Colombo schemes new settler colony for intruding Sinhala fishers in Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 April 2019, 22:43 GMT]
Occupying Colombo's Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DFAR) has recently permitted twenty-six migrant fishers from outside the Mullaiththeevu district to put up huts as season settler fishers along the Chaalai lagoon in Mullaiththeevu district. None among these 26 settlers are Tamils. Eighteen of them are from Negombo, Chilaw and Puththa'lam while eight are Tamil-speaking Muslims from Trincomalee, informed civil sources in Mullaiththeevu said. The scheme is going to be a Sinhala colony as the one in Mukaththuvaaram in Kokku'laay, Tamil civil sources said.



So far, migrant fishers, based in Kokku'laay, used to reach Chaalai through the sea for fishing activities.

Since four to five migrant fishers operate a single boat, the latest move has paved the way for a Sinhala colony comprising at least of fifty settlers, the sources further said.

The occupying Sinhala navy plays a key role in setting up the colonies for the migrant fishers from the South.

With the backing of the SL military and police the settlers in Mukaththuvaaram, Naayaa'ru and the seasonal fishermen operating in Vadamaraadchi East have often clashed with the native Tamil fishers in recent times.

Chaalai, located north of Mullaiththeevu, was a stronghold of the Sea Tigers during the times of de-facto Tamil Eelam administered by the LTTE.





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