Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi said that the government will not return land needed for security purposes to their rightful owners.
Mr Hettiarachchi said while the land will not be released, the owners will be compensated by being paid more than the actual land value.
He said some of the land in the North is required by the military for security purposes, while speaking to press in Colombo on Wednesday.
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