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| A group of Thayiddy villagers whose land are under military custody called for a public protest next Wednesday against attempts to acquire their land legally. Pix: Northeastern Monitor |
A group of villagers in Thayiddy , Kankesanthurai (KKS) whose traditional land are still under military custody where an illegal Buddhist shrine was setupped recently reiterated today that they will never allow the authorities to acquire their lands legally.
Addressing a press briefing at Jaffna Press Club today, the villagers said that there are several attempts currently underway to acquire more lands amounting to seven acres in addition to six acres of private land where a illegal buddhist shrine is erected by military.
The villagers said they have organized a sit in protest on next Wednesday (February 12) which falls on Poya day in front of the buddhist shrine. The protest is to commence at 4.00 pm in the evening and will continue till 6.00 am following morning.
Sukumari Sarujan, one of the villagers said that even though President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared at recent DDC meeting in Jaffna that civilian lands will be returned to rightful owners, the government's stand on this (Thaiyiddy) is very questionable. "Previous governments and MPs assured that our lands will be returned soon but they let us down,"
The land owners also stressed despite the issue was raised in Parliament this week by Jaffna district MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, other MPs representing the district remained silent.
During his speech, Ponnambalam MP pointed out that that military nexus on acquiring Tamil lands is more evident considering the fact that the President of All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) is Chandra Nirmal Wakishta, former Director of the National Intelligence Bureau and retired senior police officer who wrote the letter to government authorities on the illegally built Buddhist Vihara. (Northeastern Monitor/ February 8/ 2025)
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