By Veluppillai Thangavelu –

The JVP may have come to power today under a new banner, the National People’s Power (NPP). But has its old Sinhala-majoritarian political mindset really changed? That is the question the Tamil people must ask.

In 1971, the JVP took up arms in an insurrection against the government of the day. But during the 1987–89 period, its political position became even clearer. It fiercely opposed the Indo–Sri Lanka Accord, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and even the limited devolution of power granted to the Tamil people through the Provincial Council system.

Thousands of lives were lost during the violence of that period, while public and private property on a massive scale was destroyed.

In 2024, the government led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake came to power. Some among the Tamil people hoped that this would usher in genuine change.

But nearly two years later, we must ask: What has actually changed?

Have all the lands belonging to Tamil people that remain under the control of the military and other state agencies been released?

No.

Have the families of the disappeared received truth, justice and accountability?

No.

Has the promised new Constitution been introduced?

No.

Has a credible political solution to the national question been presented?

No.

Has the Prevention of Terrorism Act been completely repealed as promised?

No.

Meanwhile, two of the most important gateways to the economic development of the North — Jaffna International Airport at Palaly and Kankesanthurai Harbour — have still not been fully developed.

Palaly — International in Name, but Limited in Reality

Jaffna International Airport currently has only limited international air services, mainly connecting Jaffna with Chennai and Tiruchirappalli in South India.

India has already offered financial assistance for the development of the airport. As far back as 2020, the Sri Lankan Cabinet approved the use of an Indian grant of Rs. 300 million to improve the terminal, electricity supply, utility services, navigational facilities and other infrastructure.

Yet, six years later, the airport has still not been developed to its full potential. The major extension of the runway and other facilities required for broader international operations remain unfinished.

Kankesanthurai — An Indian Grant of Around US$65 Million

The situation concerning Kankesanthurai Harbour is even more striking.

India initially offered a credit facility of US$45.27 million for the further development of the harbour. When the estimated cost of the project subsequently increased, India agreed to support the project through a grant of approximately US$65 million instead.

In other words, Sri Lanka has been presented with an extraordinary opportunity to develop Kankesanthurai into a modern commercial harbour without adding a comparable burden to the country’s foreign debt.

Why, then, has the project still not been fully implemented?

Questions for Bimal Rathnayake

Minister Bimal Rathnayake was recently questioned in Jaffna about these very issues.

The essence of his response was that even if India provides the money, it is the Sri Lankan Government that will decide what development should take place, where it should take place, and when.

Minister Rathnayake is now visiting Canada.

Canadian Tamils should therefore ask him directly:

When India is willing to provide financial assistance, why is the full development of Jaffna International Airport still being delayed?

When India has offered approximately US$65 million in grant assistance for the development of Kankesanthurai Harbour, why has the project still not been completed?

What is the Government’s concrete timetable for completing these two projects?

These are not merely an airport and a harbour.

They are economic gateways to the Northern Province.

If Palaly is fully developed, opportunities could be created for direct air connections beyond the limited routes that operate today. Diaspora Tamils, tourists, businesspeople and investors would have much easier access to the North.

If Kankesanthurai is developed into a fully functioning commercial harbour, passenger and cargo links between South India and Northern Sri Lanka could expand significantly. Trade, investment and tourism could grow with them.

Jobs would be created. Small businesses would benefit. Hotels, restaurants, transport services, agriculture, fisheries and export industries could all gain from the increased economic activity.

The economic isolation of the North could begin to be broken.

That raises an unavoidable question:

Why is the Government so hesitant to fully open these economic gateways to the North?

Tamil people should no longer be satisfied with promises or allow themselves to be disappointed by expectations that are repeatedly left unfulfilled.

The government may have changed.

The faces may have changed.

The name of the political movement may have changed.

But has the political mindset towards the Tamil people really changed?

That cannot be proved by words.

It must be proved by deeds.

There is an old Tamil saying:

“Even if you bathe a crow in the sacred waters of the Ganges, its colour will not change.”

The burden is now on the JVP/NPP Government to prove that the old saying does not apply to it.