Text and photos by Sarah Hannan in Mullikulum
Returning to their homeland after the military freed it from the clutches of the LTTE terrorists in 2002, the residents of Mullikulum hoped that in the following months, all would be reinstated to the way it was.
With their sovereign land occupied by the LTTE, then the Army, and later by the Navy, the residents pleaded with each government to return their lands. During my visit to the area last week, I got the opportunity to bear witness to the situation at hand.
All the buildings we passed until we reached the Mullikulum Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School were occupied by the Navy and belonged to the Command HQ North-Western Naval Area of Sri Lanka Navy Ship (SLNP) Barana.
When we arrived at the school, the students and the volunteer teachers were seen sweeping the church and school premises. The bell tolled and the rest of the school gathered inside the church for their morning prayers. Meanwhile, I ventured towards the outskirts of the church premises.
Mullikulum’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) made headlines in July 2018 when they decided to move out of their newly-assigned homes by the Government to set up makeshift huts in the foreground and background of the church land. It was reported that 80 families moved to the area in the form of a protest to regain access to their ancestral homeland, in an attempt to remind the Government and the Navy that their land was yet to be released, further to promises made in April 2017.
After several petitions, protests, and negotiations, the Navy had at last released 77 acres of land opposite the church in August 2018. Today, there are three construction sites in which foundations have been laid, while the Navy continues to occupy the 27 houses now within the Naval HQ perimeter.
The Mullikulum they knew
“Prior to our eviction in 1984, this school functioned from grades 1-11. The attendance rates were very high at the time since the children lived closer to the school. The school ceased to exist between 1984 and 2012 due to the war and displacement.
“Today, we have a total of 40 students attending school from grades 1-9 and have a staff of seven government-appointed teachers and five volunteer teacher assistants,” the Mullikulum Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School Principal noted.
He further stated that, at present, only the church and school were accessible to the public in the area and that the rest of the buildings which once belonged to the villagers were still Navy-occupied. While there is no access road for the school, children walk a distance of 6 km to and from school from new settlements located in Malankadu, Paraloka Matha Nagar.
We asked him what happened when the children finished their grade nine studies, to which he responded that the children would be sent to the school in Marichchukkaddi from grades 10-13. Some even move to Puttalam in search of better schools.
“If the Navy releases the 27 houses that they are occupying and allow the families to move back to their residential plots around here, we sure can restore this school to its former state. At present, children are not attending our school because of the distance they have to walk. I hope the authorities understand their plight and release the land, and possibly demilitarise the area,” he lamented.
Almost home
“We were first evicted in 1984. During this time, some families were sent to the refugee camps set up in India, while some of us moved to camps set up in and around this area. In 1995, we returned to our homes in Mullikulum only to be evicted again by the military in September 2007,” J. Sosai, the school’s Administrative Officer, noted.
While living in IDP and refugee camps, the people of Mullikulum commenced extensive campaigns of protests, petitions, and letters to the Presidents. “All we wanted from the Government was to release our lands and remove the military troops that were occupying our villages. We even took part in negotiations with the authorities. With the war ending in 2009, we decided to agree with the terms of living when we returned from the Menik Farm.”
Even after the agreement, the returning villagers would only be given access to the church, school, and paddy lands in the area. “We agreed to live alongside the Sri Lanka Navy who were then occupying 75% of our residential land, which was cordoned off as the Navy camp and remains so to this date.
However, we were not dissatisfied with the military presence in our village. So in June 2012, we moved to the jungle area bordering Mullikulum in hopes that our land will be released to us.”
The villagers were hoping that the Government would allocate those lands in the vicinity of the church and the school. But today, many of them have been given housing in Malankadu and Marichchukkaddi. At this point, it seems that the Government failed to deliver what was promised and with the establishment of the Command HQ North-Western Naval Area, the villagers can only hope to receive residential plots that are beyond the church premises.
“We are given only little access to the shoreline and the fishing activities are now limited to a smaller area. While they have released paddy land of nearly 400 acres in the area, people are finding it difficult to commence cultivation with many of the reservoirs being in military-occupied land. Furthermore, the irrigation system for the area should be restored so that the fields would have an adequate supply of water during the cultivation seasons.”
Abandoned houses
I took my leave from the school and was heading towards Silavathurai. On my way, I ventured towards the coastline and came across a settlement with some inhabited and abandoned houses. I stopped at what looked like a community centre, to see whether any of them would want to speak. It happened to be a women empowerment workshop and the women were reluctant to speak to the media.
