Four farmers in Mullaitivu are appealing to various authorities to release their lands, which are currently being occupied by the Civil Security Divison and used as a farm. The 12 acres of lands, located south of Udayar Kattu near the village tank, belong to the farmers, who claim that they are the only lands yet to be released to the rightful owners following the resettlement of families in the area.
The farmers have appealed to the Department of Civil Defence through multiple government bodies, including the human rights commission, which issued a notice to release the lands to the farmers. The Provincial Secretary of Puthukkudiyiruppu S. Jeyakanth has also requested the commander of the Department of Civil Defence to provide assistance in speeding up the resettlement process and allowing the farmers to begin their farming activities.
Land grabbing by state bodies, particularly military units, has been a rampant issue throughout the North-East of the island, with occupied lands being used to generate income for the units through farms, tea shops, and hotels.
The CSD orginates from the National Home Guard Service which was effectively a voluntary paramilitary organisation run by the Sri Lankan government in border villages to the North-East where locals were recruited to provide intelligence on Tamil armed resistance movements.
A report published by Adayaalam Centre for Policy and Research (ACPR) in 2017 noted the impact of continued militarisation from activities conducted by the CSD in Vanni.
ACPR noted that the CSD has “aggressively targeted” former LTTE cadres and war-affected women in the Vanni to join its ranks, and has become one of the largest providers of employment in the region, employing over 3000 individual in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi alone. The CSD runs agricultural projects and employs pre-school teachers as part of its activities.
As a result, not only has this led to the creation of economic dependency on the military, but the CSD has also suppressed civic activism and led to a destruction of community identity, as well as the further marginalization of women who face a greater risk of gender-based violence and also a diminished ability to seek redress when it occurs.
The international community must “make the cessation of the military’s involvement in civilian activities a pre-condition of any military-to-military relationship building” said ACPR, as well as ensuring any development assistance going into the Vanni is not “inadvertently endorsing or supporting the militarised economy”.