Ethnic Reconciliation & Devolution

## Summary Hon. (Dr.) Ramanathan Archchuna made contentious remarks directed at an opposing party, alleging that killings were committed by that party during 1987–88 and characterizing the ethnic conflict as having been deliberately framed as such by the opposing side. The speaker also claimed that the opposing party's leader travelled to the North in 1988 to seek support from Prabhakaran. The speech was partially expunged on the order of the Chair. The speaker also began raising a matter regarding five members appointed to the Northern Provincial Council before the speech concluded.

Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran raised concern that despite over 1,650 Carnatic Music graduates being available to meet district-level needs, the Special Gazette fails to make provision for recruitment in the Northern and Eastern provinces. He urged the Prime Minister to take swift corrective action to address what he described as unequal resource allocation disadvantaging the Vanni region.

## Summary Hon. (Mrs.) Deepthi Wasalage spoke in support of extending the national emergency declared on 28 November 2025, contextualising it within the severe flooding and landslide disaster that struck the Matale District, which caused 29 deaths, disrupted communications across 14 zones, affected 16 of 25 RDA roads, and knocked out power District-wide. She detailed the coordinated relief response by the four Matale MPs, party organisers, and members from other districts, emphasising that aid was delivered to hard-hit Tamil communities without communal distinction. She outlined outstanding recovery needs, including restoration of the Alukalduwa–Ukuwela road, establishment of the Bambarakiriella water project, and relocation of the Navagamuwa Hindu National School. Rejecting Opposition criticism of the emergency extension, she argued the declaration had not been used against any democratic process and challenged critics to cite specific instances of misuse, while attributing the country's inherited economic difficulties to the previous administrations now represented on the Opposition benches.

## Summary Dr. Ramanathan Archchuna raised allegations of illegal sand extraction and land encroachment on state and forest lands in Kandawalai, Kilinochchi, calling for these activities to cease. He defended Tamil members against accusations of building a house linked to former LTTE leader Prabhakaran, characterising such claims as politically motivated point-scoring. The speaker invoked the deaths of over 44,000 Tamil people during the conflict to reject the labelling of Tamils as terrorists, and called for restored dignity and proper standards of conduct in Parliament, including an end to the abuse of women and weaponisation of media. Several portions of the speech were expunged by order of the Chair.

## Summary Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam announced his party's opposition to the Emergency extension, stating he would call a Division and vote against it, citing the historical use of emergency powers to suppress political dissent and protests in the North and East — including through court orders sought against demonstrations at Thayiddi — and the continued application of the Prevention of Terrorism Act against political opposition despite the Government's election promise to repeal it. Challenging the Government's justification that the Emergency is necessary for post-cyclone relief and reconstruction, Ponnambalam cited the uncompensated damage from the 2020 "Burevi" cyclone in Neduntivu (Rs. 20 million) and the unspent 2021 Northern Province allocation as evidence that the Government had failed to deliver relief without emergency powers. He also presented detailed statistics on Indian trawler poaching — including that of 2,871 Indian fishermen arrested since 2013, 2,779 were released without action — arguing that neither past nor present governments had adequately protected Northern fishermen or compensated their losses. Ponnambalam additionally raised the case of Mr. Rajkumar Rajeevkanth, who is reportedly facing harassment after posting on social media asking that Tamil cultural sensitivities be considered regarding the venue chosen for the cremation of a Buddhist monk in Trincomalee, and appealed to the Government to cease any action against him.

## Summary Hon. Hizbullah raised a Private Notice Question concerning the 1990 abduction and killing of over 100 Muslim pilgrims returning from Hajj at Kurukkalmadam, Batticaloa, allegedly perpetrated by the LTTE, whose remains are believed to be buried in a mass grave near Kurukkalmadam beach. He noted that despite a 2014 Magistrate's Court order directing excavation of the suspected grave, no excavation has taken place in the intervening period. The speaker acknowledged that approximately Rs. 2.9 million had been allocated and that the Minister had previously committed to supporting immediate excavation, but cited the non-release of funds as the cause of continued delay, with the Magistrate most recently requesting additional funds at a hearing on 6 January 2026. He called on the Minister to immediately release the required funds to the Kaluwanchikudi Divisional Secretariat so that excavation, DNA identification, and reburial according to family wishes could proceed, delivering justice to victims' families after nearly 35 years.

## Summary Hon. Rohana Bandara raised a procedural concern regarding a recently gazetted teachers' examination notification (issued 2nd February), arguing that its eligibility window — restricting applicants to graduates completing degrees between 10 February 2023 and 30 June 2025 — unjustly excludes graduates who completed degrees by 31 December 2025, and called for the Gazette to be amended to include all 2025 graduates. On broader political matters, the Member criticised the Government for alleged selective application of the law, specifically citing fuel misuse allegations against the Speaker and drawing a parallel to a former North Central Province Chief Minister and his Private Secretary who received 20-year sentences for a comparable offence; he demanded the Speaker temporarily step aside pending investigation. Bandara also challenged the Government's characterisation of southern visitors travelling to Anuradhapura as promoting nationalism, arguing such visits constitute religious devotion rather than communal activity. He further accused the ruling party of political inconsistency — having previously championed Mahinda Rajapaksa — and warned against diaspora influence and the revival of communalism.

The speaker criticizes opposition figures, specifically referencing Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, for alleged political maneuvering in Trincomalee, claiming they lacked public support there and subsequently engaged in misleading social media messaging. She calls for respect toward Buddhist clergy and the public, asserting that the people cannot be deceived. The speaker also acknowledges the Tri-Forces' contributions during a recent cyclone and concludes with a call for national harmony and unity.

## Summary Speaking on 5 February 2026, Ms. Lakmali Hemachandra addressed two issues: the treatment of female Members in the chamber, and what she characterised as communalist narratives introduced into Independence Day commemorations by Opposition members. She argued that Sri Lanka's thirty-year civil war demonstrated the severe cost of ethnic division, and called on political leaders across parties to reject communalism rather than exploit it electorally. She specifically criticised Hon. Namal Rajapaksa for claiming to represent Sinhala Buddhists while practising divisive politics, and cautioned against portraying Sinhala Buddhist communities as complicit in corruption. She also defended the Tri-Forces, citing their humanitarian role during a recent cyclone as reason to honour rather than belittle them on Independence Day.

## Summary Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam spoke in support of microfinance regulation in principle but raised significant objections to the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority Bill, with particular concern for war-affected communities in the North and East. He argued that these regions, economically devastated by nearly three decades of conflict, were especially vulnerable to predatory microfinance practices, which he linked to widespread indebtedness, a slavery-like condition described by former Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, and suicides among women borrowers. Ponnambalam contended that the Bill threatens to destroy longstanding community-based credit mechanisms in the North and East by classifying them as moneylending institutions, thereby stripping women's groups and solidarity-based organisations of their identity and autonomy. He further criticised the Bill for lacking legal enforcement mechanisms for consumer protection, failing to curb profit-driven lending, and proposing to expand CRIB coverage without addressing the existing financial disenfranchisement of rural borrowers, over 85 percent of whom are already listed as bad debtors. He invoked the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP, 2018) to assert that community credit organisation is an internationally recognised collective right. Ponnambalam demanded that community-based credit providers be exempted from the Bill and governed by separate legislation, and also raised a procedural concern that requiring borrowers from distant regions such as Jaffna to attend legal proceedings at a Colombo-registered office was unreasonable and unjust.