Colombo seizes 4,000 acres of paddy lands from Tamil farmers

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.

Chronology:

29.06.13  Colombo seizes 4,000 acres of paddy lands from Tam..

16.06.13  Colombo schemes permanent occupation of two Tamil ..

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Sinhala military wants ‘Kappan’ from Batticaloa Tamil farmers

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 June 2013, 22:38 GMT]

Aiming at totally bankrupting the Tamil farmers of Koa'raippattu South (Kiraan) division in Batticaloa district, the occupying Sri Lankan military, which schemes Sinhalicisaton and colonisation of the pasturelands in the division, now demand 3,000 rupees per 10 cattle from the Tamil farmers. The ‘Kappan’ military of Sri Lanka has instructed the Tamil farm-owners to pay the money before 25th of this month. The extortion is taking place in the name of providing ‘housing’ to disabled Sinhala soldiers, the farmers from Alli-oadai village told TamilNet on Friday. 

The location of newly established checkpoints of the Sri Lanka Army at Allai-oadai and Maavaddavaan junction [Photo: TamilNet]

Earlier, Tamil paramilitary personnel operated by the SL military were demanding money.

But this time, the extortion has reached a larger proportion.

The SL military now wants the Tamil farmers to give up grazing their cattle and farming in the area, the Tamil farmers complain. 

The officers of the occupying Sinhala military have earlier registered the number of cattle owned by the Tamil farmers in the division. They are now using these figures to demand large sums of money from the Tamil farmers. 

Already, more than 500 Sinhalese brought from the South have encroached into the pasturelands and the Sinhala ‘Civil Defence Force’ paramilitary operated by Colombo has been killing and stealing the cattle of Tamil farmers. 

The Tamil name of the village Alli-oadai (lotus pond) has also been changed to ‘Aliayaa-oadai’ in Sinhala by the occupying military.

Two months ago, the Sri Lanka Army soldiers at the nearby Koaddaik-kallaa'ru were harassing the Tamil villagers for money, showing a letter in English and Sinhala that they were constructing houses for disabled Sri Lankan soldiers. 

Kappan in Sinhala, related to Kappam in Tamil and meaning taxes or tribute, is widely used today as a word for extortion of money. 

Shown within the red circle is the Alli Oadai junction where 5 acres of land has been appropriated to construct a Buddhist stupa. Local people are prohibited from going to that area and beyond it to Kudumpimalai

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Tamil farmers lose title-deed lands to Sinhala colonisers in Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 June 2013, 23:49 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lankan military has appropriated more than one hundred acres of paddy lands owned by Tamil farmers at Koozhaa-mu’rippu in Vedi-vaiththa-kal area of Nedungkea’ni DS division in the Mullaiththeevu district for Sinhalese being brought from the South by the Colombo government.

Vedi-vaiththa-kall is traditionally a Tamil agricultural village.

The Tamil farmers had been doing paddy cultivation till they were uprooted from the village.

They possess title deeds for about sixty acres and land development department permits for about forty acres.

Earlier, irrigation facilities had been provided to these lands from Koozhaa-mu'rippuk-ku'lam.

But, after the occupation of the country of Eezham Tamils, the ‘development’ promised by Colombo didn't reach them.

Even after their resettlement, they were not in the position of cultivating their lands due to the breach in the dam of the tank.

The Tamil farmers, who went to the their paddy fields last week to do preparation for the coming season saw Sinhalese persons from the south repairing the breached dam and clearing the paddy fields of Tamils for cultivation.

Vanni district Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Mr.Sivaskathi Aanandan told media that Tamil farmers have approached their elected representatives and SL authorities concerned to allow them to do cultivation in their lands and to take action against those who have encroached.

Colombo discriminates Tamil farmers

Colombo discriminates Tamil farmers in disaster relief distribution

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 13 February 2013, 21:01 GMT]

Sri Lankan government in Colombo is discriminating Tamil farmers in Northern Province in distributing disaster relief following recent natural disasters, farmers representatives in Mannaar said, announcing a fasting campaign on February 18 at Uyilangku’lam in Mannaar.

The farmers associations that came together for an emergency meeting held on Saturday at the District Agrarian Centre of the Uyilangku’lam village decided to stage the protest following widespread complaints from the farmers, affected by the the drought and recent floods throughout Mannaar.

Tamil National Alliance parliamentarians Selvam Adaikalanathan and S.Vinonoharathalingam and officials of the several farmers’ organizations participated in the meeting.

According to Mr Selvam Adaikalanathan, the SL government authorities have failed to provide necessary relief to farmers for several acres of crops that were destroyed due to floods in the district.

Several farmers in the North have not settled their agricultural loans and failed to redeem their jewelry pawned in banks.