Colombo attempts to Sinhalicise Tamil village using sympathy following Easter attack

[TamilNet, Saturday, 11 May 2019, 20:15 GMT]
Occupying Colombo’s ‘National Housing Development Authority’ (NHDA) was silently scheming to launch a housing scheme for Sinhala colonists in Mukaththuvaaram in Kokku’laay West village (GS/GN) area of Karai-thu’raip-pattu administrative division of Mullaiththeevu district on Saturday. However, the move was temporarily postponed following strong objections from the Tamil land-owners. The violent colonists, backed by the occupying SL Navy are Sinhala Catholics. They have been occupying the place during the times of war and after. Mukaththuvaaram is a strategically located village at the northern tip of the lagoon-mouth of Kokku’laay. The provincial border between the North and East runs through the lagoon.

Sajith Premadasa, the son of the late SL President Ranasinghe Premadasa, is the SL Minister in charge of the SL Ministry of Housing, Construction & ‘Culture Affairs’. Sajith Premadasa’s ministry runs the NHDA.

The UNP minister, who hails from Hambantota, is aspiring to become the president of the unitary state in the future.

He was scheduled to visit the area to inaugurate a housing scheme for 64 Sinhala colonist families on Saturday. He was forced to cancel his visit in the last minute fearing protests from Tamil villagers.

The postponement also comes as the District Secretary (Government Agent) Rupavathy Ketheeswaran openly stated that the NHDA has failed to consult the District Secretariat and the Divisional Secretary regarding the scheme as there were Tamil land-owners who were in possession of legal documents. The occupying SL military had chased out the Tamils from their village in 1983.

During the times of the late R. Premadasa (initially SL Prime Minister and later SL president), a housing scheme was launched under the NHDA comprising 50 houses exclusively for Sinhala colonists in Mukaththuvaaram.

However, as the war broke out, the Sinhala colonists were reluctant to settle at Mukaththuvaaram permanently. The 50 houses were located at 10 acres of land.

After the end of the war, these houses were reconstructed. Around 350 Sinhala families had been brought in by the occupying SL Navy. The church where services were held in Tamil before the times of war has been Sinhalicised.

An extremist monk, Sri Thissapura Gunarathna Thero, is putting up a Sinhala Buddhist Vihara establishment north of the colony. He wants to Buddhicise the Sinhala settlers by facilitating land and housing schemes to them.

The former SL Governor to North Reginald Cooray was attempting to transfer the lands belonging to Tamil owners to the NHDA to expand the Sinhala colony.

The Tamil land-owners are refused entry to their lands. They are still languishing 200 meters away from their properties to which the SL Navy is blocking access.

The occupying SL State has not reconstructed the bridge linking Mukaththuvaaram with Pulmoaddai in the Eastern province to wedge the contiguity of the traditional Tamil homeland permanently.

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