Tamil protests block Sri Lankan Navy land grab attempt in Jaffna

by Rukshana
May 30, 2024

Tamil Protests block an attempted land grab as the Sri Lankan Navy looks to survey four acres for military camp construction.

Leader of the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), Sivagnanam Shritharan raised objections over the Sri Lankan Navy’s land grab at Ponnalai in Thiruvadi Nilai alleging that although the land acquisition was temporarily halted due to public protest, it should be stopped permanently. 

Shritharan highlighted the matter during the Jaffna District Coordination Committee meeting.

He told the members of the committee that although the land acquisition was temporarily halted, permission should not be granted at all. 

Earlier this month, land survey officials were forced to abandon their work after residents in the Alampil area handed a letter to them expressing their opposition. However, even after the surveyors left the area, Sri Lankan police officers stayed at the site and filmed the residents - a common tactic used by the state's forces to intimidate Tamils.

The Sri Lankan military continues to occupy a majority of lands in the homeland, that have been used by them for their camps, recreation facilities, and holiday inns. Tamils across the homeland have resisted numerous attempts by Sri Lanka to acquire land which forms part of the state's efforts to alter the demography of the North-East.

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