Families that lost ancestral lands in North seek solutions

Mothers of Keppapulavu, Mullaitivu meet Northern Governor

Families in Keppapulavu stage a protest demanding the return of their lands  (File Photo)

Women who spoke to the media after the meeting with the governor said the struggle will continue until they get back their lands (File Photo)

Around 120 representatives of landless families from 6 Grama Niladhiri divisions in Mullaitivu took part in the protest in the North (File Photo)

Mothers who lost their ancestral lands and homes in Keppapulavu, Mullaitivu due to the three-decade war approached the authorities of the new administration in the North to seek answers and solace to the issue that has traumatised them for decades.

Their grouse is that their lands were acquired to build military bases and government institutions by force and that it is high time to return them to the owners.

No solace

Meeting the new Northern Governor Nagalingam Vedanayagam, the mothers said that it has been almost 15 years since the war ended but still a large number of families that lost their lands and houses have neither been given back their lands and properties nor compensated for it with proper alternative lands.

“We not only lost our land and home but also our only income from agriculture which has been an ancestral occupation for decades,” Vevekanadan Indrani, a mother representing families that lost lands, said.

The group met Northern Governor Vedanayagam on October 21 and apprised him about the forceful takeover of  lands due to the construction of a military camp in Keppapulavu in Mullaitivu and the planning of the L zone of the Mahaweli Development project.

“There had been five presidents and six governors in the country from 2009 to 2024 but our problem has not been solved,” Indrani said, adding that people who lost their properties are hopeful that the new President will look into it and help restore them to the owners.

She also said that they met the present Northern Governor because it was he who as the Secretary for Mullaitivu gave families lands to reside at the Keppapulavu model village in 2010. 

At the meeting with the people of Kepapulau, the Governor had said that the problems including the land issue are not new to him.

According to a report presented by the Agrarian Services Department, at the Mullaitivu District Secretariat in 2018, around 2919 acres belonging to 625 people had been acquired for various purposes by the then governments

Land issue

One day, after the families met the Northern Governor, President Dissanayake held a meeting with all Governors in the country in Colombo and discussed the land issue of the people in the North and the East and the use of funds by provincial councils.

Minister of Public Security Vijitha Herath had said that the President is well aware of the problems of the people in the North and the East and had added that the burning issues of the people will be addressed soon.

Following a protest by families that lost their lands in Keppapulavu in 2017, it had been decided to release lands in two stages.

However, as the problem had not been addressed properly, aggrieved parties have been holding protests from time to time urging the authorities to look into their grievances.

This time, they decided to meet the  Northern Governor hoping he will take steps to address the issue. 

Those who took part in the protest before meeting the Governor were from Kokkuthoduvai, Alampil, Nayaru, Kokkilai and Karunatkeni.

The Governor had said that the land issue of people in the North and the East would be taken up at a meeting that was scheduled to take place at the Jaffna District Secretariat on October 24.

Those who lost lands alleged that their properties were taken and given to outsiders thereby changing the country’s traditional population pattern.

Northerners and Easterners say that taking lands forcefully is a violation of people’s fundamental rights.

Women who spoke to the media after the meeting with the Governor said the struggle will continue until they get back their lands.  Around 120 representatives of landless families from six Grama Niladhari Divisions in Mullaitivu took part in the protest in the North.

According to a report presented by the Agrarian Services Department, at the Mullaitivu district Secretariat in 2018 around 2,919 acres belonging to 625 people had been acquired for various purposes by the then governments.

Violent persecution in the country erupted in the form of anti-Tamil programmes in  1956, 1958, 1977, 1981 and 1983  as well as the 1981 burning of the Jaffna Public Library. These violent acts were unleashed with the support of the state.