Uprooted families in PTK join de-militarisation struggle, mark February 04 as Black Day

[TamilNet, Friday, 03 February 2017, 21:08 GMT]
The 682 Brigade of the occupying Army of genocidal Sri Lanka has stationed at the heart of Puthuk-kudiyiruppu town since 2009 in the lands seized from 49 Eezham Tamil families. The protests organised by the landowners in the past 5 years addressing three Divisional Secretariats in the past have gone on deaf ears. Tamil parliamentarians came and asked the people to wait. Finally, the matter was taken up at a District Coordinating Committee meeting last year. SL Minister Rishad Bathiyutheen was present at the meeting and asked three more months time to secure a positive response from the SL President Sirisena, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the SL military. But, more than 6 months have elapsed since the promised deadline. Nothing has happened. The families have taken to the streets proclaiming the so-called ‘independence’ day of genocidal Sri Lanka on February 04 as a Black Day.

The struggle of 49 uprooted families from Puthuk-kudiyiruppu comes as people from Keappaa-pulavu and Pilak-kudiyiruppu were waging a protest in front of the SL Air Force camp at Keappaapulavu located along Nanthik-kadal lagoon.



52-year-old Thaya Suntharalingam, one of the landowners at Puthuk-kudiyiruppu said three different struggles they waged in the past didn't yield any result and that they are now determined to wage a relentless campaign of boycott with their call to the people of Mullaiththeevu and the rest of the island to support their demand of militarising the lands they have owned for more than 60 years.

71-year-old Alliyamma Nallathamby, says she didn't want any housing scheme from the SL regime. “I want to put a hut in my land on my own and I want to live there till I pass away,” she says.

72-year-old Kangasabai Kanagratnam said he too only wanted his lands back. There are lot of problems due to the military presence. “Why have they put up a military base in our private lands while there are jungles out there,” he asked the reporters.

In the meantime, several protesting mothers complained that they had no livelihood support. They had lost all the income due to military seizure of their lands. In addition they are paying at least 8,000 rupees per family to rent other places.

In total 19 acres have been seized by the SL military at the locality.

A former Divisional Secretary, Mr Dayananda, was collaborating with the SL military to seize the lands from the people, the protesters complained.

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