Switzerland's ambassador, Thomas Litscher, was told of on-going land grabs by the Sri Lankan army, militarisation and the undermining of the powers of the Northern Provincial Council during his visit to Jaffna this week where he met with the chair, CV Sivagnanam, as well as Tamil civil society activists.
"I have also stressed about the Vali North [resettlement] issue, and that 24 village divisions of people have not yet been resettled due to their lands being declared as High Security Zones," the Uthayan quoted Sivagnanam as saying after his meeting.
He added,
"I have also stressed about the Vali North [resettlement] issue, and that 24 village divisions of people have not yet been resettled due to their lands being declared as High Security Zones," the Uthayan quoted Sivagnanam as saying after his meeting.
He added,
"I also explained that the military presence has increased in Vanni region, and [the military] have acquired the majority of lands in the area in the meantime."
"I explained about the administrative issues that we are facing [within the Northern Provincial Council] and that the central government officials' activities are interrupting our activities, and of how we are not able to gather any information from the embassies."
"I spoke also about human rights violations, law and order, and discussed about the Swiss government's housing schemes in Vadamaratchi East."
"More than 400 people still need homes, I said, [and] requested him to continue providing the current schemes.”Representatives of the Tamil Civil Society Forum emphasised the need for a witness protection mechanism in order to carry out a proper international inquiry.