Amid ongoing protests by residents of Keppapilavu, Mullaitivu, over 170 acres of land yet to be returned after being taken over by the military in 2009 for a large-scale camp, the Defence Ministry said that the land will be safely returned once the ownership of all requests is confirmed.  

When contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (5), Deputy Defence Minister, Major General (Retired) Aruna Jayasekara said that the Ministry, together with the Divisional Secretary of Mullaitivu, is in the process of confirming the ownership of those who have requested the return of the land. "There are around 15 people whose ownership of the lands has not been confirmed yet. Once the ownership is sorted, the lands will be released," he said.  

As reported, the residential areas in this detained land once supported over 55 families and included homes, schools, places of worship, and shared community spaces. When queried as to whether these community facilities will be re-established following the release of the land, he said that the takeover happened when it was a need of the Government and that priority will be given to releasing the lands for now. He said that the feasibility of restoring them will be considered later.  

However, on International Workers' Day (1), residents of Keppapilavu had staged a protest demanding the release of lands that remain still under military occupation, nearly two decades after the end of the armed conflict. Similar protests had taken place prior to the recent event. Residents had also noted that since the current Government assumed office, multiple appeals have been made through formal channels, including submissions to the Presidential Secretariat and the Mullaitivu District Secretariat, stating that the efforts to date have yielded no meaningful progress toward the release of the remaining lands.