{"id":66429,"date":"2017-05-25T15:57:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T22:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=66429"},"modified":"2017-05-25T15:58:02","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T22:58:02","slug":"an-analysis-of-events-in-sri-lanka-in-the-context-of-global-and-regional-dynamics-part-1-ramifications-of-bim-saviya-the-us-colonisation-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/05\/25\/an-analysis-of-events-in-sri-lanka-in-the-context-of-global-and-regional-dynamics-part-1-ramifications-of-bim-saviya-the-us-colonisation-law\/","title":{"rendered":"An Analysis of Events in Sri Lanka in the Context of Global and Regional Dynamics -(Part 1) Ramifications of Bim Saviya (the US \u2018Colonisation\u2019 Law )"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0<\/em>Gandara John<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

It was in 1998 when the US executed a major coup in Sri Lanka and succeeded in passing a US propelled Australian Land Law (Torrens Law) through Sri Lanka\u2019s Parliament; this was \u2018The Registration of Title Act 21 of 1998\u2019, commonly referred to as \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019.<\/p>\n

Bim Saviya stripped the Judiciary of its powers to sit in judgment on matters relating to ownership of land; those \u2018Judicial<\/em>\u2019 powers were wilily transferred to the Executive<\/em> – the Minister of Lands \u2013 causing disequilibrium in the delicate \u2018check- and- balance\u2019 structures of governance between the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 Law emasculated the Judiciary and gave unbridled power to the Minister of Lands, making a mockery of the concept of \u2018Separation of Powers\u2019.<\/p>\n

Under \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 Law, the Minister of Lands cannot be held accountable to anyone for the \u2018judicial\u2019 discretion exercised by him in granting ownership of land to anyone he pleases.<\/p>\n

With the Minister of Lands thus empowered to give ownership of land to persons of his choice, with the Minister of Lands granted immunity from prosecution for his indiscretions, with ownership of land executed and registered even in fraudulent circumstances made irreversible, with disputed ownership of land unchallengeable in a court of law, the US has through the \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 law, neatly sewn up Sri Lanka for the control of her assets which include her intangible strategic location; in short, the US has established the basic foundation \u00a0to make Sri Lanka one of its colonies.<\/p>\n

The US has set up the same \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 structure, in 51 other Sovereign States.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Rule of Law\u2019 has been brazenly violated and the US and its Allies could give a damn about it.<\/p>\n

Democracy has received a more than hemorrhagic blow and the Sovereignty of the country is in dire peril. Ne\u2019er a whisper of protest has been heard from the usually vociferous \u2018bleeding-heart\u2019 NGOs.<\/p>\n

The US successfully executed the Coup, with the full blown assistance of Kumaranatunge whose ill-concealed lust for the cash loaded Nobel Prize would drive her to do anything and who at that time was cozying upto \u2018Zippergate\u2019 Clinton, then under threat of impeachment.<\/p>\n

As much as \u2018Central Banks\u2019 around the world are instruments of the Neoliberals, so is the \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 Law, an essential tool for the establishment, control and consolidation of the US Empire.<\/p>\n

The US is pushing hard to complete the \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 programme in the entire country; at present 27 of the 43 land registries have been converted to \u2018Bim Saviya. With this end in view the US is exerting all pressure on the government to sell the \u2018Survey Department\u2019 to the CIA partner Company, \u2018Trimble Incorporated\u2019.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the US has been pumping annually, since 1998, a thumping Two Million Dollars to the Ministry of Lands through the World Bank and other Agencies to complete the \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 programme. https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/04\/16\/the-world-bank-strips-sri-lankas-judiciary-of-its-powers-enshrined-in-the-constitution-and-further-fingers-the-countrys-constitution\/<\/a>\/<\/p>\n

The \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 law has facilitated the sale of land to the Neo-Liberals in US and Europe.<\/p>\n

