Demilitarisation is crucial for economic development in the Northern Province, a senior Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP has said.
Speaking at a Sri Lankan finance ministry forum on economic development in the North, TNA MP and ITAK leader Mavai Senathirajah called for releasing military-occupied land to help revive agriculture and create jobs.
The parliamentarian pointed out that the Vaddakkachchi farm in Kilinochchi formerly employed 600 people but was currently still under military occupation.
“In Jaffna and Mullaithivu, the manpower is there but we are not giving them opportunities do agriculture. The basic need is to release lands and allow people to work the land,” Senathirajah said according to Economy Next.
Displaced Tamils have been angered by forces continuing to carry out business and agriculture on occupied lands, despite a pledge by the Sri Lankan president that all military-occupied lands would be released by the end of 2018.
