Local Tamils in a village in Mullaitivu have been instructed by Sri Lankan officials to leave their land, despite having it returned to them from Sri Lankan military occupation.
The locals have questioned “who they are trying to give this land to” and why they are “lifting us from the land we protested on the streets to reclaim.”
The village officer of Keppapulavu, sent a letter ordering the local people of Sooripuram to vacate the 50 acres of land by 12 August 2020, which has been used by locals since 1990 for residential and agricultural use.
The letter had been sent to at least 19 people in the village and they were told to vacate the land – which features multiple palm trees, cashew gardens and wells – within the next month.
The land which was reclaimed from the control of Sri Lankan military in 2017 through public protests, has been used for peanuts, banana and vegetable cultivation by locals.
Representatives from the survey department who came to inspect the area were prevented in doing so by protesting locals who have been affected by the proposed eviction.
