Sampanthan in SL Parliament lists out details of Sinhala militarization

The Parliamentary Group leader of the Tamil National Alliance, Mr R. Sampanthan, on Thursday came out with a list explaining how the SL military was occupying the lands of Eezham Tamils in the North and East. Ten thousand houses are under construction in appropriated lands belonging to Tamils in Ki’linochchi district for the use of occupying SL military in an attempt to change the demography of district, he said adding that it is a massive housing scheme for the Sri Lanka Army. The TNA leader and parliamentarian moving an adjournment motion in the SL parliament said that the militarisation has gained massive proportions after the end of Vanni war in 2009.

The TNA should rather address the issue to New Delhi and Washington that are openly facilitating the genocidal State and its military in the island, and should inspire the masses in the island, in Tamil Nadu and in the diaspora to focus the struggle against the ultimate culprits. TNA playing a stooge to the agenda of the two powers and then speaking on Sinhala militarisation is meaningless, commented Tamil activists for alternative politics in the island.

Mr. Sampanthan in the SL parliament pointed out further that the occupying Sri Lanka Army has been engaged in cadju cultivation in 6,000 acres of lands and coconut plantation in 100 acres of land appropriated in Ve’l’laavik-ku’lam in Mullaith-theevu district.

In Valikaamam ‘high security zone’ the occupying army has appropriated 6,399 acres of lands, two third of the size of Colombo city in extent.

In Maiyiliddi area of Jaffna district the occupying army has constructed a Yoghurt Factory in lands appropriated from Tamil families.

He said that the government through the occupying armed forces continues to appropriate substantial extents of land owned and possessed by Tamil civilians. Having been evicted from those lands Tamil civilians were not allowed to return them.

In Trincomalee district, some uprooted Tamil families were allowed to resettle in Navaratnapuram, a small village in Champoor area as eyewash, but more than 1,400 uprooted Tamil families are still sheltered in temporary huts. Their lands had been appropriated for the construction of coal power plant.

"The government through its armed forces has taken possession of substantial extents of land owned and or possessed by the Tamil civilians. Tamils are not permitted to return for residence or livelihood by reason of the said lands being in the possession of the armed forces,” Mr Sampanthan said.

Further extracts from his address follow:

"The armed forces has taken the possession of lands for the purposes of construction of housing facilities for the armed forces or for the agricultural activities by the armed forces, which lands in the future will become the property of the members of the armed forces in violation of the legitimate claim to such lands by citizens resident in the said areas and their descendants for their residence, livelihood and other numerous civilian needs. Such a clandestine taking over of lands would be in violation of the law.

"The government arbitrarily taking over substantial extents of lands purportedly for development activities, such as tourism and other industries disregarding the legitimate residential and livelihood needs of persons historically inhabiting such areas, and making arbitrary allocations of such lands to chosen others in a manner that is discriminatory and lacking in due process and transparency.

"The government taking over lands wholly or partly owned or possessed by local residents and which include irrigation and other facilities benefitting local residents ostensibly for religious purposes, in which area, persons belonging to the said religious faith do not reside, clearly raising the question of whether the government is planning to settle on such lands persons of such religious faith without resort to due process in a discriminatory manner.

"The defilement and desecration of both religious and cultural places of the utmost importance to the Tamil Hindu people, and the attempt to obliterate by destruction, evidence of the existence of such religious and cultural places, efforts to forcibly taken over the possession of such places from the local authority which has administered such places and the installation of new administration arrangements so as to interfere with and impede the use of such places by the Tamil Hindu people who have historically from time immemorial exercised such rights.

"The TNA demands that the faithful implementation of the recommendations of the LLRC report or the resolutions adopted by the UNHRC in March 2012 and March 2013.

"These actions pertaining to lands are clearly indicative of the government collaborating aggressively implementing a secret agenda, which would in the thinking of such persons render superfluous the need for political resolution leading to genuine reconciliation.

"The TNA as the democratically elected representatives of the Tamil people of the North and East calls upon the Government to immediately investigate these matters and take immediate action to redress and remedy those matters so as to assure the Tamil people of equality and justice as citizens of this country.”

[Full Coverage]

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow TNN on Facebook and Twitter )

Published
Categorised as Headline, News