Displaced Tamils vented their anger at the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), R. Sampanthan, on Monday, whilst he was visiting the Kattai Parichchan IDP camp near Sampoor.
Calling on the their political representation to act, the people said,
“We are ready to die to recover Sampoor... reclaim the places that we were born in. We are ready to starve ourselves to death in order to reclaim our taken land”
Thousands of people from East Sampoor were displaced in 2006 and have been settled in IDP camps for over 3 years. Of the ones that have been settled into homes, none have been resettled back to their original places of birth and residence.
The IDPs of Samboor recently staged protests during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in attempts to raise further awareness of the Sri Lankan government's appropriation of their land.
The sharp words from the displaced Tamils to the TNA leader, echo the visible anger displayed when Sampanthan drove by Tamil protesters during the CHOGM and a wider gulf between the demands of the Tamil people, including Tamil politicians popular with the people, and the rhetoric of the TNA leadership.
See related articles:
Video emerges of TNA leader facing Tamils protesting against disappearances (23 Nov 2013)
NPC Minister refuses to hoist Sri Lankan flag (09 Dec 2013)
Sell out Sam (04 Dec 2013)
"Is this what we voted for" asks Jaffna newspaper (06 Oct 2013)
See also our TG view - Representing 'extremism' and our editorial - Vote for liberation.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
