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Veddas seek political representation 

08 Nov 2022

  • Chieftain Uruwarige Wannila Aththo calls for National List MP status or separate Ministry 
BY Buddhika Samaraweera Lamenting that there is no one to stand for the problems and welfare of his community, Vedda Chieftain Uruwarige Wannila Aththo said that the authorities should give the opportunity to someone representing the Vedda community to enter Parliament through the National List or appoint a separate Ministry to look into the issues faced by them. Speaking to the media, he said that although there are many parties to speak for other communities in the country, there is no one to represent the Vedda community. Therefore, he said that he had been proposing, to several governments, the appointment of a separate Ministry to look into the issues and welfare of the Vedda community. “In other parts of the world, the political system is represented by all groups of people including the indigenous community, but that is not the case in Sri Lanka. Here, we, those who have been living in this country for longer than all other communities, have no one representing our community in Parliament. However, if someone representing our community goes ahead, I believe that it will be of much benefit for others as well,” he said. When queried by the media as to whether he believes that someone from the Vedda community should be given the opportunity to enter Parliament through the National Lists, Wannila Aththo said that he is of the belief that there should be such a representation. If those who are rejected by the people at an election can enter Parliament through the National List, he said, the Vedda community also has a right to demand such an opportunity. Veddas form a community that is believed to have inhabited Sri Lanka prior to the Sixth Century Before Christ. Although the Vedda people have been living in separate areas for centuries, they have now been largely absorbed into the modern Sinhalese population. The number of Vedda people in the country was estimated to be 5,300 by 1911, and the same had decreased to about 1,000 by the 1960s. Inter-University Students Federation Convenor Wasantha Mudalige, who was part of the “aragalaya” that led to the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and is currently detained by the Terrorism Investigation Division under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act, is also related to the Vedda community.


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