Colombo plans to annex Tamil border villages in Batticaloa with Ampaa'rai

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 November 2011, 20:21 GMT]
Colombo government has been planning to Sinhalicise about fifteen to twenty thousand acres of lands located along the border Tamil villages in the Batticaloa district from the administration of Batticaloa district to Ampaa'rai district secretariat, according to local district officials in Batticaloa. As a first step in the plan, six villages with vast natural resources in the Kachchai-kodith-theevu GN division in Paddippazhai DS division of Batticaloa district are to be annexed with the Ampaa'rai district. During the last two years, 108 Sinhalese families have encroached lands that belong to 114 Tamil families in Kevu'liyamadu, one of the villages to be transferred to Ampaa'rai, in the latest move of demographic genocide on the country of Eezham Tamils.

The land authority of the SL government has ignored several requests made by Tamil families to take steps and return their lands now being occupied by Sinhalese.

The systematic illegal settlement with the patronage of Colombo government on Tamil lands for residential purposes and pasture for their cattle in Batticaloa district would certainly destroy the economy of Tamils, said R.Thurairatnam, a member of the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC). Batticaloa district officials are also in the know of the massive land from their district to neighbouring district, according to him.

In the meantime, informed sources in the district said that a conference to delimitate the boundaries of all DS divisions in the Ampaa'rai district is scheduled to be held in the secretariat shortly. Batticaloa District Secretary and Paddippazhai Divisional Secretary have been summoned to this conference, which is to be attended by SL Ministers and other ruling party politicians from Colombo.

Mr.Thurairatnam has requested the Eastern Provincial Council and Batticaloa District Secretary in writing to stop this acquisition of lands from one district to another without the consent of Tamil people immediately. Copies of his letter have also been sent to the SL Deputy Resettlement Minister and Paddippazhai Divisional Secretary.