Leaving them to attend to their day’s proceedings, I continued my journey towards the coastal area. I happened to see a plaque on the side of the road which indicated that the Sri Lanka Navy had constructed an IDP housing scheme for the villagers of Mullikulum; which I realised was the housing the Government provided to the returning families, that was located kilometres away from the school and church.
When inquired as to why some of the houses were abandoned, a villager explained: “People don’t want to live in these charity houses. They want to return to their ancestral land and live, they want to be able to send their children to the school in the village, and they definitely want the military presence removed.
“The people you saw in the inhabited houses are actually families that were brought in from Anuradhapura and Puttalam. The Government wanted to implement cultural diversity in the area. If not, there will only be Hindus and Muslims living here.”
At the moment, we can only hope for the best for the people of Mullikulum; that their children will be able to enjoy the prosperity of the land and be able to enjoy the convenience of living closer to their school and church.
But will the Government ever let these people restore their homeland to its former state? What plans will the next government that is to be elected have for the development of this area? As the Navy Spokesperson shared last week, is national security at stake to not let these people live in peace, and possibly die in peace, on their sovereign land?
No policy to destruct the property before return
With reference to the concern raised on the alleged destruction of property before return, it needs to be categorically stated that there is no such government policy.
On the contrary, the security forces have dismantled military infrastructure before the handover in the interest of the safety of and facilitation for civilians.
Sri Lanka Navy Media Spokesperson Lieutenant Commander Isuru Suriyabandara, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, stated: “The constructions for the amenities required at the North-Western Naval Area HQ is still underway and we have now marked the areas that are cleared for release. Once our officers move into the designated buildings, we will be able to hand over the earmarked areas to the people of Mullikulum.”
When inquired whether the Navy HQ would be relocated LCDR Suriyabandara noted that on account of safeguarding national security, these camps will not be relocated, but the people will be assigned land in the vicinity and the Government would see to facilitating the resettlement of the returning families.
The land so far not released will remain in the military’s hands
On Wednesday, 20 March, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister and Leader of the Sri Lanka Delegation Tilak Marapana PC in his statement, presented during the Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on “Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka”, stated: “The remaining lands, which are a necessity in the context of national security, would continue to be held by the security forces, with compensation being paid in respect of privately owned lands.”
He emphasised that President Maithripala Sirisena’s pledge to complete the release of land and the appointment of a Presidential Task Force on Northern and Eastern Provinces Development through the Gazette Notification (No. 2074/11 of 5 June 2018), considerably expedited the process over the past year.
The task force, said to have met regularly to monitor and advice on development activities in the two provinces, includes the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, Governors of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, chief ministers, chief secretaries, all heads of departments, members of Parliament representing the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, as well as the secretaries of the Ministries of Defence, Finance, and Foreign Affairs.
He further elaborated that 66,100 houses were constructed and handed over in the North and East to civilians during the period of 2009 to 2018. In 2019, work commenced on the construction of 4,750 houses on an “owner-driven model”.
It is anticipated that this programme would be completed by June 2019 with the Prime Minister taking keen interest to see to the progress of the development in the North and East. On his recommendation, a programme to construct 10,000 houses has commenced.
Other infrastructure development projects that have taken place since during the period 2015-2018 are as follows:
1. Livelihood assistance – 23,548 families (Rs. 100,000 per family)
2. No. of domestic common wells – 1,817 nos.
3. No. of water connections – 10,245 families (Rs. 25,000 per family)
4. Electricity supply – 14,374 families
5. Internal roads – 254 nos.
6. Sanitation facilities – 14,238 families (Rs. 60,000 per family)
7. Hospitals/health centres – 56 nos.
The above represent only a few of the many development projects launched by the Government of Sri Lanka for the economic wellbeing of the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Head; Navy only released 77 acres of 100 acres promised
On 29 April 2017, the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, during a discussion held with the families in Mullikulum, had assured that 100 acres of agricultural land in the proximity of the church could be released in lieu of the 300 acres that the Navy consented to release. At the time, 185 families were registered in Mullikulum and the locals were not prepared to accept the Navy’s proposition.
To date, the Navy still occupies 27 houses in the northern boundary of the naval base and have now begun construction of three houses so far in the 77 acres that were released for the purpose of resettling the Mullikulum villagers, with 12 more houses for which the commencement of construction in 2019 was promised.
