Give back the acquired farms!
Sathyanathan Yudharsanan has lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on behalf of farmers affected by land acquisitions by the Forest Department.
He is a resident of Sittandi 02, Main Road, No. 51 / A, Batticaloa.
He said that this human rights violation had taken place in December 2021 and had lodged the complaint against the officials of the Forest Department. It further states that officials of the Batticaloa Forest Department, the Forest Department and local forest officials are particularly involved in human rights violations.
Officials of the Forest Department have taken possession of 6 acres of estate lands belonging to 10 farmers who have been living in the Wattawan area in the Koraleipattu South Grama Niladhari Division for nearly 30 years, destroying their livelihood and cultivating teak on those lands. As a result, landowners have been unable to cultivate maize, groundnuts and manioc, the complaint said.
The complainant pointed out that complaints have already been lodged with the Forest Department, the Divisional Secretary, the Government Agent, Members of Parliament and the Human Rights Commission.
The plaintiff stated that the action against the Tamil people as a whole was politically motivated and demanded that the land be returned and that livelihood facilities be provided to the victims.
The complaint was filed with the Human Rights Commission on March 3, 2022.
– Batticaloa Sathyanathan Yudharshanan
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