28 Sinhala families, who displaced from Ko'ndaichchi Cashew farm to Anuradhapura in 1990 due to the war and resettled back in the Ko'ndaichchi farm in the predominant Tamil-speaking division of Musali during the regime of Rajapaksa, are also opposing the latest Sinhala colonisation moves that are being spearheaded by the occupying SL Navy in Paasith-then'ral village coming under the GS area of Ko'ndaichchi. The fertile lands, owned by Eezham Tamils and Tamil-speaking Muslims with land deeds going back to almost 100-years-old from the times of British rule, are now being taken over silently by the occupying SL Navy, which has put up a naval base right in front of Paasith-then'ral tank after seizing the area from the de-facto administration of the LTTE in 2007.
Sinhala workers who have resettled inside the Ko'ndaichchi farmland are poverty-stricken people, dependent on Cashew plantation work. They belong to the first generation of Sinhala settlement carried out by Colombo a few decades ago.
During the times of war, the Sinhala colonists at Kon'daichchi displaced to Anuradhapura until they were brought back to Kon'daichchi farm after 2009 by the genocidal regime of Rajapaksa. These farm workers, who are concerned of their livelihood and social interaction with the native people of the area, say the Sinhala colonisation being carried out silently by the SL Navy is destructive to their interests. They also fear competition to their livelihood from the newcomers.
The Sinhala farmers have appealed to the Divisional Secretary of Naanaaddaan to put an end to the military-backed colonisation of Paasith-then'ral, which is situated on Mannaar - Puththa'lam Road, 33 km away from Mannaar and 4 km south of Chilaavaththu'rai.
The solidarity from the first generation of Sinhala settlers comes as Tamils and Muslims jointly fought against Colombo's departments collaborating with SL Navy to stop the ploy of creating a permanent colony for Sinhala fishermen from South at the nearby village of Kaayaa-kuzhi. Paasith-then'ral is located between Kaayaa-kuzhi and Aalam-villu.
In the meantime, the Divisional Secretary of Musali division has come under severe criticism from the resettled people.
The Divisional Secretary, a Tamil civil servant is being used as a tool to advance the interests of Colombo and its genocidal military, the people in Musali division complain. The public official is also being alleged of misconduct on various fronts. However, the SL regime is not prepared to transfer the man away from Musali division.
Tamil parliamentarians of the TNA have also failed to demand immediate de-militarization of Musali division, the people say.
Paasith-then'ral witnessed a genocidal attack carried out by the ‘Deep Penetration Unit’ of the Sinhala military on 01 September 2007. 13 Tamil civilians, including children and women from two families, were brutally slain in a targeted Claymore explosion carried out by the DPU.
The SL Navy occupying the entire coastal strip of Musali division has been waging a shadow-war against the Tamil and Muslim people in Musali, particularly in Mu'l'lik-ku'lam, Arippu and Chilaavaththu'rai.
Recently, the SL Navy has beefed up its installations along the coastal stretch, which faces the strategic Gulf of Mannaar.