Jaffna military lands protests have expanded as residents demand the return of ancestral property and the repeal of the 2013 Gazette.
Jaffna military lands protests have expanded further as Tamil residents intensify demands for the return of ancestral property occupied after the war.
The protests began more than four months ago and are now being held regularly at several locations in Jaffna.
Residents say the dispute remains unresolved because the Government has not revoked a Gazette issued during the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration in 2013.
That Gazette covered thousands of acres of land in the North.
In addition to demonstrations already taking place, residents have now started a protest every Sunday in the Vasavilan area.
As a result, weekend protests are currently being held at three locations in Jaffna.
Jaffna Military Lands Dispute Focuses on 2013 Gazette
Senior ITAK leader and Parliamentarian Sivagnanam Sri Dharan visited the Vasavilan protest site on Sunday, August 23.
Speaking to journalists, he accused the National People’s Power Government of continuing to use the 2013 Gazette against Tamil residents by failing to revoke it.
“The current government can still revoke that Gazette notification. But they are using it as a weapon against the Tamil people in a new way,” Sri Dharan said.
Provincial correspondents say the 2013 Gazette covered around 6,000 acres of privately owned Tamil land.
During the good governance administration, landowners were reportedly permitted to return to approximately 3,000 acres.
However, residents say the continued existence of the Gazette has prevented them from establishing full legal ownership over those properties.
They argue that this uncertainty has created serious practical and legal difficulties for families seeking to rebuild their lives.
Sri Dharan also criticised President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for not providing a definite date for the release of remaining lands.
He said officials continue to promise that the lands will be released “soon” without defining what that means.
“Even at the recent meeting chaired by the President, they say ‘we will release the lands soon, we are going to release them,’ but this ‘soon’ – how many days? How many months? They are not ready to say clearly. Deceiving these people continuously is what this government is doing,” he said.
Residents Say Military Farms on Disputed Land
Sri Dharan also raised concerns about agricultural activity on land claimed by displaced residents.
According to him, security forces are cultivating some of those properties and selling the produce.
He argued that the situation has created the extraordinary circumstance of original landowners purchasing vegetables and other produce grown on land they say belongs to them.
“The lands to the east of where I am standing and speaking have no military camps of any kind. The military is engaged in farming there completely,” Sri Dharan said.
“The military farms on those sides, and sells those vegetables and other produce to these people.”
He added that residents had therefore been placed in a position where they must pay for produce cultivated on their own ancestral lands.
Sri Dharan also said access to religious sites and schools located within those areas remains restricted.
“Likewise, they have created a situation where people cannot go to the schools and Kovils here,” he said.
He accused the Government of continuing what he described as “a very large armed violence” by retaining the 2013 Gazette and withholding land from people living in poverty.
Those statements represent Sri Dharan’s allegations and political criticism of the Government’s handling of the land dispute.
Weekly Demonstrations Continue Across Jaffna
Residents who lost access to land in Valikamam North have been holding weekly demonstrations since April 24, 2026.
Every Friday, protesters gather in front of the Northern Province Army Commander’s official residence, known as the Commander’s Bungalow.
Their demand is the release of land they say the Army forcibly occupied.
A second weekly protest began at Palali junction on June 21, 2026, where residents gather every Sunday.
The addition of Vasavilan has now widened the campaign further.
The protests have kept attention focused on unresolved land issues in the North and on the Government’s plans for properties occupied by the military and other state institutions.
President Asked for Report on Private Lands
ITAK Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran addressed the issue while speaking to journalists near the Presidential Secretariat on August 3.
According to Sumanthiran, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had told representatives of six Tamil political parties that releasing privately owned land in the North remained an aspiration of his administration.
Sumanthiran said the President had requested a report on private lands occupied by the Army and other Government institutions.
However, protesters say they still want a clear timetable for the release process.
The widening Jaffna military lands campaign shows that the issue remains politically and socially sensitive.
Residents are demanding not only physical access to their ancestral properties but also legal certainty over ownership.
For the Government, the challenge now is to demonstrate how and when the remaining cases will be resolved while addressing security, legal and administrative considerations.
Until a concrete timetable emerges, protesters in Valikamam North, Palali and Vasavilan appear determined to continue their weekly demonstrations.
