SL environmental plunder wipes out timber trees in Vanni, protected long by LTTE

[TamilNet, Thursday, 26 January 2012, 21:30 GMT]
Sinhala plunderers from South who enter Vanni through Mannaar have been cutting valuable timber trees in large numbers and removing them to other parts of the island, people in Vanni complain. The Sri Lankan police is assisting the gangs that enter Vanni through Mannaar. The gangs are in possession of ‘permits’ from the so-called ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in Colombo, which is headed by Sinhala ultra nationalist political party leader Champika Ranawake who founded the Sihala Urumaya promoting Mahawansa mindset of anti-Tamil sentiments, comparing Tamils with Jews against an "Aryan Sinhala" supremacist philosophy. He later became the political advisor of the predominantly Buddhist monks party, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), and a minister in the Mahinda Rajapaksa cabinet.

‘Development’ ministries and agenda-driven NGOs of the West also began cooperating with his ‘green’ outfits that are engaged in the structural genocide on the Eezham Tamil country.

The Sinhala gangs with Champika Ranawake's permits coming from the South are operating in the villages, Pa'ndivirichchaan, Vi'laaththik-kulam, Ve'l'laang-ku'lam, Aaththi-moaddai , Kaladdi, Iluppaik-kadavai, Parampuk-kadal, and Koozhaang-ku'lam in Maanthai West Divisional Secretariat of the Mannaar district.

The Sri Lankan Police is assisting the gangs in exploiting valuable forest in the Mannaar district.

Muthirai (Satin wood), Karungkaali (Ebony), Paalai (Iron wood) and Veampu (Margosa) trees are being cut in large numbers. Earlier, the environmental department of the civil administration of the LTTE was preserving the jungles for a long time.

The Mannaar district being in the arid zone of the island, it will take centuries for the magnificent timber trees to grow again in the forests.

The Sri Lankan ‘environmental’ ministry, which protects the jungles in the Sinhala South, is systematically exploiting the jungles of the occupied Tamil homeland in the North and East by sending Sinhala and Muslim gangs.

The trees are being transported without checking through several Sri Lankan police check points located along the Mannaar-Mathavaachchi Road, civil sources in Mannaar told TamilNet.

Meanwhile, reports have emerged that SL government authorities in Mannaar district are also issuing temporary permits for selected wealthy persons in the district on the instruction of the Colombo government and the Sinhala gangs that come from the south are also using these local wealthy persons for their exploitation.

Councilors of Maanthai West Piratheasa Chapai have made representations to the Maanthai West Divisional Secretary regarding the illegal activity.

Further reports say that gangs primarily comprising Sinhalese are also actively engaged in several illegal activities in Maanthai West DS division thus giving untold difficulties to Tamils residing there.

Immediately after the war the US government embarked upon an 'environmental' project to 'help' the Sri Lankan state to protect the forests of Vanni, and the Norwegian 'development' circles exerted immense pressure on the diaspora Tamils to work in collaboration with a JHU-affiliated 'Green' NGO for the 'rehabilitation' and 'development' of Tamils.

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