Returning to their homeland after the military freed it from the clutches of the LTTE terrorists in 2002, the residents of Mullikulum hoped that in the following months, all would be reinstated to the way it was.
With their sovereign land occupied by the LTTE, then the Army, and later by the Navy, the residents pleaded with each government to return their lands. During my visit to the area last week, I got the opportunity to bear witness to the situation at hand.
All the buildings we passed until we reached the Mullikulum Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School were occupied by the Navy and belonged to the Command HQ North-Western Naval Area of Sri Lanka Navy Ship (SLNP) Barana.
When we arrived at the school, the students and the volunteer teachers were seen sweeping the church and school premises. The bell tolled and the rest of the school gathered inside the church for their morning prayers. Meanwhile, I ventured towards the outskirts of the church premises.
Mullikulum’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) made headlines in July 2018 when they decided to move out of their newly-assigned homes by the Government to set up makeshift huts in the foreground and background of the church land. It was reported that 80 families moved to the area in the form of a protest to regain access to their ancestral homeland, in an attempt to remind the Government and the Navy that their land was yet to be released, further to promises made in April 2017.
After several petitions, protests, and negotiations, the Navy had at last released 77 acres of land opposite the church in August 2018. Today, there are three construction sites in which foundations have been laid, while the Navy continues to occupy the 27 houses now within the Naval HQ perimeter.
The Mullikulum they knew
“Prior to our eviction in 1984, this school functioned from grades 1-11. The attendance rates were very high at the time since the children lived closer to the school. The school ceased to exist between 1984 and 2012 due to the war and displacement.
“Today, we have a total of 40 students attending school from grades 1-9 and have a staff of seven government-appointed teachers and five volunteer teacher assistants,” the Mullikulum Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School Principal noted.
He further stated that, at present, only the church and school were accessible to the public in the area and that the rest of the buildings which once belonged to the villagers were still Navy-occupied. While there is no access road for the school, children walk a distance of 6 km to and from school from new settlements located in Malankadu, Paraloka Matha Nagar.
We asked him what happened when the children finished their grade nine studies, to which he responded that the children would be sent to the school in Marichchukkaddi from grades 10-13. Some even move to Puttalam in search of better schools.
“If the Navy releases the 27 houses that they are occupying and allow the families to move back to their residential plots around here, we sure can restore this school to its former state. At present, children are not attending our school because of the distance they have to walk. I hope the authorities understand their plight and release the land, and possibly demilitarise the area,” he lamented.
Almost home
“We were first evicted in 1984. During this time, some families were sent to the refugee camps set up in India, while some of us moved to camps set up in and around this area. In 1995, we returned to our homes in Mullikulum only to be evicted again by the military in September 2007,” J. Sosai, the school’s Administrative Officer, noted.
While living in IDP and refugee camps, the people of Mullikulum commenced extensive campaigns of protests, petitions, and letters to the Presidents. “All we wanted from the Government was to release our lands and remove the military troops that were occupying our villages. We even took part in negotiations with the authorities. With the war ending in 2009, we decided to agree with the terms of living when we returned from the Menik Farm.”
Even after the agreement, the returning villagers would only be given access to the church, school, and paddy lands in the area. “We agreed to live alongside the Sri Lanka Navy who were then occupying 75% of our residential land, which was cordoned off as the Navy camp and remains so to this date.
However, we were not dissatisfied with the military presence in our village. So in June 2012, we moved to the jungle area bordering Mullikulum in hopes that our land will be released to us.”
The villagers were hoping that the Government would allocate those lands in the vicinity of the church and the school. But today, many of them have been given housing in Malankadu and Marichchukkaddi. At this point, it seems that the Government failed to deliver what was promised and with the establishment of the Command HQ North-Western Naval Area, the villagers can only hope to receive residential plots that are beyond the church premises.
“We are given only little access to the shoreline and the fishing activities are now limited to a smaller area. While they have released paddy land of nearly 400 acres in the area, people are finding it difficult to commence cultivation with many of the reservoirs being in military-occupied land. Furthermore, the irrigation system for the area should be restored so that the fields would have an adequate supply of water during the cultivation seasons.”
Abandoned houses
I took my leave from the school and was heading towards Silavathurai. On my way, I ventured towards the coastline and came across a settlement with some inhabited and abandoned houses. I stopped at what looked like a community centre, to see whether any of them would want to speak. It happened to be a women empowerment workshop and the women were reluctant to speak to the media.
