The Oakland Institute has released a new report titled Trincomalee Under Siege: Land Grabs Target the Tamil Homeland in Sri Lanka. Published in 2024, this report investigates the escalating issue of state-led land expropriation in the Trincomalee District, Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. The study highlights the ongoing efforts by the Sri Lankan government to assert Sinhalese control over areas historically inhabited by Tamil and Muslim communities, raising concerns about ethnic and religious marginalization.
The report, authored by researchers at the Oakland Institute, is based on extensive field research conducted between January 2023 and March 2024, and draws on interviews with local citizens, community activists, government officials, and political representatives. Additional information was gathered from government gazette notifications, reports, and other official documents.
The findings reveal that the Sri Lankan government and military are using several methods to systematically disempower Tamil and Muslim populations in Trincomalee. These strategies include the settlement of Sinhalese populations in Tamil areas under the pretext of development, known as “Sinhalization,” and the construction of Buddhist temples, referred to as “Buddhization,” on expropriated lands to facilitate demographic shifts. The report states that over 26 Buddhist temples have been built on 3,887 acres of seized land in the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretariat Division alone, a region with a significant Tamil and Muslim population.
The Oakland Institute calls for immediate international attention to these developments, urging the United Nations and other global bodies to advocate for demilitarization and the protection of minority rights in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces. It stresses the importance of accountability and reconciliation to ensure the rights and livelihoods of the affected communities are restored and maintained.
