Properties, temples of uprooted Tamils robbed in Valikaamam

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 December 2010, 00:09 GMT]
How the number of Tamils in Valikaamam in Jaffna district has dwindled during the last 20-years due to Sri Lankan genocidal onslaught on Tamil homeland became evident when only 970 families registered for resettlement in the three villages of I'lavaalai and Viththakapuram in Valikaamam North, bordering the Sri Lanka Army declared High Security Zone, civil sources in Jaffna said. 1746 families were registered in the same area in 1990, according to the statistics by Thellippazhai divisional secretariat. The uprooted civilians, who were allowed to visit their villages last weekend and later denied of proper access-route to their villages, also complained that even the few properties that remained in their houses and temples have been robbed away after they were allowed access to the villages.

The statue of the main deity at Vizhichiddi Chivakurunaathar temple, which remained at the temple when the families were recently allowed to visit the village, was also robbed away in recent days, the uprooted people complained Tuesday when they attended a meeting organized at Pannaalai Kanakasapai Viththiyalayam.

The SLA was opposed to removing the sand bunds constructed by the military years ago during the war in the villages bordering the HSZ. The military would only allow removal of a few of the bunds along the roads inside the villages being returned to them, the civilians who had come to meet humanitarian officials engaged in Landmine and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) Awareness, told media.

The renewed hope of resettlement in the three villages seemed to fade away after the dispute on access route to their villages.

Rejecting the SLA claim that there were high security establishments, the civilians said there are no military fortifications along the access roads Ampalavaa'nar Road, Aaladi veethi, Mayilu-kadai junction.

Some of these access routes are also used by the Sri Lanka Navy, which is refusing civilian access to the roads, they further said.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who recently claimed he has a 'solution in mind' also told the N. Ram of The Hindu that elections in North would not be based on 1981 census.

The Sri Lankan state, engaged in land grab is scheming a carefully planned militarised colonisation of traditional Tamil land aiming to make Tamils a 'minority' in their traditional homeland, civil sources in Jaffna said.



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