Soldiers turned farmers - Sri Lanka's military occupation of Jaffna continues

by Vennila
May 26, 2022

Immediately following the week of Mullivaikkal commemorations, the Sri Lankan Navy continued its occupation of the Tamil-inhabited North-East under the guise of a mangrove planting drive. 

The planting drive was conducted in coastal areas of Mandaitivu Island and Ponnalai Lagoon, Jaffna "under the leadership of Commander Northern Naval Area, Priyantha Perara". 

Local Tamil schoolchildren were part of the project, with schools continuing to be a focus of militarisation for the Sri Lankan state.

The Sri Lankan Navy has been credibly accused of committing war crimes with Perera who was an active commander, leading the 631 Infantry brigade during the final stages of the genocide and thereby overseeing the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Tamils. 

Deputy Area Commander Northern Naval Area, Heads of Departments, officers, sailors, and religious dignitaries in the area, participated as a part of the northern colonisation scheme. 

The planting drive came days after Mullivaikkal commemorations, for the tens of thousands of Eelam Tamils that were massacred by the Sri Lankan state in the culmination of the Tamil genocide. Since the Mullivaikkal massacres, Sri Lankan military forces have maintained a heavy military presence in the Tamil homeland, entrenching themselves in every facet of civil society. Military-run schools, businesses, resorts, and factories are ever-present across the North-East and serve to foster a culture of fear and surveillance amongst Eelam Tamils. Tamils have since been demanding the removal of Sri Lankan military forces from the North-East and to end the militarisation of the Tamil homeland. 
 

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