Tamils in Vavuniya rally against Sinhala settler colonisation project

A large protest was held in Nedunkerni in Vavuniya against the Sri Lankan government’s proposed Kivul Oya Reservoir Project, with demonstrators warning that the scheme is being used to colonise the Tamil homeland with Sinhala settlers and push demographic change in the area.

The protest began at 10.30 am in front of the Nedunkerni bus stand, with protesters marching to the Nedunkerni Divisional Secretariat, where the demonstration concluded. 

Political leaders, civil society activists, and large numbers of local residents participated.

Demonstrators raised slogans denouncing the project and calling for an end to Sinhala colonisation.

Placards also questioned the National People’s Power (NPP) government’s election commitments and accused successive administrations of enabling the division and dispossession of the North-East.

Fears of settlement under the guise of irrigation

Protesters stated that while the Kivul Oya project is presented as an irrigation scheme to provide water for agriculture in Welioya and parts of the Northern Province, it is in fact intended to facilitate the permanent housing of Sinhala settlers from the South in Tamil areas.

They alleged that the government plans to allocate agricultural land in the Northern Province to southern settlers through the project, a move they said would fundamentally alter the demographic character of the region.

Welioya is known in Tamil as Manalaru, an area with a long history of state-sponsored Sinhala settlement and militarisation. Since the 1980s, Manalaru has been a focal point of settlement schemes, often carried out under military supervision, resulting in the displacement of Tamils and the erosion of the Tamil homeland. 

Revived Mahaweli project sparks renewed opposition

The protest comes after Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers reportedly approved the revival of the Kivul Oya project, which was originally launched in 2011 under the administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The project forms part of the Mahaweli ‘L’ zone and was estimated to cost Rs. 4,170 million, with an original completion timeline of four years.

However, sustained Tamil resistance and economic uncertainty forced the project to be halted. Construction was later suspended on 31 December 2023. Its resurfacing under the current NPP government has reignited opposition across the North-East.

Critics state that the project aims to permanently settle more than 4,000 Sinhala settlers in Manalaru, entrenching demographic change through infrastructure-led colonisation.
 

Sri Lankan police intimidation continues

During the course of the protest, several uniformed Sri Lankan police officers stood guard, closely monitoring individuals and even photographing participants.