‘Investors’ may see the eastern coastal tract of the island of Sri Lanka, from Kokku’laay to Kuchchave’li, potential for minerals, tourism and fisheries. But the tract is of utmost importance to Eezham Tamils in linking the north and east of their historic homeland. Tamils wouldn’t have been averse to the idea of anyone coming and investing in this tract had there been a guarantee to the territorial integrity of their nation. It would have even been welcomed. But the genocidal Sinhala State and powers of greed have chosen the cruel way to achieve ambitions by crushing the Tamil nation – killing, maiming, chasing, incarcerating and weakening the historical inhabitants. If India that has a particular eye on this tract wants its gratification peaceful and long lasting it should take the responsibility of not altering the demography, writes a university academic of the Eastern Province.
Further comments from the academic:
Wedging the homeland of Tamil nation at this bottleneck was always on the card of Colombo ever since independence. The Padaviya settlement scheme and expansion of Sinhala colonies towards Kokku’laay lagoon was a landward move since 1950s.
In the 1970s systematic efforts were carried out in making seasonal fishing camps of the Sinhalese to become permanent settlements in this particular coast. The Sinhala Catholic Church of the Western Province collaborated with Colombo in this demographic conspiracy.
The result was that a sprawling Sinhala colony along with churches came up at a place called Pudavaikk-kaddu, which became renamed as Saagarapura.
This place of natural beauty, a few kilometres north of Kuchchave’li, is a highly potential fishing location with its bay suitable for a fishing harbour. Its very Tamil name Pudavaik-kaddu, comes from a traditional fishing technique of laying nets.
The scene in the early 1980s was while the Sinhala fishermen colonised this place were transporting their rich catch of deep-sea fishes such as Marlin caught in this area to Colombo by lorries, the local Muslims and Tamils subsisting on cockles collected in the backwaters were looking upon to the Sinhalese for the charity of discarded small fry.
Meanwhile, mineral sand mining at Pulmoaddai, another few kilometres north of Pudavaikk-kaddu, provided further inroads for Colombo’s colonisations. The schemes were carefully executed by not developing a long-due coastal communication but by linking the locations with interior Sinhala districts.
An added feature was the ‘archaeology’ of Colombo at Kuchchave’li and at Thiriyaay. Both are well-known sites of Mahayana Buddhism, a heritage largely shared by Eezham Tamils in the past. A rock at Kuchchave’li coast still bears a Sanskrit inscription of Mahayana faith. The Theravada Buddhist Sanghas of Sri Lanka are now claiming that these were exclusive to the Sinhalese.
At every ethnic pogrom of the island, traditional Tamil settlements of the tract in places such as Thennamaravadi and Kuchchave’li were selectively targeted to evacuate Tamils from these strategic villages.
Tamil political parties protesting for decades in democratic ways to such combined conspiracies of Colombo did not bring in any results. The balance came only when Tamil militancy that developed in mid 80s started facing the situation by attacking and evacuating the armed forces establishment at Kuchchave’li police station- rest house complex.
As India and other powers now tilted this balance but without any solution, one of the first acts of unchecked Colombo has become grabbing Tamil land in this tract.
In the guise of ‘tourism development’ Colombo recently backed illegal acquisition of prime lands at Kuchchaveli by Sinhala entrepreneurs, especially coming from Mahinda Rajapaksa’s constituency in down south. There were not even a single Tamil or Muslim in the whole list of 40 odd investors, news reports say.
The excuse of the government that is keeping locals incarcerated in camps or in open prisons is that Tamils or Muslims have not applied for land.
Even though the transaction is now stalled by Rajapaksa to save an embarrassed Chandrakanthan, the Eastern CM who is ‘staunchly’ supporting his presidential candidature, the danger always looms large and the Sinhala State is never going to refrain from its demographic programme particularly in this tract.
The aim is to carve out an all-Sinhalese economic zone of industry, fisheries and tourism in this tract, dividing forever the Tamil provinces of north and the east. The ultimate aim is dismembering Tamil nation from the island. In executing the agenda, a West Asian country is said to be actively sharing its ‘experience’ with Colombo.
The interest of India and USA in the island, particularly in the eastern coast of it, is well known. The actual strategic partners in the game, USA and China, were clever enough in isolating India from its natural social leverage in the island, thanks to an idiotic policy followed by India, spoiling both its balance as well as the balance of Tamils.
Neither USA nor China has been affected as much as India is affected.
US, China and Pakistan can afford to take any risk in propping up a Fonseka of ultra genocidal agenda. But more than protecting Mahinda Rajapakasa regime and exhibiting the audacity of asking Tamil speaking people to support the very regime that committed crimes to them, India’s responsibility lies in protecting the homeland of Tamil nation, if at all it is interested in seeing at least part of the island friendly to it. Otherwise it is not going to have even that.
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