Occupying SL Navy reluctant to pull out from Champoor

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 October 2015, 18:30 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lanka Navy, which has relocated its naval school, ‘SLNS Vidura’ away from the occupied lands belonging 579 Eezham Tamil families at Champoor in Moothoor East, is reluctant to hand over the lands back to the original owners, the uprooted people of Champoor complain. “We are not going to tolerate the reluctance anymore. If the SL Navy fails to vacate within one week, we will call for protests,” a Tamil activist from Champoor told TamilNet on Friday. “All the owners of the lands have been properly identified. There should be no delay in handing back the lands. But, we are yet to see any move on the part of the SL Navy and the SL authorities in Trincomalee,” a land-owner, who did not wish to be named, told TamilNet.

A total of 237 acres of lands occupied by the SL Navy was promised to be released. The occupying navy was having its training base at 40 acres of lands. Even though the navy personnel have been vacated from these 40 acres, all the lands that had been seized by the SL Navy and later promised to be released by SL President Maithiripala Sirisena, are yet to be handed back to the people.

One month has already elapsed since the SL Naval Commander of the so-called Vidura camp promised to release the lands with immediate effect.

In the meantime, more than 350 families have been working hard to resettle in the 818 acres of lands that have been released.

The resettling people complain that there was no progress in delivering what was promised. The SL authorities dug toilet pits. But they didn't complete the construction. If they had delivered the raw materials, people would have set up the toilets. But, there is again unnecessary delay, the resettling people complained. Likewise, there is no progress on the delivery of dry rations as promised.

“If the SL authorities fail to act at a time when there is global focus through the Geneva process, what would happen when the attention vanishes,” a resettling mother asked.

Eastern Provincial Council member K. Nageswaran, who hails from the affected region, also confirmed the complaints coming from the uprooted people. He said Colombo was yet to release needed funds for the resettlement of the uprooted people of Champoor. “It is clear that the SL authorities intend to slow down the process of resettlement,” he said.

A civil group, actively engaged in estimating the destruction caused to the properties, said the uprooted people would submit their demand for compensations from the SL State.

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