Tamil community groups in Trincomalee have called upon the Tamil speaking people of the Northeast to boycott Sri Lanka’s state-owned banks, alleging the institutions are discriminating against the island’s minorities.
Of the 1350 youths recruited by the Bank of Ceylon and Peoples Bank recently, only 66 have been posted to northeast province. Of these, all except six, are Sinhalese youths residing in the southern provinces and are not from the northeast province, the community groups said.
The Tamil civic groups protesting the biased recruitment policy say it is further evidence of the institutionalized racism within the Sri Lankan state. They point out that the language barrier precludes these youth from handling the affairs of the majority public of the Northeast.
Tamil parliamentarians have raised the matter with the outgoing Sri Lankan president, Chandrika Kumaratunga. Mr. R. Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group - and the Trincomalee district parliamentarian - has faxed a written protest to her.
He has called for the cancellation of all appointments made by the State Banks, Bank of Ceylon (BoC) and Peoples Bank (PB) to their branches in the Northeast or the recall of the new appointees.
“This is a repetition of the regular discrimination that has been consistently practised against the Tamils in the matter of employment in the state sector including State Banks,” he said.
Sri Lanka’s minority communities complain of consistent discrimination against them by the state – discrimination which is at the root of the protracted civil war. As Mr. Sampanthan in his letter pointed out to the President, “you cannot be unaware that this is one of the factors that has substantially contributed to the alienation of Tamil youths from the Sri Lankan State and to the demand for self-rule.”
The state bureaucracy is dominated by the majority Sinhalese. Discrimination within state structures was also highlighted earlier this year during the post-Tsunami aid relief efforts, when low-level government bureaucrats were blamed for thwarting international aid from the Northeast by underplaying the destruction there and on occasion, even redirecting supplies destined for the Tamil areas to Sinhala dominated areas in the island’s south.
Last week, yet another Tamil language training programme was announced for the predominantly Sinhala police force.
“The majority of the people in the Trincomalee district are Tamil speaking. The police serving in the district should learn Tamil language to promote better understanding with Tamil speaking people and to discharge their duties effectively,” said Mr. Raja Collure, Chairman of the Official Languages Commission of Sri Lanka, when inaugurating the course.
“Of about 64 thousand police personnel currently serving in Sri Lanka, about 17 thousand have been posted to the northeast province. There are very few Tamils in the police service,” he said, lamenting that Tamils are not willing to join the police service.
Compiled from TamilNet and local press reports
Of the 1350 youths recruited by the Bank of Ceylon and Peoples Bank recently, only 66 have been posted to northeast province. Of these, all except six, are Sinhalese youths residing in the southern provinces and are not from the northeast province, the community groups said.
The Tamil civic groups protesting the biased recruitment policy say it is further evidence of the institutionalized racism within the Sri Lankan state. They point out that the language barrier precludes these youth from handling the affairs of the majority public of the Northeast.
Tamil parliamentarians have raised the matter with the outgoing Sri Lankan president, Chandrika Kumaratunga. Mr. R. Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group - and the Trincomalee district parliamentarian - has faxed a written protest to her.
He has called for the cancellation of all appointments made by the State Banks, Bank of Ceylon (BoC) and Peoples Bank (PB) to their branches in the Northeast or the recall of the new appointees.
“This is a repetition of the regular discrimination that has been consistently practised against the Tamils in the matter of employment in the state sector including State Banks,” he said.
Sri Lanka’s minority communities complain of consistent discrimination against them by the state – discrimination which is at the root of the protracted civil war. As Mr. Sampanthan in his letter pointed out to the President, “you cannot be unaware that this is one of the factors that has substantially contributed to the alienation of Tamil youths from the Sri Lankan State and to the demand for self-rule.”
The state bureaucracy is dominated by the majority Sinhalese. Discrimination within state structures was also highlighted earlier this year during the post-Tsunami aid relief efforts, when low-level government bureaucrats were blamed for thwarting international aid from the Northeast by underplaying the destruction there and on occasion, even redirecting supplies destined for the Tamil areas to Sinhala dominated areas in the island’s south.
Last week, yet another Tamil language training programme was announced for the predominantly Sinhala police force.
“The majority of the people in the Trincomalee district are Tamil speaking. The police serving in the district should learn Tamil language to promote better understanding with Tamil speaking people and to discharge their duties effectively,” said Mr. Raja Collure, Chairman of the Official Languages Commission of Sri Lanka, when inaugurating the course.
“Of about 64 thousand police personnel currently serving in Sri Lanka, about 17 thousand have been posted to the northeast province. There are very few Tamils in the police service,” he said, lamenting that Tamils are not willing to join the police service.
Compiled from TamilNet and local press reports
