The decisive defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka’s northern region brought hope of ethnic reconciliation on the embattled island nation. However, a recent Economist article on the Tamil civilian population highlights a new conflict brewing.
After the May 17th defeat, over 260,000 mostly Tamil civilians were interned in 16 camps. Since then, by the government’s own account, only 20,000 have been released. With many Tamils interned and off their land, thousands of Sinhalese families driven from land by LTTE during the long civil war are surging north to reclaim it:
In Irakandy, a short drive from Trincomalee, 1,050 Sinhalese, representing over 350 families, have gathered to reclaim land from which 80 families were driven in 1985. … Priyantha Malvangoda, a well-dressed businessman from Colombo, says he and six siblings are all staking claims, his father having been driven from a nearby one-acre farm in 1985.
The root of the conflict is a rift between de jure and de facto ownership. Many of the Sinhalese coming north are carrying “documents supporting claims to have bought the leaseholds to the land” in former Tiger territory. However, for years (often decades) the land has been de facto owned and farmed by Tamil families.
Sri Lanka’s government must tread carefully. Post-war land disputes are powder-kegs. Supporting the Sinhalese owners could spark a new insurgency if young, male Tamil farmers feel their land was stolen from them by a racist government. Supporting the Tamil owners will alienate the government’s political base. Splitting the land will likely satisfy nobody.
Christopher Albon is a Ph.D. candidate specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
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