On Land Grabbing In Eastern Province
By M.T. Hasen Ali -January 3, 2014
M.T. Hasen Ali MP
For the last three weeks, various opinions are being expressed for and against the budget for the year 2014 within this house and outside and also in the media since it was presented in this house.
H.E. the President has given several promises that give hope to the people. No matter the promises given, if they are not kept effectively through a proper mechanism, the promises so given and not kept would only have negative effects on the people.
During the past 4 years since the end of the war, several promises given by Ministers in relation to the resolution of the land issues have been broken. I therefore, urge the government to take steps to set up an effective mechanism for keeping the promises with the participation of the representatives of the people of the area in order to prevent the recurrence of such mistakes.
The Minister of Lands, Hon. Janaka Bandara Tennakone visited the Potuvil area two years back and spoke words of comfort to the farmers who were faced with the land issues.
The Minister of Lands, Hon. Janaka Bandara Tennakone commands high respect among the farmers of our District. He is highly respected by the members of the minority communities. I pray that the all mighty God blesses him with long life. The farmers who have lost their lands hope that he would break all barriers to come and help them this time.
We have identified the following key actors that contribute to the existing land issues in our District:
- Department of Wild Life Preservation
- Forest Department
- Department of Archeology
- Those who implement the schemes of setting up new army camps.
- The racist- minded officers who ignored the suggestions of the people and acted arbitrarily in the delimitation of the new Pradeshaya Sabhas in 1986.
- The then government officers who failed to follow the proper procedures in taking over the lands from the private owners for the purposes of the Hingurana Sugar Factory and Tile Factory four decades ago.
- The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and other armed groups who, under the guise of solving the land issues and disputes, got hold of the instruments the famers had in their possession and destroyed them.
- The armed groups that forced land owners at gun point to sell their lands at cheap rates to their henchmen.
- The biased government authorities who orchestrated the release of the gazette notification in 2010 which were released land arbitrarily without the knowledge of the people and the Divisional Secretaries of the area.
- And the officials who declared 125,000 acres of land, through a gazette notification, as belonging to the Forest Department immediately after the end of the war. Read More
