Tamil Representatives Tell UN Resident Representative Provincial Councils Must Function
29-Mar-2026.
Representatives of Tamil nationalist political parties have informed the United Nations Resident Representative in Sri Lanka that the current government has yet to fulfill the promises it made regarding a political solution for Tamils and other common issues. They stressed that merely providing employment opportunities to youth without proper political representation cannot be considered a meaningful political solution.
Earlier this week, UN Resident Representative Marc-André Franche visited Jaffna and held separate meetings with representatives of the Democratic Tamil National Alliance and the Tamil National People’s Front.
During the discussions, Tamil representatives pointed out that the government, which had promised to hold Provincial Council elections within one year of coming to power, continues to delay the elections. They emphasized the urgent need for the Northern Provincial Council to function, and reiterated that employment opportunities alone cannot substitute for proper political representation.
They also expressed concern that the government has not fulfilled its promise to draft a new Constitution. They said the government has not taken steps to engage in constructive discussions with Tamil parties on incorporating a political solution for Tamils into the proposed Constitution.
In addition, Tamil representatives noted that although the government had promised in its election manifesto to abolish the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), it is now attempting to introduce a new law titled the “Protection of the Nation from Terrorism Act” as a replacement. They also stated that even the limited number of political prisoners released by the previous government have not been released under the current administration.
Furthermore, Tamil representatives briefed the UN Resident Representative on the recently controversial Kivul Oya project, and also explained ongoing illegal land acquisition attempts in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
