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The Sri Lankan government on Sunday opened what it termed a 'village of reconciliation', awarding houses to Sinhala soldiers married to Tamil women, as well as Tamil female soldiers.
The village, consisting of 51 new homes in Vavuniya, was build by the Ministry of Defence. The state minister of defence, Ruwan Wijewardena, attended the event, along side the Lieutenant General Crishanthe De Silva, commander of the army.
The scheme was criticised by the Tamil National Alliance, who stated the scheme was aimed at forcibly colonising Tamil areas with Sinhala soldiers. See more here.
Sri Lanka's governor in the north, Reginold Cooray, was earlier this year criticised by the Northern Provincial Council's chief minister, C V Wigneswaran for urging marriages between Tamil and Sinhala people as a means of reconciliation.
"I am not against mixed marriages. My children have married ethnic Sinhalese people. First however, ensure all rights to the Tamil people as the Sinhala people have, and then we can think of mixed marriages," Mr Wigneswaran said.
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