According to reports the Police are planning to evict about 50 farmer families from Panama if they do not vacate the lands occupied, before 30th June 2016

It is indeed cruel for the Police and the other authorities to prevent the peasants from continuing their activities on their ancestral lands, which they have been occupying since the time of the 1848 rebellion against the British colonialists. The Cabinet approved the release of the land to these families in February 2015, but, a powerful politician in the area is determined to build a five-star luxury hotel on the land, and is dictating terms to the Police and the other government agencies and to evict the poor farmers for that purpose.

It has to be mentioned that the Pottuvil Police filed action against the occupants and the court ruled that the petitioner –the Police – had failed to prove that the land occupied by the parties was a forest reserve; it rejected the Police claims and allowed the occupants to continue to occupy th eland. Yet, the Police again filed a case against the occupants. The Court again rejected the Police action by stating that it was wrong/illegal to file action on the same issue again. Further, the Court stated that such action tended to waste the time of the respondents and affect adversely their day to day activities. The Court also mentioned that a person’s right to live had to be protected and advised the Police not to violate the basic human rights through wasteful efforts.

The respondents appealed to the Human Rights Commission and the investigation report HRC/AM/105/10/B/OT was issued on 27.08-2010. The report also accepted that respondents should be allowed to occupy that land and engage in farming activities and if they had to be evicted it was necessary that a proper, government approved procedure be used.

The Police are attempting again to take action, if the occupants do not leave from their land on or before 30 June 2016, in spite of two judgments already given in favour of the poor. Such action against the poor occupants of this Panama land is a blatant violation of their basic human rights.

The ordinary people are watching the situation with immense interest to see whether the justice will prevail.

Ranjith Soysa
Australia

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