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 tensions over land rights in the Tamil homeland. Trincomalee, a historically Tamil district, has been a key target of Sinhalisation efforts for decades. Since the end of the armed conflict in 2009, the Sri Lankan government has facilitated land grabs, state-enforced demographic change, and the prolonged failure to return occupied land to their rightful civilian owners.
Ranasinghe claimed that this 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 is rightfully theirs.
Meanwhile, farmers in Muthunagar have been staging a continuous satyagraha protest in front of the Trincomalee District Secretariat, demanding the return of farmlands seized for a state-supported solar power project. Farmers reported that 800 acres of agricultural land have been acquired for the project, and two local reservoirs have been filled in to accommodate its development—further endangering the region’s fragile water resources.
The protesters have expressed their frustration that, despite repeated promises of solutions from Sri Lankan authorities, their livelihoods remain threatened as corporate interests continue to be prioritized.
In July 2025, Tamil residents in Trincomalee held a peaceful demonstration opposing the leasing of land to outsiders. The protesters carried placards, chanted slogans, and demanded that the land be returned to the community. They voiced deep frustration over the ongoing injustice surrounding 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 have been taken over by Sinhala Buddhist monks under the guise of “Pooja Bhoomi.” This term refers to land seized purportedly for Buddhist religious use in the Tamil homeland.
This development adds to a troubling pattern of Buddhist temples being constructed on Tamil-owned land, often under the protection of military and police forces, despite there being a minimal Buddhist population in the area.
http://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tamil-land-held-sri-lankan-security-forces-be-released-tourism-development
