North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

Last updated
North Eastern Province
வடக்கு கிழக்கு மாகாணம்
Historical Province
Flag of the Northeast Province (Sri Lanka).png
Flag
Sri Lanka North Eastern Province locator map.svg
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 8°15′N81°20′E / 8.250°N 81.333°E / 8.250; 81.333
CountryFlag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka
CreatedSeptember 1988
Admitted September 1988
Abolished31 December 2006
Capital Trincomalee
Largest City Jaffna
Area
[1]
 • Total18,880 km2 (7,290 sq mi)
 • Land17,651 km2 (6,815 sq mi)
 • Rank1st (28.78% of total area)
Population
 (2003)
 • Total2,460,565
 • Density130/km2 (340/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Official Languages Tamil, Sinhala

The North Eastern Province was one of the provinces of Sri Lanka. The province was created in September 1988 by merging the Northern and Eastern provinces. [2] This merger was declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 2006. [2] The province was formally demerged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1 January 2007. The capital of the province was Trincomalee.

Contents

History

The Indo-Lanka Accord signed on 29 July 1987 required the Sri Lankan government to devolve powers to the provinces and, in the interim, to merge the Northern and Eastern provinces into one administrative unit. The accord required a referendum to be held by 31 December 1988 in the Eastern Province to decide whether the merger should be permanent. Crucially, the accord allowed the Sri Lankan president to postpone the referendum at his discretion [3]

On 14 November 1987 the Sri Lankan Parliament passed the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987, establishing provincial councils. [4] [5] Nine provincial councils were created by order on 3 February 1988. [2] On 2 and 8 September 1988 President Jayewardene issued proclamations enabling the Northern and Eastern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected Council. [2] The North Eastern Province was born.

The proclamations were only meant to be a temporary measure until a referendum was held in the Eastern Province on a permanent merger between the two provinces. However, the referendum was never held and successive Sri Lankan presidents have issued proclamations annually extending the life of the "temporary" entity. [6]

The merger was bitterly opposed by Sinhalese nationalists. The combined North Eastern Province occupied one fourth of Sri Lanka. The thought of the Tamil people controlling this province, directly or indirectly, alarmed them greatly. On 14 July 2006, after a long campaign against the merger, the JVP filed three separate petitions with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka requesting a separate Provincial Council for the East. [2] On 16 October 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the proclamations issued by President Jayewardene were null and void and had no legal effect. [2] The North Eastern Province was formally demerged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1 January 2007.

Provincial Council

The 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987 established provincial councils. [4] [5] Nine provincial councils were created by order on 3 February 1988. [2] The first elections for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva provinces. [7]

Elections in the newly merged North Eastern Province were scheduled for 19 November 1988. However, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), which at that time occupied the province, rigged the elections in the north so that the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF), two Indian backed paramilitary groups, won all of the 36 seats in the north uncontested. [8] However, elections did take place for the 35 seats in the east. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress won 17 seats, EPRLF 12 seats, ENDLF 5 seats and the United National Party 1 seat. On 10 December 1988 Annamalai Varadaraja Perumal, a former lecturer at the Jaffna University Economics Department, of the EPRLF became the first Chief Minister of the North Eastern Provincial Council. [8]

On 1 March 1990, just as the IPKF were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Perumal moved a motion in the North-East Provincial Council declaring an independent Eelam. [9] President Premadasa reacted to Perumal's UDI by dissolving the provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province.

The province was ruled directly from Colombo until May 2008 when elections were held for the demerged Eastern Provincial Council. The first consecutive Northern Provincial Council elections took place in 2013, with ITAK securing a majority of votes. C. V. Vigneswaran was appointed as the 1st Chief Minister of Northern Province following the results.

Governors

The governors of the Sri Lankan provinces tend to be mostly retired politicians, judges and military officers. The North Eastern Province had six governors in its 18 years of existence: [10] [11]

No.NameTook officeLeft office
1 Lieutenant General Nalin Seneviratne 30 November 198830 November 1993
2 Lionel Fernando 30 November 199323 August 1994
3 Gamini Fonseka 13 January 199520 October 1998
4 Major General Asoka Jayawardena 13 November 199830 November 2004
5 Tyronne Fernando 6 December 200420 January 2006
6 Rear Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama 21 January 200631 December 2006

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provinces of Sri Lanka</span> First-level administrative divisions of Sri Lanka

Provinces are the first level administrative divisions of Sri Lanka. Currently, Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces. Each province is further divided into districts, which are further divided into divisional secretariats.

The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Province, Sri Lanka</span> Province in Sri Lanka

The Eastern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Northern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Trincomalee. Kalmunai is the largest and most populous city of Eastern Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council election</span> Provincial Council Election in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections, 2008 was held on May 10, 2008 to elect members to Sri Lanka’s Eastern Provincial Council. Following the successful completion of local government elections in the Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka’s Elections Department announced on March 14 that the elections for the Eastern Provincial Council were to be held in May, after a lapse of 20 years. It was only the second time direct elections are held to select members for the council, and first time for the Eastern Provincial Council alone, after it was separated from the North-Eastern Provincial Council in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Provincial Council</span> Provincial council in Sri Lanka

The Eastern Provincial Council is the provincial council for the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, EPC has legislative power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, planning, road transport and social services. The constitution also gives it powers over police and land but successive central governments have refused to devolve these powers to the provinces. EPC has 37 members elected using the open list proportional representation system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008–09 Sri Lankan provincial council elections</span>

