In the face of strong opposition from the residents of the Northern Province and Tamil public representatives, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka has suddenly intervened in an issue over a controversial statement by an institution under the Ministry of Lands, currently under the purview of Minister K.D. Lal Kantha.
Assistant Settlement Officer, Suvinda S. Singappuli, had warned that if the ownership of nearly 6,000 acres of land in the northern coastal area is not confirmed within three months, it would be taken over by the Sri Lankan state. The details are given in Gazette No. 2430 issued on 28 March, 2025.
Following the denouncement of the gazette notification by Tamil nationalist parties, as a bid to seize people’s land in war-torn North and East, for which the ownership is difficult to prove, and demand the immediate withdrawal of the gazette, the Prime Minister has called the North and East MPs for a discussion.
In a letter sent by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on 20 May, those lawmakers have been requested to come to the Committee Room No. 1 of Parliament on 23 May in order to discuss the issues related to the settlement of lands in the North and East provinces that arose with the gazette notification that gave rise to protests from Tamils.
A Tamil MP expressed confidence that the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha will also join the meeting.
Tamil public representatives as well as human rights experts have pointed out that it has become difficult for Tamil war victims to assert their ancestral land rights due to several concerns such as the death or disappearance of the original owner or becoming a refugee abroad, and the destruction of documents.
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