JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Landowners and community representatives from seven districts across Sri Lanka’s north and east met in Jaffna on Friday to form a common front seeking the return of land they say has been taken over by the military and government agencies, arguing that successive governments have failed to resolve disputes that have persisted for years after the civil war.
The meeting brought together representatives from all five districts of the Northern Province and from Batticaloa and Trincomalee in the Eastern Province. Organizers said the participants intended to work through a common platform, described as a “United Organization,” rather than pursue land disputes separately at the district level.
Many of those represented at the meeting say they have been unable to return to ancestral homes or agricultural land because of military security zones or claims and restrictions imposed by the Forest and Archaeology Departments.
Representatives said that land traditionally used for homes and farming remained inaccessible despite the passage of many years since the war ended in 2009, and that efforts to secure a lasting settlement had produced little progress.
“Governments have changed, but the situation has not,” representatives said at the meeting.
They accused the current government of continuing the approach of previous administrations on land disputes, despite having criticized those governments before coming to power.
Organizers said the new grouping would seek to treat the disputes as a broader land-rights issue affecting communities across the north and east, rather than as a series of isolated local cases.
They said the group planned to pursue a coordinated strategy that would include negotiations with the government, legal action and efforts to bring unresolved land disputes to the attention of the international community.
