Centre for Policy Alternatives on 29 May, 2015

A Brief Guide to the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution

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The 19th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution is cited as one of the key policy achievements of President Maithripala Sirisena’s 100 day programme. It was passed in Parliament on 28th April 2015 with 212 Members of Parliament voting in favour and with a reported 174 amendments being considered during the committee stage of the Bill (63 amendments by the Government and 111 by the Opposition). The final Amendment was only signed into law on 15th of May 2015. However, a month after its enactment, confusion still remains among a wide range of actors as to what is actually in the 19th Amendment.

In order to address these concerns, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has prepared this brief guide to explain the key changes made to the Constitution by the 19th Amendment. It is meant as an easy to use and simple source of information on the 19th Amendment and a useful tool to understand its impact on the Constitution.

Download the publication here.

Download the publication in Sinhala here.

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 29 May, 2015

Evicted under the World Bank’s Watch

Forcible demolition of 34 Watta homes when court case was ongoing, September 2014. Photograph by Selvaraj Rajasegar.

“We were removed from our homes by force. The Army officers told us that they will bulldoze our houses whether we move out or not. They told us that we can either take these apartments or live on the street”. 

28th May 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka: As part of on-going research at the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) dealing with evicted communities in Colombo, ‘Evicted under the World Bank’s Watch’ is the first in a series of web based output that look at the lives of those evicted since 2008 under the Rajapaksa regime. Using photography, video and other media, this series aims to shed light into the serious issues faced by thousands of families as they fight for justice, while continuing to struggle in their daily lives.

For more information about these issues faced by residents post relocation and the task ahead of President Sirisena and the new Government in bringing justice to the thousands of families forcibly evicted by the then Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, please read our latest report ‘Forced Evictions in Colombo – High-rise Living’.

Access the content, published on Microsoft Sway, here or read it below.

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 13 May, 2015

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LAW REFORM

The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has compiled the present document containing recommendations for legal reform in response to the call by the Law Commission of Sri Lanka through the Bar Association of Sri Lanka requesting submissions. CPA welcomes this call for public submissions and engages in the process, cognizant of its importance in the context of ongoing reform based on principles of transparency, inclusivity and participation.

CPA has over the years conducted research and advocacy on a range of issues and has been involved in conversations on legal reform and in challenges to arbitrary and unjust Bills. This document contains recommendations based on CPA’s work, which are listed according to specific issues and legislation. More information on the particular areas highlighted and CPA’s work can be found at www.cpalanka.org.

Download the report here.

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 12 May, 2015

Forced Evictions in Colombo: High-rise Living

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12th May 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka:  The Centre for Policy Alternatives’ second report on forced evictions in Sri Lanka’s capital city looks at evictions that took place under the previous Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, where as part of its beautification agenda they aimed to create a slum free Colombo by 2020. The report discusses life after relocation to the high-rise buildings as well as the struggles of those still awaiting housing.

The rush to relocate communities to high-rise apartments was not done with the uplifting of people’s lives foremost in mind, but with the intention of freeing up property with high commercial value. What made the Urban Regeneration Project of the Urban Development Authority more problematic was the means used to acquire land. Military force, intimidation and harassment were used to evict people from their homes and the process did not follow Sri Lanka’s laws related to land acquisition.

Communities were relocated to high-rise buildings in Dematagoda and Wanathamulla where today they face many hardships. Residents are forced to pay Rs 1 million for the apartments over a period of 20 – 30 years. They are yet to be given deeds to their apartments and there are restrictions on selling, renting and mortgaging the apartments, which means that a source of financial security has been taken away from them. The lack of space is a serious issue faced by most people. The ‘one apartment per house’ policy means that today in some apartments there are up to 14 people or more and that some families have been forced to live on rent, elsewhere, simply due to lack of space.

The report also looks at other issues faced by communities such as disenfranchisement, impact on livelihoods, debt, breakdown down of community life, as well as the role of the World Bank in involuntary resettlements in Colombo.

The task in front of the new Government and the new Minister for urban development is certainly a challenging one and one that needs to be addressed urgently. It is necessary that all projects and activities under the URP are halted until a full review is done and the experiences, thus far, taken stock of. Unfortunately, we are yet to see this being done and instead have only seen a continuation of URP activities.

Download the full report here.

Centre for Policy Alternatives on 9 May, 2015

Revoking the creation of the Special Zone for Heavy Industry in Sampur, Trincomalee

9th May 2015: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) welcomes President Maithripala Sirisena’s move to revoke the creation of the Special Zone for Heavy Industry in Sampur, Trincomalee and the land alienated to the Board of Investment (BOI) by gazette (extraordinary) No. 1913/19 dated 7th May 2015. The above gazette revokes gazette (extraordinary) No 1758/26 issued on 17th May 2012 which was issued under Section 22A of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka Law No.4 of 1978 (BOI Act). The present decision follows the decision by the Cabinet of Ministers in February 2015 to return land to original owners and is a timely move by the government in upholding constitutionally guaranteed rights and in the furtherance of reconciliation.

CPA notes this important step, having been involved in monitoring the humanitarian situation in the Eastern Province since 2006 with specific focus on the situation of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the Sampur area who were unable to return to their lands due to various reasons including the establishment of a High Security Zone (HSZ) and economic zones. In 2007, a HSZ was created by gazette (extraordinary) No.1499/25 dated 30 May 2007, preventing around 12,000 people from returning to their land. CPA and four land owners challenged the gazette in 2007 in the Supreme Court (SC FR 218/2007). The size of the HSZ was subsequently reduced, allowing some to return to their land but continuing the displacement of several others due to the existence of a smaller HSZ.

The establishment of the Special Zone for Heavy Industries in 2012 was the latest move by the previous regime to prevent IDPs to return to their land. CPA supported seven land owners to file a fundamental rights application challenging the gazette and in the process also raised the flawed basis for the creation of such a Special Zone for Heavy Industries which is outside the remit of Section 22A of the BOI Act. Several of CPA’s policy briefs discuss the situation including the dire living conditions and security issues faced by those who lived in camps for nearly nine years.

With the present move, CPA reiterates its call for the government to re-examine the existence of arbitrary HSZs and the occupation of land by security forces and others without adherence to due process. This present move coupled with the government recently returning land in Valikamam North area in Jaffna should be initial steps in a long term strategy in upholding constitutional guarantees and legal safeguards. CPA has continuously raised concerns regarding the shortcomings of the Land Acquisitions Act No 09 of 1950 with recommendations for its reform. However CPA reiterates that any effort at acquiring land should at a minimum adhere to the existing legal framework. These issues are integral to reconciliation in Sri Lanka and must be addressed without further delay.

Links to the Sinhala and Tamil gazettes

  • Gazette (extraordinary) No.1499/25 dated 30 May 2007 (S / T)
  • Gazette (extraordinary) No. 1758/26 issued on 17th May 2012 (S / T)
  • Gazette (extraordinary) No. 1913/19 dated 7th May 2015 (S / T)

Some of CPA’s previous work on this issue

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Download this as a PDF here. Download the PDF in Sinhala here and in Tamil here.