Tamil farmers in Mayilaththamadu, Batticaloa, marked 730 days of continuous protest this week, as their peaceful struggle demanding the return of traditional grazing lands entered its third year.
At a rally held at Siththandi Junction, farmers, cattle herders, civil society organisations, parliamentarians and members of the public gathered to demand that 3,025 hectares of land be allocated back to local Tamils. Protest leaders stressed that the appeal was not only to the Sri Lankan government, but also to the international community, as Sri Lankan authorities have repeatedly ignored their calls.
The farmers condemned Colombo’s failure to deliver justice despite two years of sustained non-violent struggle. “In this context, as our struggle completes two full years, we believe it will serve as a pressure upon the Sri Lankan government. We humbly appeal to you to provide us with a just solution,” they said in a statement.
The Tamil pastoral communities of Mayilaththamadu–Mathavanai have faced decades of systematic land grabs, where grazing grounds traditionally used by farmers were seized and reallocated under state-backed colonisation schemes. Despite promises, the allocation of their pasturelands remains stalled, leaving farmers struggling to sustain their livelihoods.
The protest has become a symbol of Tamil resistance against ongoing land grabs in the North-East, where Colombo continues to dispossess Tamils under the guise of “development projects” and forest conservation, while simultaneously expanding Sinhala settlements.
