COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s parliament yesterday named an ethnic minority Tamil politician as the main opposition leader for the first time in 32 years, a sign of growing reconciliation after a prolonged civil war.
Most of the nation’s population belongs to the Sinhalese community. The minority Tamils have alleged persecution by the government since the uprising of Tamil Tiger separatists three decades ago.
Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, 83, the head of Tamil National Alliance, is the first ethnic minority opposition leader since 1983, when Tamil legislators resigned en masse to protest against a law that compelled them to denounce separatism.
Parliament’s speaker accepted Sampanthan as the main opposition leader after loyalists to former president Mahinda Rajapaksa were divided on whether they should support the government or go into opposition.
