President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Saturday he was committed to devolution of power within a unitary state as a solution to Sri Lanka’s ethnic issue and underlined the need for Tamil diaspora’s engagement for the development of the conflict-battered northern region.
‘ Addressing state officials in Jaffna, President Wickremesinghe also expressed hope that India will contribute to the development of the eastern port of Trincomalee.
‘ He said the government wants to promote tourism between Mannar and Trincomalee.
‘ “We should implement Trincomalee port development activities with the help of India, which will strongly affect the development of the northern province. Before the war, the northern province made a wide contribution to the country’s economy. As a government, we hope to restore that situation and raise it rapidly,” he
said.
‘ Wickremesinghe said the northern province would be developed in such a manner that it could make a significant contribution to the country’s national economy.
‘ “I believe that a massive development in the northern province should take place in parallel to the economic development program in the country. The economy of Jaffna completely collapsed due to the war. It has not yet reached the anticipated level of economic development.
‘ “Therefore, we hope to work under a 10-year plan to bring the country to that stage. We have to get not only foreign aid but also aid from the diaspora to realise this end,” he said.
‘ The civil war was fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009.
‘ On May 18, 2009, the campaign led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to establish a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation came to an end with the killing of LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran by the Sri Lankan Army in Mullaithviu’s Vellamulivaikkal.