In a recent interview, Minister Ramalingam Chandrasegar shockingly declared that all Tamils must claim their lands within three months—or else those lands will be seized. Yet, he failed to say who the land would be handed over to. But the answer is painfully clear: these lands are being prepared for Sinhalese settlement under the guise of “state acquisition.”
These are not unclaimed lands. They belong to Tamil families who were forced into exile during the anti-Tamil pogroms and under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) of 1977, which labeled any Tamil as a “terrorist,” making it legal to imprison or kill them without due process. Fleeing persecution, many Tamils took refuge in India, Europe, and North America. Even today, they carry the dream of returning home—not to a Sinhalese-occupied zone, but to a liberated Tamil homeland.
Minister Chandrasegar, who currently resides in Jaffna, appears to have changed his tone after realizing the backlash from Tamils who rightfully oppose this treacherous land grab. However, this shift in rhetoric cannot undo the damage or deceive the Tamil people.
Let us be clear: the Tamil diaspora will not invest a single cent in the North-East while it remains under Sinhalese military and political control. Claims that diaspora Tamils want to buy land are false narratives pushed to justify the theft of Tamil lands. In reality, diaspora members who speak out are targeted, labeled as terrorists, and sometimes even found dead under mysterious circumstances—on roadsides, in wells, or under fabricated charges.
Mr. Chandrasegar studied at Thambuththegama Central College, far from the North-East. Had he been educated amid the war-torn ruins of the Tamil homeland, he might understand the daily suffering caused by Sinhalese aggression and militarization.
His current role—and many past ones—were handed to him by the very Sinhalese leaders responsible for Tamil genocide, including the Rajapaksas. Just like Douglas Devananda, Pillayan, and Karuna from Batticaloa, he has become another Tamil face used to legitimize Sinhala rule.
We, the Tamil diaspora, want to remind the minister that Sinhala racism began with land theft. It was D.S. Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, who launched the state-sponsored Sinhalese colonization program by seizing Tamil lands in Kantale (Kanthalai) and other areas of the North-East. That historical injustice continues today—under new faces, but with the same intent: to erase the Tamil homeland.
If Minister Chandrasegar has any concern left for the Tamil people, he must resign immediately. Serving as a pawn in this land-grabbing agenda is not only a betrayal—it is complicity in the continued oppression of the Tamil nation.
Thank you,
Tamil Diaspora News,
May 10, 2025
