DMK leader M. Karunanidhi on Saturday demanded the Centre’s intervention to secure justice for the Sri Lankan Tamils, alleging that the Army continued to occupy the Tamil areas and utilising their land for commercial purposes.
“Sri Lanka’s army still occupies high security zones in the North and East of the country. In 2014, at least 1.60 lakh soldiers, almost entirely Sinhalese, were estimated to be stationed in the North. This yields a ratio of one army member for every six civilians, despite the official end of hostilities six years ago,” he said, citing the report of U.S.-based think tank, the Oakland Institute.
He said this military occupation was not about ensuring security and the army was engaged in large-scale property development, construction projects, and business ventures such as travel agencies, farming, holiday resorts, restaurants, and innumerable cafes that dot the highways in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
“This process has not only stripped Tamil people of their culture, land, and livelihoods, but also has significantly altered the demographic makeup of these regions,” Mr. Karunanidhi quoted the report as saying.
The report had said even though Maithripala Sirisena’s victory boosted the hopes of Tamils in the island nation, there was no sign so far of abandoning the battlefield mentality.
Mr. Karunanidhi said the recent appointment of Major General Jagath Dias as the Army Chief of Staff, whose 57th division was implicated in serious human rights abuses, rebuffed the Sri Lankan government’s credibility.
