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A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Monday, May 1, 2017
10 years of displacement, 38 days of protest: Mullikulam villagers return home
30 Apr 2017
After ten years of displacement and over a month of protest, the people
of Mullikulam in Mannar set foot again in their lands for the first time
on Sunday.
Having been forcibly removed from their village on the 8th September
2007 as a result of the re-escalating ethnic conflict, the people of
Mullikulam began a protest on the 23rd March 2017 outside the navy camp
which was built on their occupied land. On the 38th day of continuous
protest, the Sri Lankan navy agreed to return their residential lands.
The decision came after a high-level meeting took place with Tamil
representatives and the Sri Lankan Navy commander at the camp on
Saturday.
“The people’s continuous protest has delivered success,” parliamentarian
for Vanni, Selvam Adaikalanathan said following the meeting.
Speaking to journalists, Mullikulam parish priest Father Anton Thavarasa
said that in the days to come a committee will be formed by the navy to
deal with issues such as paths to the coast. Father Anton also said
that the villagers would shelter at the church until they have rebuilt
their homes to a habitable state.
With regards to rebuilding houses, Mr Adaikalanathan also stated in his
remarks that the resettlement minister, D M Swaminathan had promised to
provide assistance to the people in creating provisional housing. A
timeframe of 8 months was set to allow navy personnel living in 22
Tamil-owned houses to vacate the premises.
The villagers held a thanksgiving mass at the Heavenly Mother church in
Mullikulam, still on navy-occupied land, and cooked and ate together in
celebration of their impending returns home.
