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The speaker for the Northern Provincial Council S Sivagnanam met with the French Ambassador earlier this week, where he described the ubiquitous militarisation in the North and asserted that normality could not return whilst the army occupied the region.
Meeting with the French Ambassador Jean Paul-Monchau on Monday, Sivagnanam discussed militarisation and the impact it is having in the North, adding that there was interference in civilian life and that the armed forces were forcibly acquiring Tamil land.
The Ambassador reportedly enquired about the presence of military at civilian events, an issue for which the NPC is currently considering a resolution over.
Sivagnanam went on to tell the Ambassador that Tamils were still being seen as enemies by the Army noting that "We do not consider them to belong amongst us". The NPC speaker went on to state that they wanted a structure in place which would also protect the Tamil identity and prevent the army from interfering in civilian affairs.
See more from the Uthayan (in Tamil) here.