Tamil residents, landowners and activists in Maruthankerni have halted a land survey linked to an attempted acquisition reportedly for Sri Lankan military purposes in Vadamaradchi East.
The move, which took place in the Maruthankerni area of the Jaffna district, drew strong opposition from the landowner and local residents, who warned that handing land to the Sri Lankan military could lead to further seizures of neighbouring properties and the expansion of the military camp.
On Thursday morning, the Divisional Secretariat summoned the landowner and neighbouring property owners for a survey connected to the proposed acquisition.
The landowner, adjoining landowners, former Tamil National People’s Front parliamentarian Selvarajah Kajendren, People’s Movement for Land Rights Chairman Rathinasingam Muralitharan, former Point Pedro Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Udayakumar Yugadeesh, Maruthankerni ward representative Kittu, political and social activists, civil society representatives, and members of the Maruthankerni North and South Rural Development Societies gathered at the site.
During discussions with officials, those present strongly objected to the land being handed over to the Sri Lankan military.
They warned that if the land was acquired for the military, neighbouring lands and other properties belonging to villagers could also be taken and incorporated into the military camp in the future.
Despite those concerns being raised, attempts to obtain the land from the owner for military purposes continued for an extended period, according to local reporting.
Although the area contains more than 30 acres of land, the Sri Lankan military had reportedly identified 20 acres for acquisition.
The landowner refused to consent to the move and informed the Department of Survey in writing that the land should not be measured.
Following that refusal, the survey and acquisition process was suspended.
The halted survey comes just days after a public notice stated that 11.2657 hectares of land in Devathuravu, Maruthankerni, would be surveyed under Section 5 of the Land Acquisition Act. The earlier notice stated that the land had been identified as being required for a “public purpose”, but did not specify what that purpose was.
The latest attempt has deepened concern that the language of public purpose is being used to advance the permanent occupation of Tamil land by the Sri Lankan state and its military.
For residents of Maruthankerni, the issue is not limited to a single survey.
The prospect of further military expansion has therefore raised fears of long-term dispossession, restricted movement and the loss of surrounding village lands.
Across the North-East, Tamil communities have repeatedly resisted land surveys linked to the Sri Lankan military, state departments and archaeological or environmental authorities.
The Sri Lankan government has also faced opposition over wider land acquisition efforts in the Tamil homeland.
The government was forced last year to revoke a controversial land acquisition gazette following sustained resistance from Tamil political representatives and civil society. That gazette had laid the groundwork for the declaration of thousands of acres of land in the Northern Province as state property, including land in Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Mannar.
Tamil politicians and residents condemned the move as a state-backed land grab aimed at dispossessing Tamil families and accelerating Sinhala-Buddhist colonisation in the North-East.
The attempted acquisition in Maruthankerni now adds to the growing list of land disputes in the Tamil homeland, where state agencies continue to use administrative notices, surveying exercises and acquisition procedures to consolidate control over Tamil land.
