Colombo's structural genocide targets Tamil village at Mahaweli delta in Trincomalee
[TamilNet, Monday, 18 April 2016, 22:28 GMT] The current regime of Maithiripala Sirisena, who has been the minister of ‘Mahaweli scheme’ for several years now, is silently spearheading the occupation of thousands of acres of farmlands, both in the name of ‘development’ and through illegal settlements in Trincoamlee. The focal point of Sinhalicisation and militarisation during the former regime of Mahinda Rajapaksa was coastal Trincomalee, particularly the Champoor area in Moorthoor division. But, the regime of present ‘Mahaweli’ genocidaire has shifted the focus to larger plains of farmlands, 18 km south of Moothooor. The Tamil farmers from the ancient village of Kangkuveali recently narrated how they experience the structural genocide in a video interview to TamilNet. If the SL State and those who back it don't put an end to the structural genocide, another war would be inevitable, they warn.
The 53 Brigade of the occupying ‘Sri Lanka’ Army is stationed at the nearby village of Neelaa-pola, which was Sinhalicised several years ago. The Tamil villagers still try to maintain the Paththini Amman temple at Neelaa-pola, the farmers said.
Maithiripala regime was waging propaganda of so-called good-governance by releasing 237 acres of lands at Champoor. But, there are 298 acres of farmlands that have been sezied at Kangkuveali village alone.
Similarly, more lands have been seized at more than one hundred locations in other Tamil villages in the same division, the farmers from Kangkuveali told TamilNet.
“Tamils would like to lead a peaceful life. That was why they voted against Mahinda Rajapaksa. But, these policies have not changed,” said Divisional Councillor from Kangkuveali, Mr Mohan.
Mohan says that not all Sinhalese are colonists. Only a few are responsible for the aggression.
The Sinhalese, who were occupying the lands during the times of Rajapaksa, were citing a minister in Colombo, Mr Punchinilame.
The location of Kangkuveali village and the stretch of paddy fields at the delta of Maavali Kangkai River [Satellite image courtesy: Google Earth, Legend by TamilNet]
“When we wanted to start seasonal farming in 2009, around 50 of them from Neela-pola, including women and children, met us here. We were around 150. They demanded our lands for farming. And when we told them we wanted to continue with cultivation in our own lands, they said that we could only expect a such situation if the regime in Colombo changed. This was back in 2009,” said 42-year-old Nagaratnam Mahendran, who led the negotiations with the occupying Sinhalese.
“The SL military was fully backing them. The SL police, attempting a ‘compromise’ was also pushing us to allow the Sinhalese to do cultivation in our lands. As there was no compromise, the SL police said both the communities were blocked from entering the lands. However, the intruding Sinhalese started to plough our lands within a couple of days,” he said.
Eezham Tamil owners of the agricultural lands have been complaining for a long time that the SL State was continuing a large-scale demographic land grab of genocidal proportions through its plans of annexing the already seized lands with the Sinhala division of Seruwila.
Mr Mano Ganesan, a Tamil minister from the Western Province in the Colombo regime, had to interfere a few days ago to remind the Sinhala Additional Government Agent of Seruwila not to involve in the matters concerning Moothoor division, says Pathakudy Kanagasingam, a senior activist having a keen interest in the history of Kangkuveali and Akaththiyar Thaapanam, told TamilNet.
The Sinhalese were attacking the temple because they wanted to seize the lands, the Tamil villagers said.
The Kangkuveali village, its tank and the expanse of paddy fields having ridges [Satellite image courtesy: Google Earth, Legend by TamilNet]
Akaththiyar Thaapanan, an ancient Siva temple located at Kangku-veali where Hindus gather to perform the Aadi Amaavaasai ritual for ancestors, was destroyed without any traces coinciding the Heroes’ Day on 27 November in 2009.
A temple being constructed with new statues was sanctified last week.
The SL Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Mr D.M. Swaminathan has promised funding to the temple, Mr Pathakudy Kanagasingam said.
The secretary of the temple management, Mr Mahalingam Mathivathanan, Mr Pathakudy Kangasingam, Mr Mohan, the elected representative in the local government and Mr Nagaratnam Mahendran, the Tamil farmer who explained in detail how their human rights were being violated since the times of Maavilaa'ru dispute in 2006, were of the opinion that none of the complaints lodged at various levels of the SL government have given any result in securing their farmlands.
The Tamil villagers are in possession of legal documents for documenting ownership to the farmlands.
The Sinhalese farmers from Moothoor and the Sinhalese from Seruwila are also competing against each other to seize the lands, they further said.
The occupation has reached 2 km close to the locality where a tank attached to Mahaweli scheme is situated.
The Sinhala occupation was targeting sea access to Seruwila division through committing demographic genocide in the delta of Mahaweli River in Trincomalee, Tamil civil sources in Trincomalee told TamilNet.