral bystander.
Speaking with NDTV, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition in Sri Lanka emphasised the critical need for the Indian Ocean region to remain peaceful and not become part of any conflict.
“The Indian Ocean has on successive occasions been declared a peaceful area and should remain so,” said Premadasa.
The Sri Lankan government has said that it will attend to all survivors of the ill-fated IRIS Dena and IRIS Busheher as per international protocols and norms. Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said his country had a “humanitarian responsibility” to take in the crew of the vessel, which was allowed to dock at Trincomalee in Northern Sri Lanka.
Premadasa, who is the leader of the opposition party SJB, called on all parties to cease the ‘asymmetric warfare’. He cautioned that the widening conflict would have devastating consequences for smaller countries like Sri Lanka, which is still reeling from its worst economic crisis in 2022.
“The Middle East conflict is already spreading to other countries, and this is having an impact on Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan people,” Mr Premadasa told NDTV.
A third Iranian vessel that was in the Indian Ocean, IRIS Lavan, has docked at Kochi in India. India has said it was a “humanitarian call” after the vessel sent out a distress call.
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