From Colombo
Telegraph
The 2860 Sinhalese families settled in the Wilpattu area
have been provided with three acres of land each compared to the half an acre
for the Muslims, says the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka.
Muslims in Sri LankaFrom where did the land for these
settlers come from?, the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka has asked.
Writing to the JVP leader, the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka
says;”Large extents of jungle and reservations had been cleared and handed over
for their resettlement, grants and allowances disbursed, and all other
facilities including schooling have been provided by the state. Neither land
kacheries were held nor deforestation undertaken with proper approvals. It is
also alleged that the Army built the houses for these alien re-settlers from
Hambantota and elsewhere. Further, over 500 acres of Muslim land has been taken
over by the Navy.”
We publish below the statement in full;
Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake Leader,
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Pannipitiya Road, Pelawatte.
Dear Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake
RECENT HYPE ABOUT THE RETURNING MUSLIM IDPs IN MANNAR
DISTRICT
We wish to bring to your kind attention that racist elements
with the support of some environmentalist and media have embarked on a campaign
to harass and intimidate the Muslim IDPs who are being resettled 5 years after
the end of the war. It is regrettable that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP),
a party that had gained the respect and admiration of the Muslim community for
its non-racial stand has been dragged and misled in to the controversy created
by extremist Buddhist forces.
While we appreciate your attempt to resolve this issue as
stated in your conversation with our vice president Mr. Hilmy Ahamed, without
allowing racist elements to mislead, some of the recent remarks made by your
members seem to be contradictory. Mr Lal Kantha who visited the resettlement
zone spoke to the press and strongly emphasized that there has been no
infringement by the Muslims on the land reservations as accused by the
extremists. As you are aware, the Government administrative officers strongly
emphasized that there was no illegal or unauthorized Muslim settlements and
that due process has been followed in allocating the land for their
resettlement. Later in Colombo, at a press conference convened by the Janatha
Vimukthi Peramuna, doubts have been cast on the statement of the Divisional
Secretary and other government officials. Let me try to explain the background
to these IDPs.
The Muslim IDPs who were expelled with less than 2 hours
notice from the North by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 1990.
As you are aware, this ethnic cleansing exercise by the LTTE is considered to
be the worst that had taken place in the Sri Lankan history. An estimated
70,000 Muslims comprising of the entire Muslim community in the North had to
leave abandoning their properties and livelihood and without any of their
material possessions. Their losses could be estimated to run in to billions of
rupees. They lived in refugee camps for over 22 years in Puttlam and other urban
centers. They continued to face obstacles in their bid to return to their
ancestral abode since the end of the war in 2009 and have now come under attack
once again from Buddhist extremists and some environmentalists..
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) and other state mechanisms
that were set up at the end of the war to facilitate the return of the IDPs and
commence their resettlement and rehabilitation processes failed to support and
accommodate the Muslim IDPs who wished to return. Priority was given to the
Tamils who were displaced during the final days of the Eelam war.
The Muslims of the North were expelled because they refused
to support the LTTE’s quest for Eelam. They stood for and sacrificed their
lives for Sri Lanka to remain a unitary state. The price they had to pay for
their patriotism was over 25 years of life as refugees and is even now treated
as a “forgotten people”. These unfortunate refugees deserve better. All these
resettling Muslims have either title deeds or permits for their properties,
which could be perused if required. These returning families have been
allocated only 1⁄2 an acre of land and no other infra structure development has
taken place in their resettlement areas. In the absence of support from the
government, Muslim civil society, its business community and political leaders
have come forward to assist.
While these extremist are protesting against the Muslim IDPs
returning to their own lands, it has been alleged that there has been organized
colonization along the Wilpattu Reserve on the Welioya road by Sinhalese from
Hambantota and families of armed forces personnel. The following are the
available statistics for the Sinhala settlements;
1 Veratenna – 520 families
2. Bogaswewa 1- 500 families
3. Bogaswewa 2 -560 families
4. Namalgama – 470 families
5. Senaleenigama – 450 families
6. Nandamitragama -360 families
None of these settlers are from the area. These 2860
families settled in the Wilpattu area have been provided with three acres of land
each compared to the half an acre for the Muslims. From where did the land for
these settlers come from? Large extents of jungle and reservations had been
cleared and handed over for their resettlement, grants and allowances
disbursed, and all other facilities including schooling have been provided by
the state. Neither land kacheries were held nor deforestation undertaken with
proper approvals. It is also alleged that the Army built the houses for these
alien re-settlers from Hambantota and elsewhere. Further, over 500 acres of
Muslim land has been taken over by the Navy.
As you have stated clearly that the JVP will not look at the
resettlements through racial eyes, we kindly request you to study the Sinhala
colonization as well and evaluate the faculties and incentives provided to them
in comparison to the returning Muslim IDPs and ensure that all citizens in this
country are treated as equals. If there is no wrongdoing by Muslims, please
defend them in and out of parliament. We agree that the environment needs to be
protected and our community will fully support its conservation.
We would be pleased to provide you with necessary
documentation and evidence that no illegal settlements have taken place if
required.
Thanking you for your kind consideration and support
Yours sincerely
N M Ameen
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