A writ petition filed by the son of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar in the Court of Appeal to get his family land in Jaffna back from the army, has put the Rajapaksa government and the Lankan armed forces in a spot.
If Sriraghavan Kadirgamar’s, the former minister’s son, claim to his property in Maveddipuram in Tellipalai area is conceded by the courts, the government’s plan to regularise the war-time occupation of over 6,300 acres in Palay and Kankesanthurai in Jaffna district may be in jeopardy.
Already, the TNA, has been asking the armed forces to return occupied lands and properties to their original owners because war is over and there is no reason to have sprawling High Security Zones (HSZs) from which civilians are barred. The army is returning private properties by stages, but the TNA finds this to be too little. The TNA has filed 1,483 cases and the Bishop of Jaffna 55. The issue is likely to hot up further as the elections to the NPC are scheduled in September.
The case of Sriraghavan Kadirgamar’s ancestral land is significant because his father, Lakshman Kadirgamar, was a firm supporter of the government’s action against the Tamil Tigers, and was assassinated by the Tigers for this on August 12, 2005.
The Court of Appeal has issued notice to the Minister for Lands, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, among others.