Land grab by Muslims alleged in Amparai Tamil village

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 December 2003, 04:08 GMT]
Some Muslim families are settling by force in the Tamil area of Koddukal village in the Pottuvil division of the Amparai district, the Tamil people of the village have complained to the Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian from the district, Mr. Ariyanayagam Chandraneru, sources said.

In the Koddukal village, Tamils lived on one side and Muslims on the other, with the Tamils’ cemetery as the border between the two. But some Muslim families are currently settling inside the Tamil region, well past the border defined by the cemetery, the people complain. They say that the action by the Muslim families has created tension in the area.

In the past, many Muslims tried to occupy the Tamil village, but their attempts failed. Using the current environment of peace, some Muslims are trying anew to settle in the Tamil region, the sources said.

The people who complained to Mr. Chandraneru, the MP, have also lodged a complaint about the attempt to occupy their village to the Liberation Tigers’ Amparai district political head, Mr. Bawa.