Tamils only 10% of agricultural research appointments in North

 26 August 2015

Tamil farmers and agricultural workers from Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu protested on Monday that over 90% of newly appointed agricultural research assistants to the North are Sinhalese.

Of 365 appointments made by Sri Lanka’s Department Agrarian Development for the position, only 26 are Tamil, while the remaining 336 are Sinhalese from the South.

The protesters called for local jobs for local people, particularly local youth, and pointed out the unsuitability of employing non-Tamil speakers for a role that would primarily entail providing advice to Tamil-speaking farmers in the North.

Tamils in the North-East repeatedly express their grievances over unemployment, especially among youth, with graduates from Jaffna and Batticaloa protesting against the issue in recent months.