Colombo plans Sinhala military settlement in Valikaamam North

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 28 May 2013, 23:51 GMT]
While the uprooted Eezham Tamils of Valikaamam North confront the occupying Sri Lankan State against the seizure of their lands in the former ‘High Security Zone’ (HSZ), the Sri Lankan military is moving fast with its secret plans of establishing permanent Sinhala military settlements to bring in families of the Sinhala soldiers into the former HSZ in Jaffna. Informed paramilitary sources in Jaffna told TamilNet Tuesday that a Sri Lankan commander has been assigned the task of converting the former HSZ into a Sinhala Military Zone (SMZ), consisting of Palaali military base. Already, more than 5,000 houses have been constructed in Mu'rika'ndi in Vanni and families of Sinhala soldiers are being provided housing there. There are at least 30,000 Sinhala soldiers stationed in the Jaffna peninsula.

All the Establishments of the global powers have been abetting the militarisation project of the Sri Lankan State, which is converting the occupied region consisting of fertile lands and significant fish beds into a Sinhala Military Zone.

The Sri Lankan military occupied High Security Zone (HSZ) along the northern coast of Jaffna peninsula, that evicted a large number of Tamil civilians from their homes for two decades now [Satellite image courtesy: Google Earth]

The SL State has been ‘developing’ the SMZ with power supply from a Chinese corporate, renovating the port and the airstrip with Indian assistance and clearing the mines with Western aid. Tourist resorts and Buddhist scared zones have also been set-up.

Alternative political activists in Jaffna, who welcomed the recent two-pronged legal efforts by the lawyers in Jaffna and the lawyers in Colombo against the seizure of lands by the SL military in Jaffna, said that the Sri Lankan state remained confident in thwarting the legal efforts, which are confined to the parameters of the Sri Lankan unitary constitution.

“The Tamil diaspora is failing to address the issue by challenging the Establishments that continue to abet the structural genocide,” they further said.

Meanwhile, in an effort to play down the level of the militarisation, the Sri Lankan military commander in Jaffna, Major General Mahinda Hathurusinghe, is engaged in a propaganda stating that the SL military is reducing its presence to maintaining only three military bases in Jaffna.

But, in practice, more lands are being occupied also outside the former HSZ to establish military camps.

The paramilitary sources also said that the SL Navy was silently militarising the coastal areas in the Jaffna peninsula and that the Tamil people are being indirectly forced to sell their properties and vacate the islets.

In the meantime, the SL presidential sibling and defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa has warned the government of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa that giving police and land powers to the provinces meant that the Northern Province comprising the districts of Jaffna, Mullaiththeevu, Vavuniyaa, Mannaar and Ki'linochchi could pose a ‘major security challenge’ to the SL unitary state in the future.

SL Military turns back Ranil visiting Valikaamam

[TamilNet, Friday, 26 April 2013, 11:34 GMT]
The occupying Sri Lanka Army, which is busily transforming the former High Security Zone (HSZ) in Valikaamam North in Jaffna into a Sinhala Military Zone (SMZ), turned away a delegation led by SL opposition leader Ranil Wickramasinghe on Thursday evening, denying them access to visit the area and witness the scale of the land acquisition. In the meantime, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran told the visiting UNP leader to voice for the rights of the uprooted people of Valikaamam North.

Conducting elections to the Northern Provincial Council, under the prevailing circumstances of SL military interference in the civil and political affairs in North would be a mockery of democracy, Mr Premachandran has said.

Twelve entire divisions of SL military are deployed in Vanni alone. The SL military is engaged by the SL government to harass political parties that are not in their UPFA alliance. The military also engages in attack on media and activists. Lately, it has even gone to the extent of wooing candidates for the UPFA, the TNA parliamentarian told Mr Wickramasinghe.

Mr Premachandran was campaigning for the presence of an impartial international monitoring mechanism at least two months ahead of the PC elections.

Mr Premachandran also urged the UNP leader to address the crucial issue of resettlement of people in Valikaamam North, the area that is being permanently seized by Colombo for the SL military.

Meanwhile the organisation representing the interests of the uprooted people of Valikaamam North has requested the people, who had been invited by the SL military, not to place their signatures on any papers, as there is a danger of SL military forging documents.

The people who were called up to identify their lands, had been instructed to come to the boundary of the HSZ, along with the deeds and any other documents pertaining to their lands.

