Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

Keppappilavu villagers demand return of land, protest army occupation

Mullaitivu villagers protested against militarization and demanded the return of their occupied lands on Monday.

Keppappilavu residents demonstrated against the occupation of 475 acres of their land and called out slogans demanding the army get out.

Placards saying "we want our land" and "we need our land" were held by the protesters.

The protest was led by TNPF's Mullaitivu co-ordinator Mrs Inthirani Vivekananthan.

Police were seen at the protest photographing demonstrators.

Since 2012 Keppappilavu villagers have been living in a so-called model village developed by the Ministry for Resettlement, because according to the ministry they "could not be resettled in their land due to their land in the village being required for the Security Force Headquarters in Mullaitivu."

The model village was inaugurated by LTTE defector and former deputy resettlement minister Karuna in March 2013.

See our previous posts:

526 acres of land grab announced. (28 Apr 13)

Keppapulavu IDPs 'resettled' into forests (27 Sep 12)

See also report by sundaytimes.lk: IDPs trapped in ‘model village’ fear permanent exile

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.