In recent weeks, people in certain parts of the Jaffna Peninsula have been staging protests against land acquisition for military purposes in the region.

It is now four decades since the civil war commenced in the North and East Provinces, to protect the traditional areas of Tamils in the two provinces. However, today despite the end of the conflict, the people in the Jaffna Peninsula and in the Northern Province at large, still face the issue of lands being acquired to set up big and small military installations and to create new settlements for people brought from the Southern part of the island, according to Tamil politicians.

Northerners have already complained peacefully about inconveniences they face due to the military installations found in the Jaffna Peninsula. The military has asserted that they are not acquiring civilian lands for military camps, but rather focusing on limited acquisitions for airport and harbor expansion, as well as returning properties previously taken. 

However, there have been allegations that the military has not always returned lands and properties, and that the process of land release is not transparent or comprehensive. 

The former Jaffna Commander stated soon after the war came to an end, that the army would return properties to legitimate owners and they have no plans to acquire civilian land for military purposes. He also cited national security as a reason for limited land acquisition for airport and harbor expansion. Some believe that the military remains the key authority on land release and that there is no comprehensive mapping and release plan. While the government has taken steps to release land, the pace has not matched initial deadlines.

The All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has asked for the withdrawal of the March 28 Gazette of this year, which stated that 6000 acres of land was to be acquired by the Government in the North. He has also opposed the announcement made by the Government requesting the land owners to prove their land ownership within three months.

According to Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, since the majority of residents were subjected to internal displacements during the turbulent times of the war, a significant number of people have lost their documents such as deeds and are still struggling to obtain fresh ones.

When the Palaly Airbase was expanded in the early eighties for military purposes, a large number of fertile land areas came under the expansion of the armed forces in the North. A similar situation even emerged in Karainagar, when the Navy expanded its territory for security purposes.

Therefore, even after the war ended sixteen years ago, instead of returning the lands already taken by the armed forces in the North, new land areas have been acquired under the guise of expansion of the airport and seaport in the Peninsula.

In the meantime, President Anura Dissanayake in a recent speech mentioned that the lands of the people of Jaffna will not be acquired.

Since the issue of land grabbing is emerging  and a serious concern in the North, the Government’s lack of prioritisation of a political settlement to the North and East crisis remains clearly visible and the people of Jaffna fear whether the Jaffna Peninsula would become a military garrison region in the future.