Retired senior military officers allege that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk’s call to reduce military presence in the Northern and Eastern provinces posed a serious threat.
The Geneva official had refrained from acknowledging the releasing of land over the years when he called on the government to release land to their owners without further delay, they said.
The deployment in the Jaffna peninsula and Kilinochchi, coming under the purview of Security Forces Headquarters, Jaffna, is a case in point, they said. Of nearly 25,000 acres of land that had been held by the military in the Jaffna peninsula in 2009, 22,800 acres were released by the end of June this year, they said.
In the Kilinochchi theatre, the land held by the Army had been reduced to 600 acres from nearly 25,000 acres in 2009, the ex-military men said, challenging the UN office, Colombo, to clarify the information pertaining to the land release with the Defence Ministry.
During the war, the Jaffna peninsula was the home for four infantry divisions, including the 53 – at one time known as the Reserve Strike Force.
“The truth is that of nearly 50,000 acres of land held by the Army in 2009, we now hold less than 2,500 acres. Any further reduction may undermine overall defence,” a serving officer said.
The armed forces expanded the areas under their control and established High Security Zones (HSZs) as part of the strategy to counter large scale attacks, long range artillery and infiltration.
Former Chief of Staff General Jagath Dias recently told The Island that they eradicated the LTTE militarily in May 2009, and the Army commenced phased handing back of land in the following year. The government and the Army did that on their own, the Gajaba Regiment veteran said.
Gen. Dias, who commanded the 57 Division, deployed on the Vanni front, said that those who find fault with the military and the government should at least admit they were able to release so much land because the LTTE was no more.
By Shamindra Ferdinando