What the hell this Government is doing to the Kandyan Peasants?
Posted on August 1st, 2016
Sudath Gunasekara 1.8.2016
Dear patriots,
Please see the following news item in the HINDU today.
Last year
For Estate Tamils, South Indian indentured labour brought by the British to work on their plantations on native lands taken by force
1 A separate Ministry for Hill country Village and Infrastructure Development and a 10 year special development Project with UNDP funds, obtained as loans
2 10 perches given for every family (this will be 10 perches for every Tamil very soon)
3 Three separate Ministries for estate sector Tamils
4 Now another Hill Country New Villages Development Authority, with strong institutional mechanism” to carry out the functions of planning and coordination.
A few days ago, the Cabinet gave its nod for getting a bill
Now look at how this Government has treated the Kandyan peasants who fought and died against the invaders to protect their motherland for posterity
1 Not an inch of over 600 000 of their land robbed by the invader British was returned to the up to date
2 No Ministry, no Minister or a programme of development or even a C grade Department for 6 million Kandyan Peasants living in 16 Districts. Even the toothless department that was there for 4 decades was closed down
3 Kandyan areas Development Authority proposed in 1951 to rehabilitate the natives who lost their ancestral land and all what they had lost was never established up to date.
4 The toothless Kandyan Peasantry Commissioners Department that was crawling on its four for 40 years without any notable rehabilitation or development of these areas was also finally closed down on Jan 1 2015
5 All those people who lost their lands for Kotmale and Victoria Projects numbering thousands were chased out to the downstream Mahaweli area like system C and not a single family was given an inch of land from the hill country tea lands while all those Tamil labourers who were victims of landslide etc were given lands on the tea lands
6 Almost all natives who lost their land during the colonial times to the invaders and who are still living in secluded valley bottoms in abject poverty, san roads, drinking water, water for their paddy fields, schools, health facilities, employment and minimum facilities to sell their paltry produce are completely forgotten
7 Why is that not a single Sinhala politician who are supposed to represent them either in Parliament, Provincial Councils or Pradesiya Sabhas speak a single word on the plight of these hapless human beings
8 Is there a single country in the whole world where politicians betray their own country, their own people and their own heritage like this?
9 Do they know that their names will go down in history as shameless traitors who betrayed their own country their own people and their millennia old heritage for a vote, to get power and remain in power?
I send a letter under registered cover to the President on 20th of Dec 2015 on behalf of eight organizations requesting him to stay the above mentioned programs on the estates until justice is first done to the sons of the soil, as proposed by the Kandyan Peasantry Commission1951. I also requested an appointment from him to discuss this all important national issue that directly affects the lives of Sinhala peasants in three Provinces. I note with much concern and sadness to say that I haven’t got even an acknowledge ment up to date. (this article was published in Rivira 31st (yesterday).
This also clearly shows the duplicity of this Yahapalanaya Government and the open discrimination it displays against the Kandyan peasants, Sinhala people living in three Provinces.
The HINDU
COLOMBO, July 30, 2016
Updated: July 30, 2016 20:43 IST
New body for hill country Tamils
It will be on the lines of the Southern Development Authority, which had a visible presence during the previous regime led by Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Borrowing from the concept of the Southern Development Authority, which had a visible presence during the previous regime led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the present government has decided to establish a similar body for the welfare of over one-million plantation community, which essentially comprises hill-country Tamils.
To be called the Hill Country New Villages Development Authority, the proposed organisation will have a strong institutional mechanism.” It will carry out the functions of planning and coordination. A few days ago, the Cabinet gave its nod for getting a bill drafted in this regard.
Indirect jobs to 1.5 million people
As per an official estimate, nearly one million people are residing in the estates and the plantation sector, as a whole, provides direct and indirect employment to 1.5 million people. Around 40 per cent of the residents of the estates belong to the category of non workers. The plantation sector — tea and rubber — contributes around 20 per cent of export earnings of Sri Lanka with $ 1,366 million in 2015.
At present, the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT), a body comprising representatives of the Sri Lanka government, regional plantation companies (RPC) and trade unions, is in place. Set up in 1992, the PHDT’s mandate is to implement social development programmes for the community.
Several handicaps
However, it suffers from several handicaps such as limited scope and coverage, reliance on contributions of the RPCs and the absence of the role of coordination with other Ministries, departments and agencies. Its social security net is not applicable to workers’ family members, who do not form part of the workforce in the estates. Also, the Trust’s functions do not cover small private estates and those coming under the control of Janatha Estate Development Board and State Plantation Companies.
Early this year, the government adopted a five-year action plan of $690 million for the economic, social and educational development of the community and this has been called ambitious in certain quarters. As part of the action plan, the idea is to build 56,500 houses at an approximate investment of $575 million. The proposed Authority has been conceived to ensure effective implementation of the action plan also, an official says.
‘No duplication of functions’
- Muthulingam, a Kandy-based prominent face of the community and who was involved in the formulation of the proposal for the body, says there will be no duplication of functions between the PHDT and the new set up. The latter will enjoy greater powers.
