SL military collects details of uninhabited lands in Vaakarai, Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 May 2013, 21:05 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lanka military in Batticaloa district is intimidating the rural official and the leaders of Rural Development Societies to identify lands in 27 Village Officer (GS) divisions in Vaakarai region, which was under the control of the Tigers before 2007, into privately owned and public owned lands. The SL military is scheming a mass scale appropriation of lands for Sinhalicisation and militarisation.

The SL military officials have instructed the Tamil rural officials to trace the owners of the un-inhabited lands in 27 Village Officer (GS) divisions in the Koa'ra'laip-pattu North (Vaakarai) DS division.

The rural officials have also been asked to classify private and public lands among these.

The SL military also targets coconut palm groves along the coastal stretch, according to the civil officials.

The SL Navy had appropriated 1200 acres of land that belonged to the Cachew Corporation at the entrance of the Trincomalee – Batticaloa highway (A 15) in 2008, after the region was occupied by SL military. A naval cantonment has been established there.

The civil officials also complain that the occupying SL military had obtained signatures on blank sheets from 9 owners of private lands at Maankea'ni where it has a military base.

Southern fishermen have also appropriated lands in the adjoining areas to the camp along the coastline.

Further, with the motive of amassing natural wealth, the Colombo government has acquired bare lands along coastal areas under the pretext of coastal security. These lands were later leased out to Sinhala investors from the South and abroad.

Chronology: