By Nirmala Kannangara

The new Government which came to power after the Presidential elections held last month has further exposed the forceful taking over of land in Panama when the former Government was in power.

The Sunday Leader had in 2013 exposed how the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN), Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and the police Special Task Force (STF) forced villagers in Shasthrawela, Ragamwela, Ulpassawela, Horowkanda and Ella in Panama to leave with the help of Potuvil Police and the Lahugala Divisional Secretary.

The respective forces then denied the allegations and insisted that they did not chase away villages but took over state lands that were idling to build their bases to strengthen security in the eastern province after the war victory. Thousand two hundred and twenty acres of forest lands was taken over forcibly by the SLN, SLAF and the STF in the guise of building camps.

However after the fall of the previous regime in January this year, it was reported how seven star chalets and an international conference hall has been constructed spending colossal amounts of public money.

Luxurious chalets in the wild

Eastern Provincial Council Opposition Leader, Daya Gamage said that the previous government has spent colossal amount of public money for their comfort and added that a full scale investigation has to be carried out how one billion of rupees were spent to build an international conference hall and five luxurious chalets in the wild.

“It has been revealed that one billion rupees have been given for this project by the Presidential Secretariat. Being a person in the construction filed over the past thirty years, I know for certain that not more then Rs.100 million has been spent on this project. If so where have the rest of the money gone. Who has looted tax payers’ money? For what purpose these buildings have been constructed when there are enough of luxury hotels in the eastern province for the VVIPs to spend their leisure time and there are many international conference halls in the country to hold conferences? Chasing away villagers from their native lands and destroying the environment, the former regime has spent billions of rupees for nothing,” Gamage said.

According to Gamage, a big amount of money has been spent on this white elephant project, and added that the steel that has been used to build the chalets and the conference hall has now started to corrode.
“It is the Air Force that has to take the full responsibility for the use of low quality material for the construction as it is said that it was the SLAF that carried out the construction work.

These constructions have been carried out in close proximity to the sea and it is obvious that when low quality steel is used it start to oxidize. As a result of using these low quality steel, the steel structures have now started to corrode and unless these steel structures are replaced with concrete structures, the live span of these buildings could be numbered,” Gamage alleged. “Through a cabinet paper our government was able to release 340 acres of lands back to the villagers who lost their homes and livelihoods. Other than the areas where the buildings have been constructed, the rest of the lands too will be released very soon to the owners,” Gamage claimed.

Soon after the end of the war, the SLN, SLAF and the STF was accused of grabbing 1,220 acres of forest lands in Shasthrawela, Ragamwela, Ulpassawela, Horowkanda and Ella in Panama chasing away the villagers whose forefathers too had been occupying these lands even during the Uva-Wellassa rebellion.

Defence ministry projects

Although sanctions were imposed by the Forest Department, Archaeological Department, Coast Conservation Department and the Central Environmental Authority on carrying out any development work on forest lands, SLN then claimed that such formalities were not necessary for any Defence Ministry projects. During the construction period, speaking on its work in Panama in the Ampara District by the SLN, the then Navy Spokesman had said that they need not follow any of these procedures nor would they require permission from the Forest Department, Coast Conservation Department, Central Environmental Authority and Archaeological Department as the construction is being carried out on Defence Ministry lands.

“This is a Defence Ministry land and there is no necessity to obtain approval from any department to carry out any of our development work,” the Navy spokesman had claimed in May 2013.
Of the total number of lands that were grabbed by the forces, over 1000 acres are forest lands that come under the control of the Forest Conservation Department.

The villagers on the other hand had a different story to tell. According to them these lands are their native lands and have either deeds or licenses to claim ownership. For the villagers losing their occupational lands and the dwellings therein, have pushed them from pillar to post.

According to the villagers, no sooner the war was over the Pottuvil Police had allegedly evicted them from their properties claiming that the government wants to construct an international conference hall and navy and air force camps along the coastal belt.

“Local politicians, Lahugala Divisional Secretary and the Pottuvil police demanded us to move away from our native lands but we did not heed the police instructions. The then OIC of the Pottuvil Police once threatened us and said that we would not be allowed to stay on our lands for much longer. When we protested against the Police demand, I was asked to come to the Police Station and was once again threatened,” Punchirala Somasiri, a villager in the area said.

However Somasiri is now happy as their struggle to get back their lands were fulfilled by the present government and added that the villagers could start chena cultivation when the rain comes in September. Meanwhile, the Chief Incumbent of the Panama Temple, Ven. Panama Sri Chandrarathana Thera also described how the security forces chased away the villagers in 2010 leaving all the families homeless and depriving them of their livelihoods.

“The sole income of these villagers was either chena cultivation or fishing. After being chased away from their villages, the people were homeless and with no source of income. No other party in this area had T-56 riffles other than the members of these security forces. The day after these villagers were chased away, an Air Force detachment came and the entire area was cordoned off. Other than the security personnel no other party was allowed to enter these lands. Later they erected electric fence to keep away the villagers coming back to their native lands and to hide what they were constructing,” Chandrarathana Thera said.

