Colombo seizes 4,000 acres of paddy lands from Tamil farmers in Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 June 2013, 22:09 GMT]
Around 4,000 acres of paddy lands belonging to Eezham Tamil farmers in the western side of Thirukkoayil of Ampaa'rai district in the East are under appropriation by the Sri Lankan State in Colombo through its Department of Forest Conservation. This also includes more than 1,000 acres of lands with paddy crops. The Colombo Establishment is committing a systematic demographic genocide on the ancient Tamil villages in the East while the Establishments in Washington and New Delhi, fully aware of Sri Lanka's Sinhalicisation, Buddhicisation and Colonisation programmes, continue to provide the necessary ‘time and space’ to Sri Lanka by seeking to deceive Eezham Tamils with LLRC-based empty resolutions in Geneva and by upholding the 13th Amendment of the unitary constitution of Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lankan government officials have started earmarking the lands to be appropriated by putting boundary stones from Poththuvil up to Chaakamam including the lands with paddy crops.

Shocked Tamil farmers have been asking that is it justifiable for the SL Department of Forest to appropriate their lands as they possess valid legal deeds and permits issued by the SL Land Development Department. 

Those who possess deeds and permits had cultivated these lands from 1960 to 1990. Thereafter they fled from the area due to the outbreak of war. With the declaration of ceasefire they returned and cultivated their lands.

Even now they have been cultivating more than one thousand acres with paddy.