2ND LEAD (Adds details)

Criminals banished from South deployed for Sinhala colonisation in Musali, Mannaar

[TamilNet, Thursday, 30 July 2020, 20:09 GMT]
Criminals and former military men absconding from law enforcement authorities for crimes committed in the South, particularly those with a previous military background, have been provided with an escape route if they agree to take part as settlers in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils. The tendency has been observed in Ko'ndaichchi in Musali division of Mannaar district, informed sources in the division said. In addition to Sinhala workers who previously worked in Ko'ndaichchi cashew farm, there are tens of Sinhala colonists with criminal background from Colombo, Kegalle, Matara and Gampaha districts in the South. Although only twenty-seven families are registered in the voters' registry, and they were provided with housing scheme, there are scores of other Sinhalese living in the so-called “Sinhala Gammana” village in Ko'ndaichchi.

The Sinhala settlers have put up a prominent Buddhist temple in the colony. Sinhala military personnel are providing ‘security’ to the settlers twenty-four hours a day.

The colonists are waiting for an opportunity to chase the resettling Tamils and the Tamil-speaking Muslims, Tamil-speaking residents fear.

One hundred and fifteen persons belonging to 79 families reside in Sinhala Gammana, which has become one of the three villages within the GS area of Ko'ndaichchi.

According to Divisional Secretariat figures, there are 69 Sinhala families in Ko'ndaichchi village. The remaining ten families seem to be regarded as people of mixed background as far as the divisional statistics are concerned.

The two other villages are Kaaya-kuzhi with 402 individuals, mostly Tamil Catholics, belonging to 122 households and Ko'ndaichchi with 1,805 persons consisting of 578 families. Tamil-speaking Muslims live in Kon'daichchi village.

Neighbouring GS area, Kokkup-padaiyaan consists of two villages, Kokkup-padaiyaan with 369 persons belonging to 111 families and Ko'ndaichchi-kudaa comprising of 237 people from 72 family units. Tamil Catholic and Saivite communities live predominantly here.

Sinhala soldiers have been deployed everywhere in Sinhala Gammana village. The presence of a large number of Sinhala persons with military and criminal background poses a collective threat to Tamil-speaking neighbourhood communities.

Ko'ndaichchi, which is well-known for cashew plantation, has been targeted for Sinhalicisation for a long time. The armed struggle waged by the LTTE put an end to the Sinhala colonisation scheme in the late 80s.

However, occupying Colombo made the entire division of Musali no-man zone after it evicted Tamils from the division in 2007. The Sinhala colonisation resumed after the genocidal onslaught on Eezham Tamils in 2009.

Rajapaksa regime was clearing around 400 acres of forest lands for the establishment of the colony in 2013.

Mannaar-based Muslim politician Rishad Bathiudeen was collaborating with the Rajapaksa regime at that time.

Colombo, while allowing the collaborating politician to obtain money from Middle East-based organisations to resettle his supporters in the district, demanded him to also back the creation of ‘Sinhala Gammanaya’ in the Tamil-speaking Musali division, particularly within the Ko'ndaichchi GS area.

Mr Bathiudeen had allocated money for housing schemes of the Sinhala colonists at ‘Sinhala Gammanaya’. Twenty-seven houses for Sinhala colonists were built using funds obtained from the Middle-East.

The Tamil term Ko'ndaichchi is a short form of Ko'ndaichchik-kudaa, meaning the cove shore found with Ko'ndaichchi birds. It is also a coastal village.

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