With Bim Saviya, the Neoliberals in the West, sitting in their living rooms, can access Sri Lanka\u2019s land registry website at any time; these persons have a keyhole view of all Sri Lankan land, with GPS coordinates and all; they can purchase any part of Sri Lanka, upto any extent, if it pleases the Minister of Lands.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka has been told that her listing in the \u2018Doing Business\u2019 index has improved \u2013whatever that means \u2013by the mere fact that she has made her land available to be bought, sold and owned by foreigners at will, like a piece of commodity.<\/p>\n

The bygone European Empires were compelled to conquer countries militarily if they wished to own the \u2018land\u2019 and its assets. That was the concept of Colonialism in that era.<\/p>\n

The US concept of Colonialism is somewhat different. They do not necessarily have to militarily conquer and subdue a country to own that country\u2019s Land. Their concept is to purchase ownership of a country\u2019s Land and its assets from a subservient Government that fawningly offers to sell it to them. Over 80 percent of Sri Lanka\u2019s land is Government land.<\/p>\n

The ownership of land is secure and is now guaranteed by Bim Saviya.<\/p>\n

In short \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 Law bolsters and perpetuates US Colonialism.<\/p>\n

Once sold, as explained before, ownership cannot be changed by that subservient country because \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019 Law does not permit it to do so.<\/p>\n

This is US Colonialism or what is often described as Neo Colonialism.<\/p>\n

The sirisena \u2013 Wickramasinghe Government in the meantime has made bold pronouncements that it would permit foreigners and foreign owned companies to buy and own land, overriding provisions of Act 38 of 2014 (Restrictions on the alienation of lands in Sri Lanka to foreigners).<\/p>\n

Bim Saviya is a US cancer injected into Sri Lanka\u2019s, judicial, social and political fabric; it needs to be urgently eradicated if the Sovereign State of Sri Lanka is to survive.<\/p>\n

With the newly formed \u2018Malabar military alliance \u2013 US, India and Japan \u2013 now lording the region, with US military hoofing around the Delft, with Modi\u2019s Mafia style Diplomacy catching the eye and with Sushma Swaraj\u2019s crudely veiled threat to invade Sri Lanka, Bim Saviya takes a more ominous turn.<\/p>\n

US foreign policy under Trump is getting less blurred by the day. The US is giving more power to their regional allies to do the \u2018dirty\u2019 work of the US in their respective regions.<\/p>\n

Under the \u2018America First\u2019 Policy it would be the \u2018Allies\u2019 who would put their boots on the ground first, it would be the \u2018Allies\u2019 who would lay down their lives first, it would be the \u2018Allies\u2019 who would fill the body bags first, all under the eyes of the US.<\/p>\n

The US will be selling their Arms to their Allies for the battles ahead. There would be consensus between Trump and the all powerful \u2018Federal Reserve\u2019.<\/p>\n

The US senior partner in this region is India. Events hint towards India doing the \u2018colonial\u2019 dirty work for the US and taking advantage of Bim Saviya.<\/p>\n

Is there a solution for the US cancer of Bim Saviya? Yes, there is. Amend the relevant provisions in Bim Saviya that will restore the authority of Sri Lanka\u2019s Judiciary and that will revoke the power of the Minister of Lands.<\/p>\n

If there is reluctance on the part of the Legislature to do so, bring in a type of \u2018Class Action\u2019 in Courts that would give the opportunity for the Judiciary to make a judicial determination and order that would negate the pernicious provisions in the Bim Saviya Law. Case Law would then prevail.<\/p>\n

Gandara John is a freelance writer. E mail:<\/em>\u00a0gandarajohn@outlook.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Gandara John It was in 1998 when the US executed a major coup in Sri Lanka and succeeded in passing a US propelled Australian Land Law (Torrens Law) through Sri Lanka\u2019s Parliament; this was \u2018The Registration of Title Act 21 of 1998\u2019, commonly referred to as \u2018Bim Saviya\u2019. Bim Saviya stripped the Judiciary of its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}