SL military appropriates lands of Tamils in Naayaa'ru, Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 May 2013, 22:13 GMT]
Lands that had been allocated to Eezham Tamil farmers for cashew cultivation in the village of Naayaa'ru in Mullaiththeevu have been appropriated by the Divisional Secretariat and handed over to the occupying Sri Lanka Army (SLA) without the consent of legal owners, civil sources in the district said. Naayaa'ru village is located on the borders of Mullaiththeevu district and Trincomalee district, a demographically strategic location for the contiguity of Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Eezham Tamils at Naayaa'ru village were targeted during the SL State-sponsored anti-Tamil pogroms in 1983 and the people of the entire village fled for safety elsewhere.

After 27 years, the uprooted Tamil families returned to their village in 2010.

The affected Tamil farmers made representation to the Divisional Secretary concerned how he could hand over these lands without their consent.

However, the reply of the DS was that he had acted on the orders of the Colombo government, the sources further said.