UNP wants to continue geopolitical occupation of Champoor

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 31 March 2015, 23:46 GMT]
Colombo's Governor to the Eastern Province, Austin Fernando, who was the SL Defence Secretary under the UNP government during the Norwegian mediated peace process, is now defending Colombo's occupation of the so-called ‘Economic’ zone in Champoor as demarcated by the Rajapaksa regime, informed Tamil National Alliance (TNA) circles in the East told TamilNet on Tuesday. Talks between the TNA and the SL Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe on resettling civilians in Champoor failed to produce any positive outcome. In the meantime, Mr Fernando is opposed to release the lands from the occupied ‘economic’ zone. The uprooted Tamils are being told to expect alternative lands from the SL military occupied zone, civil sources in Trincomalee said. In the meantime, a geo-political deal is being worked out involving a foreign power, informed sources told TamilNet.

The ‘Economic’ zone, guarded by the SL military is the subject of the geopolitical deal, the sources further said. Mr Austin Fernando, with his background as former defence secretary is steering the affairs.

Further, Tamils have no say in the ‘development’ agenda of Colombo's Board of Investment.

In the meantime, confusion prevails on resettlement as there was no concrete promise from the SL Prime Minister and as the SL Governor in the East is not prepared to release the lands that have been seized under the the so-called special economic zone.

Whatever the shallow understanding reached so far between the Colombo regime and the TNA in the resettlement of the uprooted people from Champoor, seems to have been achieved through Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga after the talks with Ranil Wickramasinghe failed to deliver anything, the TNA sources in the East told TamilNet.

While Colombo is deploying Tamil personalities such as UNP's Swaminathan in Colombo and R Paskaralingam from London to deceive Tamils with the false promises of freedom coming to Tamils through ‘market economy’ and ‘liberal democracy’ through a Colombo-centric unitary State structure, the strategic lands of Eezham Tamils are being subjected to geo-political sale to external powers that uphold the military occupation of Tamil homeland.

“Eezham Tamils have not forgotten the kind of ‘international safety net’ brought against them under the same mantra during the Norwegian mediated peace process,” a TNA politician from the East told TamilNet.

“The alternative formations to TNA should come up with a credible strategy to defend the interests of Eezham Tamils in Trincomalee,” the TNA politician said. “Currently, no one seem to focus on the strategic affairs related to the resettlement of the Tamil people in Champoor,” the TNA politician who did not wish to be named told TamilNet.

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