Leaving them to attend to their day’s proceedings, I continued my journey towards the coastal area. I happened to see a plaque on the side of the road which indicated that the Sri Lanka Navy had constructed an IDP housing scheme for the villagers of Mullikulum; which I realised was the housing the Government provided to the returning families, that was located kilometres away from the school and church.
When inquired as to why some of the houses were abandoned, a villager explained: “People don’t want to live in these charity houses. They want to return to their ancestral land and live, they want to be able to send their children to the school in the village, and they definitely want the military presence removed.
“The people you saw in the inhabited houses are actually families that were brought in from Anuradhapura and Puttalam. The Government wanted to implement cultural diversity in the area. If not, there will only be Hindus and Muslims living here.”
At the moment, we can only hope for the best for the people of Mullikulum; that their children will be able to enjoy the prosperity of the land and be able to enjoy the convenience of living closer to their school and church.
But will the Government ever let these people restore their homeland to its former state? What plans will the next government that is to be elected have for the development of this area? As the Navy Spokesperson shared last week, is national security at stake to not let these people live in peace, and possibly die in peace, on their sovereign land?
No policy to destruct the property before return
With reference to the concern raised on the alleged destruction of property before return, it needs to be categorically stated that there is no such government policy.
On the contrary, the security forces have dismantled military infrastructure before the handover in the interest of the safety of and facilitation for civilians.
Sri Lanka Navy Media Spokesperson Lieutenant Commander Isuru Suriyabandara, when contacted by The Sunday Morning, stated: “The constructions for the amenities required at the North-Western Naval Area HQ is still underway and we have now marked the areas that are cleared for release. Once our officers move into the designated buildings, we will be able to hand over the earmarked areas to the people of Mullikulum.”
When inquired whether the Navy HQ would be relocated LCDR Suriyabandara noted that on account of safeguarding national security, these camps will not be relocated, but the people will be assigned land in the vicinity and the Government would see to facilitating the resettlement of the returning families.
The land so far not released will remain in the military’s hands
On Wednesday, 20 March, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Affairs Minister and Leader of the Sri Lanka Delegation Tilak Marapana PC in his statement, presented during the Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on “Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka”, stated: “The remaining lands, which are a necessity in the context of national security, would continue to be held by the security forces, with compensation being paid in respect of privately owned lands.”
He emphasised that President Maithripala Sirisena’s pledge to complete the release of land and the appointment of a Presidential Task Force on Northern and Eastern Provinces Development through the Gazette Notification (No. 2074/11 of 5 June 2018), considerably expedited the process over the past year.
The task force, said to have met regularly to monitor and advice on development activities in the two provinces, includes the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, Governors of the Northern and Eastern Provinces, chief ministers, chief secretaries, all heads of departments, members of Parliament representing the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, as well as the secretaries of the Ministries of Defence, Finance, and Foreign Affairs.
He further elaborated that 66,100 houses were constructed and handed over in the North and East to civilians during the period of 2009 to 2018. In 2019, work commenced on the construction of 4,750 houses on an “owner-driven model”.
It is anticipated that this programme would be completed by June 2019 with the Prime Minister taking keen interest to see to the progress of the development in the North and East. On his recommendation, a programme to construct 10,000 houses has commenced.
Other infrastructure development projects that have taken place since during the period 2015-2018 are as follows:
1. Livelihood assistance – 23,548 families (Rs. 100,000 per family)
2. No. of domestic common wells – 1,817 nos.
3. No. of water connections – 10,245 families (Rs. 25,000 per family)
4. Electricity supply – 14,374 families
5. Internal roads – 254 nos.
6. Sanitation facilities – 14,238 families (Rs. 60,000 per family)
7. Hospitals/health centres – 56 nos.
The above represent only a few of the many development projects launched by the Government of Sri Lanka for the economic wellbeing of the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces.
Head; Navy only released 77 acres of 100 acres promised
On 29 April 2017, the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, during a discussion held with the families in Mullikulum, had assured that 100 acres of agricultural land in the proximity of the church could be released in lieu of the 300 acres that the Navy consented to release. At the time, 185 families were registered in Mullikulum and the locals were not prepared to accept the Navy’s proposition.
To date, the Navy still occupies 27 houses in the northern boundary of the naval base and have now begun construction of three houses so far in the 77 acres that were released for the purpose of resettling the Mullikulum villagers, with 12 more houses for which the commencement of construction in 2019 was promised.