The protest is called to denounce land-grabbing of Tamil lands in Sri-Lanka and to show solidarity and support with the 'Murugandi' demonstration (details below) and the protest last week in Jaffna broken up by Sri Lankan riot police which in turn was organised to protest against the escalation of cases of land grabbing on the island 3 years after a bloody civil war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Tamils in bloody, appalling circumstances.

The Sri Lankan civil war was ended during 2009 May. Still, however, Tamils face encroachment and denial of their means to recontinue their livelihood, including the loss of land and homes to deliberately relocated populations of peoples from the Sinhalese ethnic group which is the majority in the country and which dominates the government in charge. . Three years since the end of the civil war, more than 500,000 Tamil people are living outside their homes. Tamils complain the government is targeting Tamils’ historical land and their cultural, educational properties and values. Also, Hindu and Muslim religious places are targeted by Buddhist monks to station Buddha statues to claim that they are Sinhalese historical places.

A large scale protest by Tamil activists in Jaffna against the expropriation of private land by the government, was blocked by Sri Lankan police on Monday 18th June.

With the Sri Lankan’s Army’s increased instances of land grab in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka, on the 20th June, a protest was organized by the Tamil National Peoples’ Front (TNPF); the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), Mano Ganesan’s Democratic Peoples’ Front (DPF), leftist parties from the South, Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) and the trade unions also took part in it offering their support,including the teachers’ trade union.

This civil protest has been said to be the first of its kind in the island nation in the post-war situation. The protest was organized in front of the Jaffna Central Bus Stand where hundreds of activists had come together to show their support against the illegal land grabbing by the Sri Lankan Army. The key participants addressed the media and the public at a press conference held in front of the TNPF office.

However, the Sri Lankan Police had submitted a report to Jaffna District Judge M. Ganesarajah stating that destructive elements were about to disrupt the normalcy in the city and got legal approval to cancel the protest and disperse the protesters in the last minute with riot police.

The Tamil National Alliance in Sri Lanka held a protest near Murugandi Temple in the Vanni area yesturday (Monday 25th June).


More Information:
The military defeated the Tamil Tigers three years ago after 30 years of war in the north and east of the island and the war affected areas are now being developed and normalcy restored. Under local laws the government can acquire land for development purposes and some private land surrounding the only airport in Jaffna is expected to be acquired as moves get underway to expand the airport.

However allegations of human rights abuses continue to haunt the army and a European human rights group recently raised fresh allegations saying women and girls in the north are being abused by the military.

The Sri Lankan governing regime, which poses Thiruvadi-nilai area of Maathakal, the north-western tip of the Jaffna Peninsula as a `Sacred Zone' of the Sinhala-Buddhists, has been engaged in constructing permanent quarters for the occupying Sri Lanka Navy in the lands of uprooted Tamils who are denied access to their land that had gone under SL military declared High Security Zone 20 years back. The entire coastal stretch, between Punnaalai and Maathakal, is kept occupied by the Sri Lankan military. The cantonment comprises a large coastal area including Thiruvadi-nilai, Kaaddup-pulam, Nelliyaan and Chuzhipuram East. Thiruvadi-nilai is one of the two closest spots of communication between the island of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. While Thalai Mannaar in Mannaar district is the closest to Rameasvaram, Maathakal in Jaffna Peninsula is the closest to Koadikkarai (Point Calimere) in Tamil Nadu. On 06th February, the SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa secretly inaugurated a controversial solar-panel and windmills farm in the lands appropriated from the uprooted Tamils of the coastal stretch between Thiruvadi-nilai and KKS, leasing the lands for 20 years to a Malaysian corporate of Chinese connections.

Since 1992, the SL military has occupied many parts of the Maathakal village and private lands of Tamils. After the end of war in Vanni, there was an announcement that people would be permitted to resettle in Maathakal. But, when the people wanted to resettle, the SL military came with excuses saying de-mining was yet to be completed.

Shiranthi Rajapaksa, the wife of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa and her son Namal Rajapaksa brought a statue of Sanghamita, Emperor Aoska's daughter and the first woman Buddhist missionary to the island, to be enshrined in the newly built Buddhist Stupa in Maathakal in October 2009.

Following the opening of the Buddhist Stupa, Colombo establishment encouraged Sinhala `pilgrims' to visit the place in large numbers.

In June 2011, the Rajapaksa regime in Colombo started to proclaim that Thiruvadi-nilai in Maathakal was to become a `sacred' zone.
Source:  http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=79&artid=35078


See also:
Colombo pushes for 40,000 acres land grab for Sinhalese in Batticaloa (Oct
30th, 2011)
 http://www.srilankabrief.org/2011/10/colombo-pushes-for-40000-acres-land.html

Sinhala encroachers deny Tamil owners land
 http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=30543


Extensive investigation into destruction of statues

News First (Sri Lanka), Sunday 08 April 2012
Ref:  http://www.newsfirst.lk/english-news/?view=news_more&id=11115

The Ministry of External Affairs has instructed the IGP to launch an extensive investigation into the destruction of several statues located in the Batticaloa town.

Statues of Mahathma Gandhi, Lord Baydon Powell the founder of the Scout movement, as well as statues of Tamil literati such as Vipulanandar Sami, Periyathambi Pillai were destroyed recently.

The Ministry of External Affairs says that they have turned their attention to this incident.

Issuing a communique the External Affairs Ministry noted that extensive investigations will be launched to determine who the perpetrators are and their reasons for carrying out such acts of vandalism.
Utube link to report here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6getFWXx4GY



Tamil Guardian 25 June 2012
SL army attack civilians in Vanni

Sri Lankan soldiers have attacked uprooted Tamil families sheltering in a school in Kilinochchi, TamilNet reported on Monday.

The families were temporarily accommodated inside Hindu Tamil Viththiyaalayam, after being released from Menik Farm IDP camp a few weeks ago. [IDP stands for 'Internally Displaced Persons]

They were demanding resettlement on their own land, which has been grabbed by the security forces.

The families had been resisting forced resettlement on land designated by the government and faced harassment by the army.

Busloads of soldiers were brought in to the area on Monday, who then went on to assault the civilians, including children, who were thrown into army vehicles, forcing the parents to join them.

Eyewitnesses told TamilNet that two civilians were seriously injured and even pregnant women were assaulted.

The families are reported to have been transported back to Menik Farm prison camp.