Sri Lanka has held several rounds of Provincial Council elections in 2008 and 2009 to elect members to eight of the country’s Provincial Councils. The decision to hold elections in different parts of the country on separate days was a break in the usual practice, which is to hold elections for the whole country on the same day. For each provincial council, members are elected to serve a five-year term. A chief minister for the province is chosen by the elected members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 North Eastern Provincial Council election</span>

Provincial Council elections were held on 19 November 1988 to elect members to Sri Lanka’s North Eastern Provincial Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Province, Sri Lanka</span> Province of Sri Lanka

The Northern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 8,884 km2, making it the 3rd largest province by area, and a population of 1,061,315, making it the least populated province. Jaffna is the capital city of the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections</span>

The 2004 Sri Lankan provincial council election was held on 24 April 2004 and 10 July 2004 to elect members to seven provincial councils in Sri Lanka. No election was held in the eighth province, North Eastern, which had been governed directly by the national government since March 1990. The United People's Freedom Alliance, which was in power nationally, won all seven provinces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Provincial Council</span>

Northern Provincial Council is the provincial council for the Northern Province in Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, NPC has legislative power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, planning, road transport and social services. The constitution also gives it powers over police and land but successive central governments have refused to devolve these powers to the provinces. NPC has 38 members elected using the open list proportional representation system.

The 1999 Sri Lankan provincial council election was held on 25 January 1999, 6 April 1999 and 10 June 1999 to elect members to seven provincial councils in Sri Lanka. No election was held in the eighth province, North Eastern, which had been governed directly by the national government since March 1990. The People's Alliance, which was in power nationally, won the majority of seats in two provinces. It was also able to form a majority administration in the other five provinces with the support of smaller parties such as the Ceylon Workers' Congress.

The Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF) is a former Indian backed Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka. It was formed in 1987 as an amalgamation of splinter groups from other militant groups. It is currently a pro-government paramilitary group and political party. In August 2011 it was reported that the party is to be deregistered.

The Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war was the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka intended to perform a peacekeeping role. The deployment followed the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord between India and Sri Lanka of 1987 which was intended to end the Sri Lankan civil war between separatist Sri Lankan Tamil nationalists, principally the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and the Sri Lankan Military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Sri Lankan provincial council elections</span>

Provincial council elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 September 2012 to elect 114 members to three of the nine provincial councils in the country. 3.3 million Sri Lankans were eligible to vote in the election. Elections for the Northern Provincial Council, which had been governed directly by the national government since it was demerged from the North Eastern Provincial Council in January 2007, are overdue but the government has not set a date. Elections to the remaining five provincial councils are not due till 2014 as they had their last election in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Sri Lankan provincial council elections</span>

Provincial council elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 September 2013 to elect 148 members to three of the nine provincial councils in the country. 4.4 million Sri Lankans were eligible to vote in the election. Elections to the remaining six provincial councils were not due as they had their last election in 2009 or 2012. This was the first provincial council election in the Northern Province in 25 years.

Annamalai Varadaraja Perumal is a politician from Sri Lanka. He was the 1st and only Chief minister of the North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. He is the founder of Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front.

Provincial governments of Sri Lanka are the devolved governments of the nine Provinces of Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, provinces have legislative power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, planning, road transport and social services. The constitution also gives them powers over police and land but successive central governments have refused to devolve these powers to the provinces.

The Government of the Northern Province refers to the provincial government of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Under the Sri Lankan constitution the nine provincial governments of the country have power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, planning, road transport and social services. The constitution also gives them powers over police and land but successive central governments have refused to devolve these powers to the provinces. Legislative power rests with the Northern Provincial Council whilst executive power rests with the Governor and Board of Ministers.

Provincial council elections were held in Sri Lanka on 29 March 2014 to elect 159 members to two of the nine provincial councils in the country. 5.9 million Sri Lankans were eligible to vote in the election. Elections to a third provincial council (Uva) were held on 20 September. Elections to the remaining six provincial councils were not due as they had their last election in 2012 or 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. Pathmanabha</span>

Kandasamy Pathmanabha was a Sri Lankan Tamil rebel and founder/leader of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF), a separatist Tamil militant organisation in Sri Lanka.

References

  1. ↑ Department of Census & Statistics Statistical Abstract 2007 (Area & Climate) Archived 4 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "North-East merger illegal:SC". LankaNewspapers.com. 17 October 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  3. ↑ "Indo Sri Lanka Agreement, 1987". Tamil Nation. Retrieved 22 August 2009.[ dead link ]
  4. 1 2 "Provincial Councils". The Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  5. 1 2 "The Constitution". The Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  6. ↑ Sambandan, V.S. (14 November 2003). "Sri Lanka's North-East to remain united for another year". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 25 February 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  7. ↑ "Ethnic Conflict of Sri Lanka: Time Line – From Independence to 1999". International Centre for Ethnic Studies. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  8. 1 2 Rajasingham, K.T. (20 April 2002). "Chapter 36: Indians rule the roost". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times. Archived from the original on 27 April 2002. Retrieved 22 August 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ↑ Ferdinando, Shamindra (10 September 2000). "I'm no traitor, says Perumal". Sunday Island. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  10. ↑ "Retired Navy Chief of Staff appointed NorthEast Governor". TamilNet. 21 January 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  11. ↑ "Sri Lankan Provinces from 1988". WorldStatesmen.org. Retrieved 22 August 2009.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.