Injustice due to Mahinda not ETCA- Suresh

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa resettled a large number of Sinhala families in Mulaithivu and Vavuniya without any agreement, said the former MP and EPRLF leader Suresh Premachandran. He said as a result the number of Sinhala voters had increased and the former President would have expected to have a group of Sinhala MPs elected to these Tamil areas by that. Addressing a media briefing held at his residence in Jaffna, Premachandran said the ETCA agreement signed between India and Sri Lanka cannot stop the Sinhala settlements being set up in the North and East.

He also noted that irrespective of whether there was an agreement or not the Southern politicians are trying to set up Sinhala settlements in the North and East. Premachandran said that under the Mahaweli programme Sinhala residents are given lands in Mulaithivu and the North and over 7250 acres have already been given to Sinhala settlers in Kokilai, Nayaru, Kokkutuduwai areas in the Mulaithivu district. He noted that these lands rightfully belong to the Tamils and if this situation continues, it would be a huge injustice to the Tamil people.