SINHALESE OCCUPY TAMIL IDPs' PROPERTIES...!!!

Tamils return home blocked by encroachers
By Rukshana Rizwie

More than 1,486 Tamil families are unable to peacefully resettle in their homes in Trincomalee, Vavuniya and Batticaloa due to unlawful and widespread occupation of state land by members of the majority community, according to Tamil politicians.
“There are more than 500 families of the majority community who have set up houses and are cultivating paddy in areas that were previously occupied by Tamils before the war intensified,” said Packiyaselvam Ariyanethiran, a member of Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK). “I wrote to the President over this issue on September 16 requesting a probe and a peaceful solution.”

In response to Ariyanethiran’s letter, the President had written back to the Government Agents (GAs) in Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Batticaloa requesting information pertaining to the complaint, as well as plausible solutions.

“The President in response to my letter had written to the GAs on October 26 asking for a thorough report on the situation. I believe the GAs are yet to make their official statement on the matter. However, once the holidays are over, I wish to meet them and inquire of what they plan to do,” he added.

Ariyanethiran cited that even those people, who were displaced in Puttalam, also are unable to return to their original residences due to such unlawful occupation. He added that the encroachment began swiftly, but has reached a point where there is a sizeable population who were not there before.

In a motion tabled in Parliament during the last week of October, TNA Leader R. Sambandan, also highlighted that, “Such unlawful occupation of state land by members of the majority community acting with total impunity has been a continuous process with no action taken by the government.”

The motion goes on to state that, “Strenuous effort is being made by the members of the majority community to evict members of the minority community from lands unlawfully occupied by them.”

“That members of the minority Tamil community comprising of 1,486 families lawfully owning residential property and plantation land within the Grama Sevaka Divisions of Sampur East, Sampur West, Koonutheevu, Navaratnepuram, Soodaikuda, Kakathkaraichanan and Sampurkali have been unable to return because the said places have been declared High Security Zones. All temples and schools that existed in the areas have been demolished as well,” Sampanthan added.

He alleged that such unlawful occupation has spread to parts of the Eastern Province as well and that appropriate action was necessary to resettle these people who were already displaced by the war. NATION.LK

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Sri Lanka called on US authorities to drop plans to interview the island's military commander, General … .Sun Nov 1, 7:24 am ET

COLOMBO (AFP) – Sri Lanka called on US authorities to drop plans to interview the island's military commander over allegations of war crimes against ethnic Tamil rebels, an official said Sunday.

The Colombo government held "very high-level" talks to prevent General Sarath Fonseka, currently visiting Oklahoma, from being quizzed over his conduct during the conflict against the Tamil Tigers, the official said.

The privately-run Sunday Times newspaper here said Fonseka had been asked to present himself for an interview with the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday.

The move "prompted fears in Colombo that Washington is asserting its legal authority over the 'war crimes' report" released last month, the paper said referring to a State Department dossier on alleged war crimes.

The report outlined excesses by security forces and Tiger rebels during the final stages of fighting earlier this year. The report, submitted to the US Congress, refers to Fonseka's having overstepped his brief.

The Sunday Times said the Sri Lankan diplomatic mission there was already providing legal assistance to Fonseka.

Fonseka is a US Green Card holder and travelled to the US last week to visit his two daughters. He also addressed a group of Sri Lankans in Washington last week and took credit for leading the battle to crush the Tigers.

The US embassy in Colombo declined comment.

The State Department report cited allegations that Tamil rebels recruited children and that government forces broke a ceasefire as well as killed rebels who surrendered.

It also cited reports in which it was claimed government troops or government-backed paramilitaries "abducted and in some instances then killed Tamil civilians, particularly children and young men."

The report covered the period from January -- when fighting intensified -- until the end of May, when Sri Lankan troops defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the end of a decades-old separatist conflict.

Sri Lanka last week announced it was appointing a panel to investigate the allegations after initially dismissing the report as "unsubstantiated."

The island's government managed to stave off a UN human rights council debate on alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity thanks to the backing of veto-holders China and Russia.

The UN has said that up to 7,000 civilians perished during the last four months of fighting and accused both the military and the Tigers of not doing enough to protect civilians.


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