The country, on its knees due to the collapse of its currency and debt, spends 19% of its resources on an army that is still massively deployed in the north, 13 years after the war ended. The accusation of a Tamil MP: “The government and President Wickremesinghe need the military because they do not have the support of public opinion.”
Colombo () – “The reforms to get Sri Lanka out of the economic crisis should also include the armed forces, with a restructuring of the island’s army”. An opposition Tamil MP, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, raised the issue during the budget debate. He questioned not only the absence of measures, but also the new increase in military spending, even though the country is on its knees and negotiate the restructuring of its debt to deal with the social crisis.
“The government and President Wickremesinghe need the military, because they do not have the support of public opinion,” was the All Ceylon Tamil Congress deputy’s accusation. In addition, he recalled that military spending constitutes 19% of the state budget. “In the former war zone of northern Sri Lanka,” Ponnambalam continued, “they maintain a massive military structure even during the period of economic crisis, to oppress the population. The government has allocated more money to maintain the armed forces at a time when the rupee is devaluing and despite the fact that the country does not face any enemies.”
Most opposition MPs from the northern provinces have raised concerns about the heavy military presence in the region. Especially considering that 13 years have passed since the end of the long war that culminated in the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a terrorist group that demanded an independent state for the Tamil ethnic minority in the north and east of Sri Lanka.
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