Sri Lanka: HSZ lands in Jaffna sold to Sinhala businessmen

Tamil Net
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Large stretches of lands in Jaffna Peninsula in the so-called High Security Zones and in other areas where people are not permitted to resettle in the guise of landmines are hurriedly sold to Sinhala businessmen ostensibly to start ‘industrial estates’. 100 acres of land near Ezhuthumadduvaa’l railway station along the A9 Highway has been recently sold to an influential Sinhala businessman. Another Sinhalese attempted buying 80 acres between Ki’laali and Puloappazhai. Occupying military officials are also said to be interested in buying lands. Industrial estates are a smokescreen, but Sinhala colonisation in that stretch to completely seal off the people of Jaffna within their own peninsula is the strategy, political circles in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, in Valikaamam HSZ, a Sinhalese is said to be running a farm at Vasaavi’laan and another indiscriminately quarry limestone near Keerimalai.

Occupying Sri Lanka is aiming at creating an Israeli model situation as fast as possible. This is going to prolong the crisis indefinitely for the entire region, commented a diaspora Tamil academic in Canada.

The stretch of land under question at Thenmaraadchi in the Jaffna Peninsula was earlier the frontline of occupying SL military during the war, and was a ‘High Security Zone’.

People were removed from that part and only military camps existed.

387 families were recently permitted to resettle the northern part of Ezhtuhu-madduvaa’l after claiming that the landmines were removed. But they were again chased out saying the landmines still exist, with promises that they would be permitted resettle within a month.

Within that time, the sales of the 100 acres of land, from a Tamil to the ‘influential’ Sinhala businessman has been ‘arranged.’

After the purchase was over, the SL military now hurriedly declares that landmines have been removed from the 100 acres of land.

The Sinhala businessman has announced that he would start a mega industrial estate there. But all expect a Sinhala colonisation.

In the stretch from Ki’laali to Puloappazhai, the occupying military doesn’t permit people to even visit their houses and lands, saying that the landmines have not been removed. But there was an attempt to ‘arrange’ sales of 80 acres of land to another Sinhala businessman through a Tamil businessman.

Even this purchase attempt was in the name of ‘industrial estate’. But as news leaked, the attempt was foiled.

From the eastern coast of the peninsula to the western coast, by settling Sinhala fishermen in Veththilikkea’ni, by industrial settlement of Sinhalese at Ki’laali- Ezhuthumadduvaa’l and by settlements at Naavatkuzhi- Ariyaalai East, a ribbon of land within the peninsula is going to seal the densely populated parts of the peninsula. Even the peninsula is not going to belong to the Tamils soon.

This is not ‘development’ strategy, but naked military strategy against an unarmed nation of people, aiming at their genocide, political observers in Jaffna said.

Stretches of land in this part of the peninsula are coconut palm groves.

Many of their Tamil owners are away, and many of them are not aware of the strategic significance of their lands.

In an organized way many Sinhala traders have been brought in recent times to purchase the lands after terrorising the people of the land.

In a systematic way, people are psychologically made to feel that they could never get back to their lands or there is no point in them going back to their lands, to facilitate the sales.

People who are hopeless of the situation come forward to sell the lands

The occupying military is effectively used in achieving this psyche. This is why the Sinhala military has come to stay, political observers say.

The entire process of making the people of a nation to lose the sense of belongingness, participation and enthusiasm and then making them the slaves for the development of the ‘conquerors’ is what claimed loudly as the ‘post-war development’ by Colombo and the abetting establishments in New Delhi, Washington and elsewhere, political observers in Jaffna further said, adding that this is why New Delhi and Washington neither recognize the need for Tamil independence nor see what is taking place as genocide.

© Tamil Net