Get out of our land!' - Keppapulavu protesters demand land to be released from military occupation

Tamil families in Keppapulavu held a protest infront of the Mullaitivu Defense Headquarters, demanding the release of their land from Sri Lankan military occupation yesterday. 

"We want our land, the army should leave our land,” the protesters chanted. 

Tamils in Keppapulavu began their protests calling for the return of their homes in March 2017. 

“We are still living as refugees,” said one of the protestors.

“We know that talks are being held with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, therefore we expect a solution for our issue. We want our lands to get released. We want the military to remove their camps from our lands.”

“The international community should intervene and end  the suffering of the Tamil families in Keppapulavu,” they added. 

Some land was reclaimed from the control of the Sri Lankan military in 2017 through their public protests. However, 71 acres of land belonging to 54 families remains under military occupation.  

Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendran, PTK Pradeshiya Sabha members Arumugam Johnson and Ganapathipillai Vijayakumar were amongst those participating in the protest.

Although almost 14 years have passed since the end of the armed conflict, the Sri Lankan military continues to control and occupy vast swathes of land in the Tamil homeland, forcing families to remain displaced.