- Chandramathie, who runs Social Welfare Mandram, an organisation based in Hatton for the benefit of women in the plantation areas, emphasises that the Authority should address seriously issues and problems being faced by the women, an area which does not get much attention while designing and implementing schemes for the plantation areas. Women representatives of the community should also be given senior positions in the new set-up, she adds.
Keywords: Hill country tamils, authority, Southern Development Authority
August 1st, 2016 at 5:56 pm
We are with you, Dr Sudath Gunasekera.
It is absurd that the Sinhala people suffer so much in their own country.
Justice for the Kandyan Peasants who have lost so much must happen.
August 1st, 2016 at 10:41 pm
Sri Lanka POISED to become a TRANSPORTATION HUB announces Ranil on whom ENLIGHTENMENT has FINALLY DAWNED!
When the Yamapalanaya agitators were trying to OUST the MR/UPFA government, and during the 1st year of their mis-governance, they MOCKED the INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTS, like the Hambantota Port and the Mattala International airport as vertable White Elephants!
Having DESTROYED the momentum behind those ventures, and having REALIZED that the Western Powers who EGGED them onto REGIME CHANGE are not going to GIVE THEM A DIME for National Development, they are NOW TOUTING the SAME VISION of the MR/UPFA GoSL they DEMONIZED without batting an eyelid or ADMISSION of their STUPIDITY. SHAMELESS!
These TRAITORS have DESTROYED and/or DELAYED Sri Lanka’s EMERGENCE as an ECONOMIC POWER like Singapore, all to HOIST themselves into POWER!
HOW SHALL WE PUNISH these SHAMELESS CORRUPT TRAITORS; Draw, Quarter & Hang them in the Independence Square perhaps?</i?
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Sri Lanka will be made a sea-air hub, Prime Minister says
Mon, Aug 1, 2016, 11:28 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Aug 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says the government aims to make the island a sea-air hub as the government has realized that its main focus has to be a hub not only for aviation but also for sea cargo to ensure the maximum amount of transshipment of cargo and of persons takes place when transferring from airport to port or vice versa.
Speaking at the 53rd Conference of Directors General of Civil Aviation of Asia and Pacific States in Colombo today Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said there is a crucial role the Aviation Sector has to play in the development of the country.
Commenting on the fate of the national carrier the Premier said the government hopes to make the national carrier more efficient and will call for public-private partnerships to efficiently make the carrier profitable again.
He said the government’s policy at present is to protect and expand the country’s national carrier, despite it affecting the development of the airport. The colossal debt incurred as a result of losses at SriLankan Airlines would have contributed towards the construction of three technology institutes to the standards of MIT.
The Prime Minister said that first priority is to improve the Katunayake Airport. Discussions are being held with the Japanese Government and the Japanese funding agency JICA to enable Sri Lanka to do a feasibility study on a Colombo air sea hub.
Second goal is to revamp the Mattala Airport in order to make it a profit venturing entity. The government will give priority to any person who can bring up the capacity to one million passengers in five years’ time he said adding that it will be a part of the larger development of Hambantota.
August 1st, 2016 at 10:50 pm
JO seeks Maha Sangha’s backing to thwart govt. projects inimical to SL
Island.lk
July 31, 2016, 9:33 pm
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L Peiris and UPFA Colombo District MP Udaya Gammanpila yesterday called for Maha Sangha’s intervention to thwart the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe project meant to create a Federal Constitution.
The Maha Sangha’s backing was sought when Prof. Peiris and MP Gammanpila met Ven. Keppetiyagoda Siriwimala thera, chief incumbent of Getembe Rajapovaramaya and Maha Nayaka of Asgiriya Chapter Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera.
Prof. Peiris told The Island that they had an opportunity to explain four major issues, namely the danger in setting up an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) through an act of parliament, constitutional reforms on the basis of Lal Wijenayake’s recommendations (Report on Public Representations on Constitutional Reforms), proposed Economic and Technological Cooperative Agreement (ETCA) and the Geneva process.
Prof. Peiris alleged that the government having made various commitments inimical to the country subsequently went back on its word. The former minister was referring to the on-going controversy over an alleged understanding among the government of Sri Lanka, the US and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) as regards foreign judges in a domestic war crimes court.
Prof. Peiris said the government put off local government polls indefinitely because it feared the public opinion. “Sri Lanka is the only country in the world as we speak today where there is not a single functioning local government body. How can that be yahapalanaya or democracy?” As people had been deprived of basic democratic rights, they gave expression to their feelings through the pada yathra, Prof. Peiris said. “The government can ascertain the true state of public opinion by immediately holding long overdue local government polls.”
The top Joint Opposition spokesman said that they would continue to push for local government polls. Last week Prof Peiris briefed Head of the Lankan Catholic Church Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith on the same issues.
