A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Thursday, April 27, 2017
PRESIDENT SIRISENA, REVOKE THE GAZETTE NO. 2011/34, DEMANDS CIVIL SOCIETY IN SRI LANKA.
Is this the reward, president Sirisena?
On 22nd April 2017 , a statement endorsed by 38 civil society
organizations and 2,680 individuals requesting his Excellency the
President, Maithripala Sirisena to review and revoke the gazette
notification no. 2011/34 was sent to the President. The gazette declares
40,030 hectares of land in Musali DS division in the Mannar District as
Mavillu forest reserve under 3A of the Forest Conservation Ordinance. As
a result of the gazette notification a number of villages in Musali
including Karadikkuli, Marichchukatti, Wilaththikulam, Periyamurippu,
Mavillu and Weppal will be seriously affected as families risk losing
land they have traditionally claimed.
The statement while reiterating the need for a concerted effort to
ensure protection of forests, highlights the contents of the gazette
notification and the manner in which this gazette was drawn up failing
to take into account the rights of people from the area and the history
of the issue of land claims. The statement notes that unless corrective
action is taken there could be serious repercussions for the Northern
Muslims forcibly expelled by the LTTE in 1990 attempting to resettle and
rebuild their lives after the brutal war, and have a knock on effect on
post-war reconstruction and relations between ethnic minorities and the
State. It also highlights a wider problem in the State’s failure to
address occupation of land by state agencies including the military and
the Forrest Department in the North and East and calls for action to
recognize the rights and claims of multiple war-affected communities.
Full text of the statement:
We, the undersigned, appeal to His Excellency the President, Maithripala
Sirisena to review and revoke the gazette notification no. 2011/34
declaring vast tracts of traditional lands owned by the people of Musali
DS division in the Mannar District as Mavillu forest reserve under 3A
of the Forest Conservation Ordinance. As a result of the gazette
notification a number of villages in Musali including Karadikkuli,
Marichchukatti, Wilaththikulam, Periyamurippu, Mavillu and Weppal will
be seriously affected. We appeal on behalf of the people and their right
to voice and justice.
We are of the understanding that this gazette was drawn up in
response to deforestation and encroachment of the Wilpathu forest
reserve. While there has to be a concerted effort to ensure protection
of forests, the gazette notification and the manner in which this
gazette was drawn up fails to take into account the rights and the
history of the issue of land claims. Unless corrective action is taken
we fear that there could be serious repercussions for those attempting
to resettle and rebuild their lives after the brutal war, and have a
knock on effect on post-war reconstruction and relations between ethnic
minorities and the State.
The people of Musali (Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese) have been living in
this area for hundreds of years in some instances and decades in
others, except for a 30-year absence when most were forced to flee, due
to the war, including the Muslims, who were evicted by the LTTE in 1990.
They are largely peasant farmers and dependent on a land based economy
that includes paddy cultivation and cattle farming. Yet, the recently
declared forest boundary denies them access to their residential,
agricultural and cattle grazing lands located in the “declared forest
area”. In addition to land owned and used by people, additional land
that is required for natural growth of the population and livelihood
will also be lost.
Under the gazette notification some 40,030 hectares are to
be included into the expanded Mavillu Forest Reserve that will bifurcate
the Musali division, disconnecting Musali South and Musali North
communities, both Muslim and Tamil, that have been historically
connected. It creates discrete enclaves of people, isolating them,
restricting their mobility and limiting social interaction. The
forest boundary goes along the borders of the houses of the people,
fencing them in those enclaves and making the human-animal conflict a
grave danger to the people, already under great stress. Communities in
Musali have been struggling to build their lives, homes, livelihoods and
communities but the limited assistance and resources have resulted in
severe hardships and low rates of permanent return. Only about 40% of
the Musali South displaced have returned, and the current declaration
will place a severe stress on the return of the rest of the community
and further deter the growth of the community in the region.
The plight of the displaced from and returnees to Musali is on a
continuum with the plight of other displaced communities in the region.
It is important to note that the competing claims between forest
protection and resettlement is not unique to Wilpattu and its northern
boundary. Across the North and East there are similar disputes including
Karuvepakulam (Othiyamalai, Oddusudan DS, Mullaitivu), Kiran Komari and
Vegamam (Pottuvil DS Ampara) and Mailattamadhu Mathavani (Koralaipatttu
South Batticaloa) where returning communities find that land they used
and claimed has been demarcated as protected areas for forests,
sometimes even without the consultation of district level officials
responsible for land administration.
The situation in Musali also highlights a larger problem relating to the
State’s approach to addressing land issues in the conflict–affected
areas. In the post-war context, a number of State agencies, particularly
the Military, continue to occupy land that is owned or claimed by
civilians. While the Government has released some lands in the North and
East, multiple communities in the region cannot reclaim their land and
are completely disenchanted by the Government’s approach to land
release: from the largely Sinhalese families in Panama (Ampara) and
Muslim families in Ashraf Nagar (Ampara) and Silavathurai (Musali) to
Tamil communities across the North (not limited to Mullikulam in
Musali), such as Telipallai in Jaffna and Kepappulavu in Mullaitivu. The
continuing occupation and claiming of land by multiple State agencies
fuels fears, particularly of minority communities, that the State is
seeking to dispossess multiple communities of their lands.
The manner in which land issues have been dealt with also raises grave
questions about the adherence of the Government to its own National
Policy on Durable Solutions for Conflict Affected Persons which was
approved by the Cabinet in June 2016. In Section VII.2 the policy
clearly identifies the problem of state actors including the Forest and
Wildlife Departments gazetting lands without consultations of district
level actors and local communities and a process to review and to adopt a
transparent and consultative process to resolve individual disputes. We
call for the immediate implementation of a National Policy on Durable
Solutions for Conflict Affected Persons.
While the problem of displacement appears to be largely resolved, the
situation on the ground is that many who were displaced and have
returned or are living elsewhere are yet to find durable solutions. We
demand that the President look upon this as a historical need and
address the concerns of the people of Musali without delay, and in a
just manner, by revoking gazette notification 2011/34 of March 2017
immediately, fixing the Musali south boundaries as per the 1992
divisional secretariat mapping and demarcating the forest based on
public consultation.