Tamil and Muslim landowners from a Trincomalee village have been threatened with the seizure of their lands after rejecting requests to offer their land to Sinhalese settlers, according to local media reports.
At the instruction of the Eastern Province’s assistant land commissioner, 17 Tamil and Muslim landowners had received requests in writing from the Kuchchaveli divisional secretary to offer sections of their land in Valaiyootru to Sinhalese settlers who had requested to be granted land. However the landowners had refused.
At a meeting to discuss the situation held at the Valaiyootru Sinhala Mahavidyalayam, the assistant land commissioner had implied that those who refused to hand over the requested land could have their land deeds invalidated.
Many of the affected landowners had already gone through lengthy court battles to protect their land rights.
One attendee at the meeting who owned an acre of land in the village which they used for cultivation and small-time commerce said he was threatened with the cancellation of his land deed since he had not built a house on the land. In an earlier land dispute with the local authorities, the Trincomalee High Court had ruled in the landowner’s favour, even upholding the decision after an appeal. The individual said many of the landowners present at the meeting had had similar experiences and had had their rightful ownership of the lands reaffirmed by the courts.
“However what they couldn’t achieve legally they are trying to force through politically,” the landowner said. “Sadly, some affected landowners have agreed to hand over the requested lands out of fear of the officials.”
