Mano Urges German envoy to Ensure Aid Reaches Most Vulnerable

Colombo: Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader Mano Ganesan engaged in constructive discussions with German Ambassador Dr. Felix Neumann, emphasizing the need for international aid to effectively reach the most vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka’s plantation sector.

Accompanied by a TPA delegation, senior MP Ganesan highlighted key issues affecting the plantation community, including the right to land for housing and livelihood, and the importance of transitioning workers into stakeholders through structural reforms in the plantation industry.

The meeting also addressed the EU’s GSP+ human rights frameworks, with particular focus on modern slavery and apartheid-like conditions faced by workers along the plantation supply chain.

Ganesan stressed that the plantation community, numbering around 1.5 million people, is not merely a labour segment but a historically rooted, distinct ethnic identity that deserves formal recognition.

He underscored the critical role of global partners, including Germany, in ensuring that aid reaches the most vulnerable members of this community.

The discussions aligned on advancing the Non-Territorial Community Council (NTCC) proposal, drawing inspiration from Germany’s best practices in addressing the rights of dispersed minorities, such as the Danes, Sorbs, Frisians, and Sinti and Roma.

The engagement reflects ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation on human rights and inclusive development for marginalized communities in Sri Lanka.