Vanni District Member of Parliament T. Ravikaran has called for the immediate release of a public cemetery and 25 acres of land belonging to the Department of Irrigation, which remain under the occupation of the Sri Lankan military in Oddusuddan, Mullaitivu.
Speaking at the Oddusuddan Divisional Development Coordinating Committee meeting on 3 July 2025, Ravikaran condemned the continued military occupation of civilian land, stating that the presence of a military camp had denied residents access to essential infrastructure and caused severe distress.
The MP highlighted that the land in question, situated near Oddusuddan town, includes a public cemetery, forcing local families to transport their deceased loved ones long distances to the Peraru cemetery. He described the situation as both impractical and emotionally distressing, underscoring the profound impact of militarisation on daily life in the North-East.
He further remarked that successive governments had continuously inflicted hardship on the local population and insisted that such actions must come to an end. Ravikaran called for the immediate removal of the military camp near Oddusuddan town and the release of the occupied cemetery and irrigation lands.
An official from the Department of Irrigation confirmed during the meeting that the 25-acre site near Oddusuddan junction, officially allocated to the department, remains under military control. As a result, the local Irrigation Division office has been forced to operate out of property belonging to the Department of Agriculture.
The officer also noted that the former Deputy Director of Irrigation for Mullaitivu, Mr Sreeskantharasa, had made repeated efforts to reclaim the land. In previous discussions with the military, he had requested the release of at least two acres from the occupied site along the main road to begin reconstruction efforts. However, these appeals were unsuccessful.
The continued military occupation of land in the Tamil homeland remains a deeply contentious issue. Despite repeated calls from local communities, civil society, and elected representatives, large areas across the North-East including places of worship, schools, farmland and cemeteries remain under the control of the Sri Lankan military more than 16 years after the end of the armed conflict.
Local residents and human rights organisations have long decried the scale of militarisation in the region, linking it to systemic land grabs, demographic change, and the ongoing denial of Tamil people's rights.
