Amparai farmers forced to evacuate

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 30 December 1998, 13:54 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police in Akkariappattu, in the Amparai district, have ordered the villagers of Aaleemsenai, in Addanchenai, to vacate the village after a statue of lord Buddha was discovered there recently.

The villagers, mainly farmers, have pleaded with the police to allow them to stay there until the season is over.

The Police, however, have turned down the villagers request and arrested five civilians.

The villagers have now asked the Divisional Secretary (DS) to take action.

The DS has said that he was unaware of the police order.

The villagers of Aaleemsenai have been farming in the area for more than four decades. They fled the village when fighting resumed in June 1990.

The villagers who have now returned and began cultivation again in their farm lands face a threat of forced evacuation.