A demonstration was held in Mannar on Friday demanding the immediate return of ancestral land to its owners, and expressing solidarity with communities across the North-East campaigning to reclaim property still held by the state and the armed forces, Tamil Guardian reported.

The protest took place at around 10 a.m. at the Mannar town roundabout. It was organised by Kaani Ilantha Makkalin Kural — the Voice of the People Who Lost Their Lands — together with the Mannar Social and Economic Development Organisation.

Demonstrators voiced support for long-running struggles in Valikamam North in Jaffna, Keppapulavu in Mullaitivu, and Mayilathamadu–Mathavanai in Batticaloa.

Who took part

Landowners from Mannar whose properties remain under the control of the armed forces joined local villagers, civil society representatives, human rights activists and members of the public, including people who had travelled from other parts of the North. Protesters held placards calling on the government to release occupied properties without further delay.

Speakers said much of the privately owned land still held by the military is in the North-East, particularly in Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Batticaloa and Trincomalee.

“We are not asking the government for grants. We are simply asking for our lands to be released so that we can live,” one protester said, according to Tamil Guardian, accusing the state of taking agricultural land and restricting access to marine resources that communities had depended on for generations.

Another demonstrator objected to occupied civilian land being used for military sports grounds and farming. “There is plenty of state land where the military can carry out agriculture and generate revenue for the government. Go and do it there,” he said.

Against a hardening government position

The demonstration comes as the government has signalled it will not release some of the land in question. Deputy Defence Minister Aruna Jayasekara told Parliament last month that land within High Security Zones deemed necessary for national security would not be returned, and that the state is proceeding with the permanent acquisition of a further 1,661 acres in Valikamam North for military infrastructure, Tamil Guardian reported.

Similar protests have continued elsewhere in the North-East, including a May Day demonstration at Keppapilavu in Mullaitivu and a protest at Palaly in Valikamam North in July.

Sources: Tamil Guardian.