Tamil landowners and activists from the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) have successfully blocked an attempt by Sri Lankan authorities to survey lands in Iyakkachchi, Kilinochchi, which residents say are being targeted for permanent acquisition by the Sri Lankan military.
According to local reports, approximately 12 acres of privately-owned Tamil land in the Iyakkachchi area remain under military occupation, with a Sri Lankan military camp currently situated on the site.
On 21 May, government officials arrived in the area to carry out surveying activities as part of efforts to formally acquire the lands for the security forces.
However, the surveying operation was halted after landowners, accompanied by TNPF representatives and party activists, gathered at the site and voiced their opposition to the acquisition.
Faced with resistance from local residents, the Sri Lankan officials reportedly abandoned the survey and left the area without completing the work.
Among those who participated in the protest were TNPF Jaffna District organiser Pon Gunaratnam, Vavuniya District organiser Thavapalan, affected landowners and local party activists.
Residents maintain that the lands belong to Tamil families and argue that attempts to permanently transfer ownership to the military would further entrench the occupation of civilian lands in the Tamil homeland.
The latest confrontation is not the first dispute over land acquisition in the area.
According to local activists, previous attempts had also been made to survey privately-owned lands adjacent to the military camp with the intention of incorporating them into military-controlled territory. Those efforts were similarly halted following opposition from residents and TNPF activists, who prevented officials from carrying out the surveys.
The incident comes amid continuing concerns over military occupation of civilian lands across the North-East. More than seventeen years after the end of the armed conflict, Tamil families continue to campaign for the release of lands occupied by the Sri Lankan military, arguing that large areas remain under state control despite repeated promises of resettlement and land return.
Land rights groups and Tamil political parties have long maintained that military occupation, land appropriation and state-backed demographic changes remain central concerns for Tamils.
