Most occupied lands still not released by military says TNA leader

The Sri Lankan military is still occupying most seized lands despite the government handing over some lands back to its owners, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R Sampanthan was quoted by Ceylon Today as telling parliament.
Highlighting lands occupied by the military in Valikaamam and Paravipachchan but that are not in active use, Mr Sampanthan asked, "why can't the army give these back to their original civilian owners?"

Pointing to the longstanding discrimination against Tamils, Mr Sampanthan said there has been no change in the discrimination against Tamils in Sri Lanka.

"Qualified Tamils are not getting government jobs," he said, calling for the government to release figures on the ethnic distribution of government jobs since the 2015 presidential election.

Highlighting the ongoing detention of the former LTTE cadres, Mr Sampanthan said the government could have done more to ensure their release of 150 cadres still in jail.

The TNA leader also stated the government had failed to consult the 18 Tamil MPs on development projects in the Tamils North-East.