More Sinhala settlers brought to Muslim village in East

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 September 2019, 21:53 GMT]
The 27th Battalion of the Gajaba Regiment of the occupying Sinhala Army, stationed at the 13th Mile Post on Anuradhapura - Pulmoaddai Road, continues to bring Sinhala settlers into the lands, which it had seized from twenty-four Tamil speaking families at the Muslim village of Maalaanoor in Pulmoaddai, the native residents told TamilNet on Sunday. They blamed UNP's Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa, who is aspiring to become the party's presidential candidate in the forthcoming elections as backing the controversial colonisation scheme through the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA), which comes under his ministry of housing and construction. Thirteen Sinhala settlers have already received houses through the NHDA.



Panamure Thilakawanse thero, a Sinhala-Buddhist extremist monk, who is groomed by the SL military is spearheading the colonisation scheme, the sources further said.

Twenty-three settlers have been brought in recent days in addition to the thirteen families that have already received NHDA houses at Maalaanoor.

The lands were seized initially by the SL Forest Department. Later, the SL military deployed home-guards paramilitary and the monk to put up temporary huts in September 2018.

Thirteens houses were constructed in March 2019 by the NHDA.

The colonists seem to be poverty-affected Sinhala families from the South, the sources further said.

The Divisional Secretary is under pressure from the Sinhala Government Agent in the district to do the necessary paperwork for infrastructure supply.

Pulmoaddai is located in Kuchchave'li Division, which is a Tamil-speaking division.

Maalanoor is located between the 12th Mile Post and the 13th Mile Post.

Chronology: