Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention

GE.24-04741(E)
Human Rights Council
Fifty-fourth session
11 September–13 October 2023
Agenda item 4
Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention
Written statement* submitted by ASSOCIATION
CULTURELLE DES TAMOULS EN FRANCE, a nongovernmental organization in special consultative status
The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is
circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.
[22 August 2023]

• Issued as received, in the language of submission only.
  United Nations A/HRC/54/NGO/250
  General Assembly Distr.: General
  12 March 2024
  English only
  A/HRC/54/NGO/250
  2
  Land Grabbing by the Sri Lankan Military for the
  Development of Tourism in Panaama Village
  The genocide acts against Eelam Tamils that erupted after Sri Lanka’s independence from the
  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1948 escalated into an armed
  conflict in the 1980s. The war ended in May 2009 – when the Sri Lankan military violently
  crushed the decades’ long armed struggle led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
  (LTTE) against Sri Lankan Singhales Buddhist governments. The conflict killed over
  350,000 Eelam Tamils, displaced more than 2 million, destroyed infrastructure, and left
  behind wanton destruction of lives and property of the population of the Northern and Eastern
  Provinces.
  In August 2010, a group of armed people evicted 350 families from Paanama and burnt their
  houses and belongings. Several villagers were injured. Later the villagers found out that the
  land was intended to be used for a tourism development. The evicted villagers resisted the
  land grab and founded an organization. Several protests against the land grab took place and
  several court cases were filed. In February 2015, the cabinet of ministers decided to release
  the land. However, the land was never handed back to the villagers. In March 2016, the
  villagers took matters into their own hands and occupied their land. They constructed
  temporary huts and started to cultivate their land.
  On 17th August 2010, a group of armed men came to the villages of Raagamwela and
  Shastrawela in Paanama on the east coast of Sri Lanka. They forced the villagers to leave
  their homes, burnt their houses and belongings and occupied their land. Several villagers
  were injured. Altogether 350 families were evicted from their homes and 1.220 acres were in
  military control. They were informed that the land had been taken for security reasons.
  Shortly after the eviction, the villagers founded the Paanama Pattuwa Protection
  Organization (PPPO) in an attempt to get their land back. As a first concrete step, they filed
  a complaint with the HRCSL. The HCRSL recommended handing the occupied land back to
  the people. However, the Sri Lankan Navy (SLN) and Air Force (SLAF) prohibited villagers
  returning to their land. The evicted people were homeless and deprived of their traditional
  livelihood as farmers and fishers. They had to find shelter at relatives’ homes.
  Tourism Development in the Occupied Land
  The region around Paanama has enormous potential for tourism development. Beautiful
  beaches, surfing spots and close-by national parks offer tourists many different activities.
  However, tourism has not been established in Paanama so far. Nevertheless, Arugam Bay,
  which is situated only a few kilometres north of Paanama, is a popular tourism spot. Three
  years after the eviction, the villagers found out that in the occupied land a tourist hotel is
  being built. Pictures, taken by a local NGO, showed the ongoing construction work of a hotel.
  Currently, the SLN is running the Lagoon Cabanas Panama, which is offering rooms to
  visitors. Furthermore, the SLAF is constructing another hotel on the occupied land.
  Meanwhile, the villagers are still deprived of their traditional livelihood. Some of the
  villagers however want to offer rooms and activities to tourists themselves.
  Protests, Court Cases, and Cabinet Decision
  The villagers filed several court cases, a fundamental rights case at the Supreme Court and
  several complaints with the HRCSL. The people also protested against the land grab in
  Paanama. The protests took place in Paanama itself, in the capital Colombo and in other
  tourist destinations in Sri Lanka. Because of the pressure on the newly elected government,
  the cabinet of ministers decided in February 2015 to release 340 acres back to the people.
  However, this decision was never implemented. The security forces continued to occupy the
  peoples’ land. Therefore, in June 2017, a petition with 20,000 signatures demanding the
  immediate implementation of the cabinet decision was handed over to the Presidential
  Secretariat.
  A/HRC/54/NGO/250
  3
  People Occupied Their Own Land
  In March 2016, the villagers took matters into their own hands. On 27 th March, with the
  help of the local NGO National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO), the people of
  Raagamwela entered their own land forcibly. The police, navy and air force later prevented
  the people from entering their land. However, a Pothuvil Magistrate Court order from 30 th
  March that the armed forces could not prevent the villagers from entering their own land. On
  7 th April, the villagers again occupied their own land and started to settle there. In May, they
  started to build temporary huts and to cultivate their land. Fishing in the sea however is still
  prohibited for the villagers. Therefore, since April 2016 the villagers have occupied their own
  land but the land has still not been handed over officially, one and a half years after the
  Historical Information
  1800s Eelam Tamils settle in Paanama, the main village located inland.
  1970s Families migrate towards the coast for agriculture and fishing. Five villages are settled,
  popularly referred to as ‘Paanama’.
  1983 The genocidal war against Eelam Tamils begins in Sri Lanka, focused in the north and
  east.
  2000 Eelam Tamils that had to flee return to their lands and begin to grow long-term crops
  and build temporary houses.
  2003 State authorities begin to claim Paanama villages as ‘state land’. The claims continue
  and escalate over the next 7 years.
  2009 The genocidal war against Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka ends on 19 May.
• On 16 November the Pottuvil Police file a case against 7 individuals for trespassing on
  state land.
  2010 On 17 July Paanama families are evicted by armed men. Homes and crops are destroyed
  and documents to prove title to land are lost. By now, 350 families are displaced and seek
  shelter in homes of relatives.
• On 26 July the Eelam Tamils file a complaint with the Sri Lanka Human Rights
  Commission, which investigates and recommends that land is returned to the Eelam
  Tamils.
  2012 Submission made to the United Nations Human Rights Council. Eelam Tamils
  continues to protest and raise awareness on their eviction.
  2015 On 11 February the Sri Lanka government decides to release 340 acres of land currently
  occupied by the air force back to the Paanama community.
• The Pottuvil magistrate determines that the community is not trespassing and orders that
  the land is released to the land owners.
• Paanama communities continue their struggle and try several times to return to their land.
• The Community stages a major protest with media coverage
  2016 March – Some community members went back to their lands and constructed temporary
  shelters and started cultivating crops.
  2016 May – eviction notices are issued by the Lahugala Divisional Secretariat office to some
  community members ordering them to vacate their lands.
  2016 May – A case was filed in the court of appeal of Sri Lanka seeking the implementation
  of the cabinet decision on Paanama land release, and challenging the eviction notice sent to
  community members.
  A/HRC/54/NGO/250
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  2016 May – A case was filed in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka seeking
  the implementation of the cabinet decision on Paanama land release
  2017 July – An inquiry was conducted by the National Human Rights Commission (HRC)
  on the Paanama land struggle. The HRC recommended that the land should be returned to its
  people. During the inquiry it was revealed that the military has been occupying the grabbed
  land without any formal authorization.1800s Communities settle in Paanama, the main
  village located inland
  Mostly women engaged in farming, the loss of agricultural grounds severely affected their
  economic independence and overall contribution to household economy. They now either
  engage in daily paid wage work or do not work at all.
  When families had to move to houses of friends and relatives, children found it challenging
  to go to school from a different house and location. Education was disrupted of most
  children.Mostly women engaged in farming, the loss of agricultural grounds severely
  affected their economic independence and overall contribution to household economy. They
  now either engage in daily paid wage work or do not work at all.
  When families had to move to houses of friends and relatives, children found it challenging
  to go to school from a different house and location. Education was disrupted of most children.
  Recommendation
  a. Take immediate measures to demilitarize North and East and hand over lands (occupied
  by the military for over 35 years) to their rightful owners without any further delay. Also the
  Eelam Tamils of the North East must be given access to their residential and agricultural
  lands to engage in economic and livelihood activities
  b. Having violated international humanitarian law and engaging war crimes the Relevant UN
  bodies must urge the Government of Sri Lanka to sign the Rome Statute in order to ensure
  justice and accountability to the victims of such heinous crimes under the International
  Criminal Court.
  c. Endorse the Tamil genocide resolution of 2015 passed by the Northern Provincial Council
  in February 2015.
  d. To the 4th committee members of General Assembly: To recognize that Tamil territories
  are not Governing by Tamils
  ASSOCIATION DES CHRETIENS TAMOULS DE FRANCE, Alliance Internationale de Défense
  des Droits Humains, International Alliance for the Defense of Human Rights, ALLIANCE
  INTERNATIONALE POUR LA JUSTICE, French for Democracy & Human Rights, FORUM FOR
  THE DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS FRANCE FDHR, Europeans Tamils for Justice and
  Peace, INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE AGAINST TAMILS GENOCIDE AND FREE TAMIL
  EELAM, Action des Chrétiens Pour les droits de l’homme, ALLIANCE DES JURISTES POUR LES
  DROITS DE L’HOMME, MAISON DES CITOYENS DU MONDE, North-East Secretariat on
  Human Rights, NORTH-EAST DEVELOPPMENT AGENCY, ALLIANCE POUR LA JUSTICE
  INTERNATIONALE (AJI), CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS, AJACCIO HUMAN
  RIGHTS CENTER, TAMIL EELAM PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, STUDENTS FOR
  HUMAN RIGHTS, ASSOCIATION DE DEFENSE DES DROITS DE L’HOMME, ASSOCIATION
  DES DROITS DE L’HOMME DE CHARENTE, CENTRE INTERNATIONAL DES ÉTUDES
  STRATÉGIQUES ET POLITIQUES, ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONALE POUR LE
  DÉVELOPPEMENT ECONOMIQUE ET SOCIAL DU TAMIL EELAM, CENTRE EUROPÉEN
  POUR LA PAIX ET JUSTICE, MEDIAS POUR LA PAIX ET JUSTICE, ASSOCIATION DES
  JEUNES DE LA DIASPORA TAMOUL , International Center for Peace and Justice – ICPJ,
  CENTRE INTERNATIONAL DE RECHERCHE SUR LA PAIX ET JUSTICE, CENTRE DE
  PROTECTION DE TAMIL EELAM, Action Pour l’Education au Développement Durable et aux
  A/HRC/54/NGO/250
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  Droits Humains, Action des chrétiens pour les Droits Humains, ALLIANCE INTERNATIONALE
  CONTRE LE GENOCIDE DES TAMOULS, NGO(s) without consultative status, also share the
  views expressed in this statement.

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