“Its
now year passed to the cabinet decision to release the lands to people, but the
situation getting bad day by day” a voice of a land grab victim in Panama.
People
expected real change with the change of government in Sri Lanka. Soon after the
end of civil war, previous government started to use military power to capture
lands belongs to people. Most of it included lands near coastal line especially
in war-affected areas of North and
East.
1200 Acre land area were grabbed from
Panama People using defense forces and now they are running hotels in those
land which were used as resource for livelihood generation of about 150
families for several generations.
“We lived in those lands with our kids,
done faming for about four months and earnings of those crops was our living
for whole year, now we are lost, some of victims are working under some other
people as labors, others hardly earn something for living. Almost all are
living with their children, any more we are not people with dignity as we were”-
told by a mother who lived in Horowkanda
area. About 40 families from Ulpassa and Horowkanda area are now living with
their children or relatives. “It is not fair and we don’t want to be a burden
to our children or relatives”
“They burned down our houses in Ragamwela
(36 Families) and Shashthrawela (76 Families) in a night, chase us away, some
were taken in to custody without any reason. It was a real agony for us we personally
do not know who they are, but by the next day morning, military encircle the
area of about 1000 to 1500 acres, covering Ragamwela, Shashthrawela, Ulpassa
(23 Families), Horowkanda (17 Families) and Egodayaya (66 Families). We are fighting for our lands about 6 years
now. We change the local government and gave power to oppression party, but
those people who elected coulden help since the land grabbers were most
powerful people in the country at that time. We worked together with other
people and change the government after 5 years.
Now, thing are happening in unexpected
way, soon after the new government elected issued a cabinet decision to release
the lands belonging to people except 25 acre land area which was already
A minister from Eastern Province has
involved in the business now, he is proposing a wired plan. An acre of land
plot without proper titles will give to each family who lost their lands and
they will have to plant coconut on that land plot, and they will have to work
under a company who runs the hotel business. But people needs a land where they
can grow what ever they want and also have plans to run community tourism
project to run instead of working under a company from outside.
“We used to live a life with dignity, we
have resources used for generations without do any harm to environment, we can
continue with it”
President has expressed the view of the
government is to develop the underdeveloped countryside, which is good but for
last 3 decades every leader existed in the precedent’s chair have expressed same
view and still shows same development gap. Tourism is not the best industry to reduce
poverty in these areas since in Sri Lankan context it develops more issues than
reducing poverty.
Soon after the Tsunami incident
government created a tourism development plan mainly focusing on coastal belt
in the country with new policies to push back fisher communities from the lands
they lived for generations in the vicinity of sea, but since the government
fell off, it wasn’t implemented. The Mahinda Rajapaksha government implemented
it after the end of civil war in the country in 2009.
Panama people, who were victimized by
civil war for 30 long years and also hit by Tsunami have became victims of economic
development of the country.
In 2010 July 16th day time some
officers who identified as intelligence service have visited villagers and have
gathered some data on land ownership etc., then on night of July 17th
men with black dresses have crashed in to the Shasthravela and Ragamvila
villages and burned down the houses after chase away the villagers. By the July
18th morning, military has encircled the area of about 1200 acre.
According to the villagers, this was
planned since year 2008. Officers form wild life department have visited
villagers and have collected information on families and lands they using in
the area. According to victimized villagers, wild life department people have
acted as helping them with providing of long term crop plants and have got
signed a form which most of farmers have signed without properly read and
understand it.
“Since 1989 we used to cultivate in those
lands, some times we left our belonging there and left houses when we feel
threat from terrorist until one bad day 27 of our villages hacked to death by
LTTE, after that we left our lands for few years and it took over by the
forest” said a villager from Ulpassa area.
Before parliamentary election conducted
in 2015 August, UNP candidate from eastern Province Mr. Daya Gamage came
several times to the village and promised to settle the land issue.
“Even he told in last election campaign
meeting that when come back to the Panama village after the winning of
election, I will come with the land titles for those who lost their lands due
to previous government illegal land grabbing action at the last election campaign
meeting conducted”
Now he coming here by his private
helicopter and talking with hoteliers and military that helped to the
government to grab our lands. No one
going to help us to rebuild our lives at least as it was before the lands
grabbed.
Now they are planning to continue the
hotel projects in acquired lands according to a discussion conducted between
representatives of the land victims and Daya Gamage with other few governmental
officials in the area who holds the power over lands.
“The plan is fishy, We don’t need a
company run hotel business in our lands, we can establish and register a
company and conduct the hotel business, we can provide rooms, we can provide
foods and we can show the beauty of our nature and culture here, that is our
plan”, if the government want to develop under develop areas, they should
consider development of economy of the people. We will not sacrifice our lands
and work in a hotel under someone who has authority to chase us away if they
want to.
Struggle is continuing while players
changing in government side.
