COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has announced his intention to settle the country’s ethnic conflict with the Tamil community by the end of the year. Wickremesinghe has stated that the resolution of this conflict is a necessary condition for the country to move forward with its International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
The Sri Lankan economy has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the IMF has agreed to release an economic bailout of $2.9 billion over four years to help the country recover.
The ethnic conflict has been ongoing for over three decades and has claimed at least 100,000 lives. The conflict is between the Sinhalese majority, who are mostly Buddhist and make up nearly 75% of the country’s 22 million population, and the Tamil minority, who make up 15% of the population.
The conflict has centered around the demand for political autonomy by the Tamil community in Sri Lanka.
Talks to end ethnic conflicts in Sri Lanka
President Wickremesinghe has emphasized that the resolution of the ethnic conflict must be achieved in a way that benefits all communities in Sri Lanka, including the Sinhalese majority, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher, and other minority groups.
He has also stressed the need to fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the devolution of power to the minority Tamil community in Sri Lanka.
The President’s efforts to initiate talks with the Tamil political groups to achieve reconciliation have not met with success in the past. However, he has expressed his hope to reach an agreement with the Tamil community by the end of this year.
The President also stressed the need to achieve 6-7% GDP growth and to listen to the youth who have stressed a change in the economic system.
The IMF’s economic bailout is crucial for Sri Lanka to restore normalcy to its economy by 2024. The country has already made progress in creating economic stability and democracy, but the implementation of the IMF agreement is the next important task.
The President has stated that the necessary legislation will be made to implement the agreement.
The Sri Lankan President’s announcement to settle the ethnic conflict by the end of 2023 is a significant development in the country’s efforts towards reconciliation.
However, achieving this goal will require the cooperation and support of all communities in Sri Lanka.
