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| Sunday, 13 April 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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LTTE and Eastern Muslims in dialogue :
Regaining Muslim lands in the East by Kumar Rupesinghe The recent announcement by the LTTE to allow Muslims to cultivate the lands belonging to them in the Eastern region is an important landmark in the evolution of the peace process in Sri Lanka. This means that Muslims will be able to return to their lands in time for the next cultivation season. It is a concrete manifestation of steps taken by the LTTE to restore good relationships with the Muslim community and open the way for reconciliation and co-existence.
The first step in the process has begun with the restoration of agricultural land to Muslim in the Eastern region. This article will only examine some of the complexities surrounding the land questions as it involves Tamils and Muslim relations in the Eastern region. Historical background The land question in the Eastern region is different when compared to the land question in the Northern region. In the Northern region over 100,000 Muslims were forcibly evicted and given 24 hours to leave their homes. This was a traumatic experience for the Muslims. The question of the return of the Muslims to their former place of habitation is a complex and difficult question, which will not be the purview of this article. This article deals with agricultural land appropriated by the LTTE in the Eastern region. With regards the agricultural land belonging to the Muslims the question of the title to the land is not in question since the Muslims have possession of the land deeds, unlike the hapless Muslims in the North who were compelled to leave their property within 24 hours. In the case of the Muslims in the Eastern region it was never a question of losing title to their land but their inability to cultivate their land due to coercion exercised by the LTTE and sometimes by the armed forces. In most cases the land is located in the low-lying areas, which are not habitable but are only used for agriculture or animal husbandry. When the Muslims were forced to abandon their lands the LTTE either leased the land to Tamil landlords or to the labourers working on the land or to the families of martyrs who had lost their lives in combat. In quite a few cases Muslims sold the lands to Tamils albeit at a lower price. Chronology of events The appropriation of agricultural lands from the Muslims took place during the year 1983-1991, when the LTTE was engaged in serious violence against Muslims as retaliation for Muslim support to the armed forces and the Sri Lankan government. region. The Ceasefire Agreement, through the good offices of the Norwegian Ambassador, provided a basis for a delegation of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress led by its leader Minister Rauf Hakeem to meet the LTTE delegation led by Mr. V. Pirapaharan in the Wanni on the 13th of April to discuss the Muslim land question. The leader of the LTTE gave an assurance that all lands belonging to the Muslims that are now being occupied by the Tamils would be returned to the Muslim landowners as soon as possible. Unfortunately the agreement between the two leaders did not come to effect immediately. The land question was taken up at the second meting of the peace talks in Thailand between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 31st October to 3rd November 2002, the LTTE announced that they would be interested in returning the agricultural lands to the owners soon after the harvest was over. At this second meeting of peace talks in Thailand, an agreement was reached on a working arrangement between Hon. Rauf Hakeem (Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, SLMC) and Mr. Muralidaran alias Karuna (LTTE) to address issues relating to the occupation of agricultural land belonging to Muslims and areas of mutual concern in the Eastern region. In pursuance of the above, at the fifth meeting of the peace talks in Berlin, it was agreed to establish three committees, one in each district of the Eastern Province to address the issues mentioned earlier. These committees are meant specifically to address issues relating to ownership of occupied agricultural land belonging to Muslims and to facilitate the return of such land. The Committee established for the Batticaloa composes of 6 members of the LTTE and 6 members from the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. Meetings were held in Vavunathivu between the committees, Chaired by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) and attended by MPs for Batticaloa, and the Government Agent for Batticaloa, Mr. R. Mounagurusamy. Subsequently meetings were held in Pondugalchenai, Karadiyanaru and Kokkaddicholai in the Batticaloa district. Agreements were reached to allow the Muslims to return to their land. Mr. R. Ramesh, the LTTE special commander for the Batticaloa Amparai District stated that "Our leader Pirapaharan has given us clear direction that Muslim people should have the equal and same rights as the Tamil people. Our senior commander Karuna is strict that the directive is implemented in practice. The decision to hand over the land to Muslims in not only a fulfilment of a promise made by the LTTE leader in April of last year but removes one of the major grievances which affect the relations between Muslims and Tamils. Based on these agreements the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress has requested the Muslim Rights Organization to carry out a survey of the land claims by the Muslims. The LTTE actually requested such a register to verify claims of the Muslims... Currently the Muslims Rights Organization would undertake the study with the following objectives: The land register * Systematically enumerate the land claims of the Muslims in the North and East by visiting each location in the 3 districts.? * Prepare a register based on field investigations on professional basis. The methodology of the study would consist of 18 enumerators who would be resident in the areas concerned. They would be required to fill a comprehensive questionnaire with regards their claims. The actual date of the acquisition, the manner in which the land was acquired, the extent of the land, their deeds to the land, the extent of property and livestock kept in the land are some of the questions, which will be recorded. The Muslim Rights Organization will obtain the assistance of the North East Muslim Assembly, the Ullemas, Muslim Theologians and the Trustees of the Mosques. Mediation and co-existence Apart from the political committees, which have been created a framework, needs to be created which can provide for the widest possible public participation of the process. Whilst the LTTE has promised to hand over the land to the Muslim owners, there are bound to be disputes. Whilst a land register may provide the basis for future determinations, there will be intractable issues which would have to be dealt with. It is likely that some of the land would have been sold to the Tamil during this long period of occupancy. In other cases Tamils may not have alternative land to cultivate since Tamils are already occupying and working on the land. Therefore alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, mediation and arbitrations may need to be put in place. Alternative dispute resolution means that ways need to be found which would avoid long and protracted cases in Court. This means alternative lands or alternative means of livelihood needs to be secured. There is currently a working group of concerned institutions and actors who act as an informal advisory group for this work. Such a working group has as its mandate the study and implementation of the question of land rights in the North East. This working group has been established under the Triple R Program, which is under the Commissioner for Reconciliation. District committees To assist the work of this committee another working group will be created at the district level under the leadership of the Government Agent, district development officers and other relevant agencies. Such agencies will include religious organization from communities, lawyers, non-governmental organizations and other relevant organizations. These committees will assist in deal with awareness building programs amongst the communities. Communications Clear communications between all the stakeholders is essential for the success of the exercise. The communications strategy should keep all stakeholders fully informed and ally any fears and rumours, which could incite conflicts. Alternative dispute resolution means that measures should be found which would avoid a long and protracted case in Court. In Sri Lanka it has been suggested that a Mediation Commission be appointed to deal with land disputes. Special mediation boards could be appointed in each village composed of individuals from each community who can mediate on the issues. Currently the Ministry of Justice is framing legislative provisions to create such a Mediation Commission for the North Eastern region. Another instrument, which can be used, are the Arbitration Boards, which are normally used for industrial disputers. A special team of lawyers will be requested to go into these questions. Peace committees Currently there exists peace committees in most of the villages in Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee who can assist in the process of reconciliation. And these committees can be guided by the Mosque Federations, the Chambers of Commerce, and other Tamil Voluntary Organisations. The peace committees need to be trained in mediation and reconciliation work. Mediation centers Eventually mediation centers will have to be established in each of the three centers. A special paper needs to be commissioned to explore the best practice available and recommend structures of a permanent nature. The establishment of mediation centers of a permanent nature is essential since the region is composed of a multi-ethnic population. |
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