Sinhala colonists step up assaults on Tamil cattle herders in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 September 2016, 18:56 GMT]
Three Sinhalese colonists severely assaulted a 44-year-old Tamil cattle farmer, who was taking care of his cattle Monday evening at Mayilaththa-madu in Maathava'nai pastureland situated in Koa'ra'laip-pattu South (Kiraan) division of Batticaloa district. The wounded cattle herder, a father of three, was admitted to Chanthi-ve'li and transferred to Batticaloa Teaching Hospital on Tuesday with badly injured legs. The incident took place around 3:30 p.m. on Monday. This is the second assault on Tamil cattle herders in the area, Tamil farmers said.

The wounded cattle herder was identified as Ilayathamby Thayananthan.

In the meantime, cattle owners from Kiraan division staged a protest blocking the commencement of Maha Season meeting held in the Divisional Secretariat demanding immediate action against Sinhalese colonists who are advancing into pasturelands of Eelam Tamils in the district.

More than 1,000 hectares of forest and pasture lands have been recently seized by the Sinhala colonists who operate with the backing of SL military, police, Buddhist monks and the SL Ministry of Mahaweli Development, which is run by SL President Maithiripala Sirisena.

Sinhala colonists from Polonna'ruwa, the home district of SL President Maithiripala Sirisena, have advanced 3 km further into the pasturelands in Koara'laip-pattu South (Kiraan) division of Batticaloa district in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils within the last 12 months.

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