UN Human Rights Council misled on ground situation: Head of WRDS in Keappa-pulavu

[TamilNet, Sunday, 05 February 2017, 23:41 GMT]
Amidst poisonous snakes lurking around the protest site in the nights, SL military personnel staging threatening episodes in the dark, the uprooted Eezham Tamil families from Keappaapulavu, including children, have been staging the protest for the sixth day on Sunday in front of the SL Air Force base at Keappaa-pulavu, situated along the lagoon of Nanthik-kadal in Mullaiththeevu. The Head of Women’s Rural Development Society in Keappaa-pulavu Ms S Chandraleela told TamilNet that the people have gone tired of several false promises in the last 8 years and are not prepared to abandon their protest without seeing a solution. In the meantime, Colombo has managed to wage a false propaganda before Geneva sessions, as usual prior to every session in Geneva, that lands were being released back to the people in the occupied country of Eezham Tamils.



SL public sector officials, visiting the protesters throughout the protest and SL Minister Rishad Bathiyutheen have been asking the people to end their protest promising action within two weeks time. Similar promises in the past have been completely abandoned.

In the meantime, SL military officers try to contain the struggle propose 2 months time and that too to find alternative lands. An SL Defence Ministry delegation is to visit the protesting people on Monday, informed sources say.

The lands, which were to be released at the presence of SL President Maithiripala Sirisena last month belong to Vattaap-pazhai people. Some of these lands have been handed over although Mr Maithiripala skipped his visit.

The solution of SL military to the uprooted Keappaa-pulavu and Pilak-kudyiiruppu is dumping them permanently into the so-called ‘model village’, which has become a slum at 49 perches of lands. People are unable to get potable water and unable to resume their livelihood at the so-called model village.

The SL President cancelled his visit in January as Keappa-pulavu people were preparing to protest when he was scheduled to release the lands belonging to Vattaap-pazhai people while making a propaganda that lands were being released at Keappaa-pulavu.

“We would rather die here protesting than languishing at the so-called model village,” say 39-year-old Thayaparan Thangavel and Gunaseelan Selvanaygam, who are all uprooted from Keappaa-pulavu and Pilak-kudiyiruppu.

Thayaparan says it was the SL military that provoked the people to wage continuous protest. Keappaa-pulavu people have no political backing from any parties, he said.

On Sunday, their struggle was further strengthened by the presence of Tamil students who came from Jaffna University to express their solidarity with the people of Keappaa-pulavu.

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