-By LeN Political Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News -26.Nov.2025, 6.20 PM) London, 25 November 2025 - In a modest but carefully arranged meeting room in London on Tuesday afternoon, a delegation of prominent Tamil community leaders sat across the table from a man who—until recently—many of them viewed with a mixture of caution, curiosity, and historical suspicion. Yet as JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva entered the room, shaking hands warmly, there was an unmistakable air of a political moment that, for once, might move beyond Sri Lanka’s traditional choreography of grievance and deflection.
The meeting, attended by long-standing community figures Charles Anthony, Rajasingham Jayadevan, V Ramarajaha, V Sivalingam and several representatives from Tamil civil society groups in the UK, marked the first structured dialogue between senior Tamil London-based leadership and the National People’s Power (NPP/JVP) since the 2024 presidential election dramatically shifted Colombo’s political landscape.
Although the JVP’s populist-Marxist identity once alienated sections of the Tamil diaspora, the party’s transformation into a technocratic reform movement under Anura Kumara Dissanayake has forced even its critics to reconsider old positions. The London meeting—described by both sides as “interactive, constructive, and unusually frank”—was held precisely within this new political opening.
Over the course of two hours, the delegation raised a number of long-standing concerns that continue to vex Tamil communities both in Sri Lanka and in the diaspora. These included:
Extremisation among sections of the Sri Lankan population.
Holding provincial council elections before a sustainable political resolution.
The conduct of the Department of Archaeology in the Eastern Province.
Attempts to establish a controversial Buddhist Vihara in Trincomalee.
The unacceptable behaviour of LTTE-flag-bearing groups in Alperton, Wembley, Middlesex during diaspora events.
While these issues are hardly new, the tone and openness of the discussion—according to several present—suggested a gradual shift away from Sri Lanka’s traditional ethnic stalemate.
Tamil diaspora organisations in Britain have historically engaged more readily with mainstream Sri Lankan political parties, ranging from the UNP to the TNA itself. Engagement with the JVP, however, has been fraught due to the party’s Marxist-past, particularly its stance during the late 1980s and early 2000s.
But in London, the atmosphere appeared noticeably different.
“There was no grandstanding, no defensiveness, and no attempt to dismiss our concerns as exaggerated,” said one Tamil representative who attended the meeting. “It was perhaps the first time in many years that a senior Sinhalese political leader listened without lecturing.”
Silva’s London visit forms part of a wider diplomatic effort by the JVP to reassure both the international community and diaspora groups that the NPP-led administration—barely a year in office—is committed to a departure from Sri Lanka’s typical political choreography.
For Tamil leaders in London, the meeting offered both an opportunity and a test: could a historically anti-establishment Sinhalese party meaningfully rebuild trust in a fractured political environment?
One of the most delicate topics raised was the extremisation of segments of the Sri Lankan population, a problem that Tamil leaders say continues to cast a long shadow across the island’s political stability.
Tamil community figures argued that years of political manipulation, economic decay, and identity-based politics have helped cultivate pockets of extremism that undermine national reconciliation.
According to those present, Silva acknowledged the problem with notable candour, stating that all communities had been manipulated by decades of politicised nationalism, and that extremism—whether Sinhalese or Tamil—was often a by-product of political bankruptcy.
He reportedly emphasised that the NPP administration intends to take a zero-tolerance approach toward racial incitement, vigilantism, and political thuggery—areas where previous governments often looked away for electoral convenience.
For many in the room, this admission was refreshing. “It is the first time we have heard a Sinhalese national leader recognise, without excuses, the political engineering of extremism,” said Jayadevan afterwards.
The question of Provincial Council elections—long overdue and continuously postponed by both the Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe administrations—generated one of the more animated discussions.
The Tamil delegation insisted that restoring the councils before a broader political settlement was critical. Their argument was practical: a functioning provincial administration would create political space, restore local self-governance, and reduce the vacuum that extremist narratives often exploit.
Silva, while not committing to a timeline, reportedly assured the group that the government would not use the process as a political bargaining chip. He also stated that the NPP believes devolution should be grounded in administrative rationality, economic viability, and community empowerment, not in ethnic horse-trading.
While this response was measured, Tamil leaders pressed him: would the NPP support immediate elections?
One participant said Silva did not dismiss the possibility, but cautioned that electoral reforms and administrative restructuring may still influence the timeline.
Nonetheless, the delegation viewed the exchange as “a positive step compared to the silence and hedging of past governments.”
Perhaps the most emotive issue raised was the conduct of Sri Lanka’s Department of Archaeology, accused for years of acting as a de facto political instrument in the north and east. Tamil community leaders claim the department routinely identifies sites as “Buddhist heritage” based on questionable evidence—often leading to land disputes, community tension, and allegations of demographic manipulation.
The delegation cited multiple instances in Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara where archaeological interventions allegedly disrupted local livelihoods or were used as pretexts for militarised land transfers.
