Maithiripala regime steps up Sinhalicisation of Vavuniyaa North
[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 December 2016, 15:29 GMT]
Australian ‘development’ assistance was channelled through United Nations ‘development’ framework to renovate the irrigation canals at Thanik-kal, a Tamil village situated 15 km south of Nedung-kea’ni in Vavuniyaa North division. Accompanied with ‘development’ assistance, Sinhala rulers sketched out a blueprint for structural genocide against Eezham Tamils and Sinhala colonisation after 2009 during the regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The scheme is being aggressively implemented by the current regime of Maithiripala Sirisena, which has systematically deprived the original Tamil villagers from resettling in the village. The entire irrigation and the control over the canals are now under the Sinhala colonisers. More than 50% of the Tamil village has become a Sinhala colony, civil sources in Vavuniyaa told TamilNet on Saturday.
Maithiripala regime has put up a new carpet road to link the seized village with the Sinhala colony in Vavuniyaa and extend the link further down to Padaviya. In the meantime, the infrastructure linking Thanikkal with Tamil villages has been systematically ignored by the Colombo government, say Tamil civil sources in Vavuniyaa.
Colombo has put up a monastery school for Sinhala Buddhist colonisers at Thanikkal.
Electric fence at Thanik-kal providing protection to Sinhala settlers from wild animals
Fertile lands of Eezham Tamils have been seized by Sinhala settlers at Thanik-kal. They engage in cultivation during the two main seasons and use the irrigation put up with foreign ‘development’ assistance.
The occupying Sinhala colonisers are engaged in cultivation in the lands of Tamils.
Only a few hundred acres of lands, that too not having irrigation access, are being cultivated by Tamils. The Tamil families, numbering around 50, are still living at Paddik-kudiyiruppu, which has now become the Tamil “border” village, the sources said. Paddik-kudiyiruppu is situated 4 km north of Thanik-kal.
Most the lands owned by a Tamil farmer, who has passed away, have been seized by the Sinhalese. One of the two sons of the Tamil farmer sacrificed his life in the liberation struggle while the other remaining son, who went to the village after 2009 to regain the lands was subjected to forced disappearance during the Rajapaksa regime. Colombo government now claims that these are “unclaimed lands”.
Northern Provincial Council has no power over the lands to determine how these lands should be utilised and the unitary State of genocidal Sri Lanka through its ministries and departments is alienating lands for Sinhala colonists.
Two farms, known as Dollar and Kent farms, owned by Tamils were bought over by the prison department of genocidal Sri Lanka and hundreds of Sinhala ex-convicts were brought in mid 1984 to create two major colonisation schemes there. These colonies are located 10 km away from Thanikkal village. The armed colonists became part of the occupying military and were chasing Tamils residing in the nearby villages away towards Kokku'laay. Tamil militancy at its early stage also responded with brutality against the militant colonies.
Thanik-kal village was targeted by Sinhala military's so-called Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP), which was also known as “Deep Penetration Unit” during the times of war. Some of the villagers of Thanikkal were hacked to death, one by one, by the DPU units operating in the nearby jungles.
In 1999, Thanikkal was liberated from SL military control and the Tamil villagers were able to resettle in their own village. However, the village, situated in a border area, was again and again targeted by the DPU units. The villagers therefore chose to live in Olumadu and engage in agriculture in Thanikkal.
After 2001, the Tamil villagers were able to live peacefully for a few years in their own village. However, the short-lived peace was completely destroyed after 2007 as the DPU attackers targeted the civil infrastructure.
The regimes of Rajapaksa, Sirisena and Wickramasinghe have systematically deprived Tamil villagers from resettlement. Sinhala colonists are provided with electric fences to protect their agricultural lands from the attacks of wild elephants. All irrigation canals are in their control. Electricity supplies and road infrastructure are given only to the Sinhala colonists.
Maithiripala regime is accelerating the colonisation of Sinhalese by linking the village with Sinhala colonies in Vavuniyaa and Padaviya and Tamil villagers are going to lose their entire village, Tamil civil sources in Vavuniyaa say.
Road to remaining lands of Eezham Tamils remains without reconstruction. Tamil civil sources in Vavuniyaa say the disparity is intentional from the part of Colombo government, which wages a sophisticated structural genocide against Eezham Tamils in Mullaiththeevu and Vavuniyaa districts.
Tamil school at Olu-madu, located 12 km north of Thanikkal. Most of the uprooted Tamil families from Thanikkal reside now at Paddik-kudiyiruppu, which is situated between Olu-madu and Thanikkal. Their children attend the school at Olumadu. In the meantime, a brand new Sinhala Buddhist monastic school has been put up in their village of Thanikkal for Sinhala colonists.
Related Articles:09.12.16
Villages in Maanthai West unable to grapple with structural .. 29.05.16
Multi-pronged structural genocide targets Periya-mu’rippu in..
Chronology: