• Ariyanethiran will unify N-E, claims Wiggy   
• MOD rejects land grab allegations as absurd and misleading 

The Tamil common Presidential candidate P. Ariyanethiran will push for the right to self-determination in the North and the East in accordance with Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which gives people the right to freely determine their political status, it is learnt.

“We are not a minority like the upcountry Tamils,” President’s Counsel, Opposition Parliamentarian and political party leader C.V Vigneswaran, who was part of the collective of political parties and civil organisations that signed on to field the said common Presidential candidate representing the Tamils, told The Daily Morning yesterday (12). “We are a majority Tamil speaking people and we need to have the freedom to have self-determination according to the ICCPR. This right has been denied.” 

Vigneswaran claimed that the Army has engaged in land-grabbing in the North and the East. “Around 60,000 acres of land are held,” Vigneswaran said. “And the income from this goes to the Army. Land is being grabbed by Buddhist temples. The common candidate Ariyanethiran will have a referendum with the United Nations (UN) and see what the people want. If they want a federal State, then, they may get it. It will be like South Sudan or East Timor.”

However, Vigneswaran told The Daily Morning that he had doubts over the victory of Ariyanethiran. “He will not win,” Vigneswaran noted. “But, he will be a unifier for the North and the East.” Vigneswaran added that a candidate from the Eastern Province was preferred and hence, former MP Ariyanethiran was chosen.

When asked, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence Col. Nalin Herath rejected the allegations made by Vignaeswaran regarding the Sri Lanka Army occupying land, calling them absurd and misleading. “The Sri Lanka Army does not hold 60,000 acres of private land in the North and the East. As of June 2024, the Army only holds approximately 2300 acres of Private land in the North and the East. From 2009 to June 2024 the Army released approximately 72,000 acres of state and private land. What remains are being held for essential security reasons, mainly as high security zones.” Col. Herath told The Daily Morning.