Valikamam North residents continue protest against military land occupation

Residents of Valikamam North staged a protest at Palaly Junction on Sunday, continuing their campaign for the release of lands that have remained under Sri Lankan military occupation for the fifth consecutive week.

The protest was held by residents who have been deprived of their lands for 36 years, as they demanded the return of homes and properties currently controlled by the Sri Lankan military.

The demonstrators said they have been unable to access their own lands and houses for decades, despite repeated appeals for the return of civilian property.

Residents accused the Sri Lankan military of using their lands for agricultural activities and commercial establishments for its own purposes, while the original owners remain displaced from their homes.

The protest forms part of a wider and long-running struggle in Valikamam North, where large areas of Tamil-owned land were seized by the Sri Lankan military and declared part of high security zones during the armed conflict.

Although some lands have been released over the years, residents say substantial areas remain under military control, with many families still unable to return to their original homes, cultivate their lands or rebuild their livelihoods.

Protesters at Palaly Junction demanded the immediate release of all occupied lands and houses, insisting that the continued military presence has denied families their right to live on their ancestral property.

The ongoing protests in Valikamam North come amid renewed land struggles across the Tamil homeland, including in Keppapilavu, Maruthankerni and other areas where Tamil communities continue to resist military occupation, land acquisition and state-backed encroachment.

For the residents of Valikamam North, the demand remains unchanged after more than three decades - the return of their homes, the release of their lands and an end to the military’s occupation of civilian property.