MP Gammanpila told The Island that contrary to public pledges given by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wicremesinghe regarding the proposed constitutional reforms, the Wijenayake committee’s recommendations posed a grave danger.to Sri Lanka. The MP said that the vast majority of members of Wijenayake Committee wanted to do away with the unitary status in the new constitution as well as deny special status to Buddhism. The PHU leader alleged that the yahapalana administration had caused turmoil and acted in a manner detrimental to national security.
August 1st, 2016 at 11:03 pm
Subsidies to tea industry must be cut fully. This is what sustains the destructive tea industry that in turns sustains an Indian colony in Upcountry. All catchment areas and areas surrounding catchment areas in Upcountry must be depopulated to sustain water flow. But both parties are after CWC’s support. So none will take action. Upcountry Sinhalese must organise into a new party.
August 2nd, 2016 at 12:18 am
This what Indian Empire did when it got SWRD Bandaranayake.
THese Indians were partners of the British Indian Empire. In Guyana they have taken it over, same in Mauritius.
Last election who did they vote for.
From the indications I have by 2020 the Sinhalese will be in the hands of the JVP and the rest of the country nth Indian States.
August 2nd, 2016 at 3:41 am
Dilrook’s idea that the Upcountry Sinhala people should form a new party, is a good idea.
Even though they will be relatively small in number, the Upcountry Sinhala people must VOICE THEIR CONCERNS CLEARLY TO THE PUBLIC.
We, the Patriots, will support them.
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Look what Yahap is up to :
Yahap is now copying the MR govt plans re sea-air hub in Lanka, after first trying to crush these ideas !!
Yahap just grabbed power through cheating to :
* turn Lanka into a Fascist style state
* and impose a New Constitution probably to split the country
* ETCA
* Sea Tunnel to Tamil Nadu
* 5,000 acre lots on 99 yr leases to foreigners (Parampara leases of Lanka land !)
* New Constitution (what might that bring ?)
August 3rd, 2016 at 2:42 am
When looking at Sri Lanka’s history, it is extremely obvious that from 600BC to around 1400AD there were three kingdoms, all Sinhala Buddhist, Ruhuna, Pihiti or Rajarata and Maya or Malayarata. Rajarata encompassed today’s North Central, North Western, Northern and even the Central Province. Ruhunu rata encompassed today’s Uva, Eastern and Southern Provinces. The Kandyan Kingdom from 1400AD encompassed most of the island inclusive of today’s Northern and the Eastern Provinces except for the Jaffna Peninsula. Even the Jaffna Peninsula was invaded and occupied by force by Aryachakravarthi (Pandyan) and actually did belong to Rajarata earlier and later the Kandyan Kingdom.
Today’s provincial boundaries were drawn up by the British colonialists as per their divide and rule policy and the Sinhala people were not consulted when drawing up these provincial boundaries. In the meantime, most Sri Lankan Tamils of today were actually brought over during Dutch and British times to the Jaffna Peninsula and elsewhere to work on tobacco and indigo plantations which were planted extensively in all the colonies since they were much sought after and made a lot of money for the colonialists. Therefore they are recent arrivals and cannot claim homelands or separate states whatsoever.
The usual practice when a colonial power hands over their former colonies is to hand it over to its original owners. Therefore the British colonialists should hand over the Kandyan Kingdom to the Kandyan Sinhalese from whom they took it by force. Since the Kandyan Kingdom encompassed the North and the East, these provinces too should be handed over to the Kandyan Sinhalese who are its rightful owners. Even the Jaffna Peninsula should be handed over to the Kandyan Sinhalese since it was part of Rajarata and was forcefully occupied by Aryachakravarthi (Pandyan).
Since this has now been done already, the TNA and other separatist terrorists or the US, UK EU, Canada, Norway, Sweden and India cannot demand that present day Northern or even the Eastern provinces be provided any more powers or be made into federal states since this is totally going against the history and archaeology of the island and totally going against the rights of the Sinhala people who also have fundamental rights to claim the entire island inclusive of the North and the East as their homeland first and foremost. Therefore, the TNA , the separatist terrorists, the US, UK, Norway, Sweden, Canada and India has to respect the history and archaeology of the island and accept that the present day provincial councils are more than sufficient to run the affairs of the provinces. Sri Lanka must be a unitary state and no more powers should be provided to the provincial councils. In fact, when talking about the 13th amendment, the concurrent list subjects must be included in the national list. The provision where two provinces can merge should be deleted. The bogus claim of the North and the East being the homeland of the Tamil speaking people should be deleted. The entire island should be declared the homeland of all its peoples.
Sinhala people should be resettled in the North in quite a large number if there is to be peace and harmony within the island since Sinhala people have every historical right to live in the North as well as the East. It is only due to ethnic cleansing of the North of Sinhala people by the LTTE and the other separatists that Sinhala people are not at present living in the North. Many thousands of landless elsewhere in the island especially Sinhala people should be provided land in the North since most of the vacant land in the country is in the North and in the East since both these provinces encompass over 28% of the land area of the island. Then only will there be peace since when people mix, there is more harmony. This is the only way towards peace and development in the island.