Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ruwan Ranasinghe, announced in Parliament on 7 October 2025 that all land currently held by Sri Lankan security forces in Trincomalee will soon be released for “tourism projects.” This announcement comes amid ongoing disputes over land rights in the Tamil homeland.
Trincomalee, a historically Tamil district, has been a focal point of Sinhalisation efforts for decades. Since the end of the armed conflict in 2009, the Sri Lankan government has facilitated land grabs, enforced demographic changes, and delayed the return of occupied land to rightful civilian owners.
Ranasinghe claimed that the move aims to boost tourist investment and promote regional development in the district. However, it remains unclear whether Tamils will be able to reclaim and return to the land that rightfully belongs to them.
The announcement follows a continuous satyagraha protest by farmers in Muthunagar, who have been demonstrating in front of the Trincomalee District Secretariat. They demand the return of farmlands seized for a state-supported solar power project. According to the farmers, 800 acres of agricultural land have been acquired for this project, and two local reservoirs have been filled in to accommodate its development—further endangering the region’s fragile water resources.
Protesters complain that despite repeated promises of solutions by Sri Lankan authorities, their livelihoods remain under threat as corporate interests continue to be prioritized over community needs.
In July 2025, Tamil residents in Trincomalee held a peaceful demonstration opposing the leasing of land to outsiders. Carrying placards and chanting slogans, protesters demanded that the land be returned to the local community and voiced their frustration over ongoing injustices related to land rights in the region.
Further evidence of Sinhalisation in Trincomalee was highlighted during the 2025 budget debate earlier this year. Shanmugan Kugathasan, an Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Member of Parliament, revealed that 3,820 acres of land had been taken over by Sinhala Buddhist monks under the guise of “Pooja Bhoomi”—a term referring to land seized for Buddhist religious use in the Tamil homeland.
This practice adds to a troubling pattern of Buddhist temples being constructed on Tamil-owned land, often under the protection of military and police forces, despite the minimal presence of a Buddhist population in the area.
The situation in Trincomalee underscores the ongoing challenges related to land rights, ethnic tensions, and the struggle for justice faced by Tamil communities in Sri Lanka.
http://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamil-land-held-sri-lankan-security-forces-be-released-tourism-development