Villagers from Valikamam North Mayiliddi have handed a petition to the Jaffna District Secretariat demanding they be resettled in their own land, which is currently being occupied by the Sri Lankan military after being designated as a High Security Zone (HSZ).
The petition, which was delivered by leaders from the by Poonthalir Women's Organisation and the National Fisheries Co-operation Movement, said,
“We have been living in the temporary camp for 24 years since being displaced from the Valikamam North Mayiliddi village during the war in 1990.”
“More than 5 years have passed since the war ended and it is worrying that we have not been resettled back in our own lands.”
Valikamam North is currently designated as a High Security Zone (HSZ) by the Sri Lankan military. Satellite images released last month show the Sri Lankan military has been consolidating its presence in the HSZ, increasing the number of permanent structures that it has built on land seized from Tamil civilians since the end of the armed conflict.
See more in our earlier post:
Satellite imagery reveals increased militarisation in Jaffna (22 August 2014)
The petition went on to add that the continued denial of access to their land “is causing us lost job opportunities and with no basic livelihood more difficulties for food”.
“Furthermore, we are affected in terms of economy, education, hygiene, and culturally. Therefore we request to resettle us back in our own lands," said the petition.
See more in our earlier posts:
Regions in the Jaffna unidentifiable after military flattening say Tamil IDPs (26 July 2014)
Northern Province Chief Minister calls for international action to stop colonisation of the North-East (03 December 2013)
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.
