The Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) staged a protest in Jaffna to stop the transfer of land documents related to the Northern Province to the Land Reforms Commission (LRC) office in Anuradhapura amidst police harassment.
TNPF leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and General Secretary Selvarajah Kajendran were joined by locals to protest the decision to move the LRC offices from Jaffna to Anuradhapura. The LRC office based at the Jaffna District secretariat is responsible for the implementation of land reform across the entire Northern Province—including Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Mannar.
Similarly, the Land Reform Commission offices for Trincomalee and Batticaloa were based at the Batticaloa District secretariat. The LRC functions specific for for Trincomalee District have been instructed to be moved to the Anuradhapura office."
Speaking about the move in parliament last month, Kajendran said:
"Moving Northern and Trincomalee Land Reform Commission Offices to Anuradhapura has created fear among Tamils, amidst ongoing land grabs. This forces Tamils and Muslims to travel to Anuradhapura for land issues. We demand that this is halted immediately."
See his full speech below:
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.
