Tamil politicians this week stepped up calls on the Sri Lankan military to release occupied land in the fishing village of Myliddy.
Recalling the Sri Lankan president's pledge to release all land held by the military in Valikaamam North during a recent visit to the North-East, the chief minister of the Northern province, C V Wigneswaran said the army's stand that Myliddy would not be released is not acceptable.
"Now with the war coming to an end, is not at all acceptable that the army is still citing past incidents to stall release of the land," Mr Wigneswaran said.
Echoing the chief minister's demands the TNA MP and ITAK leader, Mavai Senathirajah warned "if the army interferes with resettlement of displaced persons, a complaint would be lodged against the Sri Lankan government at the UN with the help of the international community."
"The army says resettlement could not be done in Myliddy, since the arms arsenal is located there. We are not going to accept this claim of the army," he added.
"In many war-torn nations, even nuclear weapons were shifted to safe locations. Asking people to stay out to facilitate storage of arms is unjustifiable," he said.
"We expect a response from the president about the Valikamam North resettlement issues. In this regard, our leader R Sampanthan will hold discussions with the president. The president has promised to make a statement regarding this issue by the 12th of this month."
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.
