PARL urges President to deliver promise to release North East land by 31 December

The People’s Alliance for Right to Land (PARL), has urged President Maithripala Sirisena in writing to keep his promise to release all lands in the North and East by the 31 December.

The letter has been signed by 47 displaced persons from the North and East, and endorsed by 132 concerned individuals and organisations. 

PARL said many of the displaced communities from the North are also currently facing great hardship due to the recent floods, resulting in further displacement, damage to property and possessions, and a complete destruction of their paddy lands/loss of livelihoods. “Particularly in light of their continued suffering, we have called upon the President to fulfill his promise to the people and let them return home in time for the dawn of the new year,” PARL said.

Its statement is as follows:

On the 4th of October 2018, The Presidential Media Division reported that “President Maithripala Sirisena instructed the authorities to complete the process of releasing the lands in the North and East Provinces to their original owners, before 31 December, after resolving all the issues” at a meeting of the Presidential Task Force to monitor development projects conducted in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. 

We, whose lands have been taken away from us forcibly and are still suffering immensely nearly ten years after the end of the war, demand that you keep this promise and ensure that authorities abide by instructions you gave them several months ago. 

We also demand that the Prime Minister and leaders of all political parties and alliances support this fully and demand that the President implement this decision. 

We appreciate that the government has released some occupied lands to different communities in the last several years, but are deeply disappointed that there has been inadequate resettlement assistance and other restrictions and obstructions they have faced which have hampered their resettlement. 

To assist you, we attach a short briefing and summary of 15 cases (not exhaustive) that was submitted to the government on 29 August by the People’s Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) after a discussion on land held at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on 21 August, where representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also participated. We also attach the submission made by PARL in relation to land in July 2018, with regard to Reparations Act, before the Act was enacted.