Sri Lankan authorities blocked a meeting on land grabs in Amparai earlier this month, leading to commotion outside the venue as hundreds of people attempted to enter amidst police presence.
The Human Elevation Organization was due to release a report detailing military occupation in the area, entitled ‘Land Grabbing – Denial Of Our Existence’.
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The report launch that was to be held on October 12th was blocked by Sri Lanka’s Election Commission who claimed that the presence of politicians made the event run “contrary to the circulars issued”.
This came despite organisers explicitly stating that politicians would not attend.
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As locals gathered outside the Addalaichennai DS Office where the event was scheduled to take place, it was found that the hall had been locked and the event barred.
With tensions building locals reportedly chased off government officials who came to the scene as they attempted to disperse the crowd.
See the full text of the report on land grabs here.
The launch of the report comes as thousands of acres across the North-East continues to be occupied by the Sri Lankan military.
Photographs: @Mari_deSilva
