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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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Thursday, June 29, 2017
Tamils displaced by Sampur Vidura Navy Camp meet HRCSL
Displaced people of Sampur told the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission
that the Sri Lankan Navy’s ‘Vidura’ camp should be removed so that they
can be resettled in their own lands.
A team from the commission led by Ambika Satkunananthan visited
Trincomalee on the 15th and 16th June, holding discussions with civil
society and political representatives and visiting the occupied lands in
Sampur.
According to the villagers, having displaced the people of Neenakeni in
2006, the Navy built a camp on 176 acres of civilian land. Having stated
that the owners of those lands would be given alternate land, the Navy
also seized the lands of 83 families in Sakkaravaddavan, Vengayachenai,
Neenakeni, Emavaddavan - totalling around 340 acres including
cultivation land - and a further 1000 acres of coastline used by Sampur
fisherfolk, to build the Vidura camp.
With the Navy having enclosed the traditional anchorage and shoreline
areas - Neimalai, Maththalamalai, Thonikkal and Mottamalai - the
fishermen are forced to travel an extra 3km to go out to sea, having
also no space to form any rest areas.
With the coast being closed to vehicles, they also struggle to transport their goods.
The villagers also told the commission that due to three water tanks
falling within the occupied cultivation lands, they struggle to farm.
Lands granted to locals to cultivate onions under former president
Srimavo Bandaranaike’s self-employment scheme have also been
appropriated by the Navy, the villagers said.
Related Articles:
15 May 2015 : Sampur land release blocked by Supreme Court
Displaced people of Sampur told the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission
that the Sri Lankan Navy’s ‘Vidura’ camp should be removed so that they
can be resettled in their own lands.
A team from the commission led by Ambika Satkunananthan visited
Trincomalee on the 15th and 16th June, holding discussions with civil
society and political representatives and visiting the occupied lands in
Sampur.
According to the villagers, having displaced the people of Neenakeni in
2006, the Navy built a camp on 176 acres of civilian land. Having stated
that the owners of those lands would be given alternate land, the Navy
also seized the lands of 83 families in Sakkaravaddavan, Vengayachenai,
Neenakeni, Emavaddavan - totalling around 340 acres including
cultivation land - and a further 1000 acres of coastline used by Sampur
fisherfolk, to build the Vidura camp.
With the Navy having enclosed the traditional anchorage and shoreline
areas - Neimalai, Maththalamalai, Thonikkal and Mottamalai - the
fishermen are forced to travel an extra 3km to go out to sea, having
also no space to form any rest areas.
With the coast being closed to vehicles, they also struggle to transport their goods.
The villagers also told the commission that due to three water tanks
falling within the occupied cultivation lands, they struggle to farm.
Lands granted to locals to cultivate onions under former president
Srimavo Bandaranaike’s self-employment scheme have also been
appropriated by the Navy, the villagers said.
Related Articles:
15 May 2015 : Sampur land release blocked by Supreme Court