Sri Lanka Navy vs. the people of Mullikulam
24 Jan, 2013
“The Cardinal never even visited our church or spoke to our children. He came directly to the Navy Head Quarters for the meeting and left soon after. On my way to the meeting, it was pouring with rain. As I was exhausted when passing my old home, I asked a Navy officer there if I could take shelter from the rain there as it was where I used to live. He refused and told me that I’d better continue on my way,” said a village elder in desolation.
“Whatever they (the Government) are offering you, please accept, as I will come forward as your guarantor,” said His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith to the people of Mullikulam, at the outset of the meeting[1] held between them and the Defence Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa on December 26, 2012, to discuss their plight, having been displaced by the occupying Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) since 2007. The Bishop of Mannar, Most Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, was also present at this meeting.
At the meeting, the Defence Secretary had offered to build a new alternate village in the Malankaadu area, 750m outside of their original lands in Mullikulam, with free access to the school and church that are located within the premises of the newly built Naval Head Quarters. In response, some of the people had rejected this offer and demanded that they be permitted to return to their original villages, whilst others have asked if they could at least have the lands near the church returned to them. The Defence Secretary had told them, that it wasn’t possible to do so “on account of national security” and as the lands near the church belong to the Forest Department. However, the SLN seems to have no problem occupying so called “Forest Department” land without following any proper procedure. Still others had said that if they were to agree to the 750m border, they would also require a road with free access to their church and school, void of any presence of SLN personnel or security check-points. To which the Defence Secretary had stated, “Your Cardinal is here, your Bishop is here, if you give your consent, we will commence work tomorrow.”
The North W
estern Naval Commander, Rear Admiral Rohana Perera, showed a map of the area, within which 7 tanks were located. “If most of the tanks are within the Navy occupied area, how will we access them to carry out our cultivation,” questioned the people. According to the map shown, the 750m boundary includes the tanks of Puliyankulam and Adappankulam. However, 6 tanks remain located within the land occupied by the SLN. The Defence Secretary had responded that it was not land belonging to the SLN, and that therefore the people could negotiate with the Forest Department and begin their cultivation. The villagers claim that “the Government is coming with iron fists, as they’re not willing to negotiate on anything.” Continue reading »
Posted by Thavam
