Now, UN intervenes in land issue in North

by Shamindra Ferdinando-May 22, 2013

Jaffna Commander Maj. Gen. Hathurusinghe meets  UN representative Asekenye-Ooyu

Head of the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Agnes Asekenye-Oonyu, on Tuesday flew to Palaly, where she discussed the issue with Security Forces Commander, Jaffna, Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe. Ms. Asekenye-Oonyu was accompanied by the deputy head of the mission, Mark Prasopa-Plaizier.   

Authoritative sources told The Island that Jaffna Commander had explained the circumstances under which some land had been acquired in accordance with the overall post-war development plan encompassing Palaly and Kankesanthurai. The acquisition of some land in the Valigamam north was necessary to expand the Palaly airport as well as the Kankesanthurai harbour, Maj. Gen. Hathurusinghe told the visiting delegation.

India recently completed clearing the Kankesanthurai harbour of ship wrecks to pave the way for the expansion and related development work. 

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has repeatedly accused the government of taking over land in the Jaffna peninsula. Recently, a UNP delegation, led by its leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, visited Palaly to examine the grievances of Tamil speaking people.

The Jaffna Commander said a section of the media, at the behest of certain interested parties, had been propagating lies to discredit the country. He explained the need for positioning troops within the Palaly-Kankesanthurai sector to face any eventuality.

Commenting on the ongoing resettlement programme in the Jaffna peninsula, the Jaffna Commander said that those displaced due to the acquisition of their land would be settled along the Jaffna coast. They would be adequately compensated, he said.

The visiting delegation was also briefed on the current deployment of troops in the peninsula and gradual decrease of the military presence since the conclusion of the conflict.

Occupying STF seizes 600 acres of farmland in Poththuvil

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 May 2013, 19:06 GMT]
Sinhala Buddhist extremists, with the backing of the occupying Sri Lankan government in Colombo, have planned to appropriate about six hundred acres of paddy fields belonging to Muslims and Tamils in Pasarich-cheanai in Poththuvil electorate in Ampaa'rai district, claiming that the said lands belong to Sinhala Buddhists. The paddy fields are located east of Naavilaa'ru at Poovarasadith-thoaddam in Poththuvil DS division. The Tamil-speaking farmers have been doing cultivation in these lands for more than five decades, civil sources said. 

A group of Buddhist monks accompanied by Sri Lankan commandos of the Special Task Force (STF) entered the paddy fields on 16th May while Muslim and Tamil farmers were clearing their lands for the next season and ordered them to leave the area immediately. The STF commandos also threatened the Tamil-speaking civilians that they would face ‘serious consequences’ if they disregarded the instruction.

Since then, the Tamil and Muslim farmers are keeping themselves away from visiting their paddy fields although they are in possession of legal documents to prove their ownership.

The affected Tamils and Muslims have now appealed to the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Party General Secretary Mr. Hassan Ali to intervene in this dispute and to ensure their safety and the legal right to do cultivation in their lands.