Silva reportedly responded by saying that archaeology should not become “the weapon of any government or ideology.” He emphasised the importance of transparent scientific standards, community consultation, and an end to politically driven excavations.
While his remarks were careful, Tamil representatives say they were markedly more responsible than what they have heard from mainstream Sri Lankan political leaders—many of whom avoid addressing the issue altogether.
In recent months, debates over the construction of a Buddhist Vihara in a predominantly Tamil area of Trincomalee have triggered unease among residents and diaspora groups. Tamil leaders argue that religious projects should reflect community demographics and that imposing structures associated with the majority faith risks inflaming tensions.
The delegation made clear that the issue was not Buddhism itself, but the politicisation of religious installations—particularly in multi-ethnic regions like Trincomalee.
Silva reportedly acknowledged the sensitivity and stressed that the NPP government does not support the use of religious institutions as instruments of territorial assertion. “If a community does not want a structure forced upon them, that must be respected,” he is said to have remarked.
Several Tamil leaders described this response as “unexpectedly balanced,” though they remain cautious about implementation on the ground.
In an unusual twist compared to typical diaspora meetings, Tamil leaders also raised concerns about the unacceptable conduct of LTTE-flag-bearing groups during public events in Alperton, Wembley, Middlesex on the Sunday.
Unlike previous generations of diaspora politics—where discussions often descended into loyalty contests—Sunday’s meeting saw Tamil leaders themselves criticising these displays as counterproductive.
“We told Mr Silva clearly that this behaviour does not reflect the majority of Tamil people in Britain,” said one participant. “These are fringe groups who wish to perform identity politics, which was backed by TCC, not advance community wellbeing.”
For Silva, this offered an opportunity to dismantle a stereotype long held in Sri Lankan political mainstreams: that the diaspora remains irretrievably loyal to armed separatism.
Tamil leaders emphasised the need for UK Tamil politicians to stop weaponising LTTE imagery for domestic political gain—especially during election cycles. According to participants, Silva agreed, noting that demonising the diaspora had become an unhealthy addiction in Sri Lankan politics.
Throughout the meeting, both sides discovered areas of unexpected convergence. The Tamil representatives said Silva appeared willing to listen rather than recite party doctrine—a shift from the rhetorical rigidity for which JVP leaders were once known.
For its part, the JVP delegation seemed keen to demonstrate that it is not beholden to the old Sinhala nationalist playbook, nor interested in resurrecting the race-based narratives that defined Sri Lanka’s politics for decades.
One of the striking moments came when Silva reportedly said:
“Sri Lanka cannot progress with its communities living in separate worlds of pain, suspicion, and memory. We must build a shared future, not separate pasts.”
For many in the room, this was the clearest articulation yet of the JVP’s evolving political philosophy.
Despite the generally positive tone, Tamil leaders left the meeting with a healthy dose of caution. As one participant remarked:
“Words are important. But Sri Lanka’s problem has always been implementation. We will judge this government by its actions, not its declarations.”
Many remain sceptical of whether the JVP—now burdened with the machinery of state—can translate its anti-corruption rhetoric and egalitarian ideals into functioning policies, particularly in regions scarred by decades of militarisation and distrust.
Still, the symbolism of the meeting should not be overlooked. For a community used to being overlooked, vilified, or selectively consulted, the willingness of a senior Sinhalese political figure to spend hours in an open, respectful dialogue represents a departure from familiar patterns.
Whether Tuesday’s meeting becomes a historical footnote or a turning point remains to be seen. But it does suggest that both sides recognise the necessity of resetting relationships built on mutual suspicion.
In the diaspora especially, Tamil political activism has evolved markedly from the early 2000s, becoming more policy-driven, civic-minded, and conscious of the generational shift among younger British Tamils. For the JVP, now wielding unprecedented national influence, engagement with the diaspora is no longer optional—it is strategically essential.
If the London meeting signals anything, it is that Sri Lanka’s political centre of gravity is slowly shifting toward accountability, dialogue, and transparency—values that for decades remained aspirational at best.
The meeting between Tamil community leaders in London and JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva marks one of the most constructive diaspora–Colombo dialogues in recent years. The issues raised—extremism, devolution, archaeological disputes, religious tensions, and diaspora policing—are not new, but the tone in which they were discussed was.
For Sri Lanka, still struggling to navigate economic trauma, ethnic mistrust, and institutional fragility, such conversations offer a rare glimmer of political maturity.
For the Tamil diaspora, long alienated from Sri Lankan electoral politics, the meeting suggests a slow but meaningful re-entry into the national conversation.
And for the JVP, whose rise to power startled traditional political elites, engaging respectfully with historically alienated communities might yet prove the most important test of its credibility.
Only time will tell whether these conversations lead to structural change. But for now, in a quiet North London hall, two communities long divided by history found themselves talking across the table—not across a battlefield.
-By LeN Political Correspondent
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by (2025-11-26 12:50:50)
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