Civil society representatives in Jaffna have called on the European Union to urge the Sri Lankan government to revoke the gazette acquiring 6,317 acres of land in Valikamam North, arguing that the land continues to be withheld from its civilian owners years after the end of the armed conflict.
The appeal was made in a written submission during a meeting on Tuesday between the EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka, ambassadors of EU member states and representatives of civil society in Jaffna. The delegation visited the Chemmani mass grave excavation site the following day.
Civil society representatives noted that although 17 years have passed since the end of the war, enormous areas of civilian land remain under the control of the Sri Lankan security forces, and that the gazette issued in 2013, through which the Ministry of Defence acquired 6,317 acres in Valikamam North, has yet to be withdrawn.
They urged the EU delegation to press the Sri Lankan government both to release the land currently held by the security forces and to revoke the acquisition gazette.
The meeting also covered Sri Lanka's political and economic situation, developments in the North-East, human rights, good governance, social justice, the recovery of war-affected communities' livelihoods and sustainable development. Participants discussed the unresolved land rights issues affecting communities in the North-East, including delays in land release, land appropriation and land acquisition, along with the social, economic and livelihood consequences for those affected.
The appeal comes as displaced Tamil landowners in Valikamam North continue months of sustained protests demanding the return of their ancestral lands, much of which remains under Sri Lankan military occupation. Weekly demonstrations outside the military commander's bungalow in Myliddy have now continued for over three months, with protesters calling for the withdrawal of the 2013 gazette and the release of lands retained within the High Security Zone.
Parallel demonstrations have also been taking place at Palaly Junction, where residents have repeatedly demanded the return of lands and homes they say have remained under military control for more than three decades. Protesters have vowed to continue until their lands are returned, warning that repeated appeals to successive governments have failed to secure any meaningful action.
Residents of Valikamam North were forcibly displaced in June 1990, after which the area was designated a High Security Zone, and more than 6,000 families remain displaced. Campaigners say the military has continued to entrench its presence rather than wind it down, pointing to the construction of a military hospital in Vasavilan on privately owned Tamil land, which the Valikamam North Pradeshiya Sabha has ordered halted for want of local authority approval.
While successive Sri Lankan governments have pledged to release occupied civilian lands, campaigners say the overwhelming majority of Valikamam North remains inaccessible to its rightful owners, with no meaningful response to the latest wave of demonstrations.
Sri Lanka's Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara told parliament earlier this month that a further 1,661 acres would be permanently acquired for military infrastructure, insisting that the land would not be returned to its original owners despite longstanding demands from displaced Tamil landowners.