Sri Lankan president gives back land to Northern Tamils

President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday handed back land held by the military to its rightful owners in north Sri Lanka.

The president assured Tamils in the minority Tamil dominated North that the land issue will be resolved and the land used as High Security Zones will be returned.

During a 30-year civil war, large swathes of land in the North and East of Sri Lanka had been taken over from the public for security reasons.

The Tamil rebels were defeated in May 2009 and some public property had been returned while more remained under military control.

Sirisena visited the Northern Jaffna town on Monday and distributed title deeds of lands in the former High Security Zones being returned to the original owners. As the first step, 425 acres of land were handed over to the rightful owners.

The president said that every measure will be taken to resolve issues faced by people irrespective of their race or religion.

He said the government is committed to building peace and reconciliation among Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim communities while eradicating the mistrust, fear and suspicion among communities.

"The government has been given high priority to resolve land issues of the people in the North and East," Sirisena said.

The president said the government is also now implementing a program to rebuild the religious places in the eastern and northern provinces devastated by war. Endi