People's Caravan reached to its final destination coming to the Colombo Port after passing the various
places such as Jaffna, Mullathive, Killinochchi, Mannar, Vauniya and Puttlam on
2nd of March 2019. A mass protest was organized in front of the Railway Station in the Port with gathering all strength which was
developed in the campaign within 5 days.
Campaigners from Paanama, Ashraf Nagar, Kanagipuram, Sampur,
Kuchcheveli, Valigamam North ,Silavaththurai, Pallimunai, Mullikulam and
Puttalam actively engaged with the campaign.
It used different strategies by signing in the opened board through the campaign.
People supported for the affected people's struggle keeping
their signatures, engaged with the march in the regional level and participated
in the main campaign in the Colombo. This campaign was used to send a message
to the government to release the
political prisoners also. People from several districts started the
demonstration in front of the railway station in Colombo Port demanding their
own lands which are holding by the
government even after ending of the conflict.
People's Caravan was organized in order to demand their original
land back because the government did not release whole land which was grabbed
in the name of national security in the war period especially in the north and
east. The government has promised to the
international community to release the land which has been captured by military
forces in the name of national security through the Human Rights Council in
2015 and 2017. The government promised to take actions toward peace and
reconciliation concerning transitional justice. One of the major concerns was
to release the military occupied land in the north and east but government
failed to fulfill the promises done in the human right council in 2015 and
2017.
Therefore, National Fisheries Solidarity Movement with the
leading role of Praja Abilasha Network as well as other civil society
organizations planned the caravan in order to get the concern of the government, media and local and
international communities. It focused on
the coming hearing of the Human Right Commission in Geneva because the government has committed to
fulfill their promises in releasing the land occupied by military. We attempted
to send a strong message to the government to take actions to release the
particular lands.
