A 50 year-old residential area, home to about 800 families is being demolished in central Colombo. The demolition is taking place in the national security style and is being pursued by the Ministry of Defense. The residents only had seven days notice before the demolition started with the arrival of the bulldozers. The operation is being carried out by Urban Development Authority (UDA) without following the process of law. Such evictions would have required proper legal action since despite of the dwellers not having titles for the lands on which they were living they do have legal entitlements as long-term dwellers. The reasons for the evictions is said to be the expansion of military premises in the area and for the alleged beautification of the city for the SAARC conference which is being held at the moment.
The dwellers have petitioned the Supreme Court which has issued stay orders on the demolition. However, some houses have already been demolished and there has been no attempt to bring back the persons who have been dumped in faraway places without any satisfactory accommodation. Thus, many families have been stranded and are being pushed into a dire situation.
The settlements which had begun some 60 years ago were started by some Singaporeans. Ever since then local residents have been settling in the area for many decades. Their right to residence has been recognised by the municipality of Colombo which has supplied them with electricity and water. Their households are registered and postal services have been made available to them. They have also been recognised for electoral purposes and all political parties have had links with them.
The children of these families go to nearby schools and the sudden eviction and demolition is disrupting the education of these children. Now half of the school year has already passed and removal of the children at this stage will mean the loss of a whole school year. Even then it is not possible to find schools even for people who are well settled in residential areas due to heavy competition for places. The children of these families will have the worst treatment in that competition.
These demolitions are happening in a place called Glenney Passage in Sir Chittampalam Gardiner Road in Slave Island, very close to the heart of Colombo.
What is most disturbing about this demolition is the national security style in which it is being carried out. The police, military and the underground elements are all at work to intimidate, harass and evict these people. Very much like in other instances, attempts at abductions are also being made according to complaints made by some persons. Mr A.C.M. Naduradeen, a municipal counselor complained of the arrival of a white van in which there were plain clothed policemen who demanded that he accompany them to a police station. Being afraid that the group was trying to abduct him he refused to go. Naduradeens offense seems to have been that he had previously handed a petition to the Indian High Commissioner concerning the eviction. There are also reports that a group of goons, who identified themselves as UDA officials, tried to obstruct the media covering the incident. A journalist and a cameraman from the Daily Mirror are reported to have been assaulted. Some residents are of the view that the attackers were members of the security force.
Many observers have expressed the view that these evictions, like many other incidents in Sri Lanka, reveals the way in which people in the south are now getting a taste of the war that is being fought in the north and the east. In all the important affairs of the south, too, the style of the government operations are more frequently taking the form of national security operations. The use of naked force has replaced the mechanisms of the rule of law and, in fact, the people are being distanced more and more from any semblance of actions that take place with respect for their due process rights.
Those who are affected by these evictions are putting up stiff resistance so as to prevent themselves from being dumped into a disastrous situation at a time when all the economic conditions have become difficult. The cost of living has reached unprecedented heights. In the midst of this the residents of this area do not have the means to purchase lands or to build houses. Nor do they have the means to relocate themselves and their children. Their living conditions have been difficult even when they had these houses. It is going to be much worse now that they dont even have a roof over their heads.
A problem involving all types of evictions is the possibility of destitution and disorientation. The residents of Glenny Passage are now faced with this plight. They are becoming displaced people within their own territory. When national security style operations start they cannot be stopped easily. Both local and international standards of the highest levels are required for the protection of these persons. These long term residents deserve the support of all persons in Sri Lanka and all those who are concerned with such injustices globally.
