Minister of Environmental and Natural Resources and the JHU Policy Maker Patali Champika Ranawaka disclosed to media recently that the Sinhala population of the Trincomalee District was 85,503, according to the statistics of 1981, which comprised about 33.4% of the total population of the district.
But due to the conditions prevailing there they had left the areas and the Sinhala population had decreased to about 25.4% of the total in 2007.
In contrast the Muslim population had increased from 75,039 to 151,692 in 2007 indicating an increase of 16.1% by 2007.
The Minister laughed off the allegation made by some politicians about a Sinhalization of the East, while the actual situation was that the Sinhala people in the East had numerically declined due to desertions while the other communities had increased in the last two decades.
Minister Ranawaka added that a similar situation arose in Ampara District between 2001 and 2007 where there was a drop in the Sinhala population from 236,583 to 228,930. The Muslim population increased from 244,620 to 268,630 during the same period.
Referring to the ethnic distribution in the Batticaloa District he said that the Sinhala population had been reduced greatly from 11,258 in 1981 to 293 in 2007 where as the Muslim population had increased from 78,826 to 128,984 within that period. Citing these figures the Minister said that there had been no Sinhalization scheme carried out in the East as some make it out to be so.
Further Minister Ranawaka said that a land area of 30,270 hectares had been cleared of the LTTE in four divisions of Trincomalee and this would be handed over to the genuine owners irrespective of ethnicity.
“In the Batticaloa area land so cleared of Tigers was 58,941 hectares in extent,” he added.
But due to the conditions prevailing there they had left the areas and the Sinhala population had decreased to about 25.4% of the total in 2007.
In contrast the Muslim population had increased from 75,039 to 151,692 in 2007 indicating an increase of 16.1% by 2007.
The Minister laughed off the allegation made by some politicians about a Sinhalization of the East, while the actual situation was that the Sinhala people in the East had numerically declined due to desertions while the other communities had increased in the last two decades.
Minister Ranawaka added that a similar situation arose in Ampara District between 2001 and 2007 where there was a drop in the Sinhala population from 236,583 to 228,930. The Muslim population increased from 244,620 to 268,630 during the same period.
Referring to the ethnic distribution in the Batticaloa District he said that the Sinhala population had been reduced greatly from 11,258 in 1981 to 293 in 2007 where as the Muslim population had increased from 78,826 to 128,984 within that period. Citing these figures the Minister said that there had been no Sinhalization scheme carried out in the East as some make it out to be so.
Further Minister Ranawaka said that a land area of 30,270 hectares had been cleared of the LTTE in four divisions of Trincomalee and this would be handed over to the genuine owners irrespective of ethnicity.
“In the Batticaloa area land so cleared of Tigers was 58,941 hectares in extent,” he added.
