The Sri Lankan government has allocated approximately 700 acres of land in the Tamil homeland to Chinese private companies as part of an equity swap to service its debts to Chinese lenders, claimed Tamil National Alliance MP S. Shritharan, voicing concerns over the government's actions at a press conference on 13th April.
According to Shritharan, the government has long-term plans to allocate 500 acres south of the Iranamadu tank and 200 acres near Iyakkachchi, both bordering the Mullaitivu district. These plans were revealed by Basil Rajapakse in 2011, who claimed that Mankulam would be developed into a city with a total population of 500,000 people. As part of the scheme, over 1,000 families were settled near Iranamadu and provided with housing. However, these facilities were turned into housing for the military in the area as the facilities went into disuse due to lack of maintenance.
Shritharan alleged that the Sri Lankan government is using China as a cover to speed up its project of Sinhala colonisation. The government can use the equity swaps to bring the land under the Mahaweli Authority's control and continue creating Sinhala settlements. This can have security implications for regional superpowers like India and also for the Tamil homeland. Shritharan also noted that many new Buddhist temples have recently appeared in Karippatta Murippu and Oddusuddan with the aid of the Archaeological department.
Shritharan urged the need to mobilise to stop the government's activities by drawing attention to these issues and requesting direct intervention by the Indian government. He also called for the right to self-determination of the Tamil people to be recognised by the United Nations, the European Union and America to protect the lands of the Tamil people.