According to the Thera, although complaints were lodged with the Pottuvil Police no action was taken to make any arrests in this regard. “It was almost five years since the villagers were chased out; but the Pottuvil Police did not take any action to arrest those who harassed and set fire to the houses to chase away the villagers. Even those who were engaged in fishing were not allowed to continue with their livelihood activities as the Navy restricted the people going out to sea along that coastal stretch and even in the lagoon,” said the Thera.

Although the navy continuously said that these lands were used to build navy camps, Coordinator of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) Lakpriya Nanayakkara said, the pictures they have taken from afar showed that they are constructing a hotel complex. “Although the Chairman of the then Lahugala Pradeshiya Sabhawa in 2010 was instrumental in taking over these lands for the Defence Ministry projects, after the fall of the UPFA controlled Lahugala Pradeshiya Sabhawa, the present Chairman took legal action against the Air Force for illegal constructions within the forest.

When the case was first taken up, the Magistrate asked the Air Force what they were constructing in the forest and was told that it is an Air Force Base. It was then the Magistrate wanted the Air Force to bring the Pradeshiya Sabha approvals for construction work. Although they promised to produce them at the next hearing, they failed to do so. At the third hearing Pradeshiya Sabha Lahugala obtained an injunction order against the Air Force construction work which later came to a standstill,” Nanayakkara said.

Meanwhile, Director, Environment Conservation Trust Sajeewa Chamikara said neither the Navy nor the Air Force had carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), although they have destroyed the forest that comes under the purview of the Forest Department. “In addition they have violated the Coast Conservation and Coastal Resources Management Act No. 57 of 1981 (Amended), Section 20 of the Forest Conservation Ordinance as amended by Act No. 65 of 2009, the Archaeological Ordinance No. 49 of 1940 and the National Environment Act No. 47 of 1980,” Chamikara said. However the then Deputy Director Archaeology Ampara W.H.A. Sumanadasa said that neither has the Navy obtained permission to carry out any development work on the archaeological sites nor has it requested any approvals.

Archaeological ruins

“How can the Archaeology Department expect the Sri Lanka Navy to obtain approval from us when it did not even allow archaeology officials to visit the sites? There are many archaeological ruins which are said to date back to the prehistoric era, within the Navy camp in Panama,” Sumanadasa said.

According to Sumanadasa, all attempts taken by him to visit these archaeological sites in Panama on the directive of Director General Archaeology Dr. Senarath Dissanayake in 2011 failed, as the Navy did not allow anyone to even approach these sites.

“Before the war began we had a circuit bungalow on this site in Panama. However after the war the bungalow was ransacked and only the walls were remaining. The walls too collapsed during the tsunami and the land was acquired by the Navy after the end of the war. Our Director General wanted me to get this land released and construct a circuit bungalow but how could I implement the Director General’s directive when the Navy did not even allow me to get closer to the land,” said Sumanadasa.

Although Sumanadasa was not able to visit these archaeological sites, he says that people in the area have told him that the ruins date back to the prehistoric era and that there are many ruins found in all the places the Navy has taken over. When this reporter contacted the Navy Spokesman in May 2013, the then spokesman had said that no one can be allowed inside the Navy camp as it is military land.

“If the Archaeology Department officials want to pay a visit, permission has to be obtained from us. No one will be allowed to walk into our areas without permission. However with permission obtained through the proper channels, anyone can visit the camp area,” the navy spokesman at the time had said.
However, when the constructions were going on in May 2013, a navy spokesman had said that he was not aware of any court injunction to stop the construction work.

“We are in a small detachment and the Air Force is not doing any construction work. We are only guarding this particular area. It is the Presidential Secretariat that engages in construction work,” the navy spokesman who was in office at the time, had said.

When asked whether there is an injunction order taken by the Pradeshiya Sabha Lahugala against the constructing buildings in the forest lands, the spokesman had said that he is unable to furnish further details as it is the Presidential Secretariat and not the Air Force that is involved in development work.
“Can you please call the Presidential Secretariat and find out all these details. I am very sorry for not being able to give you any answers as I am not aware of these issues,” said the Air Force Spokesman. Divisional Secretary Lahugala L. A. Somarathana meanwhile said that all those who lost their lands would be given alternative lands at the earliest.

“Out of all the families only one family had a license for his land and we have already settled him in a nearby village. The rest of the families did not approach us; maybe it is because they do not have any legal document to prove that they were living in this area. However we will not desert them, and will provide them with alternate lands in due course,” said the Divisional Secretary.

However, the villagers and Chandrarathana Thera said that although the Divisional Secretary gave such a promise, he tried to give lands for the government supporters instead of the villagers. “When we came to know that the Divisional Secretary has made a list of names who should be given lands, we went to the Lahugala Divisional Secretariat to see whether our names too are in the list. We were astonished to see that most of our names were not in the list but names of government servants who supported the Mahinda Rajapaksa government but were not real villagers were to be given lands.

When we raised this with the Divisional Secretary he has no answer to his corrupt attempt,” Punchirala Somasiri said.

When The Sunday Leader contacted the Director, Coast Conservation Department, to find out whether the Navy has obtained approval, the Director said that the Navy has not obtained Coast Conservation Department approval which is a must before developing the area closer to the coastal belt.

Courtesy:The Sunday Leader