President Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured that, under his leadership, the people of the North will be fully protected by the law. He criticized Anura Kumara Dissanayake for threatening the Northern population, accusing him of following JVP policies, and called for Dissanayake to apologize to both the Tamil people of the North and the people of the South for his remarks during his visit to the region.
President Wickremesinghe made these comments during a public rally in Udupitti, Jaffna, held on the 7th to gather support for his candidacy in the upcoming presidential election. He outlined the government’s initiatives for the development of the northern region and emphasized his commitment to delivering comprehensive development across all provinces by revitalizing the provincial council system.
In his address at the victory rally, President Ranil Wickremesinghe outlined several key initiatives for the North, stating:
“We are introducing an agricultural modernization program in the North to boost food production and strengthen the export economy. This will increase farmers’ incomes, and we have also introduced a special loan system to support those engaged in modern agriculture.
We aim to increase the number of tourists visiting Sri Lanka to 5 million. To facilitate this, we have developed Palali Airport. The growth of tourism in this region will significantly enhance local livelihoods. We have also planned three tourist zones around Kankasanthurai, Paranthan, and Mankulam. Additionally, our goal is to transform Jaffna into a digital economic hub, creating employment opportunities locally rather than forcing residents to seek work elsewhere. The fishing industry here is also being expanded, and we are addressing the region’s water issues through the ‘River to Jaffna’ program.
In the field of education, we are converting training colleges into professional colleges and adapting school education to meet the demands of 2040. These plans are central to the ‘Puluwan Sri Lanka’ manifesto, which I have presented.
We are strengthening the role of provincial councils. Large-scale development initiatives cannot be handled by the central government alone, so we have assigned key responsibilities to the provincial councils. This work is on-going.
I also want to address something else. My friend Anura Kumara recently visited Jaffna, where he made a troubling statement. He said, “When the people of the South are rallying for change, if you oppose that change, imagine the mood of the people in the South. Do you want Jaffna to be seen as opponents of that change?”
This is a clear threat and an attempt at coercion, a tactic often used by the JVP. As President, I guarantee that the people of the North will be fully protected by the law. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna should be ashamed of such threats, and we will not tolerate them. I urge Anura Kumara Dissanayake to apologize to the Tamil people of the North. He should also apologize to the people of the South for using them in his rhetoric.