Lankan army illegally encroaching lands of Tamils: Karuna

DMK president M Karunanidhi today alleged efforts were being made to takeover lands belonging to ethnic Tamils by Sri Lankan army and sought the intervention of India and the UN in this matter.
In a letter to partymen, Karunanidhi alleged 6,381 acres of land belonging to Tamils had been "illegally encroached upon" by Lankan Army at Valigamam since 1990 and it was expected that they would be returned to the Tamils after the end of the war against LTTE.
In such a situation, the Sri Lankan government had issued orders to take over the land for the army, he alleged, adding that similar efforts were happening at Jaffna, Kilinocchi, Mullaithivu and Vavuniya among others.

Further, temples and churches used by Tamils had been demolished and made way for Buddhist places of worship, he alleged.
"I insist that Indian government and the UN intervene immediately and retrieve the land of Tamils to enable them to continue to live there and take steps for Lankan army's exit (from Tamil-dominated) areas," he said.