Keep the Presidential Promise – release land by 31st December 2018

27^th December, 2018

To: President Maithripala Sirisena

Cc. Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe & Leaders of Political Parties

Keep the Presidential Promise – release land by 31^st December 2018

On the 4^th 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 December 31^st, after resolving all the issues”¹, 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^th August 2018, by the People’s Alliance for Right to Land (PARL) after a discussion on land held at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on 21^st August 2018, 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.

Thank you.