Colombo extends genocidal land grab targeting farmlands of Tamils along NE border: Ravikaran

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 01 September 2020, 23:36 GMT]
SL departments of Forest and Wildlife Conservation, which come under the SL unitary state have expanded the land grab to agricultural lands of Eezham Tamils along the border between the Northern and Eastern provinces in Mullaiththeevu. Former Northern Provincial Councillor, Thurairajah Ravikaran, witnessed a few days ago the two departments seizing 503 acres of lands belonging to 110 Tamil landowners in Akkarai-ve'li, Periya-ve'li, Ka'n'naaddi, Panichchamoaddai and Maariyaa-munai, the agricultural areas facing the bordering Thennai-maravadi village of Trincomalee district. Both the SL department guards have gone to the extent of arresting and filing lawsuits against the Tamil farmers who have legally owned the lands which they have inherited from their ancestors.



The farmers have both freehold titles since British colonial times and permits they received after 1948, Mr Ravikaran said showing the documents.

While the two departments went to detain the Tamil farmers while they were engaged in agriculture in their plains, the SL military was also deployed in large numbers in the area, Ravikaran observed.

The agricultural lands of Tamil farmers along the provincial border of the Northern and the Eastern provinces are systematically snatched away from them in a sophisticated and coordinated way, he said.

“This is nothing else than wholesale land robbery sophisticatedly executed in a multi-pronged strategy executed jointly by various institutions of the SL State with an underlying genocidal intent,” Mr Ravikaran reiterated.

From the border along the North-East to Nanthik-kadal lagoon, Eezham Tamils are now systematically alienated from their territory.

The move comes after SL Wildlife Conservation Department seizing 8,000 acres of lands in the district. Tamil people are going to lose their stakes not only to their environment but also their livelihood, he said.

Mr Ravikaran and the landowners have approached Mullaith-theevu District Secretary (SL Government Agent) to defend the interests of the Tamil farmers.

“We would be forced to launch a protest campaign if the District Secretary is unable to course correct the injustice committed by the SL departments,” Mr Ravikaran told TamilNet.

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