Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Sri Lanka Struggle for Land Access
By Herman Kumara, Convener, NAFSO, Chair Person, Praja Abilasha Network, JH Sri Lanka
IDPs demonstrate for their rights. Photo: Praja Abilasha
During the 26 years of brutal war in Sri Lanka (1983 - 2009), millions of people became internally displaced persons (IDPs) while another 1.5 million migrated to Europe, North America, New Zealand and Australia. More than 150,000 people became refugees in the neighboring Tamil Nadu, India. After the end of the war in May 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) announced, in a joint statement between the President, Mahinda Rajapakse and the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, that there would be a speedy resettlement process for the more than 400,000 IDPs, many of whom were displaced during the final stages of the war.
GOSL’s Action on IDPs
On February 27, 2013, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, co-chair of the Permanent Standing Committee on Human Rights in Sri Lanka, declared in his speech at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, that as of September 24, 2012, the last of the remaining IDPs had been resettled. He stated, “The resettlement of the final batch of IDPs marks a day of historic significance as the resettlement is now complete and there are no more IDPs or IDP camps in the island. This makes the achievement reached within the short period of three years remarkable when compared with similar situations in other parts of the world.”
However, despite the Minister’s declaration, data from the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that as of late September 2012, more than 115,000 people remain internally displaced, suffering from lack of basic facilities, security and livelihood assistance.
Therefore, one must ask the question, what are the GOSL’s intentions behind disguising the reality of the IDP situation?
Alternative Information from National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) & Praja Abhilasha (PA)
The Resettlement Ministry of the GOSL has admitted that there are IDPs living in welfare camps. However, there are neither basic facilities provided for them through humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) nor governmental agencies. The welfare camps are situated on private lands. Some of the landowners loaned their lands to welfare camps during the war period, but 4 years after the end of war, they are looking to reclaim their lands. Thus, many IDPs are in a situation where they have no land to resettle and have lost their original lands due to the designation of those lands as high security zones, areas either containing land mines or occupied by the military.
The official government calculations state that there are 17,749 IDPs in 37 welfare camps in Jaffna peninsula alone. However, the records of NAFSO and Praja Abhilasha (PA), the Joining Hands network in Sri Lanka, state that there actually are 25,328 IDPs living in 56 welfare camps situated within the peninsula.
The chairperson of the Thellipilai regional council argues,
Government has taken the land for high security zone and Palali airport construction activities in Valikamam north… There is not any plan to resettle those people in the welfare camps, which is an inhuman act and an unjust situation continued even after 4 years of war. It is more unjust when the government delegates say there are not any IDPs anymore in the country while thousands of people are still living without any land, house, basic facilities including water and hygienic conditions, no security for children-girl child in particular, no education facilities and many more. We only want our land back, our original houses, our agricultural lands, our fishing grounds. Why can’t the government listen to our grievances? These are our own lands and our traditional livelihoods.
The Case of Vincent Ruban Shashinandani
Vincent Ruban Shashinandani, a widowed-mother of three, from a family of traditional fishermen, has been living with her family in the Sabahapathi welfare camp at Chunnagam since 1995. She says, “We lost our freedom in 1990 due to the war. So I couldn’t live in my village, we had to vacate my home and had to displace to various places. We lost our own land. That was occupied by the Sri Lankan Army and declared as a high security zone.”
Leaders within the welfare camps began organizing fasts and mobilizations to support their struggle to regain access to their land. Shashinandani and her family joined in the efforts. These peaceful actions were met with violence and the eldest brother of Shashinandani was shot. The violence caused people to halt their campaigns.
Since 2010, Shashinandani has begun campaigning again as a member of the Rural Workers Organization (RWO) and Women Headed Family Federation (WHF). She has worked to highlight the problems of IDPs in the welfare camps through the media, drawing the attention and responses of GOSL Ministers. The GOSL continues to make false promises to the IDPs of returning to their land. Shashinandani maintains, “I have still hoped to get my own land. I believe that it is my right.”
People’s Actions on Resettlement: The Thellipelai Case
Formation of Citizen Forum
Citizen Forum meeting at Thellipilai DS Division.
IDPs within 6 welfare camps organized themselves into a Citizens Forum led by female-headed families. Through the Forum, IDPs were made aware of their human rights as guaranteed by international organizations such as the United Nations and ratified by the GOSL. Once equipped with an understanding of Human Rights guarantees and instruments, the Citizens Forum was able to raise the voices of IDPs clearly and confidently when engaging officials, politicians, media and humanitarian agencies.
People’s Memorandum
The Citizens Forum submitted a People’s Memorandum to local authorities in March 2013. The Memorandum was created on behalf of IDPs who have yet to return to their land thanks to false promises and military occupation dating back 23 years. Many of these same IDPs now no longer have a welfare camp in which to live as many of them have closed. Prior to the creation of the Memorandum, NAFSO/PA met with a delegation from the European Union to brief them on the IDP situation and the assistance needed from the international community. The Citizens Forum also submitted a memorandum in August 2013 to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay.
Participants at the sit-in in Thellipilai on February 15, 2013.
People’s Mobilizations
The Citizen’s Forum organized a silent sit-in in Thellipilai on February 15, 2013. More than 1500 IDPs took part in the campaign, drawing the attention of political party leaders.
Conclusion:
The case of IDPs serves as a striking example of the everyday threats to the rights of ethnic minorities, democracy and freedom, rule of law, equity, and freedom of expression that face citizens in Sri Lanka. NAFSO and PA are struggling to highlight the truth of the grievances and the violations of the rights of ethnic minorities and working to mobilize a people’s movement for democracy, the decentralization of power and human rights.
In 2011, the Lesson Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report recommended the resettlement of OLD IDPs, meaning the people who were displaced prior to the final war which began in 2006. In 2012 and 2013, the US Government sponsored an international resolution at the Geneva Human Rights Council, to implement the LLRC recommendations and report back to the human rights council. The LLRC recommendations were prepared by a President-appointed committee, which admitted that there are several steps to take to have reconciliation among the ethnic groups in the country.
We, as members of Sri Lankan civil society, advocate for the implementation of the recommendations in the LLRC report by the GOSL as well as and the development of democratic reforms that include the rights of ethnic minorities, decentralization of power and the immediate resettlement of the IDPs all over the country.
We urge people both in Sri Lanka and globally to educate themselves on this issue and work with us to find solutions that support a better future for Sri Lanka.