People rise up against SL military seizure

People rise up against SL military seizure of Valikaamam in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 25 April 2013, 06:57 GMT]
Hundreds of people, braving the hurdles put up by the Sri Lankan military, gathered on Wednesday in front of the District Secretariat in Jaffna, protesting against the systematic seizure of their already SL-military occupied lands in Valikaamam North, transforming the former ‘High Security Zone’ area into a permanent Sinhala Military Zone (SMZ). The successful protest, for the first time saw active participation of law students and activists, news sources in Jaffna said. Despite the deployment of SL military, intelligence operatives and the SL police in blocking peoples’ participation, around 500 people gathered in front of the District Secretariat passing a strong message to not only the occupying military, but also to the powers abetting the continued LLRC-based structural genocide.

The occupying SL military had entered the premises of the camps of the uprooted people from Valikaamam North already on Tuesday night, threatening them not to take part in the protest. New military check posts were deployed on Jaffna – Point Pedro Road, blocking the uprooted people from Valikaamam from taking part in the protest.

Several participants walked to the District Secretariat, avoiding the military check posts to take part in the protest from 11:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m.

The protest comes in the wake of an official announcement by the occupying Colombo, through its Land Acquisition Officer attached to the District Secretariat in Jaffna, of the steps for the ‘legal acquisition’ of lands of around 6,381 acres and 38.91 perches in 11 GS divisions in the two DS divisions, Valikaamam North (Thellippazhai) and Valikaamam East (Koappaay), encompassing the Kaangkeasanthu’rai (KKS) harbour and Palaali airport. The entire area is being transformed into a Sinhala Military Zone (SMZ).

The protest, organized by the Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF) was participated by NSSP leader Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne, S. Bhaskara of the Democratic Peoples Front (DPF), Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian S. Sritharan, former TNA parliamentarian M.K. Sivajilingam, who is a political leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO), TNPF leaders Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Kajendren Selvarajah.

Mahinda Rajapaksa says he liberated Tamils. But, from who is not clear, said Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne addressing the protesters. “But, it is clear that there is a military rule after his genocidal war,” he said.

The war, which consumed the lives of 150 000 people, destroyed a civilization, Dr Karunaratne said.

“We must have an island wide struggle against the dictatorial regime. We must get rid of this ruthless enemy of the people and install a regime that can establish autonomy to the Tamil people,” the NSSP leader claimed.

The protest also saw the participation of Packiyasothy Saravanamuttu from the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a Colombo-based NGO outfit.

Following the TNPF initiated protest on Wednesday, the TNA has also vowed to stage protests in the coming days.

In February, a peaceful protest was attacked by SL military operatives who were co-mingling with and camouflaging as protestors in front of Thurkkai Amman temple in Thellippazhai, after the SL Opposition Leader Ranil Wickramasinghe, who participated at the token fast, had left the site of the protest.

The SL military has also stepped up its attacks against journalists and newspapers in Jaffna for their coverage of the protests.

Chronology:

25.04.13  TN responded, diaspora should come forward: Gajend..

25.04.13  People rise up against SL military seizure of Vali..

23.04.13  Geneva resolution responsible for genocidal milita..

23.04.13  6,400 acres of civilian land to be seized for mili..

22.04.13  Colombo begins legal appropriation of former HSZ l..

26.03.13  Colombo's land appropriation to be accelerated in ..

15.02.13  SL military operatives attack peaceful protest aga..

12.02.13  SL commander admits converting HSZ into permanent ..

11.02.13  SL military demolishes Hundreds of Tamil houses in..

08.02.13  Poonakari becomes another major hub of Sinhala mil..

03.02.13  Colombo converts Jaffna ‘HSZ’ into zone of Sinhala..

14.01.13  Sinhala military opens ‘holiday resorts’ in occupi..

30.07.12  SLA restricts access to temples, churches in Jaffn..

15.07.12  SLA appropriates more lands for militarisation of ..

14.07.12  SL military grabs more lands in Maathakal

Resettlement remains frozen for 51,000 Tamils in Valikaamam, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 November 2012, 01:45 GMT]
Since 2010, the SL government officials in Jaffna, including the GA, have been claiming that there were no ‘High Security Zones’ in the Jaffna district. In the meantime, more than 51,000 Tamils, belonging to 22 GS divisions, are denied access to their fertile lands and houses in Valikaamam, Jaffna. While the Colombo government was claiming that there were only ‘no go zones’ where land mines were yet to be cleared, the SL Supreme Court gave permission to proceed with the FR petition filed by Mr Mavai Senathiraja, 1 year later.

Fundamental Rights violation petitions were filed by the uprooted families seeking permission to resettle in their lands in Valikaamam North in 2003.

A three-member SL Supreme Court panel, including the SL Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake who was facing impeachment in the SL parliament, on Monday gave permission to proceed with the FR cases filed by TNA parliamentarian and representatives, 10 years after the case was taken up for investigation.