Colombo's structural genocide against Eezham Tamils reaches its peak in Mullaiththeevu

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 March 2017, 22:38 GMT]
The structural genocide being waged by Colombo against the nation of Eezham Tamils has reached its peak in Mullaiththeevu district, particularly in Karai-thur'aip-pattu, says NPC Councillor T. Ravikaran in an interview to TamilNet. Tamil fishermen being systematically deprived of even accessing one of their fishing jetty (vaadi) is the latest contention. All the coastal points with vaadis have been seized from Tamils and given to Sinhalese. Tamil people were able to freely engage in their livelihood during the times of the LTTE. But, now they have fallen victims to the structural genocide although the physical genocide ended in May 2009. The Sinhala fishermen, who have been brought from South are using all possible means of banned forms of fishing destroying the fishing ecosystem, the Tamil fishermen complain.



Sinhala colonists have seized fertile lands and the resourceful tanks and lagoons along the coast of Mullaiththeevu. Next to Weli-oya, a large-scale Sinhala colonisation is being schemed at Mukaththuvaaram (Sinhalicised into Maaya-pura) under the Mahaweli L system under the instruction of SL President Maithiripala Sirisena.

In the meantime, Tamil fishermen from Pu'liya-maraththadi in Kokku'laay have not only lost their coastal lands, but they are even deprived of accessing the jetty for engaging in fishing in their territorial seas.



Sinhala fishermen are using tractors to draw nets, which is another form of bottom trawling. They catch 1,200 kg of fish in every paadu that they have seized from Tamils. Small fishes are dumped along the coast, destroying the eco-system, the Tamil fishermen complain.

The occupying Sinhala fishermen, backed by the SL military have also gone to the extent of filing cases against the District Secretariat of Mullaiththeevu for allocating one Vaadi to Tamil fishermen. They have been claiming that the territory comes under the coastal fishing area allocated for them by the Colombo government.



NPC Councillor Mr Thurairasa Ravikaran said at least 2,524 acres of lands have been seized for creating Sinhala colonies.

Tamil people have been completely deprived of their lands, access to sea, tanks, lagoon and the military is even controlling the education system, Mr Ravikaran said giving a detail account of how the structural genocide is proceeding unabated in Karaithu'raip-pattu division of Mullaiththeevu district.

It is important to understand the struggle of Keappaa-pulavu people demanding access to their lands in the larger context of structural genocide and particularly the role of so-called ‘development’ agencies and agents based in Colombo collaborating with the Colombo-centric Establishment without demanding de-militarisation, Tamil activists in Vanni commented.



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