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Almost all the buildings that were situated in the 6,400 acres of lands seized by the occupying Sri Lankan military in Valikaamam North in Jaffna have been completely bulldozed by the SL military, according to those who have witnessed the destruction in recent days. The entire area of fertile cultivation and residential lands now looks like single piece of desert land, they said. Except the buildings used by the genocidal military at the ‘forward line’ and the building at the rear, close to the Palaali military base, everything else has been razed to the ground.
The SL military is transforming the former High Security Zone into a Sinhala Military Zone to encapsulate the Palaali military complex in Jaffna with a Sinhala military colony of the occupying soldiers from South.
The destruction has taken place while more than 2,000 landowners have filed lawsuits against the appropriation. The uprooted people have been demonstrating against the seizure.
All the buildings, consisting houses, temples, churches, schools, public buildings and private shops have been removed without any trace. Nadeswara College, which was one of the key education institutions in Valikaamam North, has been bulldozed along with historic churches and temples.
Except Palaali Road and KKS Road running through the lands, everything else is gone, the eyewitnesses told TamilNet.
In the meantime, occupying Colombo has been attempting to divide the uprooted people by promising 2 acres per family for a section of people in Kaankeasan-thu’rai quarry area and ‘temporary’ houses in a ‘clustered camp’ environment in Valikaamam East. However, thousands of uprooted people are firm in their stand of claiming their lands.
The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) and the parliamentarians of the Tamil National Alliance have failed in mobilizing international pressure on the Sri Lankan State. The TNA has been ill advised by the International Community Establishments not to internationalize the crucial matter of structural genocide. The duplicity was exposed to the people during British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to Jaffna.
There were reports that the TNA Parliamentary Group Leader R. Sampanthan took up the matter with SL President Mahinda Rajapaksa and that Mr Rajapaksa had promised to stop the bulldozing. But, the SL military was given instructions from Colombo to go ahead with the destruction. There was no such promise extended to Mr Sampanthan, the reports say.
In Vanni, around 4,000 acres of lands were appropriated for similar military colony under ‘Ranaviru Gammana’ (War Heroes Village) in Thiru-Mu'rika'ndi. 5,000 houses have been constructed, and Sinhala families are being settled there. The road and supply infrastructure to Thiru-Mu’rika’ndi military colony has been extended through the already Sinhalicised Ma’nalaa’ru division named in Sinhala as Weli-Oya.
Colombo is scheming SL military colonies in several places from Maathakal to Mannaar in the North and at key entry points such as Naavatkuzhi. The occupying SL military has also accelerated militarisation of lands in the strategic points linking the Northern Province and the Eastern Province in a targeted move of demographic genocide depriving the nation of Eezham Tamils of its territorial integrity.