Lankan army to return lands of Tamils of Indian origin: Rao

T V Sriram
Colombo, Sept 2 (PTI) Sri Lanka has assured New Delhi
that its army will return the land of the displaced Tamils of
Indian origin in the country's northern Vavuniya district,
Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said on Thursday.
Rao, who ended her three-day trip to Sri Lanka
Thursday, said she had taken up the issue with the top
leadership in the country.
"So we have taken it up with the Sri Lankan
government. I took it up with Economic Development Miniser Mr
Basil Rajapaksa also. He has assured me that he is already
looking into this matter. And he expects that it will be
resolved and that these people go back," Rao told reporters
on Thursday.
"They are basically IDPs of Indian origin who had been
resettled in Vavuniya area after 1977 riots. They had been
cultivating their lands there and now after the war they had
been shifted to the Menik farm IDP camp," the Foreign
Secretary said.
There are today two groups of Tamils in Sri Lanka. The
first are the Sri Lankan Tamils, who either descend from the
Tamils of the old Jaffna kingdom or who migrated to the East
coast.
Unlike Sri Lankan Tamils who were born here, the
Tamils of Indian origin were brought to the country by the
Britishers to work on the coffee, tea and rubber plantations
in the late 19th century.
"There are about 150 families (around 1,000 people).
They are facing some difficulties in returning. They said they
had not been able to return to their areas of habitation," the
Foreign Secretary said.
She said the army has apparently not cleared or
released that land to them because after the war had ended the
military had moved into these areas.
During her visit, Rao travelled to Vavuniya, Menik
Farm (in Vavuniya) Chettikulam, Killinochchi, Omanthai,
Jaffna Mullativu and Trincomalee to have a first hand
knowledge of the rehabilitation process in the country.
She called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday
and also interacted with senior leaders including Defence
Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa at a dinner held last night by
the Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kumar Kantha.
Rao said she also met Opposition leader Ranil
Wickremasinghe besides cross section of leaders from Tamil
and other political parties. PTI TVS
MYR