வியாழன், 10 ஆகஸ்ட், 2017

Structural genocide targets Kuchchave'li through long-term land lease

Structural genocide targets Kuchchave'li through long-term land lease

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 August 2017, 23:47 GMT]
Sinhala SL Government Agent of Trincomalee N.A.A.Pushpakumara is leasing lands to Sinhala businessmen from South in Kuchchave'li administrative division. The Tamil Divisional Secretary of the division, P.Thaneswaran, is being directed by the ruling politicians of occupying Colombo to alienate public lands through long-term leasing (99 years) to Sinhala colonisers, Tamil civil sources in Trincomalee said. Although the Eastern Provincial Council has a say on the issue of term-lease, it has been subjected to heavy influence from Colombo. Knowning that Kachcheari has lost original copies of lands from Nilaave'li to Kumpu'rup-piddi, there has been a systematic move of utilising so-called temporary land permits with the motive of transferring the lands later to the Sinhala owners. The long-term lease in practice means that the lands become the property of the owners in the long run.

Mr Benedict, a Sinhala-speaking intruder from Puththa'lam, who entered Kuchchave'li in the past through obtaining a fishing licence, was later utilised with ‘temporary permit’ to engage in cultivation. He is now targeting 150 acres of lands through political influence and Sinhala connections, civil sources told TamilNet.

The SL Government Agent has instructed the Divisional Secretary to transfer ‘State lands’ to Mr Benedict through benamies, who are his relatives.

Mr Pushpakumara has been exerting pressure on Tamil officials also during the times of former SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The descendants of Eezham Tamils who have lost their copies of original records and those who have been outside the island during the times of the war, now find their lands to be seized by Sinhala colonists from South.

The colonisers are pre-occupied with leasing lands along the coast of Kuchchave'li.

While genocide-affected native Tamils are unable to lease lands as they often do not have resources to do so and due to non-corporation from the SL Survey Department.

The SL Forest Department also moves quickly block Tamils while Sinhala intruders are allowed to clear lands using heavy machinery, the Tamil people in Kuchcave'li complain.

The charge for leasing a land is also high for the poverty-stricken native villagers. The expense for leasing one perch of land ranges from 30,000 to 125,000 depending on the location along Nilavaa'li to Kumpu'rup-piddi.

Sinhala colonists, aligned with powerful politicians in Colombo, have been targeting Nilave'li coast for a long time.

Many Sinhalese from South had obtained permit lands already during the 1970s as part of a Sinhala colonisation of strategic Eastern coast of Eezham Tamils. They had 10 to 20 acres of lands each. But due to the times of war, they were not able to physically occupy the lands.

Although majority of them failed to renew their permits during the times of war, they have managed to secure more than their original lands after the war. But, Tamils are consistently deprived of land allocation.

Former SL President Chandrika Kumaratunga has also been making claim for lands citing allocations from 1970s.

The incumbent SL Minister of Ports & Shipping and former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arjuna Ranatunga (a former captain of SL cricket team) has also seized lands in Kuchchave'li, the sources further said.

Tamil civil officials are being completely silenced and subjected to extreme pressure from Colombo and Sinhala officials. The Tamil politicians should have addressed the issue, but they have all failed, the people further complain.

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